David R

Unless you're building it yourself just let the tank maker worry about the bracing etc, if you use someone experienced like Greg/Tanks2u or Hollywood then you'll be right, they've both built countless tanks that big or larger and know what they're doing. As for the silver aro, general consensus is 8x3x2' is the bare minimum to keep one happy for life, a 6x2x2' will be a good grow out for around two years, but will need to be upgraded to something longer and wider after that.

Got one like that from Dick Smith a while back for my glasshouse, it measures the temperature at the proble on the end of a long wire and at the actual thermometer part eh? Hadn't even thought of that! Cheers, I need three though, maybe four, and would like to get them all the same model so they're at least all consistent(ly wrong!)

Stick on ones? Digital? Floating glass ones? Best bang for bucks? etc etc I haven't bothered keeping much of an eye on my tanks temps over the years ( :oops: ), always just trusted the heaters thermostats. I want to get something accurate for the big tank to make sure the heaters are keeping up, looking for suggestions...

We need a thumbs up smiley! Sucks to hear about your old group, I've lost a few big ones to whitespot over the years, the last bout happened while I was in Wellington for work for a week, luckily they're Hannahs favourite fish so it wasn't hard to convince her to do the 50% water changes every other day and I didn't lose any. I think the UV does help preven it and speeds up the cure, which reminds me I haven't transferred the UV onto the 6' since I moved them, I'll need to upgrade it too as its only good for 300L and the tank is over double that now!

Yep! Most I've bought is 10 "medium" [ie tiny] ones from Animates when it was buy-one-get-one-free. Have spent more than double that amount buying larger ones though!! :oops:

A 500L tank (presuming its a 5') might be a bit short in the long run too, but you're talking years. Over grown clown loaches are rarely a problem, wouldn't hurt to get 20 (or 30!) if you're starting with small ones. I've got 30 ranging from 3" to 8" in my 810L 6' and they're a blast to watch.

Well if you're going to let your animal roam without some sort of identification what do you expect. If it was a dog it would be off to the pound and if unclaimed then put down (unless microchipped). What are you supposed to do, put up posters with a pic saying "Anyone mind if I shoot this cat?" :lol:

I'd go to see it if it wasn't at the other end of the country! Would be interesting but also sad, its not hard to figure out that humans are greedy parasites raping and pillaging the oceans (and the planet) and will continue to do so until there is nothing left....

If it hasn't got a collar then its fair game IMO...

You can get water filters that will do it (like the ones you put under your bench, I think they use carbon) and I plan on investigating this for my continuous drip system (although ideally I'll just use rain water), but IMO Seachem Prime is the best bang-for-buck water conditioner. Its not that expensive over the long run, and although some people would claim its not necessary it gives you a bit of a margin of error if there is something wrong with your tap water (for example the thread a while back where the guy lost a heap of discus fry because of ammonia in his tap water).

Get a Timms trap and keep your cats inside. It might look like a cat but really its just another verminous creature like a rat or possum and is better off dead.

Make sure the "wounds" and whitespot has been clear for a week or two before adding the clowns!!

*sigh* when are people going to stop perpetuating this myth?

Agree with what Henward has said, a small amount of salt with every waterchange won't hurt (although I don't usually bother). Set the temp of you tank at around 28-30C, certainly invest in a second heater if your current one is letting the temp drop to 245C. pH somewhere below 7, plenty of hiding spots so they feel secure when moved in. Trying to minimise the stress of moving them is paramount. Check the parameters of the water they are coming from, and try to avoid a big swing in pH when moving them. If you're ordering them from the LFS then pick them up when they come in so they don't have to be acclimatised to the shops tank then shifted again soon after. Keep the water clean (frequent water changes) and if you're really keen/worried running a UV steriliser will help, although they can be expensive. And most importantly, quarantine ANY new additions, fish or plants!!

Perhaps he asked his mum?

There is only one specieS here, and of all the varieties of that species IIRC we only get one. What are the dimensions of your 4'? A 4x2x2' should hold a trio of fronts for a long time, but a 4x1x1' won't. I can't see why they're different to any other cichlid that grows to 12", other than they do it a lot slower than their central/south american cousins, a 4' of the right proportions should be fine for a small group, IMO. (note that is opinion, not experience, if someone wants to correct me then go for it!)

is right, verminous neighbourhood kids wandering around with nothing better to do. I wish I had a rocking chair on my front deck so I could sit on it and shake a walking stick at them.....

Just watch the bichir and the gravel, they are known to eat it which can lead to blocked stomachs and death. Better on sand or bare bottom tank IMO.

lol good old stalkbook. Don't waste your time sending me mafia wars/farmville/etc requests!!

I'd just go with the DIY route instead, wouldn't be difficult to make a similar set up with a powerhead and plastic container.

I thought you had to be 13 or over to sign up to forums :-?

Amazing, but certainly not my cup of tea. IMO its likely to result in thousands of fish being ill-kept and/or flushed, as people buy them on impulse with out researching their requirements or thinking through the ongoing commitment of maintaining an aquarium.

does setting a tank up from scratch count as "pimping"? :-?

Makes great firewood too!! I just burned the last of ours, onto the pine now.

I'd recommend separating it too, thats a tiny jar trying to compete with half-grown chalceus etc, wait til it gets around 8" or so before putting it back in the main tank to compete.