BikBok

for peace of mind I think I'd rather buy a starter culture . At least i would know it's free from any harmful garden microorganisms or leached chemicals. BuT I am going to grow my own mozzie larvae in summer! I'll Put out a bucket and I'm sure they'll find it! Then I'll rinse before feeding.

I had a very bossy bristlenose that was bothering the kuhlis so he was moved to the tank with my Betta. Now it is he who is being bossed about. The betta doesn't hurt him but does come and exert his authority and sometimes flares. The BN raises all his fins and tries to flare back and then moves away. The BN is a bit shier now than he used to be but he was terrifying the kuhlis so it's just desserts! the new BN i have with the kuhlis is not a problem at all and they don't mind each other.

i always wonder with these shows how they set everything up to look so great. How far do peopel travel and set up a tank.. the logistics baffle me.. they would need to transport all the tank inhabitants and plants and corals etc , keep the filter media alive etc. Do they also take their own water? How is it done without losing fish?

oh I hope she doesn't die! How long did the lump last and did it go away by itself or with treatment? I'm just not sure what to do for her. My idea at the moment is to put her in a floating container in the tank with salt in it for 15-30 minutes a day for the next few days. But if it's a bruise type bump . not sure if that will even help and just cause her stress. In the meantime, I did an extra waterchange and added extra stresscoat.

she is the biggest fish in the tank.. the smaller guppys stay away from her and the male betta is in a separate tank. We did get two small half grown guppies yesterday but they are scared of her and flit away when she comes near. Filter... an aquaone filter trickle. She swims around the intake sometimes but I've never seen her struggle or try to avoid it. I had composed my other post just as yours was entered.. sorry about that Does it look like bump cause by banging into something? I hope it's not anything too serious , I was worried about he worst like tuberculosis or something! I have seen her get down by the driftwood to watch the kuhlis .. she likes to stare at them or sit on them .. it's by the window but there should be room enough . She seems to purposely put herself between the driftwood and glass though when she is looking at them. Perhaps she wedged herself in somehow.

anyone? the photo below was taken just a few days ago and you can see there is no lump on her head

My poor female betta developed a bump on her head , between her eyes and I have no idea what happened. She was fine this morning and had the bump when I got home this afternoon. I've tried to take photos but she is very active and hard to get a good shot so sorry about poor quality. The bump is is liked a raised lump, no wounds or external growths that I can see. Just looks like a lump under her skin. There is also a white line above her top lip.. almost like her lip has pulled away slightly but it's really hard to tell. I'm not sure what to do next... was thinking about a salt bath but don't want to put salt in the actual tank as there is kuhlis and plants in there. Please have a look at the photos and see if you can help me figure this out.. other info: I have had her just over 2 weeks and she is less than 6 months old. Water temp is 25oC , ammonia is zero.. i don't have test for nitrites. waterchange is 20 - 25% per week. her colour changes form a lovley red to a faded red in any given day but she is active and eating well and curious about eveything.

Well I am resisting getting the "big tank" until we move or extend the lounge of where we are currently. So at the moment it is just two small tanks The Hexy is working out really well for the betta. He doesn't mind the current at all and certainly doesn't try and avoid the outlet spout with silencer (got one from masterpet). I can adjust the current if I need to which is great .. after water change I increase the flow to get it all circulated more quickly and catch any loose debris from disturbing the gravel and then I slow it right back down again. the hexy (22 L) There is a Bristlenose in this tank and I want to put two platy in as soon as I can find some nice wagtails. the aquaone (34L) the red blur on the right is my female betta - she's a character. The kuhlis are hiding and there's also a BN in there somewhere.

well my guppies are a bit spoilt I guess... they get tropical flakes in the morning and in the evening they get different things each night... decaps brine shrimp, (Their FAV!), dried blood worms (their 2nd Fav), dried Tubifex, shrimp pellets and sinking tabs(which they always steal some from the bottom dwellers) , tropical granules, and a deshelled pea once a week, plus they always nibbles at the other veges for the Bristlnose.. pumpkin is popular. I figure if I keep their diet varied they will be fine, though one guppy ahs decided the tropical flakes arn't good enough for him anymore and he waits for the eveing meal! Whilst another guppy eats everything in sight. They get live food in the form of fry but in summer I will be growing mozzie larvae for my fishies.

