Matthew

well you can add an extra one, that is unless something unexpected comes up. see ya there

hollywood fish farm have some JBL fertiliser balls, I don't know whether these are laterite, might be worth a look. anyway it's another excuse to check out all the fish they have got. And did I mention that Jansens is just down the road. LOL, any excuse or no excuse it doesn't matter

I do clean my tank regularly 160L tank and water change around 30-40L weekly. I do gravel clean as well, I have just noticed these worms at the last gravel clean. If they are harmless I guess I may just leave them

i am planning on it, but I thought i would see who was going, so I can put faces to names

Does anyone attend these meetings from this forum. I believe they are the second tuesday of every month.

Somehow worms have invaded the gravel in my tank, they are an opaque white and are probably 1/4inch to 1/2 inch long. any ideas? what's the best way to eliminate them? Cheers matt

I'm moving shortly, and I was wondering what the best way to set up my tank would be. I am contemplating undergravel heating and using Pauls method of pumice as a substrate, with the addition of fertiliser, and some gravel on top to hold the pumice down. Does anyone know of better ways? I want to set it up as best I can and would appreciate all advice. The better I do it now, the less hassle later. Thanks matt

cool, let me know if things go ahead

Stink, it's always a nuisance when a fish dies. my condolences to you, and the fishes family.

If you do decide to go through with it spent I will put my name down for one lot. preferably the premium grade matt

Is the algae black, if so it is probably blackbeard algae and the only way I know how to get rid of it completely is by throwing away the plants. The other option is to try adding a few flying foxes or ottocinclus, these apparently eat the blackbeard algae, but normally after they have eaten all the other algae. If it's not blackbeard there are a range of other algae eaters available that would love to dine out in your tank. There is also the possibility that your phosphate levels are high, you can either do water changes more regularly or you could purchase a phosphate remover from the LFS.

I have to say that I support what Pegasus is saying. Theres a good chance that your pair is ready to tango aand they are just preparing for future additions to the family. By the way the other plants name is probably ambulia.

I had no luck with previous cultures, this culture I was told to put a sheet of glass over the top of the culture, and for some reason it works, there seems to have been rapid growth, and my worms are always feeding. I am using moistened bread, moistened with water from the fish tank, and am feeding small squares, just enough so that they eat it in about a day. I feed this amount so that if I do feed too much it is usually finished by the second day. I don't like the thought of leaving foods longer than that as I know how easily mould can decimate a culture.

Right, volunteers needed to try different foods for white worms, once I start my second culture I am happy to try rice

I,ve heard that it is relatively easy to get to the egg laying stage, but that it is incredibly dificult to keep fry alive. Good luck to you.

how much has the set-up cost you Macka, that is provided you don't mind posting how much you spent

I am very tempted to join in the hunt, but I will not know my availability until closer to the time, when is the last point that I can notify you?

Thanks Pegasus, It's not so much the pH that I am worried about, it is the buffering capacity of the water. By increasing the hardness I increase the buffering capacity. I'm just trying to find a cheap way to do that

good question Caryl, I presume rice, if left long enough, develops its own lifeform. I hope this hasn't come across as sarcastic, apologies if it has that was never my intention

Thanks Caryl, My next question would be is lime available from the garden store suitable?

I want to increase the hardness of my water, by putting lime in CaCO3 I am guessing this will do the trick. The only hassle is will it be detrimental to my fish? I have seen water hardener in the LFS but it was dupla and they wanted $41 for it. I'm not that keen to increase hardness. I know some people use oyster grit, but I would prefer to add something that I know the results of sooner rather than later. Any help would be appreciated. Matt

I guess I just have to wing it, and see where I get to from there

I purchased one of the biosuppliers starter packages from the LFS. That was the largest container they had available. I am asking when it can be harvested as I want to set up a second culture, but would prefer not to part with another twenty dollars if I can help it.

Does anyone know what the best way to breed these fish is? I have previously had peppered corys that bred, is it similar fashion? Has anyone bred these fish? any help would be appreciated

Does anyone know how long I should leave my white worm culture before using them. Thanks