Aquila

I think it looks good If you just the val grow in some and maybe get another clump of it on the left then it'll look perfect! You could also get one of those realistic photo backgrounds. I know some people don't like them, but I think if you keep it simple, like maybe a rock wall, or mangroves it can look really good.

Ughhh. That's really disturbing Poor kittens... How could a 3-year old even cut thru bone? *shudders*

Probably a cat-hater who finally had enough after the cat did something 'to deserve it'... I mean I'm not a fan of most cats...but geez, just give the cat to someone who will actually enjoy having it and then never get a pet again.

Would it be a good idea to first introduce the male to female by sectioning her off in the tank or putting her one of those containers so he can't hurt her? I thought I read somewhere that this was effective. Leave her in there until he decides to build a nest then let her out. Goodluck!

That is crazy! She actually split open?! I didn't believe that could actually happen! Sorry for your loss I will make sure I watch my prego females if they are getting too big...I don't know how I could help them though! Yeah, did the babies get out?

Did you let him eat the remaining half?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... craze.html

They are so cute I can't stand it!!!

I haven't heard of the salt yet. How much do you add compared to the other ingredients?

I haven't made one yet, but during my research I read that changing the ratios of your ingredients will give you different results. If you add more sugar, the bubbling should last long, if you add more yeast, then the bubbling will be faster but burn out quicker. Adding baking soda, stabilizes the mix and prevents over frothing and erratic bubbling. Also, if you mix the ingredients into warm water and let it start first for 20 minutes before closing the bottle up, apparently the yeast gets a better start on things (sooner) and more of them remain alive for longer.... Here is one recipe that sounds pretty good: http://www.hallman.org/plant/CO2.html Here's a review of a 'DIY' system you can buy, but the post by Danio at the bottom gives some good advice: http://badmanstropicalfish.com/products ... ystem.html Goodluck! And let me know what you learn, as I will soon be attempting to make my own!

Ok cool. Yeah I don't want my water yellow...not for this tank, probably not for any tank unless i'm going super authentic amazon and adding some river dolphins :lol: I think i will try some peat...maybe just use a bit at first and add some more carbon to the filter. Is there a way to pre-soak it to drain some of the colour initially? Will definitely try to get that second piece of driftwood in there. I definitely don't want my pH going up and down all the time especially not if i want to eventually get a elephant nose or some discus. I like the idea of pre-treating the water's pH though before adding it to the tank. So if you want your pH to remain stable at a slightly alkaline level, do you want your KH levels higher? And if u want it slightly acidic..than lower? I really need to read up on this water hardness thing some more... What do you think of those continuous pH monitor things? I saw them at the store...they have little circular scales and the reader in the middle. Apparently they update the pH every 10 minutes. Aside from having a narrower range, do you find they work accurately as a good backup to regular water testing? (They also have an ammonia one too)

Hahaha... will have to meet him someday!

Ok...does the peat make the water stable though? Or will it make the pH go down even more? Does it tint/colour the water? I do have 1 large piece of driftwood in there and will try to add another if it stops floating I guess i should just wait it out first and see if it stops. I mean I don't mind if it goes down to 6.4 as I want it slightly acidic, but would prefer it to stop there I probably should get one of those lower range pH test kits... Do you recommend the use (not over-use) of pH UP or pH DOWN. If not, why not? Cheers....hopefully this is still helping the original poster....I don't like hijacking threads TOO much

Awwwww! That is so adorable! What do his 'happy noises' sound like? lol

What if you wanted to keep it stable in the slightly acidic range? I want mine to stay at 6.6 ...but it seems to be dropping a bit more again.

oh i see...perdy

What makes fighters Cambodian fighters? I've heard this named quite a bit but never really figured out what made them different from Siamese Fighters.

Ok great. Well its good to know that at least most of my plants will stand a chance I know the lady replaced 1 tube in the last month because it burnt out...but the other is probably 1-2 years old. Too bad i can't tell which is which Mind if I ask you who your electrical wholesaler is suphew (since you are in Welly)? The pet store prices are pretty crazy...I really didn't want to have to pay $60 a tube, so I had started looking on trademe and also sourcing some through uni. I was actually thinking whether putting a blue tinted film over the light would make it look cool and help the plants at the same time. At uni, the students in one of the labs i TA had to put different coloured film over a plant's leaves and then sit them out in the greenhouse for a week. The next week they snip off the leaves and process them to see how much starch has built up in the leaf under where the film was (more starch=more photosynthesis occurred). The film colours were black (control), red, green, and blue. The blue always wins and is the only one with more starch in the patch then on the rest of the leaf. Yum These were not aquatic plants mind you.... So even though the film might make the lights dimmer....it could still make it more beneficial! If not, then maybe i'll just get a blue tube Thanks for the help!

Thanks Sam. I did try reading that post before, but i still don't really know whether that's enough for my plants/fish. So the 840 means 'colour rendering' of 80 which is 'pretty good' and a 'colour temperature' of 4000K which is just past 'neutral white'...but i still don't know what this means for my plant growth or sensitivity to fish. I've read that plants do best in a full spectrum light (because blue light is the best for photosynthesis) so i should aim for 5000K? Or 6500K? How much am i missing out (of the blue light) by only having 4000K? Will most plants have sufficient light to grow (with co2 + fert supplement)? I'm not trying to grow glosso here or anything Diameter is almost 1inch so i guess T8...which i guess its less efficient then T5. In the future, i want to get an elephant nose. Will the lights be too bright or will he be ok as long as he has a shaded hiding spot. I know they are nocturnal...but they do sometimes come out in the daytime and i'd like to encourage that Cheers.

Hi guys, I've had a look at what my 2 light tubes have written on them (from the 220L Aquaone tank I purchased off trademe last week). Crompton F1818/840 Cool White Q06 I can't find the wattage but i think its either 15 or 20W per tube. Can someone tell me what this means in terms of plants and brightness for more 'light sensitive fish'. My gravel is white, so it does reflect quite a lot back but i intend to have the bottom heavily planted so it will create some shade. Cheers!

Yeah, to be honest. They are really cheap in Canada to...so I don't think i can bring myself to pay anymore then $100 for a pair.

Me 3! Wait 4..no 5!!!

I wouldn't know exactly how this works since I've never bred fighters...but how would the hatchlings get air if the surface above was flat? Did you tape the cup to the side of the aquarium when you used it? Just looking for tips for the future

I've heard using half a styrofoam cup taped upside down at the top works really well for holding a bubble nest, plus it keeps the air warm underneath for the fry.

I think what really good guppy breeders do is select the look they are going for and then breed 2 strains from that initial group (or breed the groups for 2 different things sequentially). So for instance, they work on colour or tail size with one 1/2 of the group, and body size/shape with the other. Then at some point they cross breed between the 2. If the 2 groups were started off from the same line, then not too many of the genes are lost with the cross over but you get the benefits from the hard work you put into both groups with just a few generations. This is more easily achieved when you concentrate on one thing at a time and not try to incorporate all your goals in one go. Health is more dependent on genotype while appearance is the phenotype. Selectively breeding for 'pretty' traits doesn't always...but can take away the focus from the genes which keep the line healthy and strong since the genotype is invisible. Fortunately, certain phenotypic traits can be reflective of good health (and thus a potentially good genotype) such as body condition/size and swimming ability and so it is important to not just concentrate one one superficial aspect when breeding a good strain. Fancy guppies which are far removed from their wild cousins can still be successful and healthy, but only if the breeder did a good job.