Caryl

There are smaller species of corys that would do well in there.

I have an overabundance of red rotala, some crypts and a bit of Anubias nana you can have for the cost of postage (which will be about $10.00)

I have always been told that surface area is more important. You can put more in a longer tank than a higher one with the same volume.

Sounds like the same thing that got one of my daughter's cats a few years ago :-(

Fry pic not showing for me. Great looking fish and not one I had heard of (which doesn't mean a lot). Every time I see your posts here I read "Maxine Kills"

I shall clear some out on Monday then. Your tank will not be empty for long!

Keep an eye on the Chinese algae eater. They used to be fine but I think they must have been crossed with piranhas over the years as they have become very aggressive (especially when they age) and will latch on to the sides of fish and suck rings on their scales, particularly more on flat bodied fishes like discus and angels. I always like the Ancistrus and the sharper gravel does not seem to wear their barbels down like it does the corys.

What size is your tank? I am sure I can fill it with the extra rotala I have here! (The fish had to get their machetes out!) Will also add crypts and Anubias nana. Want any Java moss?

Luckily they go well together

Very young. Condolences to Janey and the children.

Too many people out there have fish in unsuitable containers, especially goldfish. Comets should be sold for ponds only. Looking forward to photos as you get the community tank up and running. Do you know what you plan to stock it with yet?

Welcome. How small is the tank you are putting goldfish into? They really should not be housed in small containers. The price for everything has gone up hasn't it?

I can see an edit button for you, beside the quote button.

Planted tanks are not really difficult and do not need to be high tech. My own tank is chokka full of plant and only has basic gravel substrate and 4 x daylight fluorescent light tubes. No added fertiliser, apart from fish poo, and no other additives. We have quite a range of plants available. If you want red ones, you need a stronger light than green ones require. Easy starters are Java fern, rotala, Anubias, watersprite, bacopa (baby tears), cabomba and ambulia. All readily available from pet shops. Angels would look nice and I think the rams are compatible (someone who has kept both would be better to advise on this). Have a look at rainbowfishes. There are a few bright ones among that lot. Killifish are also bright but hard to get hold of these days.

Accessed it through the January newsletter link as never received the email (not in spam either). Well done to all involved, another interesting read. Congratulations to David Cooper too on his award.

Breeding fish isn't usually difficult. Raising the resulting fry to adulthood is the hard part. You need to define how much space you have for tanks, how hot and cold it gets over 12 months, what sized tanks you can build and whether you can afford the resulting equipment required to service them (insulation, heating, filtration etc). Once you have determined you can afford the ongoing costs, then you need to look at what sized tanks you will have, and how many, then decide what sort of fish you will try to breed.

I hope you have all had a relaxing Christmas Day and are enjoying the leftovers today. My fish got some much needed fish food for Christmas so they are happy

Depends why it is wobbly. Poor construction or uneven floor? I would not put a tank on a wobbly stand, especially if people walk past it a lot.

Fish are like humans - some are good natured and easy going whereas others are mean and nasty. You will get the occasional angel that is good with whatever is added to the tank but others will attack. If you have a pair of angels that start spawning then nothing will be safe!

Grumpy made those remarks in the old site. As a result, the smileys, or emoticons, at the end have not come out in this new site. If they had, you would see, I suspect, that the opposite meant.

Tanks looking really nice but, as said, eventually you are going to have nipped, and eaten, fish in there. They are often good when smaller but they get to a certain size then get territorial and the attacks start. Some angelfish never attack other fish but they are rare.

Discus are hard to keep and not recommended for a beginner, especially as you say the only fish you have bred are platies and I suspect you didn't specifically breed them, they just did it all by themselves requiring nothing specific by you. This is not to put you down, just saying you have jumped from an easily bred fish to one that is a lot more difficult with specific requirements. You seem to be going all over the place in your ideas for fish to breed. I suggest you sit down, decide exactly what fish (1 species) you would like to try first, then research to find out what conditions are required to be successful and if you are able to supply those conditions, or able to buy the fish for that matter. You say you are short of time and money so your fish selection should keep this in mind. Discus will take more time as they require excellent water conditions all the time and plenty of water changes too. Good discus are not cheap and, if you want to breed fish, you should choose the best you can find, not the cheapest. I know when you first start you get all excited and enthusiastic but if you jump in over your head, things will not go to plan and you will get disillusioned and give up and we don't want that. We want you to enjoy the hobby for years to come! Something that is cheap to do, and easy since you live in Auckland with more constant higher summer temperatures, is to breed semi-tropical fish, like barbs, in a hard sided kiddie's swimming pool. I used to buy 6ft diameter ones from The Warehouse ($24.99 last time I bought one a few years ago) and set them up outside (in summer only as it is colder here in winter than where you are). Fill the pool with water and get a pile of oxygen weed from a local waterway somewhere (free). Add bunches to the pool and anchor each bunch with a rock. Once the temperature has warmed and stabilised at a minimum of 18C overnight, add the barbs and leave them to it. I have bred golden and Odessa and ruby barbs this way (not all at the same time in the same pool of course!) I don't want to put you off, and it is good to see such enthusiasm, but step back and have a good think about what you want to do and what is required to do it, then RESEARCH before doing anything else. Continue to ask questions here by all means but read books, search for information and consider joining the local fish club if there is one near you. Good luck

You need also think about, if you successfully raise fry to adulthood, what you are then going to do with them.

Obviously superior plants

According to wikipedia... It is native to the southern United States and northern Mexico, but has become established in other places because of pet releases, and has become an invasive species in many areas, where it outcompetes native species. The red-eared slider is included in the list of the world's 100 most invasive species published by the IUCN.