Jennifer

Excellent. Evidence based fishkeeping. Just what I like to see!

lol, I already am..... I guess it shows that I forgot to have breakfast and dinner today... :roll: I would get off the couch to get a chocolate egg, but it is too cold...feels like winter...

Thanks everyone for the great advice and thanks Alan for the offer. It is darn heavy but I shall try to load it up to bring it round tomorrow.

LOL, definitely no dumpster diving. In fact, I won't eat anything that is a day past the 'best by' date! I just bought some figs at New World and they were so skanky and tasteless. I would kill to find a fig tree with beautiful ripe fruit. When I was a kid my mum used to take me out blackberry picking by the river and the berries were so plump and juicy from the constant river water on their roots - warm from the summer sun they just melted in the mouth. We would gather a big bucket of them and she would take them home and make the most beautiful blackberry pie with sugar dusting the golden crust....mmmmmmmmmmm

Ok, I might need to talk to an expert to get sorted out. Anyone know of a good glazier in Chch? Or anyone wanting to lend a hand? :roll:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&m ... 31301e2517 Kinda weird but it might be worth giving it a try... :roll:

Hmmm, well, it seems very solid, just a bit moth eaten around the edges of the silicone. I guess I might give it a go then but I am a little worried about the weight of a sheet of this glass. :roll: Do I need any special silicone?

LOL, isn't that always the way. I have missed things that I never liked when I lived there. Go figure. :roll: I have the most brilliant recipe for pumpkin pie. It is an old family recipe - best pumpkin pie in the world, hands down. It doesn't actually require special spice but good quality spices in the right proportion. Most of the spices you get in the store are just old dried out and really are not that great. Hey....it is about that time of year for pumpkin pie now! mmmmmmm :bounce:

Don't make me pout Ira. Last time I went to the states I brought back a dozen bars of Ivory soap and a big can of Crisco (MAF thought I was nuts). :roll: Next time I go I am bringing back some Karo syrup...oh, and more pumpkin pie spice!

I got this new (used) 3 1/2 foot tank today and I know it holds water. It seems to be in good condition but the silicone is a little tatty but I think it is all just superficial (e.g. there is algae staining that I think is unattractive). The glass is very heavy and so I don't really have confidence that I can re-silicone it myself (I have never done it before). Should I just forget it, or is it a job that should be fairly easy and relatively inexpensive to get redone (by myself, or preferably with experienced help)?

*GAG* It's a living turd!

Agreed with the above. Is he any better at this stage? Yellow wounds can also be a sign of some parasites, specifically protozoans.

Good news! Well, if you think of animals like canids, when they binge on a big carcass, they don't eat again for a couple of weeks. Or maybe he just wanted to hock up a 'pellet' of bones like owls do. :roll:

Real masa harina that I get from Aji, a gourmet store in Chch (although I see that they sell in in my local New World now.) Yes. :evil: Grumble, grumble....makes it really hard when I want to make homemade toffee or marshmallows. Glucose syrup just doesn't cut it al all. I think I will make carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting today.

I am not convinced that it is protozoal parasites; however, if you are going to treat using Metronidazole, here are some non oral dose ranges that I have used clinically on numerous fish species: (NB I do not have species specific dose ranges for Metronidazole so use at your own risk if you feel this species is more sensitive than others). A concentrated bath of 5 mg Metronidazole/litre of water for 4 hours repeating once a day for 3 - 5 days. Or, 1 mg Metronidazole/10 litres of water for 24 hours, repeating once a day for 5 days with a 25 - 50% water change before each dose. There are pros and cons to each method.

Wasting is a clinical sign associated with a number of conditions with different causes (e.g. bacteria, protozoa, internal parasites). You can try treating with a random selection of medications to try and cure the problem or you can attempt to identify other signs that may help to correctly identify the causative organism. Signs to look for are: swimming behaviour, appetite, slime coat condition, identifying where on the body the wasting is occurring, whether the eyes are popping out, condition of faeces, condition of the mouth, straigntness of the spine, whether other fish have it as well, whether or not you have wounds/sores/redness on your hands....

Red down the spines (in the major blood vessels) is a sign of septicaemia (blood poisoning) which is a result of bacterial infection. My advice would be to treat him as soon as possible with an antibiotic (such as Furan). If he does have septicaemia, it may already be too late as he will be very sick. Good luck.

These guys are prone to getting bacterial haemorrhagic septicaemia (aka blood poisoning as a result of bacterial infection that shows up as skin bruising). You can identify it by the splotchy red patches on the fins, head and abdomen (and the patches are just red, not swollen). If he has these signs, you can try treating it with Furan that you can get from the fish shop.

