maoripho3nix

Hey guys, Last night after getting home for the day, I had a good look at the fish as I usually do, but noticed what I would say is Fin Rot on 3 of my fish. I did a water test, everything seemed ok, did a water change after that. Woke up this morning, and the 3 were lifeless One of my Neons and both of my only Guppies The other fish seem to be ok and are swimming around as normal. I can not see any symptoms on the other fish. What can I do?? Was it fin rot as i suspected? What can I do to prevent the other fish ending up the same way? Please help Thanks guys P.S. the fins of the dead fish looked like this

Kool thanks for clearing that up. Are they ok to throw in alive? We kinda had the same problem, got some going through the storage shed, I suspect a mouse or something had got in and died, now some of the dried goods in storage have maggots on it :evil: In the bin they go

Can fish eat maggots?? Ive seen a few posts around where people talk about feeding their fish "fly larvae", meaning maggots?

Update: Ohhh KKayyy :lol: So as mentioned before the addition of Riccia has sucked up any excess nutrients that the algae was feeding off. The battle is over IMO. However instead of tying it to a rock as suggested, I decided to leave it floating. The fish like it better floating, especially the guppies. I still decided to add the rock work, which kinda adds a bit of focus and brings out the colour of the tank. The plants are doing well bar the glosso, but the sacrifice is made to please other fauna/flora in the tank. The fish are doing really well and the guppies have adjusted well. Since adding the guppies, each type of fish have schooled more. Now theres only one thing left to do............................buy another tank and start all over again :lol: I could ripp it all up and do it over, but instead Ill just wait till the bigger tank is in my lounge. After doing this "nano", ive learnt more on design and simplicity to achieve boldness in colour. So the next tank will look much better and probably easier to maintain. Here are some pics anyway. Enjoy and thanks for looking :bounce: The last image doesnt really justify itself but in this hi-rez one you can see the hair on the oto Thanks Jeff, yep the riccia sure did help. Will use some in the next tank to keep the algae at bay. I guess if I used it from the start the algae wouldnt of gotten out of control.

UPDATE: GUPPIES!!!!!! Got 2 guppies today on a whim. Pics Below. They are quite full of character, get on well with the other tank mates, and love the colours. The tank is still going well, the riccia effect has proven itself, instead of it floating I may wrap it to a rock as suggested by Jeff. Still need to add my rockwork to the scape I want some of those fish, and those plants. Pity we cant get some here Heres the quick pics of the Guppies, will do some better ones soon enough. :bounce:

UPDATE: To anyone who is having some major algae problems, get riccia :lol: Since I added this sponge to my tank it has literally won the battle against algae (hair algae). The hair algae was definately out growing the tank previously and showed no signs of slowing. After some quick mainto, I added the riccia which I received from another forum member. All is now going well, and the tank is looking a lot better. I still dont think ill put the driftwood back, but do want some rock work in there. Couple of quick shots on the small cam :bounce:

I too have Otos in my tank, mine are mostly active during the late hours. I usually keep the glass pretty clean, but leave a few "hard to get" spots for them to clean off. http://www.otocinclus.com This site has basic info on Otos, not too much in the way of identifying species though :roll: HTH

+1 I like the first one, theres more to it than the second one.

I considered doing one rather than a full submerged planted aquarium. But my tank is limiting. Before even starting out on this as a hobby, this website/competition inspired first.... http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2009.cgi?&op=ishowcase&category=3&vol=-1 Have a flick through, some really nice ones. Somewhere, its said that enclosed units have had other fauna living in it like reptiles, amphibians, even birds! 8) as an alternative to fish in the water :bounce:

+1 Good idea, might do that with the riccia in a few days, with having it floating its limiting the light for algae, and unfortunately the glosso. Trimming will solve that when i get to redesigning. I can see your glosso too, good luck on carpeting it 8)

:lol: I wonder what they are planning now? I ended up putting some filter wool in there to fill the gap. Should stop the curious ones.

