Ianab

Why downsize? You have to do more work to maintain a small tank with the same amount of fish. A big tank with just a few fish is generally easier to look after than a small crowded tank. If you miss a water change.. no big deal. If you just want less work, keep the big tank, sell off some of the fish, drop in a bristlenose pleco to control the algae, and have a low maintainance setup with plenty of space for your cats. Cheers Ian

Better - external canister. They are generally bigger and have more filter media in the box. Means better filtration and less cleaning. Better for big tanks. Generally easier to work on, you dont have to putz around in the tank. Internals, smaller and cheaper, generally better for a small tank where it's hard to justify the cost of an external. If you are spending $200 for a complete 2 foot setup it's hard to justify a $300 external filter for it. Both work fine as long as they are sized right for the tank and the fish you have in it. Yes you can run internals in bigger tank, but you may need several, they arguably look ugly, and take lots of maintainance. Better to use a big external. I have internals in all my tanks, but the 200l would probably be better with a small external canister. When the budget allows Cheers Ian

Cos they have been shipped 1/2 way around the world in a 747, been in 6 different tanks in as many weeks and dosed with who knows what chemicals :roll: Your local ones are healthy and have travelled 15 mins on the back seat of your car. Which one do you think has the best chances of surviving Dont think you will get rich breeding them, but you can usually sell them or swap them for something else Cheers Ian

Possibly. Many plecos change colour seeming at random. Sometimes it's stress related, sometimes they may try and camoflage themselves, other times, I have no idea. Just keep an eye on him, make sure he's not sick or getting beaten up, but he's probably OK. Cheers Ian

That may be happening also.. they could just as easily bring in a new bug that doesn't affect them, but the local fish cant handle it. The quarantine wont pick it up, because they show no symptoms. But I know from the importer I spoke to, their problem was that their imported fish were dieing shortly after they went out to pet shops. Not a good look for them and they actually stopped importing guppys because of it. Either way.. not a good thing to have happen to you Cheers Ian

Goldfish... 25l tank... Ummm about 1 fish, and that will probably outgrow the tank eventually. Is the tank heated? If it is there are heaps of small tropicals that will be fine in that size tank. If it's coldwater you could go with White Cloud Minnows, pretty little fish that will live and breed quite happily in that size tank with no heater. I'm not sure why you are having problems getting the tank cycled. Although I understand the theory of cycling the tank/filter I generally just go by the seat of my pants. Set up tank.. add a couple of fish.. wait a few weeks.. add some more fish... I just refilled my little 18l tank as a spare holding tank, simple undergravel filter. Fill tank, turn on heater and air, next day put in some stray male guppies. Wait 2 weeks, guppies still look happy, add a couple more. Now has 6 guppies and 3 baby plecos, all happy. I actually have no idea what the exact water parameters are, I dont bother testing it. I just feed lightly and do a part water change each week. Going slow and keeping up the regular water changes seems to work for me anyway 8) Cheers Ian

My glass cleaner in action Other than that I use a plastic cleaning pad, taking care not to get sand in it. A single edge razor blade should be safe and effective for removing really tough crud though. Cheers Ian

I know some of the importers have had problems with batches of fish, especially fancy guppies. They arrive healthy, make it through quarantine, then when they are introduced to local conditions they all just die. The theory was that there is a common virus or bacteria in NZ that these strains of fish have no resistance to. Because they have been intensivly inbred to maintain the fancy colours and forms they may very well have lower immunity to a fishy version of the common cold that our local fish just shrug off. No hard science to back this up, just the experience of some importers. Cheers Ian

Even so, the glass and pot is a breeding ground for bacteria, just not very many. :-? Best keep up the water changes Cheers Ian

Taking some media or a whole filter from an established tank seems to work fine. Remember you wont have a fully cycled tank, and still need to build up to a full population of bacteria, but at least you are part way there. You skip those worst first 2 weeks of the cycling, and the tank should be safe for some fish right away. I keep a spare little internal filter that I just run in whatever tank needs some extra help. If I need to set up a new tank it can just go in with the first fish and will handle to filtering for a few fish untill the new tanks filtration starts working. Yes that will actually work fine if you only have a few fish. The gravel, rocks, plants and glass will all host some bacteria, and the airstone will move enough water to create a 'filter' effect. Not as good as a proper filter because you dont have the same surface area and water flow, but fine for a couple of fish. The next step up is an undergavel filter which is able to draw more water through a bigger layer of gravel and make a better filter. Cheers Ian

Are they the ones that the fry fall out the bottom and the mother stays in the cage? Or the net ones that keep the fry in? If they are the net ones, fine. The water is the same as the rest of the tank, and a 6" long net is a big space to a 1/4" guppy. Float a plant or some moss in there and the fry will be happy. Cheers Ian

Sounds good.. both will eat the algae wafers. But try some fresh veges as well, zuchini, cucumber and mushrooms seem to be favourites. You will need something to weight them down, but a rubber band and a rock will work. Just drop a piece in, leave it overnight and take out what they dont eat the next day. Cheers Ian

