Caryl

I've been away and without access to the Net so this was not the sort of news I was expecting on my return. We first met Alan at the Dunedin conference in 1993 and we have had many a laugh, and disagreements, over the years. We even stayed with Alan and Rose once during our travels around the country and they looked after us well while proudly showing us their part of NZ (not to mention all the fish and tanks). He will be missed by many and we have lost a very knowledgeable fishkeeper.

Good to hear it only went into your tank. I didn't realise you were on your own system.

Please NEVER EVER flush a sick or dead animal down the toilet. You are releasing disease into the waterways. Kill it (plastic bag and a whack on the concrete) then put it in the rubbish (freeze it if rubbish day is a few days away) or preferably burn it.

If he has gone this long without treatment and the fins are growing back I would leave him as is.

I have never ever pulled off and cleaned the hoses on any of my canister filters. They look dirty sure but they don't usually clog enough to restrict water flow. I only clean the filter itself when water flow reduces and that can be as much as 3 or 4 times a year. My new Jebo ran 12 months before I had to clean it and that was several months ago. Sometimes you will get plant (esp Java moss) jammed where the hose is connected to the filter so you may have to clear that out on occasion.

Webmaster Cees

The puddles I got my larvae from had an oily coating but were just puddles in the middle of a road leading to the river . I figured it was car oil. Usually though I breed my own in containers in the back yard. Another live food is those annoying gnats that fly around in large groups at dusk. Get out with a butterfly net (I think they have 'em in the $2 Shop)

None at all. I have fed a number of fish on live larvae but I don't have discus.

Yeah but you got lots of runners which mine didn't do

I have caught mossie larvae from water that appeared to have an oil film on it. I just used paper towel to lift the oil off the surface then fed the larvae to the fish.

I didn't notice the plant had flowered until I lifted the tank lid to do a water change (yes, I do them occasionally) so it is past it's use by date...

Vary their diet. Peas are good for constipation. Save one or two from when you cooked them for tea. Pop them out of their shells and feed them to the fish. If they are pooing though they are not truly constipated. When fish eat their bellies swell, then go down again as the food digests. This is particularly noticeable in fancy goldfish as they have odd body shapes and extremely twisted colons so the food has a long way to go in a cramped space.

If trader sent the plant overnight then the courier is at fault, not the trader, but if I was the trader I would have complained to the courier for having paid for a service I did not receive.

They usually breed happily by themselves. Females are fatter. Lots of fine leaved plants and leave them to it. I have heard people say they eat their fry but mine never made great inroads in the number of fry.

I remember someone claiming they had kept minnows at lower temps but I have never done so.

I would go for minnows or neons, not both. Minnows used to be referred to as "the poor man's neons" in the days when they were a lot cheaper than neons to buy. Minnows are better in cold water and neons tropical. Neons are known to drop dead easily these days too :roll:

I like undergravel filters for tanks 2ft or smaller. They do a good job, are cheap, and don't take up tank space.

Certainly but also important to figure out why they got it in the first place. prevention is better than cure

They can drop new fry every 4 - 6 weeks. They will be very fat when due, the gravid spot darkens and, if birth is imminent, you can often see the eyes of the fry through the belly.

You started the thread so you can go off topic if you want :lol:

They are freshwater fish. Why do people keep wanting to add salt?? Keep up daily water changes until the spike drops.

The main problem is confusion as your tank actually holds a lot more than you first said. You said you had a 21L tank but later gave measurements that worked out to be much more than that so the tank size isn't actually as bad as we first thought. For now, all you need to do is add an internal filter and stop trying to change the pH. Stop the water ager too as I assume you are on the ChCh town supply and it is fine as is. Save money Just keep a close eye on the fish as the weather warms up as there is less oxygen in warmer water. If they start gasping or hanging about the surface a lot it would pay to buy a small pump with an airhose for added oxygen. These are cheap.

Sorry but 21L is not huge by any standard and is considered too small for goldfish 8) You have to update your own personal profile to alter the posting time. Go to Profile and change to GMT + 13 (I think) Snails will not necessarily keep the tank cleaner as they will add to the bio load and they poo more than they eat If you are altering the pH all the time this will have a detrimental effect on the poor fish. Goldfish are very tolerant of a wide range of pH so there should be no reason to alter it at all.

If a tank is too small the fish's growth will be stunted. This causes internal problems and shortens the life of the fish - by a considerable amount. We all know of fish that have outgrown their tank and your fantails will too How much are you altering the pH? You should not need water ager as ChCh has good water which does not need this. The problems will get worse as the fish grow. Do not get a cory, you are overstocked already. Feed less.

Hi eclaire and welcome. Now for the bad news A 21L tank is not big enough for 2 fantails and 2 minnows, especially without filtration. How are you cleaning out the tank every week and adjusting the pH? Direct sunlight is going to cause problems, especially in summer.