tHEcONCH

Rather than trying to find the opposite sex of the one you have, you may have to buy three or four new fish and wait for two to 'pair up' (then sell the others) or alternatively buy an actual (breeding) pair. It is very hard to tell opposite sexes without the fish being side by side, and then only if you know what to look for.

If you look from the front you will see that it has lost all muscle mass between the top of the eye behind its skull and the base of the fin - that is known as 'razorbacked', and once a Discus is in that condition it usually means its internal organs are pretty much gone too. Treating it with drugs is likely only to accelerate its demise (because they cause further stress to the fish, as well as the pathogen), so you should prepare yourself for the worst - your fish will not survive the course of treatment - it is simply too far gone.

They are territorial fish - adding more will 'dilute' the amount of aggression each fish receives, but ideally you need to get one of the opposite sex. i.e. create a true pair.

Decent double fluros are all you need on a tank that size - much more and you will have all sorts of algae and heat problems.

Plastic ones?

You can buy them locally - they look alright unless you grew up in the 70's, in which case they may cause flashbacks to a time best forgotten

Eheim 2224 or bigger - easy to clean and reliable

So, as a bit of an update, I've now removed all of the Bio-filter ceramic tubes as well - they may not collect muck, but the mesh bag they are in does and it is a pain to access and clean. There is now a definite increase in through-flow, so much so I've had to drop the intake gate to allow enough water through to stop the pumps cavitating.

Mine were very loud at startup. After about 10 minutes of clattering they would settle into a loud grind, before finally quieting down to a deafening roar. Inside the lid was full of plastic dust. The new ones are much quieter at startup and normal operation. Interestingly, they are labeled 'Red Sea' as opposed to the generic green Chinese made sticker on the old one, so they are defnitely a different unit. I e-mailed Petware direct and claimed warranty, heard nothing, but replacements turned up at the shop a week later.

Thanks SBD, that explain it nicely.

Stretch it over the rigid stuff you already have, and trap the moss in between. It works...

Fish net stockings - Farmers (maybe have your Wife / Gfriend buy them)

So, when I mix water I occassionanally add a handful or so of salt at the end to get it right - so why does the salt get hot in my hand when it begins to disolve?

..and they laid again last night, and its a crappy day! Its now a pretty good way of telling if the weather is going to be bad. :-?

Staple diet of JBL Gala, JBL Grana Cichlid, JBL Novobits, and frozen blood worms one day (two feedings) a week.

Ask John for a scoop of random critters as well - bristle worms, pods, etc will definitely help

He mentioned to me that most people he thinks would be interested in maintaining Sun Corals already have one now, so he might not order any more for stock - although I'm sure he would order you one in if you really wanted one. You are probably right - get your tank right first, but you are going to have to work out how to maintain it with higher food input anyway once you have the sun coral - which really comes down to nutrient export - skimming and water changes.

I'll do my best - the fact that it definitely eats ReefRoids is encouraging - and facinating to watch - it 'grabs' them out of the waterflow just as vigourously as the sun corals getting shrimp, them re-extends its polyps looking for more. Very cool to watch.

I'd just like to say thanks to the Red Sea distributors who came through on the RSM cooling fan front - now I can go back to using my regular alarm clock! :lol:

Thanks wasp - I think you are right - just by the way it reacts to various foods I'm sure it has to be fed - it is downstream of the sun corals and reacts positively to the 'overflow' when I feed them (primarily Brine Shrimp) and it also definitely catches ReefRoids (direct feed). Its is completely uninterested in liquid food. I've got it near the bottom of the tank (but in light), so I'll monitor it and see how it goes. It was out in full 'bloom' at 2am last night and this morning, just like the sun corals, it closed up. Seems carnivorous to me.

If you only have two Discus then it has probably become the runt - it will wither and die - there is nothing you can do. You really need at least three, preferably five-six Discus (and a big enough tank to hold them) to stop this becoming a problem.

You might want to act quickly - that is a particularly colourful one and might be the last available for a while - Deal to the Aiptasia tonight and go get the Sun Coral before someone else slithers in ahead of you...

In any event, they are probably beneficial either as cleaners or as food. Bung up a photo.

SHUT UP WILSON OR THE'LL BE NO MORE FRAGS FOR YOU LADDY! (p.s. did John find the zoos I left for you or are they in his nano now?)

Yes... No... Maybe... * backs away from the monitor and stands in front of RSM so no-one can see.. *