Caryl

I found these replies most interesting as I wasn't aware a betta would find a bottom dwelling fish a threat. I have never kept bettas so don't know too much about them but I thought they only attacked other bettas, or fish that were a similar shape. :-?

They couldn't remove it from the tank though and are not expected to. UGFs drag it under and that is where the good bacteria grow. I have used UGFs for many years and never had a problem with one. I only use them in small tanks though as I don't think they are efficient enough for larger ones.

Cool photos! 8)

I think it was just a case of the lack cleaning maintenance. You should not need an undergravel filter. It is when it smells really rotten you need worry, and big stinky bubbles come up when you shove the siphon into the substrate. Depth of gravel can make a difference too. Deep stuff can get 'dead' patches which stink when disturbed and are toxic.

There's only one of her now! :lol: Welcome. You aren't the first to buy a stunted or otherwise imperfect fish because you felt sorry for it :-?

Orana Park, Willowbank Wildlife Centre and Redwood Aquatics are all near each other The aquarium place is in the Square Hagley Park has a children's play area. You could sit while he exercised (and is free) a ride up the gondola the museum has some good bits like the Victorian street (and is free)

You should be able to buy it from landscaping places. I have several lying about the yard :-? Not sure what it would cost to post 8)

Do you belong to the local fish club? They had some marine members. Ask Denise at The Pet Warehouse as she is a club member and would know who you could contact.

Mine actually runs closer to 22C - 24C

I gotta admit Mark he didn't actually buy it at the time but he came home with so much drool left after looking at the car that I bought it for him for his birthday, which was the following week (using his money of course).

It looks great! Personally I would lose the Buddha but that is a personal opinion (I hate anything like that in a tank). I love that colour angel and the background looks cool. It will be interesting to see how it looks after algae has settled on it. It will have a great aged feel to it by then. I do hope that ancistrus is sucking on a bottom feeder pellet. I would hate to think he had sucked up that area of gravel :lol:

One should never spent '10 minutes to spare' anywhere near their lfs :lol: Mind you, my husband spent his 10 minutes in a car yard so his purchase was more expensive :roll:

There's something wonderful about snow - when you're not actually in it :lol:

I have posted pics of them in the past and nobody has ever said they weren't daphnia. They also look like other daphnia I have seen elsewhere. We live near a river, perhaps they can jump

I just fill a container outside with water then leave it and wait. Others get some from people with an established colony. If you know someone with stock troughs, check 'em out. They are often full of daphnia, especially if they have been unused by stock for some time. Daphnia do not seem to travel well and I have always found they die very quickly when transported in a small lidded container.

I was told you had to be careful of the stuff with fire retardant and mould inhibitors in it. Since I assume all of it has these now days I gather nobody has had problems using it? I too use the same stuff but mine is old and was produced before fire retardants and stuff became mandatory. :roll:

I believe there are two distinc types of apple snail. One sort is fine but the other practises deforestation.

Can't you cut them in half and count the rings? :lol:

Welcome to the forums. I don't keep frogs myself but saw some cute ones while overseas recently - mostly venomous ones :roll: (at least they were held in captivity and not met while on a nature walk :lol: )

I guess that is about a 60cm x 30 x 30 tank? I would start with no more than 6 danios in it. Leave them there a month, with the filter running 24/7, before you add any more fish. Do a 10% - 20% water change once a week too.

Yes it does. The only organisation to do so as far as I know.

I always get my tanks made from a glazier. I have never bought one from a pet store as they have a higher mark-up.

Guppies these days are not hardy. I would use danios Remember the key is to add a few fish to start with. This can vary depending on the size of the tank. How many litres in your tank?

Yes we do. They have lots of fancy trophies and cups on offer to be won too The last one was held recently in Wellington.

The idea behind fishless cycling is to save fish from stress after being added to a new tank that has not been cycled. I am not a fan of it myself but it is the latest fad in the UK and everyone seems to be doing it. Personally I see nothing wrong with adding a few hardy fish and slowly building up the bioload to match the increasing resulting good bacteria in the filter. A lot easier and no messing about. If done correctly there is no harm done to the fish. The fishless cycle followers create a cycle by adding ammonia rather than using fish waste. They then claim you can add the full complement of fish faster, and without a spike in the bioload. I still don't see how they can work out how much ammonia is required to equal X amount of fish poo so they know how many fish their bioload can handle :-?