Naz_Nomad

My favourite fish ever. These are full of character and always busy and very easy to please. An excellent choice!

I had the same results, but the majority of the ten or so sites I looked at briefly seemed to favour the 10 to 12 inch range. 15cm was the smallest example and was only on one site, 40cm was the largest but was on a wildlife site rather than an aquarium site and it is mentioned in a few places that they rarely grow to that size in aquaria.

I had the same results, but the majority of the ten or so sites I looked at briefly seemed to favour the 10 to 12 inch range. 15cm was the smallest example and was only on one site, 40cm was the largest but was on a wildlife site rather than an aquarium site and it is mentioned in a few places that they rarely grow to that size in aquaria.

My guess is that the second plant is Aponogeton Rigidifolius which has a red variant too.

Yeah, cheers. I am just hoping that the "bloating" is part of the maturing process as featherfins tend to appear plumper when they are mature compared to the sleeker look when they are young and in a dealer's tank. I may be worrying too much. fingers crossed.

Adding fish to an uncycled tank may be stressful because there is a chance of ammonia spikes and nitrite spikes, both of which may be harmful to fish in sufficient concentrations. This is especially true when fish are added too quickly and/or are overfed which happens all to commonly in our hobby. Adding ammonia will not be stressful to fish using the above method as they simply won't be there and are not added to the tank until the cycle is complete and the ammonia levels are zero. Hence zero risk for your precious charges and no chance of any stress or miscalculation. In fact following the above guide, the only things present in the tank are the bacteria necessary for the nitrogen cycle in amounts able to cope with a fully stocked tank, plants and a decent level of nitrates. Of course, adding ammonia to a tank with fish in it will be fatal for the fish. I agree. As I stated earlier in the thread, the only reason I can see for the rockwool is as a source of nitrifying bacteria from the tank the plants were originally in. Personally, I also plant without rockwool. The idea of the guide is to cycle and establish the tank far quicker and without risk to fish. I really feel that the rockwool being present is a very minor point and any benefits may be obtained by squeezing the rockwool into your filter to release some of the bacteria that are present.

The Silver Arowana can barely even turn around and the other fish in the tank are cramped because of it. He does say in the questions below that he has moved this fish to the smaller tank because it is fighting with two other Arowanas in a 1.2 meter tank, which still strikes me as being a little on the small side for three fish of that size. Even with the Arowana removed, the tank still seems a little small for the three remaining fish. Read down the questions... "If I feed it guppies, how many will it eat per day?" That and the bloke who is asking (on an auction for a fish) if the seller wants to sell his plants. I love Trade-Me, there's some real stupid questions put up sometimes.

I don't think the idea of the guide is to compare number of fish equivalents to ppm of ammonia. The whole idea is to use ammonia in place of the fish. Ammonia is toxic to fish, yet they produce it through their waste products. The whole purpose of using ammonia in the cycling stage of tank set-up is to save the stress and risk to your fish and yet still produce an environment suitable for the bacteria that maintain your nitrogen cycle to flourish all the quicker. Once the fishless cycle is finished, there are enough bacteria in the tank fully established and merrily working away to cope with the introduction of your fish. Indeed, this cycle has been designed so that at the end of the cycle, you can fully stock your tank. If you read carefully, it recommends that once the cycle is complete, fish should be added within days. You also can't simply ask how many fish are equivalent to ppm ammonia. Different fish on different diets produce different amounts of waste and hence different amounts of ammonia. Larger fish produce more waste than the equivalent volume of smaller fish too, so the calculations are impossible to make. The importance of the rockwool initially is that it is a source of bacteria from the dealers tank, not as a medium for the plant to grow in. So, what do you do with the rockwool that is supplied with your plants when you get them from the dealer? It won't harm the plants to leave the rockwool there whilst you cycle the tank and then remove it once the bacteria has had a chance to establish itself.

