Caryl

I cycled my Malawi tank with goldfish then threw them out in the pond.

This is true snowman :lol: The advantage with the canisters (internal and external) is the built-in motor. I often set up small tanks with UGFs but would not use them on tanks over 100L as I don't like the wider uplifts used, nor the noise from the bigger pumps and bubbles.

The water doesn't have much bacteria in it, you need to pinch some of his filter media

Having used UGFs for many years, before canisters came along, I never had to clean one out.

I have some pearl gouramis that are 6 years old now. Perhaps dwarf gouramis will last half as long being half the size? :roll:

I am sure the Malawi lovers here would appreciate hearing about a Malawi specialist forum. Go for it Kevin.

I saw that and am wondering if these fish are legal in NZ. Anyone know? I can't find them on the biosecurity list.

I am not sure if these fish are legal in NZ so not sure if we can amend any of your information.

I have seen such glass strips before but know nothing about them personally. They would work though.

Welcome. Nice fish! I had to Google to see what they were though :roll:

Hiya bg, welcome back.

The mouth of the river at Hokitika is good and the rata and rimu is already waterlogged Better than getting any of the dried stuff that is lying about all over the place. Best time to go is after stormy weather or river floods as more washes down then.

Let us know as soon as you hear more! :-?

There are many many factors affecting the number of water changes a person needs to do. I was not offering it as advice, merely said what I did personally. My tank has been running several years, is heavily planted, lightly stocked, lightly fed fish, and well filtered.

No but you listed so many it will take a while to go through them all! Ones you can definitely look at for a tank that small are the guppies, platies, corys, cherry barbs, runny noses, emperor and cardinal tetras, Siamese fighting fish, dwarf gouramis (but not with Siamese fighters), zebra danios and harlequins. Many of those fish are shoaling fish so prefer to be in groups of 6 or more. You are going to be limited on how many you can have. Others in the list are probably OK too but I would need to check. Angels are definitely out, as are kissing and pearl gouramis, plecs and sharks. Others I would have to check but others will know.

Yep. Especially over summer when the water table is low. If I do water change then I always have a massive algae outbreak.

I always bid at the last minute - usually because I have forgotten the auction is due! :roll: Bidding and outbidding at the last minute is fun :lol:

Your fish might develop a glue habit

I too had always heard 10% a week or 20% fortnightly but personally don't do any water changes at all if I can help it :roll: I wonder if it is because today's fishkeepers tend to overstock so need larger water changes more often :-?

Welcome. I agree with oneeyedfrog re size and access.

Are these short tailed comets? Goldfish are really unsuited to hexagonal tanks, comets especially as they need length to swim about in. Even with a filter those fish will produce a lot of waste. It may be coping at the moment but if she adds more there will be deaths.

If you put your location in your profile (through the User Control Panel) it would help when it comes to answering some questions - like whether you need water conditioner. Some areas do and others don't. Depends on your water supply and what, if anything, is added to it. As asked - how long has this tank been running? If it is newly set up then that is a lot of fish.

Mine was always in full sun with no problems.

So what sort of fish was it and what had he been feeding it?

Green water. Dried animal poo. Dried blood. Yeast