paekakboyz

I run a jebo 819 on a 360L tank - heavily planted tetra community tank... its done a good job so far different story with Oscars tho - they are messy fish!

check out the english aquarium magazine - in the top 25 tanks of the year they have one in particular that achieved such a look - very cool (maybe you could even email the owner of the tank to get a bit of an idea how he/she did it?)

good fitness tho if you did all the tanks in a row rather than a staggered system throughout the week!!

it would be good if people did post some pics - it would sure help people figure out what their fish may or may not have!! good work theConch!

they're $3.50 wholesale!!!? DOH!! man that is pretty raw - I realise they are in it to make money but thats a heck of a markup! I don't bother going in unless its a day with the deal on - just too expensive.

Name: Ben Age: 29 Occupation: Education Researcher Books: Steve Erickson, Peter Hamilton, S.King, Robert Jordon (RIP) etc Music: HipHop, D'n'B, Rock, Alt, Reggae... Car: Piece of c**p Hobbys: Sport - rugby, league, cricket, PC games, Fish, music Family: Just me and the wife Location: Wellington Favourite food: Any asian kai (thai, Japanese, cambodian, and Yum Char!), pasta, curries, BBQ's!

yeah I've had this problem as well - seems the smaller cory's were more likely to get damage than the bigger ones... Def seems like the whiskers are growing back although one in particular had lost them right back to the mouth and it looked nasty I've got 8-10mm Blackwater gravel in there and I hadn't thought it would be too sharp for corys... do most people keep them in tanks with a sand substrate or gravel?

I've heard that skunk loaches have a bit of a rep as nippers and on the odd occasion taking out eyeballs! I've added 4 (around 5-6cm) recently to deal to a rampant snail population (and the loaches are winning the war!!) and they've been fine - there are 7 corys and 4 small (3-4cm) BN cruising around in addition to some tetras and danios above. Seems they play more amongst themselves and haven't troubled the others (yet!). Maybe when there are fewer in the tank they are more inclined to chase other fish?

How many litres are those tanks? dimensions? Your Angel will grow and potentially get bossy which may complicate things... also the Kribs could pair off (any idea of the sexes?) and set up shop in an area of the tank which may limit space for others.. quite a few things to take into account re stocking levels - behaviour of existing/new fish, size, filtration etc

but is there that sort of demand for fish like Aro's? they get big and require a large tank to be kept in any sort of comfort. As noted by earlier posters businesses bringing fish into NZ have a lot of costs/risks that they need to recover in the price (plus profit). They are the ones that deal with the red tape and all the other paperwork that gets the fish into the country. that person who is gonna come in and lower the prices isn't gonna lower them much otherwise they won't last long at all. seems the only way you'd find cheaper Aro's was if someone started to breed them in NZ... and then you get into the quality argument - healthy, colourful etc fish are worth more than less robust, pale etc fish.

black beard algae! doh! I've only just got to the point where this is dying out in my tank. Have been dosing with FLourish Excell which boosts plant growth but not algae growth (different ferts). It works as the plants use the ferts from the excell plus other minerals that algae needs. End result is less minerals for the algae to use and it'll die off. I increased my water changes (frequency and size) - and made an effort to siphon out as much gunk as I could (rubbed it off plants, wood etc). there are some fish that will eat this sort of algae as well. Good thing about the excell approach is you are boosting plant growth and its slightly more of a 'natural' process rather than adding algae killers etc... good luck! it may take a while but with a bit of effort you can get it under control

I think you did in a cloudy water post?

that is going to be one heavy tank (even without water!). Sas137 - I'd be inclined to err on the side of safety! better to spend a bit more and be content you've got a sturdy and safe tank rather than picking up the pieces and mopping up the water! Do post a pic once you have it made tho! it'll be awesome

cool - I'll be at the Kapi Mana club night tonight so I'll ask around - zebra loaches aye.... sounds good!

fluke treatments at lfs seem to have vanished! I've had a case of flukes and it was only through some great help by someone on the forum ( ) that I was able to source treatment for them. Fluketabs used to be available but seems they aren't on sale anymore... I'm not sure if Furan 2 would work with them and its been pointed out that it's a pretty mean med and should be used only when really needed. hmmm re salts are there issues in dosing with epsom salts in a planted tank? I've got a loach with a bit of constipation and was intending on putting in a weak solution (1 tbspn per 40L) this evening! glad I caught this thread!

did you use the old filtration system from the smaller established tank? perhaps an ammonia build-up from not having enough bacteria in the new tank/filtration system or from the increased number of fish in the tank? have you tested your water at all?

neons have been bred in captivity for ages and in HUGE numbers which is why they are cheaper - inbreeding etc have taken their toll on the quality and they are prone to karking it... While people have been successful in breeding cardinals I don't think they've managed quite the same scale (seems to be a bit more difficult that breeding neons) and I think quite a few still come from the wild - hence they are less inbreed and as a result live longer. IMO cardinals are one of the nicest freshwater tropical fish and outshine neons easily

hmm that does sound like a good idea - I really like loaches (clowns aside) and other catfish so I thought I'd see if there was a 'natural' way to control/eradicate snails.. where did you pick up those long tweezers from jn?

Hi All, Not sure if this thread is in the right spot (maybe belongs in catfish?) but I wanted to get a bit more info about fish that eat snails... I know clown loaches enjoy escargot but I don't really want to add any of them to my tank - I'd like to put together a list of known snail hunters and then make my selection from there. thanks!

I've read (somewhere on the forum) that Furan 2 can knock off your good bacteria and as a result cause an ammonia spike... I was in my lfs the other day and had a look at Furan 2 - it clearly stated that it did not impact on bacteria in the tank (filtration related bacteria). What are peoples experiences with Furan 2? cheers

theres that really good article about breeding them that I had a look at from the sites homepage - seems the key factor is covering the tank to mimic the dark conditions that they breed in. I'm hoping to have a go at it as well - let us know how your attempts work out - and I'll do the same!

yup cardinals are the way to go! a beautiful fish and they look awesome in shoals

ok it now looks like I'm after some Droncit tablets - if anyone has any spare please let me know - happy to pay for them and postage. cheers, ben

well I checked in with another vet last night and no luck - seems very few vets (at least the ones I've spoken to) know much about fish! I'd be extremely interested if anyone has access to prazi or a similar product. If you can help please PM me. thanks

thanks for the info guys - I've been a bit annoyed at how hard it is to find any medication for flukes in any of the 3 petshops I've visited... I've cranked the temp up to 28-29 and hopefully that will kill off any fresh parasites. I'll hit google and see what I find - cheers for the links also