DennisP

olive

Dwarf gourami could be an option. No idea what their biotope would look like though. The gobie biotope is very interesting. I'd be something new to try and looks pretty simple. I got a few rocks from outside and tried out the scape. I reckon I could do it well if I can get my tank to clear. Need sticks though. i'll leave the colourful tank to my brother.

Ewwww.

It is time to redo my 60l tank... again. I would quite like to try a proper biotope tank. I'm not quite sure what region to model it from though. I quite like South American fish/tanks but am open to all ideas. What do people think? I have a limited budget as I'm pretty broke at the moment, but biotopes really shouldn't cost to much anyway. Photos of other tanks are appreciated too. :lol:

And don't put all in at once if you can avoid it.

onion

Depends on bioload, type of fish and size of tank. I've never really bothered to cycle my tanks properly. I added 2 large discus, a bunch of neons, some cories, BGK etc etc into a uncycled Juwel Rio 240 and had no problems. As long as you keep an eye on them, they should be fine. It is just recommended you cycle tank. Also, I'm pretty sure there are some chemicals you can buy. I do not suggest this as chemicals are evil.

The blue "royal" could have been a blue phantom plec. Most royals I've seen are stripy. (I haven't come across a lot) My royal grazes on my driftwood. At night it can be quite loud. I've yet to see any marks of where its eaten anything.

The only noise I've had from air pumps is from the pump vibrating on the table/desk/wall/whatever. If you put it on a cloth its usually very quite.

For a while now, my fish have been scraping up against the wood. Some days they do, some they don't. It is generally they gills, and when a fish does this scratching, it goes into a frenzy like its in pain. Today (well, last night) I noticed that my Male Firemouth has a slightly opened gill. He won't give me a good look, but it is about 2mm further out than it usually is. And I can see a small amount of white tissue around the edges of the inside part. He won't give me a good look at it, and certainly not a photo. I do not want my fish to die. I am concerned they others have this infection too (a little less intense but still...). I Haven't yet googled much, as I'm sure there are a lot of diseases/parasites out there. Please help with some ideas! :-? (and treatment if possible)

Touche. But that is fixable.

The key with plants is patience. (which I don't have) :oops: Once you have a carpet, its hard to go wrong. Remember, a large factor in why those tanks looks so good, is that the scapers either have a photography side hobby - Or they hire a pro. If you look at their tanks without pro lighting and at different angles, they look much different. Apart from Co2, there is no real obstacle in the way of stopping you!

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but since you're on a tight budget, I would look around: Mitre 10, Bunnings and other landscaping/supply shops. You can get MORE than enough sand/gravel for a tiny fraction of what petshops would charge. I'm sure there are plenty of people here (and on trademe) that have some spare gravel/sand sitting around they'd be willing to share/sell. Good luck. Also, Rocks and live plants would be the cheapest way to decorate your tank - and If you do it well, it can look amazing. (Rocks you can get for free outside, and again, I'm sure if you ask the right people on here, some will send you free plant clippings. HTH

Grandad! :lol: 8)

Juwel filters are fine. The less filtration means more waterchanges. Thats all really. (unless you have no filter, then IDK) I've had my juwerl 240 with heaps of fish in it incl. discus with only the juwel filter and had no problems.

:lol:

That one is a BEAST

CHCH was pretty much postponed until today. SO MUCH RAIN! The show on the pier is postponed till tonight, and no one else wants to go out into the rain. :lol:

I have BGKs if they count? :lol: Nice CK though.

That I have. Also... this thread totally disappeared after I posted...

Personally I would go with some gourami in there. Asian set up - asian fish. Not only that, but rams will be more shy and prefer to have cover. Gourami swim near the top, and as u have iwugami style, most of the attention is on the ground so it balances better.

I like the idea of shellies. They're peaceful, so relaxing, yet are more interesting than neons etc so you can still watch them everyday. Simple layout, easy to clean... yup.

WHY SO GREEEEEN?!

CHRISTMAS!! :bounce:

Could have been just for the photo. Some tanks look better with ripples across the surface. Not sure though. Could be to stop the build up of surface film stuff.