Caryl

Live plants certainly help but not for clearing water in this case. More filtration is needed.

Welcome and feel free to ask questions - just make sure you take note of the answers! Nothing more frustrating than being asked questions, giving good answers, then having the person ignore all your advice, then come back and ask why their fish died/tank turned green/ or whatever You should be able to get good second deals on tanks and any equipment needed to go in them. A lot cheaper than buying a kit usually too.

Thought I would start a new thread rather than add on to the Christmas thread. I posted a pic of my Christmas cake and was asked if I had done any fish related ones (the penguin is fishing so that's fish related, right? The aquarium one I did almost 8 years ago, before I got into cake decorating a little more seriously. Nemo was made, if I remember correctly, by Donna Moot's (the Turtle Lady in ChCh) mum for the 2010 conference. Very tasty he was too! Anyone else done, or been given, fish themed cakes??

I would think any test kit on sale these days would do the job. Check the expiry dates on the packets though.

As said, what are your water parameters, especially nitrites, nitrates and ammonia? It could be your aquarium has a problem with these and that is killing the fish. The neons may have parasites (internal or external) they have spread to your fish, killing them. Look closely, particularly on the other fish as it is hard to observe anything on a fish as small as a neon! Anything on the surface of the skin? Are all the fish starting to look thin, no matter how much they are eating? There may be nothing you can do but wait until the fish stop dying then start again. Do not start medicating unless you know, for sure, what the problem is. The 3 most common are internal bacteria or parasites, external bacteria or parasites or water condition. If it is the tank itself, daily water changes should help.

Specs say that filter is suitable up to 250L. You don't need to borrow/buy a larger filter as you just need one to run along with the one you already have big enough so the combined flow rate is enough for your tank. It pays to get a size larger than recommended too as the specs on the boxes are for a filter running empty and does not allow for the eventual drop in water flow as the media catches the debris. Increase your water changes until you can afford to buy another filter. I would get another 1200 and have one at each end of the tank. You can never have too much filtration - unless the fish are swimming backwards in the current

Do you know anyone you could borrow a filter from to see if it makes a difference? What sort of filtration do you have and what size is the tank? What sort of algae are you having trouble with? Sounds like you mean the water does not stay clear. Twice weekly water changes may help but better to address the cause, not the result.

More filtration may help and/or you may be over-feeding giving the algae lots of nutrients in which to flourish. They would be the first things I would look at.

Are the neons dying too or just the other fish in the aquarium, or both? Can be a number of causes depending on which ones are dying.

Funnily enough, I have only done one fish themed one and that was a few years ago before i was really into cake decorating. It was made to look like an aquarium and I will hunt the pic up for you. Also, I think it was Donna Moot's mum did a Nemo shaped one for one of the FNZAS conferences and I will find that pic too.

None at all thankfully Alan. Water level is well down in the aquarium, just in case ;-)

We are having a rocking good time, thanks to a series of quakes today!

Have had same 5 year old back for the last 2 days. He was not only puzzled, but horrified, that we did not have Netflix! He has been watching Pokemon on Youtube in between outings and playing with Lego and dinosaurs on the lounge floor. In the end Grant signed up to a 1 month free Netflix trial. We can just cancel it at the end. Making my 9th Christmas cake today. Good thing they get given away as I hate fruit cakes. Have attached pic of one of the cakes made. Have also done an identical one since that one was eaten.

Fish do not know what pH they are supposed to be in so don't tell them. If you have a local supplier, ask what pH their tanks are. Often pH is not a problem unless you are wanting to breed a species which has specific requirements when breeding.

All you need to do is add enough hot water to the bucket so it feels similar to the tank water. Also depends on the fish as some are more sensitive to temp changes than others. My African tank used to get 50% water changes by hauling the garden hose through the window and topping up with cold. The fish would swim in the stream of cold water and loved it. When changing the community tank in the lounge, I do not want to pour cold water over my hand so have it just warm enough to take the edge off. No idea what temp it is compared to the tank but never had problems.

Welcome back and have a look at rainbowfish

Welcome and good choice. Do you know anyone else with an aquarium? Asking to attach you new filter to their mature tank will cycle the filter well, with no guesswork and need for constant testing ;-)

Heading over to daughter in law's parents for Christmas Day. Doing a Secret Santa thing and everyone contributing to the food and prep so not an expensive day. There will be 2 and 7/9ths grandsons plus 13 adults. Just made a Christmas cake and now to decorate my dad's birthday cake then make some Macadamia Brittle and Macadamia Fudge to go with the Cranberry and White Chocolate Slice for some friends. Christmas tree is full sized this year as Theo is now 2 so understands the word "No". Of course that doesn't mean he will take any notice ;-) Had a 5 year old for the day yesterday and he was looking at the tree (and touching) then asked "Why do you have a pterodactyl in your tree?" I asked him didn't everyone have a pterodactyl in their tree? and he looked at me with a duh expression and replied "Nooo."

When you click on a forum with unread threads in it, on the right beside "Reply to this Topic" is a bit that says "Mark Forum As Read".

Like Ira, I just rinse and add to tank. Never had a bit float as I gather native hardwood from the river outlets on the beach and they have already been waterlogged.

They are a lovely fish.

No, did not see any offered that I noticed. We did eat fish but don't know what it was specifically.

Good question! There used to be a button to mark them as read. There is a bit about it under "Activity" along the top blue strip. You can go to unread content but not sure if one of the options then allows you to mark it as read. Anyone got an answer to this?

If the cord is long enough, I suggest you move the heaterstat lower down the glass. It will be hidden more behind the plant and work more efficiently as heat rises. Not a biggie if you can't get it any lower though. How can a tank be "too green"? Unless the green is out of control algae blocking the view

How is your goldfish (and ammonia) now?