Joe

:bounce:

Thanks Hey Danval I decided to use a makeup mirror for the male fish, which I have propped up against the glass on the outside of the tank. I originally discarded the idea of using it when you suggested a mirror because its design wouldn't look very nice in a photo but then it just occurred to me that it would be fine if it was outside the tank so the fish can still flare at it but it won't be in the photo :thup:

Yes of course I never thought of a mirror! Great idea I'll try and find one this week (we don't actually have any small mirrors so I'll need to go out and buy one ). It's not that the male hides... in fact quite the opposite. He is always at the very back of the tank in the open where there aren't any leaves. I put some worms out in the very front of the tank (where I photographed the female) and chased him around the front with a small net, and he nibbled at a couple of worms and just swam to the back of the tank and started flaring at a female :facepalm:

Eating blackworms :happy2: And a couple of random shots from yesterday. Sorry I haven't been able to get any photos of the male

Looks like a Parazoanthus or Zoanthus species. Not sure though...

I still think it is Euphyllia parancora because if you look closely the tips have that hammer-look from what I can see. Euphyllia paradivisa is more compact and has round tips.

Here's a pic off the net Looks like the stuff in Caryl's photo - green stalk thingies with purple blobs on the end. Still doesn't mean it definately is, but from what I can see it is most likely a hammer coral. Caryl do you have a larger pic or a close-up of it? I spend hours every week trolling through forums and looking at all aspects of reefkeeping as I would really like to get a reef. Particularly love of Nano-Reef.com :thup: I am no expert on the hobby, but I have an idea of the path I would take if I was to get a tank and I am becoming familier with some of the different corals and I have a list of the ones I would want to keep. The only thing stopping me from getting a reef tank is the initial cost of the setup and also the fact that I don't have a job and I'm earning bugger all money. Hopefully if I breed the Apistos in my biotope tank I might be able to raise a bit of cash... Also though I still need to buy a new main tank for my freshwater fish as I cracked the last one so I'm currently borrowing somebody's spare tank.

Looks like a Hammer coral, Euphyllia parancora

Cleaner Wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus and Copperband Butterflyfish, Chelmon rostratus. The coral that has the 'brain' look is a Favia sp. I think, and the green grassy ones are green star polyps. There are three very similar-looking species so I'm not sure of the latin name.

Banggai Cardinalfish, Pterapogon kauderni Common Clownfish, Amphiprion ocellaris Yellowtail Damselfish, Chrysiptera parasema Blue-green Chromis, Chromis viridis Cleaner Wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus

Yes it has converted and did so extremely quickly. My tank is 90x38x38cm and I have just two 30w T8's and I usually just have one on at a time for short periods to keep the algae at bay.

I have it under low light and it is doing pretty well :dunno:

Ludwigia arcuata and Rotala rotundifolia can be grown under lower lighting levels and still show lovely warm colours. Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Red' has lovely red leaves and is also suitable for low light.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H3

Thanks! I have lots of fun taking them

I love tests, they're heaps of fun :happy1:

If the fish have fry then they will be sucked up and burnt against the heater. I am planning on building a DIY double sponge filter for the inlet of the filter so the fry can feed on the microorganisms and also of course so they don't get sucked up.

Nothing wrong with it, it grows perfectly fine submerged It does need decent lighting though.

Thanks guys! No algae so far... Yes I really want an inline heater, but I have been unable to get hold of one. I have found many websites in the UK that sell them, but only one place will ship to NZ. It was this site here - http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/ We don't have an overseas credit card so I asked Caryl and Grant if they could order it for me, and AquaEssentials said they had to create an account on their website. They tried but something wasn't working so they contacted the website for help and AquaEssentials never replied. Yep will do They'll look great in your Amazon riparium.

These are my plans for the tank in the future (in no particular order): - Get some alder cones, bogwood and beech and Indian almond leaves - Collect some oak leaves in autumn (I have found a great spot where there are lots of oaks and the ground is really dry and clean so the leaves won't get dirty) - Make a rainwater collecting system - Get pH, GH, KH, NH4, NO2, NO3 and PO4 test kits - Add some more gravel (I don't think it is quite deep enough) - Get an inline heater - Get a hook-on thermometer - Put a black backdrop on the back - Suspend the light closer to the surface - Glass filter pipes and clear tubing maybe?

!drool:

The water is still very clear. It is rich in tannic acid from the oak leaves and indian almond leaves (crushed; removed from tea bags) which is giving it that brown colour. This is the whole point in a blackwater tank.