Ianab

Interesting ? I would guess they are 'bioball' type of thing. You add them to a sump or canister filter and they create more surface area for Ammonia -Nitrate cycle bacteria to live. But then so will a nylon pot scourer, ceramic beads or a sponge. Cheers Ian

I think you want a minimum of around 90cm tank for that size fish. Cheers Ian

This page has info on NZ starfish etc. http://www.seafriends.org.nz/enviro/habitat/rsechino.htm Cheers Ian

Snake Tail Brittlestar I think. Looks like this? http://www.marinenz.org.nz/index.php/resources/image_detail/snake_tail_brittlestar/ Cheers Ian

If the Goldys miss any eggs they will get the fry after they hatch :-? If the tank is really heavily planted some MIGHT survive, but in a normal tank, nope. Easy enough to breed the WCMM in any small planted tank though. Cheers Ian

Like Afrikan said, other large non-agressive fish are fine with Oscars. Oscars are predatory by nature, if it fits in their mouth, they WILL try and eat it. They are not super agressive, they just have big mouths :lol: Having larger species will mean less fish, but you can keep the really cool ones Silver dollars and bala sharks are open water 'movement fish' that wont cause problems, and will grow big enough to not be an Oscar snack. Definately a pleco, likewise peacefull, and armour plated is a bonus. You may even be able to pick up some good tankmates cheap that have outgrown smaller tanks. Cheers Ian

There are other loaches that eat snails but dont grow as big as the clowns. I have some zebra loaches that are small (4" max) and peacefull, great for a community tank. They might not eradicate the snails, but between them taking out the little ones they come across and the Stainless-steelus Tweezerus to take out any big ones you see, you can control them well enough. Cheers Ian

Yup, some of the pleco keepers do that so they can see their shyer fish out and about. You can make your own with some blue / white LEDs and a bit of basic wiring. All you really need is a low intensity light, just enough to see the fish, but dark enough so they think it's twilight and come out to feed. Cheers Ian

Tropical to cold water.. turn off the heater To adjust them to tropical, add a heater at min setting and turn the temp up 1 or 2 deg per day untill it's tropical. I think they are best just left at room temp inside. Although they may grow slower, they live longer, but they can handle temps up to 25C or so. Cheers Ian

No big secret... get a bunch of about 6, that way you should have male and female, unless you are really unlucky :-? Once you get them home and feed then the females will start fattening up and you will be able to tell them apart. Then get a tank and put HEAPS of plants in it, java moss is ideal. About 1/2 clear space, about 1/2 plants. Plastic ones will do in a pinch. Put some WCMM and feed / water change etc. Wait for fry to appear. As long as the tank is well planted most will survive I have had them breeding happily in an 18l tank with just an airstone. They may breed in a community tank, but most of the young will get eaten :-? Cheers Ian

They are very social fish and like living in groups if at all possible. If thats not possible they may chum up and live happily together, but if you can get several of one species or the other they will be happier. Cheers Ian

Yes.. just got home this afternoon and there was an Extra pleco in the tank, so I quickly stole the ornament back out. :lol: He's still a bit grump and not at all photogenic, but he's OK. About a 6" Goldspot. There is already another 6" and a 8" in the tank, but so far there has been no war 8) Cheers Ian

With Otos and other plecos you want to give them some extra food as well as the algae that they may scavange up. Pleco tabs are good and easy to feed, but they really go for fresh veges. Zuchini, cucumber, mushroom, green beans, peas etc. Generally there isn't enough algae in a tank to support a pleco once it grows a bit. Cheers Ian

Well, not me, but my partner She calls me up and asks if I have room for another pleco :-? It's eating the present owners baby guppys Sure I say, no such thing as to many plecos :lol: She arrives home with a bucket of water and a large ceramic ornament.. the fish is still inside and WONT come out :roll: So I have to dump the whole thing into the tank. Yes it has survived, still hasn't come out of it's log though. Original owner wants the log back though, but I think they will have to wait untill the plec gets hungry and comes out, and I quickly grab the log while he's not looking :lol: Cheers Ian

