Sophia

it's Ok, I can wait! I'm happy they are doing well and getting on with the locals

ooh Rebecca can you post a pic of the otos with the kuhlis? I would love to see them together I take it they are not offending each other... I did warn them to have their best manners

step dads can be trouble ! if he is nice underneath he may be able to be appeased by naming your handsomest fish after him

they see all, it's just whether or not the person viewing the screen decides to pull you up on it ... bank on them coming up and you won't get into trouble or lose your fish! I know there are some brave risk takers on here but I personally wouldn't risk it :oops:

they will love you if you give them live food... mine went from semi alive dither fish to cold hearted beady eyed killers who would chase each other to steal a worm from their mouths! and swimming at funny angles to get their eyes close to the worm before pouncing haha... much more interesting

why would you think cardinals wouldn't like the tank? I found mine were more happy when the plants grew higher, the higher the plants the higher up the water column they would hang about in one of them could be especially quite scaredy after a prune

Aviation Security Service who do the Xraying and scanning are there to uphold nz and international legislation but the airlines themselves have their own rules that can be more restrictive. After having worked at the former and other govt type places, and having watched those people getting nailed on those Customs TV shows, I would be declaring anything odd because the risk if they say you can't take it puts you in a difficult position of either having to come up with some large sum of money or risk missing your flight because of having to arrange alternative fish transport. These people are always easier on those who are up front about what they want to do. It's only a matter of time before they tighten up domestic flights. Ignorance only works once!

that is a really funny picture :lol: :lol:

my tank is in limbo in the garage at the moment and the light is off - every time I'm down there I see the cories playing the in current, they are definitely more active in lower light levels.

if you buy my corydora they will love your sand!

I too have been having a battle with algae of a different kind and the only thing not mentioned in the previous advice is the phosphate. If you don't have a test kit for that, take a test tube of water down to the pet shop and get it tested, you might find part of the puzzle. Best idea is to take a tube of plain tap water and a tube of tank water and compare the 2. I figure my feeding is to blame for excess phosphate in my water as it's clear when it comes out of the tap :oops: My algae is making inroads to come back and the daily dose of flourish comprehensive seems to keep some of it at bay but I haven't managed to eradicate the main culprit staghorn algae yet - phosphate in the water is the last thing I am yet to conquer. disclaimer: if your kind of algae is not affected by phosphate I'm sure the gurus will put me straight :lol: ----- further, what is the benefit of starting the plants off in a small layer of water over starting them off in a full tank but without the fish?

I am watching 2 cardinal tetras compete over 2 tiny ramshorns on the tank floor one went down the hatch, the other was carried away, I didn't see what happened to it is there a trick to it? I have mine stuck to the log with cable ties at present

I have flushed a neon and icky sticked a tiny half dead guppy with a pin. After that I bought some clove oil. I am yet to use it but I think it will be more pleasant for all.

I think I like it better now than before, with being able to see more rock and substrate at the front is great anyway

In the case of straight val vs twisted, I prefer twisted any day, much more interesting in a current. I had a lot of it before I killed it, and it looks great en masse. However if you do decide to grow it and sell it later I might buy some from you!! I will keep an eye out for some of that rock

the colour scheme is great is it actually a piece of old coral or some other rock? I would like something like this if it's the kind of thing available around n about

my cardinals do the same arguing - my main trouble maker is the smallest - 'he' hangs away from the group some of the time but other times likes to hang with the other 3 smaller fish I like your tank - you are inspiring me to swap down to a smaller one! Moving house soon so I might have to!

it's been hard to find a balance in feeding as the tetra will take the shrimp pellets but the cories can't eat the flakes so I had been giving a bit of each. The cories can't eat the white worms and the grindals don't sink quickly enough to make it to them either! Makes it easy to see why people have single species tanks with these kinds of little issues. now they will have to make do with sharing shrimp pellets until I get the rest under control in other news there is no new staghorn since I removed the last few bits, so there's a bit of good news for now

:lol: let me know if you want me to do some digging down the creek for you hehe

I like this picture - they have such funny faces 'no photos please!' haha

oh and I also now have a big chunk of windelov fern sucking up evil too so the thing I get out of this is probably though I feed what they eat in a couple of mins (algae wafers not counted), I have probably still been feeding too much. Because where else would the phosphate come from? While the tank water had gone down slightly, the tap water was zero, so it must be whatever I'm adding. thanks again

mangroves? :lol:

how about if I sing songs to it?

It's been attached for a number of months. Where on the stem would you cut it Dennis? On the top of root mass as it curves down the hill? This one has always been quite a quick grower, the stems and leaves used to be twice as long till I chopped it. It now has a windelov fern on the log to keep it company, or shame it into growing faster :lol:

I can increase the F.Comp to daily (as you suggested in the first place!) I will look into DIY Co2 but so far it hasn't been an option for me - not enough space or time/inclination. Do you know why the F.Excel causes cloudiness nowadays? Is it a bit like taking Vitamin C - what you don't need you pee out, what the tank doesn't need it's messes up the water with?! How long should I reduce the photoperiod by this time? Is 3 less hours too much of a drop?