phyrestaata

I'm not sure if it would be ok to just leave them without a couple water changes, just because they are big and messy and I usually do a couple water changes a week...plecos are quite the poop-machines lol

Hi does anyone know of some outfit who look after your tropical fish when you are away? I'm off overseas for thee weeks in Dec/Jan and not sure I want to leave the fish without any water changes in the time I'm away. If anyone can offer advice that would be great. (I've got someone who can feed them but they are not able to do any maintenance so I need to look at options) cheers

good pick up congrats. I would get some too if I saw some. Do you know any stores that have them in at the moment or did you order yours specially.

Yes I got the ones at Mt eden and there was a big one at Pupuke that I swiped too. The biggest would be about 13cm, the middle one 11 cm and the smallest maybe 10 cm..I am moving them soon so I will take the opportunity to photo them clearly. I don't handle them unless I need to so its hard to get photos.

Nice photos! Your fish are lovely. I have three of these guys, I think one female two males but I could be wrong...they are in a community tank at the mo but soon I will have a tank just for them, to try if I can get them to breed. They are really cool fish.

cool thanks for all the help! davidb I might take you up on your offer. will be in touch sometime after xmas. It's interesting that the heater is placed in the sump in that diagram. would that work for a big tank like mine? it's a sizable amount of water. but I would like it as natural looking as possible...

I picked up my new tank but its pretty crusty as it was used for marines. It is covered with white scale stuff all over the inside of the glass I was wondering the best way to get rid of all the build up - would white vinegar work to dissolve the scale, if I gave it a good rinse afterward?

hey thanks for that. Are trickle towers easy to get from the lfs or is it better to ty to make one. I have googled and found some info and I think I kind of understand how it all works...the trickle tower acts as a wet/dry filter removing the bigger particles before the water enters the sump. The water in the sump is passed through various media before being returned to the tank. So all I have to do is try to put it all together...I'm a bit "technically challenged" when it comes to this kind of thing but I suppose I will have to learn someday. :-?

Hi I just bought a 5ft tank on TM It comes with a sump tank and the necessary plumbing. I am not sure how to set it up. Can anyone give me some instruction or perhaps direct me to an informative website that could help me? I havent seen the tank yet. I hope that it not to hard to set up as I have always used power filters in my big tanks, this is all a bit new to me. It will be a freshwater amazon biotype. what brand/size of return pump will I need to buy? what would people recommend? cheers

My galaxy is a l240, he's about 20-25 cm. would like to find a female but I don't have too much hope there.. I will try to breed my gold hets when they mature. I think I have one female and two males, not really sure though.

I have l. heterodon and l.galaxias so you can get them at times.

Some panaques get pretty big, but they don't grow very fast. Given enough time and enough space....

lol, I have one.. he dosn't look much like tom selleck though...

Thanks, its quite exciting to know that I have a breeding pair and can try again properly if this lot don't make it. At the moment all 7 are still alive and seem happy enough. I did a careful water change today. They are huge for newly hatched fry What foods do I start them on when they have absorbed the yolk? I am so unprepared I don't have any live foods or anything special for them...or is it enough to just put a little blanched courgette in for them?

This is the first time I have had a successful hatching from my butterflys (L052 I believe) I just found seven fry/eggs in the community tank. The male had kicked the eggs out of the tunnel and lucky I spotted them as they were hatching. Real stroke of luck getting them before the other fish did. I siphoned the eggs into a bucket and within the space of 1 minute the eggs had hatched into wee bubbas. I'm a bit unprepared for them, I was not expecting the adults to breed as I have not been giving them any special treatment at all to condition them, and I did a huge water change on that tank yesterday (oops) and moved all the tank furniture around so I could get all the dirt out (double oops) I will have to be more careful next time. If anyone has any tips for raising them I would appreciate it as I have not had experience with raising these guys.