Caryl

I have had an ordinary bristlnose explode. I have no idea why and none of the other fish were affected :-?

The overseas trend is to do fishless cycling but I think that idea is nuts. Set up the tank. Add water, filter and heaterstat. If you leave it for 5 days or so it enables you to check the temperature has stabilised and is right for the fish you want to keep. The tank will not start to cycle though with just water in it. After you have checked the temp is stable, add 6 hardy fish. Neons are not hardy. If you are wanting to keep platys then add 6 of them. Wait a week then add another 6 fish. Continue this until you have reached your stocking level. This way will build up the bacteria slowly and surely.

Finely crushed flake is enough.

Your tank is too small for all those fish. The remedy is to rehome most of them

Peas work well for constipated fish. The hardest part is getting the fish to actually eat it

What sort of goldfish are they? Your tank is too small and you are stunting their growth.

1st Sunday of month. Waikato Bridge Clubrooms, 56 Brookfiels St hamilton E For more info send a PM or email to one of the following members who belong in here too; HandS, Dave or Luke

Yep it was one of those ones :-?

A lot buy sell and exchange plants on this site too

What size tanks do you have? Plecs (assuming that is what you meant) need tanks over 4ft long. Of course it might be a bristlenose (commonly called a plec when it isn't) which only grows to 15cm What sex are the guppies? They should be in a ratio of 1 male - 3 or 4 females (unless you have all of one sex)

Thanks for the vote of confidence JIm but I have never kept severums. She has visited me too

I have used Eheim wet/dry, Fluval and Jebo and love the Jebo. Wouldn't touch the Eheim wet/dry with a 10ft barge pole. Fluvals ran OK but clogged quickly and it took 2 of us to pull them apart for cleaning. Jebos are quick and easy 1 person jobs and only need cleaning once every 6 months or so. When I first set it up it ran for over 12 months before we decided to have a look inside it.

If you don't ask you don't learn

Several years but you have no idea what age a fish is when you buy it, unless it is obviously a very young one.

No, they don't like brown algae. Some snails might but then we will be getting posts asking how to get rid of snails :lol: Leave it alone (wipe it off when you do water changes) and it will lessen on its own.

I'm not breeding anything but have recently found bristlnose fry and a very small odessa barb

That explains it. It should settle down over time then

His house is large (but not too large, and only has 2 tanks in it) but his garage has no room for vehicles

How long has the tank been set up? Sometimes brown algae is part of the maturing process and will go away over time.

I am finding the misuse of the word "albino" to be annoying. For something to be albino it must be white with red eyes.

Just repeat to him every day... Fish are friends, not food :lol:

It isn't just the eggs, it is the bugs and disease in the peat the eggs are with.

My leopards rarely ate the fry that I noticed. Leaving all in the tank with lots of fine leaved plants is actually best.

Many fish will breed in a community tank. It is stopping the fry being eaten that is the problem.

It is possible she was ready to give bith but the fry got stuck The fry can look like eggs if they were not fully developed at the time she aborted or started giving birth.