Caryl

Welcome from me too

What sort of filter is it? Loopy could probably help, or my son.

All sorts of stuff can be used but they aren't as good as the noodles. I have heard of people using plastic hair curlers and cut up straws. Bricks and terracotta are used as caves in tanks, just give them a scrub first.

An English site I belong to still often mentions tanks in gallons (UK) like we (oldies) still refer often to tanks being x feet, not cm

Some male gouramis can be quite territorial (especially the blue and 3 spot) depending on what other fish are in the tank and the order in which they were added.

Depends on the weather. If it stays warmer longer they will keep spawning. Give it a go.

Ask someone if you can hang your filter in their tank for a while to seed it.

My tank is heavily planted, well filtered, and lightly stocked and I rarely do water changes. I don't test the water either so have no idea what the readings are.

No, in fact plants can slow down a cycle.

I too use salt and water

Is is a guideline only. Remember you need to take into account the amount of filtration and plants as well as the size of the fish in question.

Then you have been very lucky fish-unit!

Welcome. Good to know you survived the shock 8)

That's how I do it too wok. I always have spare filters running in my tank for this sort of thing.

My BNs often fight but nothing serious, and usually over food. As said, as long as they have somewhere to get away from each other they should be fine.

Perhaps they are checking the one tank goes well first and the inhabitants survive before adding more?

or coffeecat? :lol:

So what temps do you get there Alan? We get a good layer of ice on ponds here and mine had no cover or shelter of any sort.

I just realised I read the question incorrectly as I was thinking of the filters only, forgetting you can buy Jebo and Aqua One tanks as well. :roll:

They had a nice marine tank at Singapore airport but nowhere near the size of those.

I believe the ingredients are similar but the ratios of vitamins, fats, etc differs. Plus I doubt catfood has colour enhancers in it

Thanks for the reminder Alan. Since we were flying in a totally different time zone at the time it slipped my mind :roll:

I don't know what night time temps are on Waiheke Island but if it drops below 18C I would bring them in over winter.

As far as I know Jebo and Aqua One filters work the same way and are very similar in looks. I love my Jebos and have heard good things about the Aqua One as well. I know it is personal preference, but why would you want to use blue gravel in a tank? To my way of thinking it isn't natural and detracts from the fish and plants which should be the main feature. Dark gravel is best as the fish are more comfortable and show up their colours a lot more. I can't help you with your bulk question sorry. Do you really want a tank that comes with stand? Have you thought of making your own stand, or using existing furniture? This can be a lot cheaper and the money saved can be spent on more fish

Are you breeding them outside at the moment? Is that why you have put this in the coldwater section? Although they will tolerate cooler temps, they are not a coldwater fish. I breed my barbs outside in a plastic pool over summer but they can't live there all year round in this area.