suemack

about 1/3 of the tank is completely out of bounds to ALL other fish - if they venture up there they are one of the keyholes is there defending the territory poor little cories are a bit slow to learn! Most of the guppies are now big enough to go to the lfs - will catch them later and hope I don't disturb the KH New territory for me (guppies don't do these things) so I have some dumb questions - ok to w/change or should I leave the parents in peace - one of the KH is missing a couple of scales on his head (looks healthy - from one of his skirmishes I think) is it safe to add a v. small amount of salt when doing w/change - Gotta go to work now but will be back with more questions :roll: thanks - sue

thought one of my keyholes was sick as she was hiding in the planted grove in the new tank - and then got a better look tonight!!!!!!!she's mouthing eggs :lol: .......I can't believe it .....I really thought she was sick - The fish all got moved to the bigger tank 5 days ago and they were pretty stressed by the upheaval - I lost the chocolate gourami in the tank (from the stress I thought - he had a wound on his side and was swimming sideways) - water tests all fine so had put it down to stress and getting chilled while I was getting the new tank set up (moved everything from a 10 g to a 36 x 15 x 15) .......she's got eggs :lol: you have to excuse me - this is my first official egg laying (not counting cory eggs on the glass and the very odd pigmy cory appearing) - with the guppies and neons in the tank if by some miracle some hatch out they will probably get eaten...but ......I've got eggs :roll:

who me :lol:

coool - that didn't take long - good luck

Are red lizard whiptail catfishes common here (hemiloricaria sp)? I went shopping for a tank yesturday and :oops: .......yes fish.... not tank!!! I'd been eyeing him up for months and now he's in my tank I'm not sure if he is a male or female but when I discover that would be interested in getting him a mate. ...................so today am going back into town to see if anyone is looking for a home for a 2nd hand tank and stand :lol: - sue

thanks Alan - would frozen daphnia be ok for now as have not got any live and cleaned out all the outside buckets so no mossie larvae either. I crumbled some freeze dried brine shrimp on the surface last night and they skimmed along eating that - do they eat flake or need some vegetable matter they are looking less flighty this am and both seem to be eating sue

hi went to the lfs today and came home with 2 very tiny clown killies epiplatys annulatus - one is about 1/4 long the other very slightly bigger. They had quite a few but only these 2 had survived in the tank with a lot of bigger fish. They look healthy, just very tiny. I have them in a small tank with some growing on guppies who are fed 2 to 3 times daily with a mixture of flake, frozen daphnia and dehydrated brine shrimp, 20% w/changes are done every 2 to 3 days, my water is soft with pH 6.4, no ammonia/nitrites. Do I need to get some other foods - please any advice would be really helpful. thanks - sue

I'm scratching my head here - hopefully our postings will have given someone else some sort of clue to what is happening in your tank. If you still haven't any ideas come into chat after 9 pm tonight if you can, see who's there and if they have any ideas - and I'll have a look in my fish health books and see if there are any other ideas - sue

do they stop eating - or spit out their food - poos normal?

and they're not showing any symptoms that you have noticed? - sue

hi Trudy how long have the platies been dying for? have you tested for nitrite as well as ammonia? have you recently added any new fish to the tank? Your tank has been set up for a while now hasn't it? can you remind us how big it is, how many and what type of fish are in it thanks - sue

hi robbo they certainly are cool little fish - have had them for about 1 yr - don't seem to worry anything else in the tank though one does sit on Blossum (the cory) she doesn't seem concerned, nor does it seem to do any harm. Mine appear to be a little sensitive to water quality and love it when I'm doing w/changes As for the algae......... I think you'd probably need quite a few of them to efficiently keep the tank free of algae. I have 2 in one of my 5 gall tanks and they do a reasonable job in there. Probably my fault that mine aren't as efficient as some as I put food in the tank at night for the cories and they (of course) come and eat too. Actually I am going to be the founding member of fish overfeeders anonymous :oops: (FOA)means that I am committed to doing a lot of water changes...........and I have algae! cheers - sue :lol:

