lmsmith

I've got some chocolate zebras (L270). They're kinda like zebras, but brown, not black. They're almost as cool, and about 1/5 of the price a pair of zebs would be, if you could find them.

Hmmm. Maybe that explains why it's not growing. Is there anything similar that is an aquatic plant that I can buy a few of and grow of my own. EDIT: Actually, I just looked at the pics, and mine doesn't have white stripes. I dunno if that makes a difference.

6.5kg

Welcome. Thanks to both of you for the snails, my puffers are very fat and happy.

Can anyone ID this plant and tell me what conditions it likes? I want a whole heap, but I can't figure out how to make them propagate. I've had them for about a year but they haven't been growing.

Do you mean tropical or native (like what you get from the rock pools) There are lots of different types of clownfish, but they're all tropical (as far as I know). Different species are different sizes, but the nemo ones grow to about 10cm max. Coral attaches to live rock. Live rock is used in tropical marine tanks as the primary filtration (instead of having a canister filter or whatever). Mystic's probably the best person to ask about coldwater marines, she knows lots about them. Depends if you're talking cold or tropical

They can handle some temperature variation (rock pools get really hot during the day) but they really need a chiller to keep the normal temp down to around 16 - 18 degrees. Crabs also need really good flow and really really really fresh water. I've kept rockpool crabs outside for about 3 months, and in a tropical tank for about a month (before the puffers got them), but they really don't thrive in water warmer than 18deg.

Everything else in the tank was fine, and with the amount of time I acclimatised them, I would have though they would have been ok too, but apparently not. To give you an idea of how high the pH was, I took a bucket of tank water, did 5 50% water changes, and the pH was still reading 8.8 (as high as the test kit goes). I can't figure it out, but I'd rather not loose all of my beautiful big ones, so I've taken the bricks out.

Yeah, they're beautiful

Isn't it amazing how the colour change is so dramatic?

Sorry, I've never used snail rid before. I try really hard to breed snails, so it's unlikely I'll ever need it!!!

Nah, apart from the 2 I lost initially, all the others are alive and looking fantastic. Their colours are looking great!

Yeah, they're asphalt type bricks, but they're sealed (according to the manufacturer) to prevent leaching. I had them soaked for a couple of weeks too, just in case, but obviously they're not fish tank ready. Well, at least I didn't loose all the fish, and I've learnt from my mistake.

A few weeks ago, I bought some really awesome bricks for my tank. I didn't even think to test the pH because I've used similar things before and they worked great. I've had some dems in there for about a week, and they are colouring up nicely and seem like happy campers. Today, I started adding some lionhead cichlids into the tank, after doing a 60% w/c (with decholronated rainwater). I acclimatised them over a period of about an hour and 1/2 because I was doing other things. I put about 15 in in total, and was planning on adding the adults and the rest of the babies tomorrow, depending on whether or not there was a massive turf war. I went down to check on them a while ago and to turn off their light, and saw 2 dead lionheads. I looked around, and found 9 in total. I tested ammonia, nitrates and nitrites, all really low, everything was looking good. I decided to test the pH because the fish looked really red and burnt around the gills (which is why my immediate thought was ammonia). My pH was 8.8 according to my chart. I did a 70% water change with water from another tank where the pH is 6.0. After the water change, the pH was still reading 8.8 (as high as the chart goes). My pH must insanely high to cause that reading. I've since taken all the bricks out, done another water change with fresh water, and moved the remaining lionheads into a holding tank. I've also put a brick in a bucket to test what the pH can get to (I know someone with an electronic pH meter). I'm sad to have lost all my fish, and also sad that my awesome bricks can't be used. However, it is my fault for not testing them first

Hmmm. I don't like putting bleach in my tank. I guess it would work, but you'd need to do some serious rinsing afterwards.

Also, don't stir with anything you want to keep. Go find a stick, or something. You may have to shop around to get permanganate, I got mine after going to about 4 pharmacies, it was about $5 for more than I'll ever use. It's a good thing to keep on hand, because you can do dips (for the fish) which will kill any external parasites.

Yup. It turns the jelly mass purple, and the actual eggs purple too. If you look really closely, you can sometimes see the eggs have burst.

Wow!!! I want one!

You might be better putting this in the NZ natives forum....

You'll need to do a permanganate dip to kill snails. Go to the pharmacy and buy some potassium permanganate. Mix a 1/4 teaspoon with water (it will go a pretty purple colour) and put the plants in for a couple of minutes. It'll nuke them.

Make sure it doesn't have mould resistant stuff in it.

Ooooohhhhhhh! I get it now.8) Will the intake (to the overflow) be a syphon?

I use my mouth too. And have never had a mouthful of fish water from the filter either! I must be very skillful. It's way easier. You just need to get the water over the top of the tank, then it just goes from there.

Oh do you mean the return will have a pipe to the bottom? Cuz doesn't the overflow usually flow into the box, then out of the tank? You don't overflow the overflow box...

Now I'm even MORE confused!