i bought 3 guppies 6 weeks ago from a petstore. They dropped them in the shop and still sold them to me. One of them was a male when it was supposed to be a female so i took it back the next day and let them know that the other male at home had bloated up that night. The one that had bloated up was fine the next day but two weeks later was clearly unwell and I isolated it and discovered he had callamanus worms.. the timing would mean he was infected before I got him as I started with a fresh tank. He didn't make it and died while I was waiting for the hard to get levamisole treatment (in the form of aviverm). He was a very nice looking guppy and my daughters first tropical so it was a bit devastating. The other two are fine and the female has had fry. Anyway, I am now avoiding buying guppies form a petshop, especially livebearers which seem to be hit by nasty worms more often. Petshops will be my last resort for new guppies.

his tail did look different to the other guppies but just hasn't shown up at all in the photos. the Edges were longer.

ah ok, thanks. I don't have him anymore anyway.. I got a person in a petshop to look at him and he said it was a poor lyre tail and confirmed it was a male for me .. Then I took it back to the original petstore and and swapped it for a female I was supposed to get. Next Time I will double check myself ! I wasn't paying much attention at the time and my daughter told the assistant she wanted a female and asked if "that one was" and they said yes. I was browsing the other tanks and so didn't have a look myself till after I got them home. Live and learn!

is this a young lyretail? can't quite see the shape/pattern of his tail but I believe it is.. it's the one I took back to petshop.

i took a lyretail guppy back to the petshop becuase it was a male not a female I asked for! Anwyay, that was several weeks ago, have no idea if it is Venezuelan or not.

Hmmm, arn't they like guppies .. the male has a gonopodium .. that's what I would be looking for

yep Kuhlis can love as long as 10 yrs plus with the right care. That shark sounds like a rainbow.. I got my eye on one of them for my "big tank" - still in my minds eye at this stage. Some petstores have Kuhlis without you even realising it.. unless there's an obvious sign on the window or it's a bare tank.. they are easy to miss! I was at HFF a couple of weekends ago and they were all piled on top of each other at the top by the heater or filter ..almost didn't spot them.

I saw some black whiptails in the weekend... very interesting!

your Kuhli loach should live longer than a couple of years.. so why not get him some friends and you'll see him more often. They are such characters and I think are so neat. Mine come out day and night .. as soon as they smell food! They come out all together and swim and dance like they're following a ballet routine lol.

hello! Welcome I'm new to fishkeeping and the forum too. Learning, lots already!

Oh dear ! did he change in appearance at all before you found he had died? What's wrong with the tetras? My BN has now been banished to the Hexy tank where he has to share it with a not so shy Betta. (who comes and stares him out) At first he went really pale and dull in colour but now he's lookign great. The Kuhlis are venturing out more now that he's gone and haven't been scared up the filter. My female Betta is in that tank and she is quiet intrigued by them but isn't bossing thme around like the BN was. She will come and sit on them though lol

Teacher Aide

i saw it at the movies .. weird .!

My new female betta has nibbled off the ramshorn antenna .. not completely but 1/2 - 2/3. I have nowhere else to put the snail as there is a male betta in my other tank. Will the snails antennae grow back... (given the chance) and how long will it take? Not sure what to do for him . He was an accidental introduction that came in some gravel with my Kuhli Loaches.. but I've left him be as I no longer have the bristlenose int he same tank and the snail can help eat some of the algae. He was tiny when we got him three weeks ago and has grown quite a lot since then.

Hmmm good question which I would like to know the answer to as well! I had a little bristlenose in the tank which was doing a good job at keeping the surfaces clean but since i moved him to a different tank I've noticed brown algae starting to appear. Apparently brown algae is common in newish tanks (which mine is) and sometimes goes away by itself. But I've been doing extra water changes and using a toothbrush to clean the ornaments. Hopefully it will resolve itself as the tank matures. But for your tank, some more info will help the experts .. what colour algae and how old is the tank setup. And I'll keep a watchful eye on the replies. Good Luck