Sophia

HFF have a few of them in a tank, they look do particularly cooky when all together.

in the space of maybe a week I lost 3 or 4 of my biggest fry - and have never found the bodies. Got more plants coming and there are less places for them to get in trouble in now too so fingers crossed no more disappear. :-?

haha

I don't know if they are preggers but I guess you will find out soon enough haha

Does Clifford know he is a girl magnet?

leave him alone, he's cute with his bubble head!

Good luck, I hope your tank problem is solved soon

you have some lovely plants in there already - looks good

There are people about that use fish like tetra to test their water (one bought some from me ) - they say they know that the water quality isn't great when they start getting sick. Also are the corydoras top fins high in the air like sails when they are seeming relaxed? If their fins are more folded up and clamped then they aren't happy either. Is the wood still in there and if so where did it come from? When I started my killie tank I thought my wood was Ok as I'd soaked it for weeks and weeks, but it was doing some weird algae-rhythms so I took it out. The fish didn't seem bothered and I was most annoyed at having to change my layout. By the sounds of yours it seems to be the most obvious thing that's big that would affect it other than the cycling. I'm not an experienced fishkeeper so since you're asking my advice I guess it's process of elimination. If I were you my first thing would be to take the wood out, do another water change and add oxygen and see if they start to look better. The plants are probably helpful and might be nicer on the stressed fish if you leave those be, floating or weighted down while they recover.

thanks, I really want plants that are going to do well

Alan, do you have any balansae? Is it suitable for a low tech? thanks

thanks

I like both options. 8)

I won't suggest medication as I don't know enough - except that my tank has 1tsp of salt per litre and my female killie has various bumps from zapping around like a mad fish and she doesn't seem to get infections. If you swirl the siphon about a bit you might be able to stir up the bottom without disturbing too much sand too. good luck

I'd like to but I've got windelov that has only just started to grow back green after getting blackened if you remember, a 2 leafed scrap of needle java that has grown longer and stayed grubby coloured but not put out new leaves, and some normal java fern that again has only just started to grow green again. They have all been tried in various places close/far from the light and with/without floating plant cover. In the beginning ferns were all I wanted in there, so I got a bunch and attached them to the wood. I'm reluctant to get another beautiful specimen from someone and see it plop out again. Saying that, the difference between 10 weeks ago and now is that the light is down to 6 hours and ferts back to once a week and no more floating plants. I'm having success with crypts, dwarf chain sword and ambulia though Having plants that threaten to melt on moving also helps me resist rescaping hehe :roll: :lol: what do you reckon?

does it suck up with a siphon? If so you could suck it out and do a decent water change. Usually that's the first thing I see the Fish Oracles suggest for not immediately diagnosable conditions.

Just wondering - would shrimp eat killie eggs they found attached to leaves or would they stick to chomping algae or mulm? Do they tolerate low levels of tonic salt, ie 1tsp per 4 litres?

sorry to hear about Maxine Stella, did you find out the cause of her passing yet?

that's good, I sent Alan a PM earlier to see what he's got available

these look interesting but would they be OK and available? Aponogeton crispus red Echinodorus Ozelot Echinodorus Ozelot Green Echinodorus uruguayensis Hygrophila difformis also who has got crypt balansae up for grabs at the moment?

The retrospiralis has only got 1 leaf... it's still a crypt but just so you know ... Any ideas on what I can fill the gap with?

All being well, on the weekend I will permanently move my filter to the back corner of the glass (currently residing on an island due to noise when set up initially - don't ask me how but the vibration noise has gone away...) and I will get a good 20cm square worth of gravel back for another plant. Click here for my thread viewtopic.php?f=15&t=48110&start=45 and skip to page 4, the post at 911pm Sat Nov 27 so you will get an idea of the spot I want to fill. It’s pretty much right under the lighting there and gets about 6 hours a day. The tank is low tech but it gets flourish comp’d once a week and there are JBL balls in the gravel. My plan for that area was something tallish (plant could be up to 30cm high) with long/wavy leaves. I do have 2 twisted val plants but it's taking quite a long time to get established. Also have a retrospiralis crypt I could move there but at a rate of no new leaves ever that is happening even slower haha :roll: (willing to trade that if anyone wants). I don’t want a stem plant that I will be pruning or chopping and replanting every other week. Also something not too feathery or will get mulmed by the filter. Another crypt would be fine, or a sword plant of some sort perhaps? More twisted val would be fine if it had good root system – the weaker stuff I’ve bought hasn’t survived. Now that I have presented quite an exacting criteria, does anyone have any ideas or something suitable for sale? 8)

I like the planting and the wood positioning, lots of hidey holes that the fish will appreciate. Did you end up killing the algae on the riccia or just lobbed it in as is? I started with a riccia rock but I couldn't wait long enough for it to grow hehe :roll:

I liked the wood you had in there earlier.

I don't have any to spare really as I'm trying to grow it longer but if you want I will pop down to HFF and see if they have some left - I will split some with you and you can just pay for the postage?? Send me a PM with your address if you want to do that. Took the filter out for another poke about and found the most obvious holes - because I have it stuck to a pole, 2 of the suction cups on the back were not used. Have plugged those holes with the other cups. I'm doing an experiment at the moment where the filter is actually stuck to the glass so we can see how noisy it is - at the start it was louder than a fridge but it seems quieter now. If the noise level is acceptable I will leave it there and there won't be so much worry about the larger fry going around the back and getting in where the wire is. Little fry are fair game no matter what I do because of the holes on the front. Hopefully the filter will be OK on the glass as I will gain a good handful of extra room for plants