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In our 120litre community tank i have a male and female adult bristlenose. I would like to breed them but the male doesnt want anything to do with the female and attacks or chases her whenever he sees her. Are they likely to breed eventually??? i have had him for 6months and her for about 4months. He has got an ornament that he likes to hide in but it has got 2 big entrances and i have just learned that they like a one entrance cave. Yesterday i brought a clay/ terracotta pot and will make an entrance for it, the pot has a hole in the bottom of this which when in the tank will be at the top, do i need to cover this or will it be ok as is. do i need to worry about chemicals being used in the making of these pots or are they ok?? Sorry for all the questions but i would like to get it right. Thanks heaps in advance.

No these were a light blue and had a slight banding aswel, maybe they were young males, they looked different to my male though. Maybe i need to go on a quest for some females?? Thanks for your advice. He really used to chase them around all the time and i think the stress of that caused the hexamita to come to life and they died. I do like the gouramis and would like to have some more, but not if he is going to attack them, maybe i could give it another go with some known females and if he is naughty look at rehoming them (or him).

Ok, thanks for your help.

We have got neons, a rainbow tetra, 2 bristlenoses and 3 rummy nose tetras.

Our male gourami (the only gourami in our tank) has been very territorial right from the start and hassled the 2 females we had , now that they have gone he has been hassling our rainbow tetra. Both fish have sores on them which i am trying to figure if they are war wounds or disease, i have added melafix to the tank. The tetra has 3 small fleshy sores and the gourami has 5. I have seperated the tetra as he had hidden himself behind the heater and isnt looking that good, he is also breathing very fast. I am wondering if the gourami has been chasing him around in the night?? The water ph is stable at 7.0, nitrite nil, ammonia nil. Temp 27C. Any ideas, i am also feeding them all medicated food for hex, which seems to be working well, but its since then too that the rainbow has been a bit off. Sorry for all the questions. Also when i feed him he is very keen but takes food in and then spits it out again.

Ok, so just wait it out and keep doing water changes until it starts to go??It was still really high when i checked it last night, ph still stable at 7.0, and ammonia nil. As long as the ammonia is nil does it just mean that it is stll cycling?? Will it harm the babies being so high?, they seem fine.

That is a good idea, i did put some of the ceramic tubes into the new filter from the old one hoping that would help when i first setup the new filter but maybe it wasnt enough.Do you think it would help if i put an ammonia media to the filter?( mind you there seems to be no ammonia)

I am doing between 4-6 litres

I have got a small tank with 20 litres of water in it. I am raising 18 baby bristlenoses and 2 gbas aswel, they are about 3cm long now and growing well. I had the tank set up for a week before i got the babies and had a basic sponge filter initially but had reasonably high levels of nitrite and ammonia so i was doing water changes every day until i got our new filter(aqua clear 20). It has been running now for a week tommorrow but the nitrite is even higher now (3.3) but the ammonia is nil and the ph has been stable at 7.0. The filter media contains a bio sponge, carbon and biomax. The bns are doing really well but the nitrite just gets higher each day i check it, i am still doing 20% water changes. Can any one help??

Do you add the formalin to the main tank? And do i need to add formalin after each water change or is a one off dose enough??

I am starting to wonder if thats what i will have to do, i am going to give them a break then try the food method if that doesnt work i will strip the tank. thanks for your advice. Will keep you posted.

I am pretty sure it is Hex, the last two gouramis i had wasted away to nothing then died, they both had the clear stringy poo, then went off food and died. Our two bristlenoses and remaining gourami have had the clear stringy poo and when that starts they are not them selves. I cant understand why we are having the problems we are having with the metro as so many others have used it with good results. I have now stopped the treatment and will let them recover then try the medicinal food approach. Thanks for you help.

I am having an aweful time with our fish. In previous posts i have asked for help with hexamita. The fish are all showing signs of it again. I have added Metronidazole to the tank yesterday but it really takes its toll on the fish. Last time i lost 3 neons, this time all fish (2 bristlenoses, 1 male dwarf gourami, 6 neons, 3 rummy nose and 1 rainbow tetra) are showing signs of stress fast breathing not eating etc. One neon has balooned up and like the others will die too. I dont know what to do, the other option is feeding them medicinal food but i dont know where to get suitable food for all the fish to add medicine to. Can anyone please help?? I am going to have to stop the treatment i think but will wait for some advice first.

Sounds like hexamita, my fish were diagnosed through the disease forum under "disease in our tank?" symptoms are stringy white poo, extreme nervousness, weight loss, lethargy and not eating. Dosed our tank with metronidazole and all fish came right.

I have had my 18 baby bristlenoses now for a week and 2 goldens. They appear to be doing really well, the filter is playing up though and not clearing the tank so i may have to invest in a better one, has anyone had anything to do with jebo super mini filters Model 501?? the cartridges only last a week then i get overflow, so now i have just got some filter medium ceramic tubes and have replaced the cartridge with filter wool. I will see how that goes, any other ideas would be great.

about 2months ago i was on here seeking advice for my gouramis that were hiding on the bottom. Some people suggested that the fish could have internal parasites (hexamita) symptoms are extreme nervousness, loss of appetite, white/clear faeces. My male gourami would hide at the bottom of the tank and occasionally freak out and fly around the tank crashing into things. Once i treated the tank he came right, they are showing signs of it again, so i am back off to the vet to get some more metronidazole. Might pay to look into that??? I am only a begginer so seek other peoples advice too.

Yay!! he has just eaten, and seems to be back to his old self!! He even chased away his girlfriend which he definatly wasnt doing yesterday. I might stay away from the veges for a couple of days and only give them every other day instead of all the time?? He was always on them when they were in the tank, maybe it was a case of over indulgence!! will let you know how he does over the next few days, hope he is ok as he is my favourite!!

Yay!! i have just fed him and he was very interested as usual and was eating his algae pellets, he even chased away his girlfriend which he wasnt doing yesterday. He seems 100%, i hope he is ok, i will stay away from cucumber for a few days and maybe not have it in there all the time. His belly also doesnt look distended anymore either. Thanks everyone for all the advice i will keep you posted in the next few days and let you know how he does.

He is still alive this morning and he hasnt gone belly up since i put him right yesterday. His breathing seems to be a bit more settled and when i put the light on he went and hid and appeared to be sucking on to the wood. But he is still not ok i dont think. I added tonic salt to the tank yesterday, how often can i add that. Would it pay to add melafix to the tank aswel??

There is driftwood and we have an air stone and a waterwheel ornament for aeration.

I dont think his eyes are protruding, they look normal. What is bacterial bloat??

Yes he is slightly bloated.

He was up until i found him, it was really sudden. Now he is just sitting on bottom of tank, wont move at all. and is not sucking on to ant thing.

I have also posted this on begginers forum, our male bristlenose went belly up this afternoon, he has been eating alot of zucchini and cucumber this week and it is a new addition to his diet. Ph higher than normal at 7.4 Ammonia nil Nitrite nil. He is very lethargic and breathing extremly fast, he was fine until i saw him this afternoon. Any ideas?? His stomach may be slightly distended.