sorcha

Hi again, Well the other female died yesterday. I can't work it out, I've been reading up on Kribs again, it seems as though they are meant to be very hardy & can tolerate a range of conditions ie: pH 6.5 to 7.5 soft to hard fresh to brackish Any diet 24-27degrees So apart from the nitrates getting too high (which is not good!) I'm sure everything else should have been ok. I hate not knowing what the cause is, the other female had also been put in a tank where all the levels were fine I just think it had been too late. The nitrates are at a much better level in the big tank and have added a few more plants but I've been doing more or less daily water changes to get the levels right, maybe my filter needs a rinse? It still seems to me that it must something not right that affects the Kribs specifically as all the other fish have been thriving & mating, who knows! I think i'll sell my 2 male Kribs before they get sick as currently they are still looking very healthy and I'd hate them to get sick two.

Hi, Thanks for that, that's interesting the article, I might try some salt. I have read that they are happy in a pH of 6.5-8, which seems quite a range, it's unfortunate our tap water is so acidic which I hadn't realised, it could well be burning their gills etc which is not nice! The tank she is in is now has pH 7 but I think the damage has been done, i'll try a few more things and keep you posted, the pet shop had a very poor selection of mostly dead plants so I am waiting for a few to arrive that I bought on trademe.

Hi, I think the nitrates are improving but certainly nowhere near where I want them, I've done about 3 water changes and the last test the nitrates were about 20 or possibly 40, the female is still in the other tank which has very low nitrates and everything else is reading fine but she is still panting and although her colour has improved and she is swimming about she still isn't eating, I don't think she'll make it. Do you think it is anything to do with the water hardness? I have never tested for it, it just seems strange that only the kribs are affected, all the other fish seem to be thriving? Some articles read that Kribs like a bit of salt added and some say they don't? I will do another water change and check the filter isn't all clogged up. Cheers

Hi, Thank you all for your advice, has been really helpful. I do use a gravel vac, I will also cut down how much I feed and ignore them swimming up to me when I walk past lol. I checked the tap water too and the pH is off the chart, very acidic, it used to be 7, I guess as it's been so dry and we are on a bore system that it has caused pH to drop, also tap water nitrates were about 5, however it is obviously alot to do with not enough plants or water changes, I did a change tonight which didn't seem to touch the nitrate level so tomorrow i'll get some bigger buckets or run a pipe out the window and do a real decent change & make sure I do a weekly change from now on. I also removed any dead plants and will try to buy some more plants tomorrow, especially hardy ones. I bought all stems originally so this time will look for more established plants. So if anyone has plants for sale that they can post please feel free to pm me, also I might sell my 3 pearl gouramis (approx 2yrs old) to destock if anyone local wants them pm me also. Cheers Sarah

Hi Jn, Thanks for that, yes algae has been growing recently, along with pH levels dropping down to about 6.6 last time I checked, was always at 7. Right, the mission, I will do some serious water changes this week and get some more plants, I think not having enough plants is a big factor, I have moved the other sick female krib to a different tank which has low levels of everything but I think it is too late as her eyes have since yesterday starting sticking out aswell. Will do daily water changes to get the nitrates right down & tomorrow head to the petshop for a few more plants.

Hi there, Thank you both for your reply. Ammonia & Nitrites are 0,nitrates have been increasing recently and are about 40-80, way too high, I have a 5ft 400L tank, with a Jebo cannister filter, undergravel filter & airpump. I feed 2-3 times a day, including flake & pellets. I had alot of plants but now most are dead or eaten, the ones remaining are quite healthy & have ordered some more aswell as fertiliser for them. I do water changes every couple of weeks, try to do them weekly, I think I'm most likely not changing enough water as 4 buckets is not much in a tank this size, but I thought the filter etc could handle it. Perhaps I am a bit overstocked too? I have about 20 fish, 6 of them are at least 10cm, all the other fish (touchwood) are healthy and some have been breeding. Do you recommend to do more water changes ie weekly & more water at a time, what about nitra zorb? I think I might sell a few fish too, it's ashame I was really enjoying the Kribs and they had been doing so well, always had amazing colourings, I really don't want the males or other fish to get sick so will do a water change today. Tank has been set up about 4 months.

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 11:29 pm Post subject: Sick Kribs any advice? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi there, I've had 2 pairs of Kribs for about 6 months I guess and over the last few days the 2 females have gotten sick, sort of panting/gasping & just hanging near the bottom of the tank in the same place & noticed in one of the females that her eyes are really sticking out. One female died yesterday. Does anyone know what causes this? The 2 males are still healthy so far. I've noticed my ph has been dropping & nitrates slightly high. Thanks Sarah

Hi, Sorry I've been slack at updating! Yes I got all 3 sets of killies, greedy I know, they are great. So far all are happy in the 5 foot tank, yes they do get a bit lost to the eye! I am keeping an eye out for a couple of cheap smaller tanks so that I they can breed in the smaller tanks, they have definately been trying to breed. My partner decided to put guppies in my small tank so now have alot of them! Cheers for everyones help, they are awesome looking fish.