The only snails I know about are the pond ones that come with the plants and breed and breed .....I was wondering ....could I put a couple of apple snails into the tank where my keyholes are - I have some algae in there on the back and sides (not too bad) had ottos in there but had to take them out as the keyholes were picking on them - or would the keyholes pick on the snails too! and if I can - the lfs has some but they are in a cold water tank - are these the ones to get, can they carry disease to the tank, do I need to feed them thought of getting a bristle nose for the tank but there are none up here at present - besided the keyholes would probably harass that too (odd how they don't seem to mind the guppies in there :roll: ) thanks - sue

not sure robbo - never used one sue

:lol: awesome my book says they are "conscientious parents" and that the fry are small when they hatch - not much more info though sue

hi there mothertrout may pay to take the non-fat one out of the breeding trap cos when the babies are born it will eat them as they come out. Generally platies look slightly square, the gracid spot darkens and they look as if they are going to explode just before they give birth. I haven't used a trap myself but have heard that a small bit of weed in the trap helps to make the fish feel a little less stressed from being in there good luck - sue

hi Andrew enjoyed your photos - the colour of the killies is amazing the only killies I've seen up here are ones they called clown killies - they were tiny, interesting looking and I was very tempted but unsure if they would go well in with guppies and in a 10g and I prefer to have fish that I can breed and trade locally (hence the guppies) regards - sue

hey meggy hi from northland - this is a great way to meet new fishy friends. It'll be really interesting to hear how your new male hits it off with his ladies (when they meet)......and those tanks in the garage.......there is never enough room ........ regards - sue

hi Wayne the kuhlis look fine, colour normal and they do seem to be coming down at night when the lights in the tank are out - sat and watched the tank late the other night. If it was a water quality thing I would have imagined the neons would have shown some sign but they are bright and chirpy as usual. the keyholes are more active than they used to be (kids are growing up!) and I may have to move the kuhlis to a more peaceful environment - that'll be fun - had to catch them once before - took me most of the afternoon!

at what size do keyholes start breeding? I have 2 (1 1/2 - 2 inches long) and was sure that they were just babies but last night witnessed them doing little shaking dances in front of each other and one was busy moving gravel around....... am not even sure that they are male and female but one has longer more flowing fins and has grown more quickly than the other. any help please - I do guppies not cichlids - these behaviours are new to me - rescued them from a lfs where they were very tiny, in a tank with large aggressive fish and not doing well - so - will have to rehome them - but thought I had plenty of time :roll:

hi Chris have heard about bloodworm allergies - try getting some disposable gloves for when you feed them and make sure not to clean the tank for a few days after feeding the bloodworms so as to reduce the contact

I'd never heard of too much O2 either but it was something that Caryl was talking about last night. the only thing in the tank that could be worrying them is the 2 keyholes that are too young to be breeding............but then very late last night they (the keyholes) were doing little dances together, shaking..... and moving gravel around in one corner of the tank .........does this mean what I think? And if they are getting ready to breed could they be giving the kuhlis a bit of grief

ongoing saga of the kuhlis........ one has been living in the watersprite in the top of the tank for the last week or so. Got home tonight and there was another up there. Looked like it could be breathing slightly abnormally though colour was good. Have had the kuhlis for about a yr and they've never done this before. Tested all water parameters - nothing out of the norm - nil ammonia, nitrite, pH 6.8 - no nitrate kit so couldn't test that, GH is always soft as am on rainwater. Temp 26. Tank is 10 gallon with UGF and Aquaclear mini. Airpump is running a long airstone and the UGF. No new residents. Neons and guppies (including newish fry) are all showing no signs of stress. Frequent w/changes done in the tank as my guppies seem to do better if I do. Caryl suggested that there could be too much O2 in the tank(never heard of this) - any thoughts or ideas would be really welcome sue

replaced the air pump in the tank yesturday as the one I had was only just coping with the UGF and airstone This morning all the fish are looking livelier and the water is clear - ms kuhli is up in the sprite checking out the view but she's only just gone up there :lol:

hi one of my kuhli loaches has taken to living up in the floating watersprite - seems to come down in the evening for food but goes back up into the trees for the day. Can't see any signs of disease in him/could be a her greenish belly. Is this bizarre or normal behaviour - these are the first kuhlis I've had - though have had them for a yr - this is fairly recent behaviour and only one of the kuhlis is doing it thanks :-?