Doc Holiday

/\ || I should read all the posts before posting :roll:

.................................. 8)

A 300 watt heater in a rather small tank keeps the temp inconsistant, it heats to rapidly and unless you like boiled fish for breakfast I wouldn't suggest it! :-?

Just a couple of questions: How long has the tank been running? how often do you do water changes and is the gravel being vacuumed when doing so? How often do you feed? :-?

Hi!! welcome to the forums of new zealand fish keepers, i hope you enjoy!! 8)

nice fish!! 8)

There are always cheap options for gravel! never go to your LFS they'll rob you blind. I have just got myself some gravel for my new 5' tank from a shingle quarry, and at $25 a tonne it was a steal. So have a hunt around and find something to your liking as long as it's not limestone or fill of crushed shell it should be fine. Just make sure you clean it thouroughly.

Unless you have underplanted and using way to much CO2 8)

Sand is not usually recommended for CA Cichlids they tend to dig alot and it does serious harm to their digestion system and as others mentioned it plays havoc with with your filtering system . It also clouds the tank every time they stir up the substrate and CA cichlids have large droppings of waste that is a real eye sore on sand. Hope this helps towards your decision!

I agree with Rob, neons would only prolong the cycle the cory's are a better bet. And as for using guppies or Mollies these are the only fish that I lost during my first cycle. I had a pretty harsh cycle due to lack of knowledge and the two fish that did survive were labyrinths, a male betta and a golden gourami. Which at a guess I would say it is because they could also breath air when the water quality got quite bad. 8)

It's exactly 120 us gallons!!

The water chemistry is fine, having a little trouple buffering the ph but am slowly getting it under control. But any advise on keeping the ph at around 7.0 would be greatly appreciated, it is currently around 6.0 to 6.5 and trying to find ways to keep it high enough. The reason for feeding beef heart is it is very clean and the fish are in an undersized tank for there eating habits. I haven't heard of PH burn before, can you please explain this in more detail, I would love to know!

I've noticed in the last day that the larger of my two oscars has started to get a milky white film like patch on the top of his head. Is this the early signs of white spot? or is something else? could be some kind of fatty deposit after a couple of feeds of beef heart? Some input on this would be greatly appreciated!! They are little stressed due to lack of territorial space waiting for thier new home to arrive from china.

They usally grow to around a metre long in the wild, the asians use them as food. But they generally never get larger than 2 feet in home aquariums. Very nice fish but $300 is way over the top. 8)

I have a high ph level in the tap water and i keep my ph levels buffered at about 7 by putting in some peat moss wrapped in a musslin bag. It does the trick just fine. 8)

Very impressive!! how much are they asking for it?

Two oscars and a Texas!! great fish!! 8)

Sorry my mistake, have corrected it!! Always get the two mixed up. :roll:

Welcome Morz!! to the mad mad world of fish keeping!! 8)

There are definately a few of these in the country, a mate of mine had a few not long ago. Great looking fish. 8)

Fresh water rays aren't allowed in the country, Importers have been trying to bring them in but to no avail. I've heard of there being at least 2 or 3 in the country and how they aquired them is a mystery. But if you know of a means of getting one then i would love to know. 8)

I do a 25% water change every Sunday morning, but only due to the huge amounts of waste created by the oscars. My 20L betta tank only gets a 50% change once a month and I'm sure that this only precautionary rather than nessecary. Like pegasus said, everybodies tanks are different and I'm sure most people do unnessecary water changes. The general rule is to use your nitrate test kit to monitor your tank, and when your nitrate readings start going beyond 100 then it's time to do a water change. People will find that heavily planted tanks with low stocking levels will take a long time to reach this level if at all. And heavily stocked and unplanted tanks will reach this level very rapidly. My tank takes about 2 & 1/2 to 3 weeks to reach this level and i have huge amounts of waste. But I do my water changes once a week to clean up the extra large oscar poos all over the gravel (messy pups) rather than to keep the water at a healthy level. I would suggest testing and monitoring your tanks over a 2 or 3 month period to see what each tank requires and then decide how often you feel comfortable doing water changes on each of them. This could be a major time saver due to unessecary water changes. Good luck

Have a look at this tank for sale http://www.buy-sell-exchange.co.nz , search for tank in the waikato region, there is a 8' tank that Could solve you a whole lot of hassles building one 8)

I have a Leopard Peckoltia (L008) I think or it is a similar variation of this not quite sure exactly. And 4- baby bristlenoses arriving this morning.

Have a look at a MESONOEMACHEILUS TRIANGULARIS and tell me if i'm getting warmer! 8)