Hey there, I've had 2 pairs of Kribs for about 6 months I guess and over the last few days the 2 females have gotten sick, sort of panting/gasping & just hanging near the bottom of the tank in the same place & just tonight noticed in one of the females that her eyes are really sticking out. Does anyone know what causes this? The 2 males are still healthy so far. I've noticed my ph has been dropping & nitrates slightly high. Thanks Sarah

Haha that might be a good thing I'm not in Auckland as I do have a nice spare room going to waste! Lol the lounge is already becoming a fish room I'm sure a few more tanks around the house wouldn't hurt

Wow that is alot of tanks & killies! I havn't seen them up close yet but from what i've heard no doubt I will become an addict and end up with a room full of tanks!!

Hiya, Many thanks for everyones replies and advice, very helpful and appreciated. Yes I agree it does seem a fair price & yes that is the reserve so they may go for more. What I think i'll do is get either 2 pairs as I do have a smaller tank & perhaps put one lot in the big tank & the others in the smaller tank or get all three pairs and buy another small tank, I'm not too fussed on if they breed but obviously it would be great if they did, next thing to read up on! Would be quite interested in joining the club, but will wait and see if I get any killies or not first and go from there. thanks again. Sarah (aka Sorcha)

Hi there, I have a few q's I hope maybe someone could give some answers to & advice? I have a 5 ft 400l tank, currently has some gouramis,couple of catfish,few black tetras,neons,platys & kribs & a red tail shark. I'm looking at getting some killies off of trademe. There are 3 different pairs: killifish nigerianus p82 (1 male,2females) $20 killifish striatum (1male and 1 female) $17 killifish epiplatys dageti (1male and 1 female) $10 All about 8 months old. Basically I want to know can they all go together? Or will they cross breed, or should I just get one set or none at all? Are they suitable for my set up. More about each type ie requirements/feeding etc?Are they ok with tetras? I can't find much on the internet on them. Also is that a fair price? Any advice/info would be great before I decide whether to get them or not.

HI Ian Thanks for your reply, yes that makes sense also as they were fine until after spawning, yep now have plenty of little ones to concentrate on too, and earlier today just found 2 new baby platys so that was cool, will just have to get a couple more females or sell some males!! Cheers Sarah

Hi, thanks for your replies. Yeah i'm kinda thinking maybe old age too, bit rude for the petshop selling them for A$6 each, but I guess they wouldn't know there age, but yeah like you said they leave a few replacements! It's just these ones are taking awhile to die, not very pleasant just waiting, I guess they will soon enough though as I can't see how they can eat etc.

Hi, we reacently bought some guppies, some males & females and then a few days later bought 2 older females, not sure how old, I think it was that same day one or 2 of them had babies, anyway now both the largre females are kind of bent or c shaped and floating near the top, I've isolated them, all the tests on the water were ok, the nitrates a little high, all the other guppies are fine. Any ideas?? Thanks.

Hey thanks for all your advice, have asked for a refund to be safe, I guess it could be fixed but like you said why did it crack in the first place? Looking at another photo she sent last night the legs of the stand did look a bit crooked. I will see if she relists it & go from there. So if anyone ever knows of any large tanks for sale drop me a PM. Cheers everyone, Sarah

Hi I have recently joined this site, I also bought a fishtank through trade me the other day, I currently have a 70cmx60x60 and am looking to upsize. The tank I bought is a corner tank 187cmx70 deep & 108cm front to back corner, I paid the next day $200 it comes with a steel stand & some bits & pieces, all a bit rough but was told good condition & sound just needed cosmetic surgery on appearance of the stand. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 268161.htm I have been trying to arrange courier/freight all week with no luck so finally arranged to take a trailer up tomorrow to pick it up 5 hrs away. I just received an email tonight saying that she had cleaned it for the first time (she has only used it for lime chips & plants etc) and has found a big crack through the bottom of the tank! The bottom corner I think. http://mail.google.com/mail/h/1dttulg0m ... 016073d3ae She will not budge on price though will refund me. Any advice on what to do would be great? How strong would it be? Is it worth $200? I have already bought a few more fish to pick up next week & although I would have room in my current tank I had been counting on being able to transfer a few over to the new tank first. The bottom line also I guess is that I am after a new/used tank LARGE.Preferably with stand & any extras a bonus, I'm not after spending heaps of money, I have been looking forward to this one but don't think i can justify paying the original price for what I thought was a sound tank to paying the same price for the same tank with a crack, prob wouldn't have looked twice had I known it was cracked... HELP!? Cheers sarah.