I am going to unashamedly cut and paste the following article, posted at http://www.tropicalfish.site5.com/tfc/s ... hp?t=60022 by R.O.B. This is an excellent and very simple method of cycling that should allow for a fully stocked aquarium in around two to three weeks. I have found that this method works very well, the instructions are simple to follow and there will be no need to put your precious charges into an uncycled tank, thus reducing fish loss during the cycle. A Guide To "Fishless Cycling" Wrote this a little while back and it will hopefully prove useful to those considering going the fishless route Revisions have been provided by Rocker3. You can also take a look at his article on the topic by going to his signature For general info on the nitrogen cycle, take a look here: http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Cycle.htm FISHLESS CYCLING - basic ideas The traditional idea is to cycle a tank using fish waste as your primary source of ammonia. However this can cause undue suffering for the fish and take up a great amount of time as very frequent water changes of large amounts are needed to reduce spikes of both ammonia & nitrite which would otherwise kill the fish. Cycling the fishy way (usually with danios or platties at the rate of 1" of fish per 5G of water) can take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks as well When 'fishless cycling' a tank, you replace the fish waste with pure ammonia which you introduce into the tank yourself. This is obviously a much 'kinder' option, less time consuming in terms of water changes and the tank will cycle much quicker. Rocker3 has reported cycling many tanks in just 10 days using this method. It also enables you to fully stock the tank straightaway once the cycle is complete. There is no need to 1/3 or 1/2 stock as doing so will only reduce the bacteria built up during the cycle. If you choose to do so, when you later add to your initial stock, you will need to build it up slowly to allow the bacteria to increase at a rate to cope with the increasing amount of ammonia being produced KEY POINTS 1. It is not necessary to conduct any water changes during your cycle as you have no fish in the tank but you may wish to do so, say, if you add too much ammonia to the tank (but leave the filter media alone - don't rinse it). Overdosing can actually slow the growth of the bacterial colonies (see below for dosing instructions) 2. Ammonia is a very dangerous chemical so don't leave it where kiddies or the dog can get at it. Make sure the ammonia you buy is pure, doesn't foam when shook and with no scents / perfumes. Here in the UK, Boots do their own brand of household ammonia. Jeyes Kleen Off is another option and local hardware stores and independent chemists are a good place to look 3. One of the most important bits of kit you will need is a test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, in addition to pH. There's no other way of monitoring how the cycle is going on a daily basis. Liquid test kits tend to be more reliable than strip tests 4. The fishless cycle can and should be greatly speeded up with the introduction of a decent additional source of bacteria such as established filter sponges / media from another tank, squeezings from such media over the fresh media, gravel, ornaments and other decorations from established tank and plants (should be potted and in rock wool). Make sure any additional bacterial sources are from a disease free tank 5. In addition to the test kits mentioned above, get yourself a test for kH and ensure that it remains above 3 or 50ppm during the cycle to avoid a possible pH crash which can hinder the growth of the bacterial colonies. Should you need to increase the kH, a bag of crushed oyster shell or coral sand or the addition of a little bicarbonate of soda will do the job 6. Do not add any 'cycling' products to the tank such as Cycle or Stress Zyme. They don't work and may actually slow the cycle. Similarly, you don't want to be adding any ammonia removing products such as AmmoLock. Just a plain dechlorinator will suffice CYCLING PROCESS 1. First off you will need to set up your tank (obviously ). Make sure your filter is running and that the water in the tank has been treated with a good quality dechlorinator. To complete the cycle in as quick a time as possible, turn the heater up to around 80 degrees (but not higher as decreased oxygen levels at higher temperatures may inhibit bacterial growth). At the end of the cycle, the heater can be turned down to suit the fish 2. Add your established bacterial source(s) and dose the tank with the pure ammonia up to 5ppm (as measured with your test kit). Add a few drops and test and repeat until 5ppm is achieved 3 . Keep a daily check on your ammonia level and make sure it stays at 5ppm by adding ammonia once a day at the same time each day to maintain the level. 5ppm at this stage is IME about the right level to be dosing at to achieve a large enough bacterial colony as an end result. 5. Within a few days you should begin to detect nitrite in the water (I would start testing for this after the first couple of days). The ammonia level may start to decrease at a quicker rate as the bacteria that consume and turn ammonia into nitrite begin to colonise your tank. The nitrite will then spike (as shown by a high reading) and ammonia dosing should be cut back to 2 to 3ppm on a daily basis. Maintaining 5ppm and overdosing can slow the growth of the bacterial colonies 6. In the final stage, the nitrite reading should decrease as the nitrite is oxidised by a second type of bacteria to produce nitrate. Continue to add ammonia daily to 2 to 3ppm until the nitrite has returned to 0ppm and you have a nitrate reading 7. The cycle is now complete. However, nitrate at high levels is still toxic to fish so perform a large water change (up to 80%) to dilute it and make the tank ready for new arrivals. Do not rinse the filter media at this point. This can wait until fish have been added and the sponges / media are actually covered in gunk which will start to affect the flow FINAL POINTS As stated earlier, your tank is now ready to be fully stocked. It is best to do this as soon as possible to prevent the loss of the bacteria which you have built up during the cycle (they will begin to die off without a source of ammonia). The tank can stand empty for up to 48 hours but I'd try to do it asap. Remember to adjust the heater setting if necessary and dechlorinate the freshwater (some water companies add chloramine to our tap supply so it's worthwhile checking to see if you need a dual product) IF YOU'RE HAVING TROUBLE FINDING AMMONIA: As previously mentioned, Boots do their own label one. It's usually only found in the largest stores though, and to quote Rocker! : Originally Posted by Rocker!

A little advice, please folks and folkettes. My Featherfin catfish looks pregnant(swolled abdomen) and has darkened in colour to the point his spots are fading and from being very lazy and hidden is now even lazier/lethargic and won't even lift his gorgeous fins more than is necessary whereas he used to have a daily constitutional around the tank and was quite active in the evenings. I haven't noticed protruding scales as yet, but he is no longer sleek and streamlined and it is only the abdominal area that is swollen. Abdominal Dropsy? Or worse? I don't have a hospital/isolation tank to put him in solitary. Water quality is excellent... pH 7.0 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 5 Temp 25.3 at last glance He's been in the tank for about 5 months quite happily. 180 litre tank living with 5 keyhole cichlids, 10 tetras and a Ram.

If you're going to cycle the tank properly, try this method... http://www.tropicalfish.site5.com/tfc/s ... hp?t=60022 It takes about 14-18 days or so. Plant your tank, leave the lights off and follow the instructions. Hope this helps.

Thanks alanmin4304, excellent tip, and one that will be acted upon before I put the Co! thingy back in. jn - done, mate, cheers.

Ok, I am tight. I decided to plant up my new 180L tank, but decided to skimp on the expense and make my own CO2 generator. Woops! Tip for anyone else planning to follow in my footsteps. Don't overfill your bottle. If the foam from the reaction gets into your tank, the water goes very cloudy and the Ph plummets. I was lucky, I caught mine at a Ph of 6.6. However, I can say that home made CO2 generators do work. Surprisingly well, in fact.

Ok, I am tight. I decided to plant up my new 180L tank, but decided to skimp on the expense and make my own CO2 generator. Woops! Tip for anyone else planning to follow in my footsteps. Don't overfill your bottle. If the foam from the reaction gets into your tank, the water goes very cloudy and the Ph plummets. I was lucky, I caught mine at a Ph of 6.6. However, I can say that home made CO2 generators do work. Surprisingly well, in fact.