lmsmith

That's awesome, I'm glad she's being well looked after until shes old enough to come home to you. Can't wait for pics!!

I know there have been lots of posts about puffers, but I've just seen some in my LPS and have wanted them forever. So, green spotted puffers are tetraodon nigrogiridis, born in FW, need to be kept on increasingly brackish water as they get older and grow about 12cm long, right? F8s (T. biocellatus) are about halfthe size and still BW right? Now, I've also read about T. shoutedeni, Congo puffers which look the same as GSPs but have more spines? They are exclusively FW. Does anyone know anything about them? Can we get them here? How do you tell the difference? And which type should I get?

All good then. And the plus side to that is that when you have a stronger floor, you can get a bigger tank!

That blue ram looks like a boy to me.

No, that doesn't sound seedy at all! :lol:

Usually that seems to be the case, but I won't say for sure in case you just have a fatty boy

Girls have a pink tummy, boys (usually) have longer bodies and the front few 'poofs' on their top fin are much longer.

Lol, good, so I wasn't the only nerd who noticed :oops:

Mine too!!!

I've got a breeding pair of blue rams, they're easy to get to breed if you have a boy and girl, they aren't treated with hormones and they are a compatible pair. They only live about 2 years max, and take a long time to colour up, so overseas, they are treated with hormones to bring the colour out, which also makes them infertile. If you do manage to get a pair, then pop them in a well planted tank with low KH, PH about 5.8 - 6.0, about 28-30deg, and feed them well. They like sand as the substrate so they can dig pits, where they take the babies at night time. They pick up sand in their mouths and spit it, and also rub themselves to make a hole. You'll notice the boy chases the girl, and she gets quite pale. When they're about ready to spawn, the girl gets REALLY fat, and really dark (tummy black, sides bright blue), and she will chase him. They'll lay about 150 eggs on a pot, stone, driftwood or something similar, and will keep everything away from their area. They will lay every 2 - 4 weeks if you remove the eggs. They 'tag team' to keep their eggs safe - mum will go off, eat and have a break, then when dad can see her again, he'll rush up to her, they'll tap noses, then it's his turn to have a swim. The eggs hatch in about 3 - 4 days (as usual, quicker in warmer temps). The fry are TINY, and stay wigglers for about 4 days. The parents take them to their pit at night and when they start swimming away (they pick them up in their mouths). The fry need to eat TINY food - the muck on the bottom of a planted tank is ideal, or they need green water if you choose to raise them yourself. They can't eat BBS until about 2 weeks old. Microworms about a week after they become free swimming. Keeping the fry alive is a mission and a half, that's why so many are wild caught or farmed in Malaysia. They're also pretty shoddy parents for the first few (5 or so for mine) spawns, and will eat the eggs or fry if they get spooked. However, they're really rewarding to raise, and beautiful fish!

I didn't think fluvals were hard to start - I think you'd still be better off taking the filter out. It's SOOOO much easier to empty a tank with no water in it - cleaner too. Don't forget about your heater - make sure it's turned off or in water somewhere so it doesn't burn out or explode.

You also need to keep in mind that under current tenancy agreements, no pets are allowed - I'd make sure they know about it and okay it too.

Well...you would need to clean it, but because it's designed for a much larger tank, you wouldn't have to maintain it as much.

Buyer beware I say. They shouldn't be going anywhere if they don't have a solid plan, an if they do it's at their risk.

You'd never have to clean the filter if you got the bigger one....

Yeah, but she's comparing a Eheim Professional 2224 to a Fluval 205 to a Eheim Professional 3 e 2076...they're hardly in the same league either... A FX5 is like the Eheim Pro (except the Eheim's better IMO). The Eheim 2224, 2213, 2215 and Fluval 205 are all in the same kinda league - some are better than others, but it all depends on your tank size, what filter media you're wanting to use, and how often you want to clean it.

I'd agree that the eheim is quieter. I have 3 in my lounge and 4 downstairs, and you hear the bubblers WAY more. In fact, the fridge is louder...

Ah hah!!! Now I have someone I can go to directly when my internet isn't working at uni!!! Good job whoever fixed the 'Not Responding' thing when you first opened Explorer!

I wish my friends dropped off expensive fish in my tanks when I was away! you're very lucky!

I've got an attack of columnaris in my tank at the moment too. I salt dipped all the fish in the tank 5 times in 24hrs, then furan 2-ed. I caught it really early so with the salt and furan 2, they're all doing well. I'm an advocate of salt dips every so often anyway, don't know if it works, but they do seem healthier and don't seem to get worms and flukes or bacterial nasties. I skipped salt in 1 tank for a few months, and now they have columnaris- can anyone confirm if my salt prevention actually works?

reduce

Wow, it looks like a jungle, I love it! How big is the tank?

I'm so lost...

I'm doing law, BCA dbl major in management and com law, and BA in Maori Studies. I started uni doing a BBMedSc and Law, but then that I hate Stats, and I didn't want to do TWO years of it:P realised

Thanks heaps...man I love this forum.