No.. thats not a good solution.. Bigger tank

Yup.. if you put it in the front corner and move a bit of gravel out of the way it should fit Cheers Ian

I have a 101 in my 60x30x45 tank, along with about 100 guppies. It seems to do the job OK. I have an air bubble curtain as well and do a lot of water changes (30-40% week), but it seems to handle that size tank. The 103 would blow the guppies out of the water :lol: Cheers Ian

Well... notice that none have any fish :-? I'd call them submerged pot plants really :lol: Might be cool to have a snail or a water boatman swimming around in one though. Wonder what you use for filtering Ian

If it's not used can you swap it for a 101 filter? Not as big, but if the 102 doesn't fit, then the tank cant be that huge? Otherwise, I dont think there is any reason it cant be run on an angle. Cheers Ian

I understand the science behind the cycling with ammonia idea, no reason it wont work OK and thanks for posting it. If people are going to do it, best that they do it right. I just question the need for it. a: I have cycled tanks and filters already, so if I set up a new tank I can use a filter or media from that tank. b: I'm not in such a hurry that I need to have my tank fully stocked in 10 days, and risk having a problem dumping a full population of fish into a tank that I can only assume is fully cycled. What if it only has 20% of the bacteria load it needs? The ammonia would still drop to zero after you stopped adding more, but is it the correct level for YOUR number of fish. I think I will stick to the 'old fashioned' way of pre-cycling my filters or media and slowly adding fish. I understand the science behind cycling, and am pretty sure my fish arent getting stressed. They dont show any signs (gasping for breath, not eating etc) even in my new tanks, and I haven't lost any fish during the set up of my 5 tanks. Messing around with bottles of ammonia and test kits.. or watching a couple of fish swim happily in your new tank for a couple of weeks? I know what I would rather be doing. Cheers Ian

Ohh.. it looks like this when it's set up, thats a 103F, but the smaller ones are the same idea. There are a couple of options with the outlet, but I just use the venturi and airline. Cheers Ian

Yup.. I have 101 and a 103. Both mine have to be completely submerged or they suck air in around the top of the filter and make a heck of a noise as the bubbles goes through the impeller. The Ehiem internal filters have the impeller at the bottom, so you can run them with the top sticking out of the water. The little venturi thing sits in the outlet and the airline goes out the top of the tank. It streams a few bubbles into the outlet. It is handy as a guage of how gunked up the filter is. When the water slows down it doesn't suck bubbles any more and you know it's time to clean it out. :oops: Also make sure the air inlet stays on top of the tank so there is no chance it can syphon water out of the tank Cheers Ian

My neighbour has been training some eels in the creek at the bottom of our gardens to come out and feed. They are getting pretty quiet now 8) This is one of them, it's about 2 ft long I guess. Getting a bit more interested in the food. Out and grabbing a piece of fish as it floats past, I think it's in reverse gear in this picture. Then it turned around a wriggled back into it's hole in the stream bank. No need to have a fish pond when you can sit on a little bridge in the garden and feed the fish anyway. :lol: Cheers Ian

Oscars and Malawis might survive together, but neither is in it's ideal conditions. I believe Oscars use the 'will it fit in my mouth?' rule about food, and they have pretty big mouths Plecos, silver dollars, silver sharks and clown loaches are probably good tankmates as long as they are comparable sizes. Need a big tank for all them though Cheers Ian

Yes you could probably put a few more fish in there as long as your filtering and water changes are good. None of those fish are going to grow big and crowd the tank. That means you ARE going to have more fish in there soon :lol: If it's planted some will survive. I would get a Bristlenose pleco, they are a good cleanup fish. NO, they dont vacum the gravel for you, but they will eat algae and leftover food. OK, they convert that to pleco poo, but it's harmless :lol: A few more neons wont hurt either, the more you have of them the better they look. Corys like living in a group to, so a couple more of them is a good idea too. Cheers Ian