Jennifer

Shhh, don't tell him that! Rusty needs a driver!!

Parental guidance is advised. :lol:

You could try daily water changes. I can't promise it will help but it is one of the few things that really helped for me even after reducing photoperiod, increasing CO2, balancing nutrients, adding floating plants and tearing it down and sterilising everything twice in 6 months... all to no avail, it just kept coming back. No need to trim the java fern, the leaves will continue to support the plant until new leaves form. The new leaves will be green with a clear tip. Once they get going the plant can double in size within a month. They really like the Flourish Comprehensive but you may struggle to get it to them with the daily water changes.

:bounce: Aww come on, so many people want to meet you.

As with any animal, sometimes intestinal upsets occur. If anything, just stop feeding for a couple of days, these cases often resolve on their own. If the signs persist, then go to the next step.

Are you being naughty with those naughty boys in the chat room again P44? You're supposed to be the voice of reason! :lol:

There is usually quite a delay with drop checkers so they aren't that accurate for quick readings.

Ewww :-?

Grab a Seat

You will find there are a lot of different opinions about filters, everyone has their favorites. Eheim is arguably the top brand in terms of engineering and it is very quiet. Fluval runs a close second to Eheim and is better in terms of flow. Both of these brands have a lot of support in terms of extra parts if you ever need them. I don't have any experience with Jebo but I do know people who like them a lot.

Try daily water changes to keep the filamentous algae in check. After months of dealing with it in two small tanks I think I finally have it sorted doing small daily water changes and believe me, I tried everything else (I think it was from excess iron in the substrate). The black spots on the java fern will go away and be replaced by lush growth if you dose with Flourish Comprehensive.

Sorry you aren't coming to conference now? There are so many prizes...and I am SO looking forward to the bus trip when we go to Orana Park and the Southern Encounter Aquarium.

Or the heater and the Jewel tank. 8)

Looking at the before and after. 8)

Most definately (and I am not just saying that).

Someone sent me this link yesterday: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05 ... ndfish.php I like the red one but it's missing the pom pom on the end of its nose like the pink one. 8)

Goodness me that brings back memories....or rather I can't remember much after dozens of head-banging episodes with my cousin Larry. Bottlerocket, I tried the Fluval 205 on my 180L tank and found the flow wasn't very good - not enough water movement so the plants weren't doing well and there was lots of detritus buildup in dead zones of the tank - then I upgraded to a 405 and the difference was amazing. I have a heavily planted tank and a heavily stocked tank. I feed the fish a lot (free plant fertilizer) and I pretty much never vacuum the substrate and there are no areas of detritus buildup. I do a water change only about once every 4-6 weeks and only because I like clear water, not because the nitrates are high. I only clean the filter when the flow diminishes but I haven't really had to clean it now for about 6 months. I am sure your needs for filtration will be less because you have that internal filter. Why were you wanting to add another filter on there? Were you just looking for a backup? Or perhaps increased flow? If you just want a backup then almost any of these will be suitable, if you wanted more flow, then bigger is better (within reason).

Remember, fenbendazole has some efficacy against flatworms (flukes and tapeworms) but it is primarily effective against nematodes (roundworms) like levamisole. In contrast, praziquantel is just effective against flatworms.

Just move the lily closer to the surface, it will create a small vortex that will draw in the surface scum.

Nice choice! I saw these at Organism this week and wanted to buy about 20 of them! :lol: At about $4 they are quite reasonable too.

Plain bleach is one of the best household disinfectants you can use. A 1:20 solution (approximately one part bleach to 20 parts water) is effective with a 15 minute contact time is best for areas with organic matter although if you clean the equipment well with hot water and a sponge you can just apply the bleach for 3 minutes and rinse it off. In those concentrations it is safe for just about everything in the tank including heaters, plants, ornaments, etc. Be sure to soak all other utensils (nets, etc.) in the bleach solution too. Rinse well for a couple of minutes and then soak in clean water for a half hour and everything will be good to go again.

There are many external parasites. I prefer using proper antiparasitics like praziquantel but Seachem Paraguard also works to dislodge parasites that are only on the outside of the body. If you can't find either of those drugs/chemicals, try a concentrated salt bath (15 grams to 20 litres of tank water, gradually introduced over 2 minutes and remove the fish after a total of 5 minutes or sooner if it looks really stressed). Malachite green also can be helpful.

Wow, that looks very much like mine. I had no idea it was worth that much.

That third pic is a very nice looking female.

I have no idea, have never tried it with CO2, but it is definitely autoclavable :roll: . The tubing I use for CO2 is the normal cheap clear airline tubing from Bunnings - I think it looks the most like clear glass. I've never had it go opaque inside a year but if it did it is dirt cheap to replace (around 50 cents a metre?).