Get one of those little fry nets that clip on the side of the tank. Much better as the tank water flows through, but the fry cant get eaten. A bunch of fry will be happy in there till they are big enough to handle the big wide world of the tank Cheers Ian

Zebra loaches stay pretty small, they are best kept in a group (like most loaches), but technically 2 is a group. http://www.loaches.com/species-index/botia-striata Most any loach would be OK, as long as you have a place to move them up to as they get bigger. Other wise some of the smaller Cory catfish may suit? Cheers Ian

It's probably a good routine, just dont try and get them spotlessly clean. If you just give them a rinse/squeeze in some old tank water and pop them back in they will still work. If you notice the water flow slow down before the month is up then you may need to clean the first sponge more often. If they aren't very dirty, you can leave them longer. Cheers Ian

13" pleco... sounds like you need a bigger tank already No problem, get a bigger tank for him and a couple of mates, and keep the nice planted tank for the tetras and bristlenose. Problem solved 8) :lol: Cheers Ian

OK... first off. The temp numbers on the heater scales may be off by several degrees. This gets agravated because you have powerfull heaters and good water flow, so the tank is heated more efficiently than normal. Look at the heaters and see if one is switched on more than the other, if so, wind that one down first. If you cant tell, wind them both down 3-4 deg, wait a day and see what happens. Part of the problem is that big tanks take a long time to heat and cool, so you have to adjust, wait a day, maybe adjust again untill it correct. Might take a few days to get it right, but thats the best way. Cheers Ian

Whats the temp and how much is at varying by? Sounds like you have enough heater, and the pumps/sumps should ensure enough water flowing over them. If it's varying by 1 deg between day and night it's probably not an issue. Cheers Ian

You could get zebra or yoyo loaches instead. They are just as active and amusing, but wont get too big for your tank 8) A bristlenose pleco will be OK too, keeps the algae down. But make sure it's a BN, not a common or sailfin. They WILL get too big, and quickly. Apart from that, some neons, danios and a fighter would be fine together in the middle/top of the tank. Just make sure you build up the population of fish a few at a time to allow the tank time to cycle. Adding the fish over about 6 weeks should be safe. Start off with the danios first, they are the toughest when it comes to cycling tanks. Cheers Ian

When the pump is running it keeps the top tank full and the bottom sump empty = the tide is IN When the pump is off 1/2 the water slowly drains into the bottom tank = tide is OUT. Only problem I can see is making sure the water cant drain from the top tank faster than the pump can lift it up again, if that happened the tide would never come in. Apart from that.. I guess it would work 8) Cheers Ian

Small angels, no problem.

Black widows should be fine, the Angels will probably cause you trouble after a while. Male guppy tails are just too tempting for them :-? Cheers Ian

I dont think it's easy to say exactly how much ammonia will kill a fish, it depends on too many factors, species, pH, temp, other toxins, O2 levels etc. But ammonia is VERY toxic and attacks the fish's gills, generally causes stress and weakens them so they are more susceptable to other diseases even if it doesn't kill them outright. The easiest way to speed up the cycling of a tank is to take a working filter from an establised tank and add it along with some fish to the new tank. You still have to be carefull as there probably wont be exactly the right amount of bacteria to suit the number of fish, but at least it will be closer than starting from scratch. As there is already a usefull bacteria population in the filter it will stress the fish less and build up to full levels quicker. Taking some media from an established filter and adding it to the new filter will achieve the same thing too. The other thing to remember is that the tank/filter will only grow enough bacteria to suit the amount of fish in the tank. So the tank may be fine with 10 fish, but dump in 50 more and the bacteria are playing catchup and you could get ammonia buildup if they dont keep up. Another trap is that if you reduce the number of fish, some of the bacteria die off over time and they return to a level that suits the new fish population. So you need to be carefull building up the population again, do it in stages just like the last 1/2 of the initial cycling. At the moment you are in the middle of the cycle process, and you are experiencing an ammonia spike already. The bacteria are slowly multiplying, but adding more fish wasn't the best thing to do. If the ammonia continues to rise you can do some water changes to control that. Feeding the fish less will slow the buildup, and if you can move some of the fish to an established tank that will make life easier for the remaining ones. There are also chemical treatments that convert ammonia into less toxic ammonium. Your current situation is about the only time you should need to use them, but a dose of ammonia treatment might help at the moment. Cheers Ian

Google is our friend http://www.ccc.govt.nz/Water/HowWeGetOurWater/ChemicalAnalysis.asp From the Christchurch council web page. They probably have a more detailed anaylsis that you should be able to get a copy of if you ask. Cheers Ian

Optional.. The snails will make a good clean up crew already, but no reason you cant keep some corys or small loaches as well. I would let the tank settle out with the guppies for a couple of weeks before you add anything else though. Zebra or Yoyo loaches might be a good option, or some corys. Whatever you get, make it several (4+), they are happier in a group. Cheers Ian P.S. Of course the loaches may eye up the snails as supper when they get bigger.. how attached to them are you?