:oops: I noticed the start of the inlet, the filter basket thingy was open wider than usual. Fish go stiff when they die. To get into the inlet they would have had to slither in. I think they were being too curious, i know one of the neons (the smallest one) was extra curious, and also one of the otos. If they were trying to do what nemo did and block the impeller with a stone, they were unsuccessful. I think what happened was they got in there, couldnt get back out, could only stand swimming against the inlet current so long, then eventually got exhausted and died

Im having a moment of grieving for the loss of 2 fish. I had gone to Gisborne in the weekend, when I returned I could only see 5 Neons instead of 6. Couldnt find it anywhere. Taking into consideration that Otos scurry around a bit under the plants, I assumed there were still 3. But on Monday arvo I had discovered that 1 was missing. Looked everywhere again for the missing oto. I put it down to an unexplainable phenomena that my fish were missing. Wednesday I recieved some Riccia from a forum member (thanks!!) and did a little mainto on the tank before adding it. I inspected the filter as it was running a bit slow, the filter wool was quite clogged up so I took that out and gave it a blast. Put it back in only to find the filter was still slow. Closer inspection reveiled that both fish had somehow broken through the inlet filter basket and were sucked up the pipes Only a few remains were found. Atleast I can put my mind to ease. I decided to stuff a little but of filter wool into the filter inlet basket, stop any more fish trying to get up there. UPDATE: The remaining fish are healthy and well. The glosso is still growing well and also the hairgrass. However the glosso still fails to carpet and wont anymore really, with the newly added Riccia floating, limiting light to the bottom. With the addition of Riccia hopefully it will keep all the algae at bay. Its already Pearling Its been such a learning curve, and I can see where MTS sets in, after setting up one tank, you have more knowledge and therefore in your head have planned how you want the next tank to look :lol: I want my next tank to be simple but bold in colours......future plan 8) :bounce:

I just dont get how I cant find it, I understand that fish can jump out of the water, but its nowhere to be seen. Ill be forever looking for the 6th one, maybe it did Nemo styles and got to a sink and down the pipe?? :-?

UPDATE: Well with the water changes and routine maintaining, its looking better and the hair algaes growth is slowed right down. It is still there though I haven't put any rocks or wood back in the tank, i dont think i want to put driftwood back at all as it does clutter up the tank a bit. I went to Gisborne in the weekend and stopped in the gorge, got some rocks some rough jagged dark brown ones. When I got home though, my Neons number have reduced from 6 to 5?????????????????????????????????? I have no idea where the other one is or has gone, nothing outside the tank anywhere, nothing inside the tank, on the bottom or floating on the top. No way any other animal could get in the house to get at the tank, and I dont have any other animals. My only guess is that if it died the other fish may have eatin it Yeah I want to use the proper co2 cylinder on the next tank when i get one The light wasnt cheap by itself normal retail. I wanted something better looking than the bold desk lamp, more because of where my tank is. I was gonna DIY lights but it wouldnt have looked that nice. Here hoping with a better budget the next setup will be better. Tank is going ok, still a bit of hair algae in there but not as bad as before, i think its slowly reducing in growth. Thanks bro, you would have any riccia??? Another member was sending me some but I could save them the trouble. Thanks everyone :bounce:

I have tried different mixes and recipes from online sources. Brewers yeast is supose to better than bakers as its used for brewing a similar mix when making alcohol. Have tried brown and castor aswell. But only have used edmonds yeast. Some people have said that dissolving the sugar and water, and the yeast and water seperately, then combining. I think the baking soda regulates the reaction. Either way i decided to go with 2 bottles connected to one inlet, seems to be going fine, im controlling it with a airline valve. Although its still not a controllable setup. Im looking into buying the equipment needed for C02 injection setup. If you go to the warehouse,bunnings,mitre10 you can buy small cylinders of c02 in the sodastream product line for cheap. As for the light, mines a phillips brand desklamp from mitre10. Cost me $45 on special which included the bulb. Before buying it consider looking at "Switched on Gardner" website for light kits, just the light fitting itself is about $15 i think. I got mine more for the design look (didnt want my setup looking toooo bad lol. HTH :bounce:

