phoenix44

This months meeting is on Sunday the 29th of August 2010 at The Highbury whanau centre, at 1:00 PM. http://www.maps.google.com - Then paste 159 Highbury Ave, Highbury, Palmerston North 4412, Manawatu-wanganui, New Zealand into the search bar. See you all there, and beware - Rusty is on a new food that makes his poops multi coloured and fruit smelling now. I got greeted by a most unpleasant red surprise this morning. :evil: I will be going through a few different types of lighting. So far I have Metal Halide, T5HO, T8 and CFL lighting. Will talk about a few plant growing secrets too. 8) Don't tell any one though :lol:

Royal whiptails are probably one of the better algae raspers. L010A and similar prefer actually eating something substantial, and meat should be included in the diet for most if not all whiptails. But you can't keep them happy and healthy only eating algae. If you're after algae eaters ottos and GAE (if your tank suits them) are the best bet.

No, I do not mean reduce the K rating. That refers to the colour of the tube. like 4000K is yellow, 6500K is white, 14000K is bluer etc. Watts refers to how much power the tube uses, so your 8W T5 will be much brighter than an 8W T8 tube. It sounds like a typical blue planet light for some reason, so you can try putting the plant lower down or in a dark corner somewhere. Some sword plants will do well in that tank, but grow large. A medium sized plant is ech. amazonicus. They all need good soil nutrients though, so JBL balls are recommended. Crypts will do well in that tank too.

it doesn't have to go soft to rot. take it out and smell it to see if it is rotting. Light cannot be measured in watts, but I mean the light is too bright for it at the moment. Also bear in mind that congo fern is grown emersed in a highly humid environment, and at the moment it is totally submersed so some of the leaves will die. The black is associated with too much light. It does adapt to the change, and if a few weeks- months you will find new lighter green leaves popping up. well curling out..

oh nice! they're awesome!

looks like the wood is rotting, and you have too much light for the ferns.

Ngaw! Best pic EVAR!

whoa. Luckily no one was hurt! how large was the tank? The help available on here is absolutely amazing!

A sponge filter or a modified HOB filter will be good. Lots of goodies for the babies to eat on the sponges. To modify a HOB you just take the sponge from a sponge filter and shove it on the inlet of the HOB. Best of luck, and keep us updated. Good to see them being bred. Don't get attached to them like I have though :oops: :lol:

Awesome! (I use the flash and never have yellow water in my tanks) The mother looks like she is doing well with the fry, hopefully in a few days I'll be able to see that exact same sight!

or... add weak, cheap fish like neons. when fish start dying, you have ammonia. when fish stop dying, you have a cycled tank. congratulations, you have passed the cycling test :lol:

Maybe not, but once the algae sets in you'll be able to decide at that stage. Did you grow the needle java fern? I mean that's a massively expensive bunch right there!

PS- Don't you dare touch that piece of wood :lol:

i underestimated the amount of needle fern you have. It looks amazing.

just use salt + white spot cure. - from any pet shop. dose exactly as it says on the bottle, and do gravel vacs when you change the water on days 2, 3,4,5,6,7 etc. you haven't said what fish, but higher temps speed up the cycle. If it is indeed ich.

Yeah, you're lucky you had cories and guppies, both which are relatively ok in cooler waters!

Feed them decap brine shrimp. Mine are now eating them (still!) and bloodworms with soaked colour bits, jbl etc.

Yeah! I be watching! :lol:

don't lie :lol: multibuys. and if you wanted that number they would be mental not to do you a deal.

yeah mate, almost certain of it now to be honest. Just took the male out and put him back in the 4ft. If it helps any one else breed them - I reduced the temp to 23.5C from 25C and added a little salt to the tank in anticipation of any fights that would occur with the male and female. Then once the eggs hatch I raise it back to 24 and then 25 just to keep diseases at bay once they are free swimming. Looking at the female now - she has taken quite a beating too and has a ripped tail fin. Those shellies are one species I want to keep as well. Maybe next year. Thanks, all that is in the tank is the HOB pipe with a black sponge filter sponge over it and one of those fluval mirror series heaters. All covered in that green algae that is on all the glass pieces except the front.

Judging by the females colour, slim tummy this morning, and attitude to the male who is still in the tank; I think she has another batch of eggs

why aren't you MTAing?

It forms a closed, pressurised system. pressure created because the filters are gravity fed.

yeah, that's exactly what I meant...

I have a couple of theories myself..... :-?