Caryl

Penejane there is a big difference between the requirements for a TROPICAL marine and keeping a small coldwater rockpool marine. I would never attempt a proper tropical marine but a coldwater rockpool is easy, as long as you can keep the temperature down. Rockpool set-ups do not require the skimmers, powerheads, expensive lighting etc that the tropicals do. Wasp: a few deaths are important. If you are going to take live animals from their natural habitat you should provide them with the best conditions possible.

I have never used CO2 but would have thought it would increase algae growth since it is just a lower plant form. Have no experience though

We had a cold water marine and it was fascinating. All we did was got a 3ft tank then took containers down the Kaikoura coast and gathered up some rocks, sand and critters, took it all home and arranged it in the tank. We used an AquaClear filter. That's all. No fancy equipment or anything. Hardly ever fed the inhabitants but they all seemed to grow and some reproduced. Every few weeks we would top it up with fresh sea water and add sea lettuce. Lots of edible greeblies came in the top-up water and lettuce. Our tank had anemones, shrimps, chitons, rockfish, triplefins, sea cucumbers, hermit crabs, various sorts of starfishes and, at one point, an octopus - to name but a few. We tried a paua but the water was too warm. The biggest problem we had (and the only one) was keeping it cool. It really needs to be below 15C, preferably 10C, ours did anyway as the water they came from was that cold. We found constant temperatures above 15C not good and the critters would start to die off. Since the room sits at about 28C during summer, we could not keep it cool enough. We have since bought a chiller so might try again, once I have a tank free.

Your biggest problem is having to chose what you can get and I suspect your choice will be limited. Most lfs seem to sell them just as "African cichlids" and don't know what they are - and many are actually hybrids. Try to find a breeder.

My water always went yucky and slimy when I added banan skin. I don't seem to have trouble with daphnia. Indeed, all I have to do is fill a container outside (not with green water either) and daphnia just appear in it, without me adding a culture! I don't feed them either. Occasionally I feel sorry for them and add some green water from the goldfish pond.

Hi and welcome. At least you live in a good area for pet shops! Some of us meet regularly in the chat room around 9pm-ish if you are interested you are welcome to join us

Well Google "columnaris" (Flexibacter columnaris) and you will find plenty of information. Never heard it call saddleback disease though

Fish will eat all critters small and wriggly Culturing Paramecium: Paramecium is a ciliated, slipper-shaped, single cell protozoan. Easy to culture and feed to small fry. It has 2 advantages over infusoria. 1. Infusoria reproduces rapidly and if not eaten by fry will pollute the tank. Paramecium use very little oxygen and if cultured in a sealed jar, a pure culture can be maintained as other infusorians die due to lack of oxygen. 2. Paramecium can be seen with the naked eye but are still small enough to be eaten by the smallest fry. Prepare a jar or wine flagon by filling with tap water and letting it stand overnight. Add paramecium culture. They feed on any rotting vegetable. One of the best methods of feeding a culture is on a sliced turnip (approx 40mm x 20mm x 30mm) dried in the oven. 2 or 3 pieces will keep a culture going for 3 - 6 weeks, when the culture should be restarted. The frying of the turnip prevents a scum forming on the surface. Place cap on container and stand in light, but not direct sunlight. If a starter culture is not available, a banana skin is placed in an open container for a few days until the water turns cloudy. Remove banana skin, add some dried turnip and seal container. Spoer will have settled in the water from air and in a few days will clear and the paramecium will appear. Feed to fry by siphoning from culture, replacing the water removed with fresh water.

Hi and welcome Shane.

Hi Seth. Welcome and thanks for introducing yourself.

Never heard of it myself. What are the symptoms?

I seem to remember someone saying they had used the ones from the $2 shop and they worked well. Can't remember who it was though

Whereas I rarely do water changes at all! Generally speaking, it is usually recommended you do 10% weekly or 20% fortnightly, but as said, it depends on your fish and stocking levels.

How long has it been set up? Have you any driftwood in there? It has been known to drop pH.

Hi and welcome. Good luck with your fish keeping. You ought to be able to keep a couple of axolotl in a 2ft tank.

Hi Lynne. Sorry for the late greeting but I have been in Auckland for the weekend :lol:

Welcome from me too. Join a local club (half of the Kapi-Mana Club are members here anyway) for even more help.

Love the shrimps! The fish and others look good too I don't think we can get shell dwellers in NZ.

Welcome to NZ JMa. I have had an interesting time looking at your site (don't tell my boss as I am at work!) We have quite a few crypts available here, working out which ones they are is sometimes difficult though. Do you have any photos of your fish and tanks? Are the photos in the link's gallery yours?

I wondered if it wasn't deliberately put there for 'added pleasure for the ladies' but thought I had better not as this is a family forum :lol:

Hi and welcome to you both

Wow exploding riccia!

They do vary in colouration even if not stressed. Mine change colour for no apparent reason sometimes. Moody perhaps

A red line indicates infection in humans so I wonder if it is the same with fish? Perhaps something got under the scale then got infected or it was some sort of tumour, although I would expect a tumour to grow. Examination under a microscope is probably the only way to find out what it was.

A cottony growth like that is usually the result of fungus growing as a secondary infection so I suspect he has damaged the fin. If it stays like that, or improves, I would leave it alone, otherwise isolate (cheaper to treat that way) and treat with a fungal med.