Hmmm might take some water samples to the LFS. Clearing it is easy, stopping it all together is hard work. I think phosphate contributes, but im sure only in excessive amounts (more than the plants require). Im hoping the WC keep it at bay. As for starting plants off in shallow water, main plant in question is glosso. Starting the glosso off in shallow water will allow the light to get to it easier, where as if the tank was full, the intensity of the light is not as great, enough to reach the glosso at the bottom. Starting the glosso in shallow water will give it a better chance as it has a high light demand. Give it time to establish and carpet before filling the tank. I guess patience would be the key to this, especially if you cant resist a tank without fish. :lol: Either shallow or full eventually a good light setup is needed. My experiment was trying to do it under DIY budget lighting. HTH

OK So here is what I did. I had already removed the moss + wood. Also removed the rocks. I removed all the equipment filter,heater,thermo....scrubbed it clean, dilute bleached it all, rinsed well. Whilst equipment was soaking, i scrubbed down the glass. Did a 50% water removal. Mowed the "LAWN" lol, clipped back the glosso, hairgrass, indian (also left some floating). Grabbed one of the 40+ powerheads that I had, cleaned (hardly a spec on it), bleached, and soaked it. Added the heater and powerhead. Added the filter. Filled her up again. Looking 100x better than before, but I can still see traces of hair algae :evil: Poor fish, hopefully they will settle alright. The powerhead has done wonders in blowing the extras i missed off the substrate into circulation. SO hopefully with the cleaning, added flow, and a schedule of more WC, this hair algae will disappear. :lol: YEP There were a few eyes watching im glad my experience has helped with your success. Thanks for keeping a close eye on the project. My guess is your setup is similar with CFL lighting + DIY C02?? Just so you know the glosso has grown outward very well and the roots are well established, however when the algae came on I had to reduce the light time. With this the new growth of glosso would stem up. I believe if the lighting had been efficient it would have carpeted well. Heres hoping that after the algae ordeal goes away that with a bit of pruning and increased light mine might carpet properly. For anyone else following and thinking of starting a glosso tank with similar setup, I would suggest doing this first Growing in minimal water level first HTH and congratulations and goodluck with the glosso JazzyJeff Will update as the tank improves :bounce:

UPDATE: Sorry its been so long since, internet and computer troubles. :evil: Well everything has turned for the worse, the stringy green type algae is EVERYWHERE . Ive tried different things to get rid of it. The worst affected part was the driftwood with the moss on it, just covered in it so I removed it :evil: . Because I had reduced the lighting time and increased the Co2, the plants still grow well but the Glosso has shot off like trees (its stem not carpeting). Definately need a mow in the tank now. :roll: The fish are still fine and healthy, but the tank is looking ugly. What I intend to try: Continue to clean as much off as I can Take a portion of the moss and clean Clean the driftwood Possibly put the moss and wood back in Clean the filter case, heater, rocks etc Increase to 3 w/c per week but less % Can anyone else suggest anything? Are there any fish/snail that eat this algae and/or all types of algae? Im still looking for a bigger tank, I wanna do a basic setup i.e sand,rock,carpeting plant,fern background. I figured out how to start the glosso off so it carpets well, so this is a future plan, then I will transfer my fish over. Open to comments

