Caryl

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.

Make sure you take a good close-up shot of the flowers and send it to Cees for the plant data base please!

Tell them you had a small quake You could also say the stand beneath it warped. Tanks crack for a number of reasons, age, stress, being hit with a solid object... It takes the smallest grain of dirt between the tank and the polystyrene to be enough to stress the base and have it crack. Sometimes it will take years to do so. There may also have been a fault in the glass, unseen to the naked eye.

It woud never have occurred to me to use mesh as a lid! So simple for those with kari-kari fish!!

Sorry we have not been of moer help. Black bits (if on humans) can be dead skin. Perhaps it has that flesh eating disease, necrotizing fasciitis, that makes the news every so often

Depends on the height of the people most likely to view it and if the position means it will be viewed more from a standing or sitting position. Don't forget to make sure you have easy access.

Does Hamilton have anything added to the water supply, like chlorine? If so, you need to add chlorine remover. 28 litres isn't a very big tank. How many fish did you add at once? What sort of filtration do you have? Why is your pH that low? Is that the pH of your tap water? (It isn't too low though)

Clown loaches like company, need a good sized mature tank, and are very sensitive to water conditions. They are prone to white spot too.

If I had the info for yours Jammos I would have added it. Sorry.

Heros Severus - Baensch Atlas 1 ISBN 3-88244-050-3. p 694 Geophagus surinamensis - Baensch Atlas 1 ISBN 3-88244-050-3. p 706 Satanoperca jurupari AKA geophagus jurupari - Baensch Atlas 1 ISBN 3-88244-050-3. p 704 Geophagus Brasiliensis - Baensch Atlas 1 ISBN 3-88244-050-3. p 704 Mystus gulio? Mystus Vitatta - Baensch Atlas 1 ISBN 3-88244-050-3. p 456 Aequidens rivulatus Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps - Baensch Atlas 1 ISBN 3-88244-050-3. p 496 Hemichromis bimaculatus - Baensch Atlas 1 ISBN 3-88244-050-3. p 722

Don't be so hard on yourself or the shop, these fish can be very hard to sex sometimes.

The tanks look nicer. Fish are calmer as they feel safer with a dark substrate below them. Fish will show more colour against dark gravel and will be pale with a white (assuming there is white poly under the tanks) base. Gravel holds the plants in place. Gravel will also host some beneficial bacteria. Boss is right though, essentially you don't need it. Speaking as a customer, a well set out shop tank will make me more inclined to buy fish than from bare tanks. After all, the shop is not just selling fish, it is supposed to be selling aquascaping stuff as well so they need to show what can be done and what a tank should look like!

Yes azlin, turning off your filter overnight is a definite no-no.

You have been doing it fine Caper!

But 4 at once? No idea of the cause. Did you feed anything different?

Welcome to you both. You are so lucky to have such a choice of lfs too.

Don't forget a lot depends on how each fish handles stress. One fish may have been more stressed when being caught, or not be able to handle the change in water conditions from the shop tank to your own. Too many people are quick to blame a shop for selling a sick fish when that may not be the case. Even if the other fish appears well.

Most are made of metal or wood. Know any joiners or metalworkers?

Gee, I didn't know penguins could drive! :lol:

Food colouring might make it hyperactive