With that size tank to that filter I would use a small noodle as mechanical filtration in the bottom tray to disperse the water and filter out large waste (what the sponges didn't already filter out), then, a larger noodle in the middle container to initiate the biological filtration. Then a layer of filter wool to prevent clogging of the biological media in the top tray, then, 1 kg of Eheim pro media in the top tray.

Yeah go ahead and reduce the photoperiod to around 6 hours. It would be good to try CO2 injection but if you can't manage that, keep going with the Excel. Feed very lightly, clean the tank and keep dosing with trace. If after 2 weeks of the above there is absolutely no improvement, try a complete blackout to initiate a die off - 2 days of blackout to 5 days of light and repeat every week for a month.

Phosphate (PO4) limitation will decrease the growth rates of plants by reducing the plants' demand for all other nutrients (including CO2 and light). You can get indirect algae control by limiting PO4 but if you don't want plants to grow in the first place you shouldn't have strong lighting (intensity or photoperiod). In other words, PO4 is a band aid for the problem, however, it doesn't solve the problem. Addressing the problem has more to do with growing plants than with controlling algae. Unlimiting CO2, unlimiting nutrients and low light are all ways to grow plants that produce moderate biomass while safely limiting conditions that favour algae. You can get slightly more growth by using low CO2 and high lighting but the chances for algae will be higher. Incidentally, in a high tech setup, high lighting, unlimiting CO2 and unlimiting nutrients will cause double the plant growth rate in ideal circumstances but the balance is much finer and careful monitoring of CO2 and nutrients is necessary to keep plants growing optimally and thus prevent algae under the high lighting conditions. Ammonia will cause algae. Even a cycled tank can have a temporary ammonia spike under the right conditions (e.g. rotting excess food, rotting dead fish) so make sure the these conditions are not occurring. Best rule of thumb: lower the light levels even more, provide good CO2 (DIY CO2 would be a good start) and keep the tank clean (many plant experts recommend keeping a clean filter as well - I am not sure that I believe this but I am starting to see evidence that this is beneficial in my own practices with higher tech planted tanks). Give the plants a week before each change to allow them to adjust. Some other observations: Remove what algae you can see. The BBA will go with the introduction of DIY CO2. Sunlight will not cause algae in the right conditions. In fact I have started allowing an hour of sunlight on three of my tanks and they have never looked better. Dosing with daily trace (including potassium) will help the plants to absorb PO4.

Petstuff 101 has a "Midnight grit' one of the best fine dark substrates IMO, not shiny or sharp and it is very fine, about 3mm not as fine as sand (it is basalt). See viewtopic.php?f=24&t=44887

Agreed with all of the above. It sounds like you are on the right track. Be sure to reduce your light and focus on the CO2 levels though, it is the CO2 that you want to be non-limiting, not the light, or conditions will favour algae. Keep in mind, gas diffusion in water is extremely inefficient so you must circulate the CO2 very well to ensure that CO2 is unlimiting. Get an extra power head going if you have to. Set your light and increased CO2 and then sit back and wait. Gradually increase CO2 after the week and you will see that things are starting to improve. You need to wait about a week between major changes so the plants have a chance to adjust.

A blackout may kill some algae but it will also set the plants back so when you turn the lights back on the problem will be likely to reoccur. You want to keep the plants growing well so just reduce the photperiod a bit. Start up the DIY CO2, but just insert the airline in the tank with no diffuser so the process is slow and thus doesn't cause an even bigger fluctuation that will cause more algae problmes. Keep up the low dose ferts, feed very lightly, and avoid doing water changes unless you want to do a very small amount every day. After 2 weeks the plants will start to grow faster so you can slowly increase the photperiod and add a diffuser. BTW, increase the flow of your filter if you can, or at least direct some flow at the cyanobacteria (remove what cyano you can find to keep it at bay). Hopefully by feeding less and keeping a tidy tank you will eradicate it with no problems.

Not good, not good at all. Yesterday I went to the store and asked where the corn starch was because I needed it to thicken an asian sauce...nobody could find it, then I found an Edmonds box that said 'corn flour' and I can assure you, it was corn starch, not corn meal. Now there are two totally different products out there with the name of corn flour... I have been known to replace some of the plain flour for extra corn meal becasue I like it extra corny too. :roll: :lol: From hot crossed buns to butt burning in the same thread. Ya gotta love this place. Happy Easter everyone.