Ive worked at many distribution centres for supermarkets, here and in Australia, they may be free range eggs and do say so on packaging, but they are kept cool at the DC and in transport, same as caged eggs. For those who dont know the difference, free range = allowing the chicken to freely walk in an area to feed, a more natural setting, resulting in better quality of eggs. Caged = the obvious, caged in with other chickens and fed in the cage, very prone to stress etc and unnatural environment resulting in eggs with less nutritonal value. If you buy a caged egg, and a free range egg, crack it open and look at the colour difference in the yolk. Not all eggs from the supermarket are fertilised eggs, infact most of them wont be. Im not sure if anyone has bought them and successfully hatched any, but to be mostly successful it would be better to source the egg direct from the chicken on a farm or someone who has a couple in town, and not long after laying. So in order to hatch eggs you need to: Find someone who has hens AND a rooster....this is important, hens lay eggs most of the time, but in order for an egg to fully cycle and hatch it needs to be fertilised, this is where the rooster comes in, the rooster does its part before the hen lays the egg which will then be a fertilised egg. You can usually tell when the eggs are fertilised as the hen will lay a "clutch" of eggs, then stop laying, and will sit on the eggs, whilst guarding and turning the eggs (incubate). So first source a free range fertilised egg or eggs. And when you do get the eggs make sure its from healthy stock. Healthy stock = better quality eggs = better quality chicks and less chance of them not hatching or having illness or deformities. Second: You will need an artificial incubator, and a home for the new chicks. If you search on google there are lots of guides etc to building incubators. Here is one on youtube which I have used as a guide to make one but never used it in the end. You do need a constant temp, and it is around 21 days that the egg will hatch but there is a lot in between. There are temps, humidity, and turning eggs, and candlelighting to see if there is a chick developing, along with keeping a good record, just the list of things to do. For anyone trying this, DO YOUR HOMEWORK, its not as simple as just keeping eggs warm. :roll: After hatching you will still need to setup somewhere for the lil chicks to live, a box/container with hay or blanket and a warming light to keep them warm. As for after they have hatched, are you keeping the chick/chicken when it grows?? If its for educational/fun sake, find a home for them to go to afterwards. Otherwise consider building a chicken coop to keep the chickens. Google will be your best friend for this project, "A" frame coop/hutches are probably the easiest to make (or buy), and make sure the area where the chicks lay eggs is rodent proof, otherwise you will wait an eternity for your egg to come :lol: I would suggest also buying chick wire and setting up a perimeter for your chickens to free range, that way there will be no chances of escape even from a fenced property. Lastly clip the wings of your chickens to stop it from jumping/flying/gliding over barriers. Good luck for anyone attempting this, remember winter is coming in, and also check council laws for keeping poultry/foul in your town. HTH :bounce:

Well they are mostly for pond setups. Have a look in the garden section at mitre10 (any local one), theres a few ranging in size (ltrs per hour), and also underwater lights, stones etc. The boxes full that I got, some are new but have transformer problems, others are used but not performing properly. 9/10 customers will bring them back and get a new one claiming the fair trading act :roll: , but usually they just need a good clean. However on our end, the credit, return to supplier etc. costs more than our cost price for the items, or the supplier has told us just to biff them, so we just credit and dump them. And I put my hands up :bounce: and said I want them :lol:

:lol: I work out the back at Mitre10 Mega in Tauranga. 40 Well I actually havent taken count, could be more than that, found some smaller power heads, ones that you would use in say a 8-14L tank. Will count in the weekend :lol:

Thanks, yeah I wanna give them a good clean out, but didnt want to use any type of house chemicals, just wanting to know what to soak them in to loosen the build up thats in some of them. As most of them are an enclosed unit (not designed to be opened) its gonna be difficult to clean some of them by scrubbing. Thank you again :bounce:

Hi all, was lucky enough to save about 40 odd powerheads/pond pumps from being binned today at work. Ranging from small to huge! :lol: Apparently most go but arent pushing out water properly, I suspect its the impeller clogged up. Anything I can soak them in to get rid of the buildup? Could end up selling some on here

Yeah I think it has been a fight to see who is the "Alpha Male" amongst the group, as some of the males have nips in the fins, the one who has been chasing after the others the most, has the most nips :-? The females have been fighting him off too. Thank you I'm only new to the fish keeping scene and decided to use the least money to hopefully get good looking results, little did I know keeping a smaller tank in balance is harder than a big one (so Im told). But all in all its been great + educational and fun to observe. :lol: I remembered some techniques from photography at school, older manual slr camz are so much easier to configure to shoot (Shutter, Aperture, Focus etc). Its not easy taking photos of aquaria, but Im figuring it out. Thanks guys :bounce: