tHEcONCH

I guess he's trying to get the diatoms off that coffee cup in the bottom right hand corner? :lol:

STOP... HAMMERTIME!

:lol: Yea, whatcha' talk'n 'bout, Willis (Wilson)? :lol:

No, the Rusty Plec of Death eats the eggs in the middle of the night. Does that make me a bad person?

:-? WHO'S A PRETTY BOY THEN?

Nope, they pay to dump them (stupid, I know - we tried to start a recycle / reuse scheme in Christchurch and the suppliers wouldn't do it)

Put some tank water in a clean glass to test later, but do a water change NOW. Post up the results of the tests you do.

Any Doctor who vaccinates against anything will have a regular supply of them - they will be very happy to let you take them.

So long as it hasn't gone at the base, it will regrow.

Yep, its a typical reading for my tap - I've tested my water regularly over the last year or two and other than a slight variation in the PH, its always the same. My freshwater plants grow like mad, and I'm constantly having to replace the Phosphate removers in the RSM, so I guess I'm stuck with it. Maybe I should try RODI - the resins get expensive!

Most medical practices receive vaccines in them and will happily give them to you.

Yep.

A nice photo of my Mandarin...

The RSM tank water measures < 0.03 on the Salifert low scale, but it also explains why I don't need to fertilise the plants in my freshwater tanks

Yep, hence the jar of Phospate remover and packet of Purigen jammed into the back of the tank!

My Phosphate is 5ppm out of the tap.

Proof that you can keep Cataphyllia and Mandarins in an RSM...

My values are so different its not even close - obviously I don't have equipment to test all of those vales, but my PH, for example is always between 7.0 and 7.2, and total hardness of <1. Given that the City is supplied from several different sources, I suspect there might be a bit of variance. I'm supplied off one of the original deep bores, so I suspect my water is more 'pure' than a lot of the stuff delivered to the newer developments which have water pumped from different sources.

Yep, I've had a similarly positive experience, but I don't want everyone throwing Mandarins in small tanks without knowing how we sustain them - time to get the information out there

Probably - although a true mated pair would cost a bit less, and be a lot less stress.

It sounds fine, so long as you keep up the water changes and get a true mated pair of Discus if you are only going to keep two. Bear in mind that Discus are big messy fish, so you might not need fertiliser for the plants. An extract from a thing I wrote: Discus are relatively big and messy fish, they are a schooling fish (like tetras they should be kept in small groups) but they are also territorial and hierachical. Provided you give them what they need they are pretty hardy. Give them clean, soft water, and plenty of it. You need to do regular, large water changes - I personally change 70% per week. I think they benefit from having driftwood in the water - it softens the water and also releases certain acids etc. that seem to be important to long term health. Give them companions - unless you have a true mated pair you should keep at least 5 Discus - you can successfully maintain smaller groups, but having 5 or more makes it easier because it spreads the inevitable battles around. 'Dither' fish such as cardinals can help make them feel less threatened - aggressive, fast moving and / or 'nippy' fish should be avoided. Give them enough space to let individuals form small territories - I use a 'reverse' fish length stocking rule - at least one foot of tank length for every adult Discus. Again, you can stock more, but it makes long term success and happiness harder. They need open areas to swim - don't overplant your tank. Give them a high quality varied diet - including frozen bloodworms and high quality granular and flake foods with some vegitable content, although protein levels need to be high. I've had good success with the JBL range of foods + frozen bloodworms twice per week. Clean up leftovers after half an hour unless you have Bristlenose Ancistrus or other fish that will consume it - don't leave excess food to rot. Don't over-react to percieved symptoms - often Discus (like most other animals) will recover from small injuries and sickness without medication, provided you have met their basic needs. Did I mention water changes?

Badly and Yes - syphon out as much as you can, do a water change and add some bacteria (cycle, filter start etc.)

Mine does, but I guess it depends upon your policy.

Maybe run it downhill to help the power roll down it :lol: