BikBok

I took some water into the petshop today and they tested and said everythign was fine...pH 7.0 , and the ammonai levels etc next to nothing. She said it was near on perfect so that was really good to hear! I bought two kuhli home (so cute) and they are climatising in the bag as I write this. I took a photo, in case I don't see them again for ages!

i only used the ammonia lock that one time, when I was adding the two new guppies to the tank. I have done daily water changes since then so most of it will be gone by now I hope. The plant is beign enjoyed by the guppies - they love it!

Sex: Female Name: Rebecca married with teens I'm new.. sharing this hobby with my daughter

someone did suggest to me that a petshop might be happy to swap him for a smaller one if he got too big. Do people, ever want to buy bigger ones?

oh ok... they thought it woukld be fine for a betta. Back to the drawing board. The hexy, space wise would have been perfect.

I'm thinking of getting one for my tank in a couple of weeks but I've seen on these forums and elsewhere that some people are just dead against them. Why? He will be in a 34L tank, and am I correct in thinking he might get to be 10cm ? I was looking at small algae eaters and the Oto looks interesting but less hardy , and they don't seem as readily available. Haven't even found a price on one yet. I know I've posted a lot of questions this week but i'm a newbie and want to do things right because wee living creatures are involved!

Thanks Aaron Well i did use a little pH down before I had any fish and haven't put any more in since. The water seems to have Stabilised and is bang on 7.0 and I am testing every 2nd day at the moment. My tap water is closer to 8 so it will probably come up a bit with water changes but at least it will be gradual. Driftwood is now in the tank also and a plant is beign added tonight. Finally got an ammonia test kit today (hagen nutrafin) and I still have a little ammonia , even though I've been doing 15-25% water changes every day. The ammonia is just under 1ppm from what I can tell, but includes total ammonia . pH is 7.0 and if I'm understanding this right, it is not at a serious toxic level as free ammonia will be less than 0.01 . Can someone please confirm. Aaron .. that's a lot of guppies in a small tank, how often do you need to waterchange? I will no doubt end up with babies at some point. I'm not actively going to try and save them but there's bound to be a few surviviors until I can find a new home for the extras. (our local pet store said they could take them).

This is the information I got from hollywood fish farm regarding filter strength: "The Hexy Midi motor turns over 200l/h where as the AR380 turns over 400l/h." So it does indeed look like a hexy will suit a betta! (certaibnly a lot better than my AR 380) Now to get the tank and find a nice looking local betta :-) The Hexy is 20.6 L, am I OK to put two platy in with the Betta? If he annoys them I can remove to my other tank but wondering about fish quantity. Also, when I start the Hexy tank.. is it best to use some water from my AR380 to help the filter along or start with fresh tap water (declorinated). I will add some TLC live bacteria as well and wait a week before adding any fish. If the platys are ok, I will start with them first. I want everythign just right before the betta gets added.

thanks for having a look adodge. I think the Jebos are pretty similar to aquaone. my AR380- trickle filter does seem too strong, I found more info when I typed in hexa 5 ( hexy midi is the blueplanet version of same.. probably just renamed) but still no specific info on the filter strength, except one random post in a forum that said it was a bit on the weak side . What is a sponge filter? Can a trickle filter be modified to be slower?

I found out that the hexy Midi is called a aa Hexa 5 elsewhere, and it seems a few people do use it as a betta tank so that is encouraging. But i will look into it some more. The youtube videos I saw of the tank, with Betta in it, did not seem overly turbulent on the surface.

well I had planned to put a betta in my 34L aquaone tank but am having 2nd thoughts now. Firstly I have 3 guppies in there, and one has a pretty flowing red tail = possible target! 2ndly the trickle filter seems to create a lot of current which i know Bettas don't like. I also have bubbles in it too. So can anyone make a suggestion? It needs to be smallish as we don't have a lot of room in our lounge. What is the smallest tank a betta can live in without being stressed? I was looking at a Hexy Mini with built in light and filter but it's only 5.7L . Could Betta be happy in that??? The next size is a Hexy Midi, 21.6L , and perhaps I could put a couple of Platy in that size.. (?) Has anyone had any experience with a Hexy Midi, I'm curious to know what sort of current teh filter produces. Or is there a more suitable tank I should be looking at. Thanks.

Thanks, it's in the tank now and is settled on the bottom. The guppies were quite interested when it first went in. Does driftwood eventaully get eaten up by bristlenoses?

My AR380 is purple but I don't mind the colour, I'll post a pic once it is fully setup . I added driftwood today and will put in a plant soon. Have decided a Betta might be better in it's own small tank, so have to research what will suit him. So I should be able to add an extra female guppy or two without the betta. My present female has found a little cave in the ornamental rock mountain and she goes in there from time to time without the boys chasing her. I'm not too concerned about saving all the fry, they will get eaten , that's life ! But I don't understand the "MTS" reference (Malaysian trumpet snails?) and how it relates to baby guppies?

thankyou for the replies! I will keep doing the water changes untill I know for sure the ammonia levels are down. It did occur to me that the water I had tested at the petshop was from the bag I carried the little male guppy in , to swap for a female. He would have been in there for about an hour so perhaps that affected the reading also. All three Guppies are still doing well, and I think my first one is going to be ok ! They are being very lightly fed. I want to add two kuhlis once I know the water is ok .. Also , in the future I was hoping to add a betta but am in two minds becuase I think my male guppy might be picked on ... he has a nice tail:

tank info: tank is 34L AquaOne AR 380, 2nd hand, but dry when I bought it. I reused the noodles and replaced the sponge and cartridge filter. pH around 7.0 , temp 25oC previous week .. started tank, cloudiness for first couple of days, a slight odour which disappeared after a few days, a little green sludge on cartridge filter wool .. i guess from the 2nd hand stuff in tank , although i did rinse it all first. SATURDAY : I had my tank running for a week without any fish and added two guppies. (Two days before i added them i put in some TLC live bacteria) The two guppies were dropped by staff member but rebagged and sold to me. The guppies were not interested in food that day. Later that evening the male seemed to get very fat and a bit slow , I thought I would lose him overnight but he was ok the next morning and no longer fat. SUNDAY: We ended up taking the other fish back the next morning after I had a closer look and realised it was a young male and not a female that we were supposed to get. I told them about the fat male so they gave me an extra male for free in case the first one dies. so i now have THREE guppies. While i was at the store i got my water tested and was told there was ammonia... I'm not sure but I think he said 1 ppm. He sold me some ammo block and told me to put it in the tank when I got home , and do a 50% water change, then a 25% WC the next day. I used the ammo block but did a 25% change (with stress coat conditioner), not 50% because I have new fishie and didn't want to stress them too much because our tap water is pH 7.8- 8.1 and the tank water is now close to neutral. The two new guppies after putting in tank, their eyes became very dark/ dilated making the eyes look big. The males eyes returned to normal by nightfall. I got different opinions after googling .. from; the guppys are climatising.. to stress... to sick. MONDAY: All 3 fish still good and I did a 25% change and added some more TLC live bacteria. Female eys are still big. They are all active and eating well.. on limited food once a day (until i can test for ammonia) Now here is where I am confused.. I don't have an ammonia test kit but have ordered a Nutrafin one. Was told by one person to do daily changes until I can test for zero ammonia. Another person has said, not to do a water change change because my tank is still cycling. There is also the question of the ammo-block , has this interfered with the cycle , meaning I have to start over.. but with three fishies! What do I do next?? I'll try and summarise my questions: 1. Do I continue to do daily water changes until the kit arrives.. (might be another 3-4 days) or shall I stop? 2. Has the ammoblock interfered with the filter establishing? one website says it doesn't but I'm not sure) 3. The reading of ammonia 1ppm , the next day after adding just 2 guppies seems high to me, is that possible? 3. what caused the male to bloat like that but recover next day? 4. Any ideas what is going on with the females eyes. 5. not so important but I'll ask while I'm here... do I need to get another female guppy? Am planning on adding another 4 fish gradually (2 kuhli, bristlenose, maybe a betta) and don't want to overstock the tank. An extra female would bring it to 8 fish. Once ammonia levels are down , when can i add another fish? Any advice on any of the above queries would be really really welcome. I am very new at this fishkeeping and don't want to lose even just one fish.... especially the first male who is very pretty. thanks!

hehe, i know about the guppies breeding habbits.. I don't mind if they become live food. Now I have a piece of driftwood and will add it to the tank soon, have started another thread about this because I'm not sure if any preparation needs to be done first. I got a reply from our local council who have confirmed our tap water has pH of around 8 or more so I definitely want to try and keep it lower, hopefully the driftwood will help. Does it lower it by much?

i have a piece of presoaked driftwood from a petshop. I am now soaking it in some of my own tank water, is that all I need to do? or do I need to scrub and boil first? How soon can I put it in my newish tank.

What a steep learning curve , but I appreciate all the replies. My tap water is close to pH 7.8 but the guppies I want to buy are currently in a 7.0 tank .. so i wanted to get the PH down in my own tank first before adding them. I don't have live plants yet but will be adding somrthing small soon and was also told that driftwood can help.

haven't added fish yet to new tank but took some water into petshop to be tested as my kit at home only measures to pH 7.4 As I suspected it was higher.. 7.8 They sold me some "pH down" - 1000g/kg Sodium Phosphate-Monobasic. The instructions say: "Add a sufficient quantity of pH Down to aquarium water to achieve a neutral or desired reading." But what is a sufficient quantity?? where do i start , a teaspoon ?, 1/2 teaspoon ? .. 34L tank. I know to bring it down gradually but need some sort of starting point

sorry, i didn't realise I hadn't put it in my profile. I'm in Manukau, Auckland. I really want Snakeskin guppies but wellington a bit far!

Hi, I'm starting with a small 34L Aqua One tank but i can see that once I get the hang of this I will be getting a larger tank! I was warned it was addictive and I haven't even got fish in yet! We are going to start with a couple of guppys .. (still looking for a snakeskin or two) and then will add a little bristlenose and two kuhli loaches. :-)

thankyou every one.. i feel very welcomed :-)

thanks for that! When will I be allowed to view profiles? I get a message saying "I'm not authorised"

Hi fish people! I'm brand new to the forum and to keeping fish (except for a short attempt 20 years ago) My daughter and I have set up small tropical tank and will soon be adding fish. Just a quick query regrading the PM system.. I just tried to PM someone but the message is still in my outbox.. not sure how to get it to send. Lol, I'm trying to get the hang of this so might need some help at first! :-)