Caryl

Intakes are usually as close to the bottom as possible to get better water circulation. Too close though and they tend to suck up crud.

In that case, you obviously have enough gravel 8)

I too find the neons of today not as hardy as many other fish.

No idea if it was finrot or not from the pics. Fin rot usually looks like the ends of the fins are going see through and raggedy then blood streaks form down the rays. Might as well do another water change, it won't hurt.

If the plants look good, are growing well, and you are happy with how the gravel looks, then leave it.

Remember that if you buy a group of say, neons, chances are they are siblings so all the same age. This means they will all start dying at the same time too when they get old. As Melanie noted, once a fish is not in top condition the others notice and it goes from being "my friend and part of my shoal" to "hey look -fishfood!" and the others pick on it.

If it was just one fish, I am not sure I would keep up the treatment. To be honest, once a fish is exhibiting obvious sypmtoms of disease, it is often already too late to treat it.

Don't look at me debs! I know very little about diseases. I just have a disease book I look up to see if I can find matching symptoms Is it possible the blister is a result of the fish damaging itself on a sharp rock or scraped against something? If a fish damages itself in this way it is then open to secondary infections.

My African tank only has a bare minimum layer of sand to cover the fact that the base was painted bright blue :roll: Alan has covered it very well. If you have an ugf then a minimum of 4cm is suggested otherwise the choice is yours depending on your fish and plants.

Well done kiwibird! I assume my parcel arrived OK? If so, the fry can hide in the rotala as well.

If it doesn't seem to be affecting them in any way I would not worry about it, but keep an eye on them.

Blackish tinge where? All over? Underside? Fish will change colour according to mood or stress and darken sometimes.

It can be a sign of stress.

The initials pH stand for "Potential of Hydrogen." Acids have pH values under 7, and alkalis have pH values over 7. If a substance has a pH value of 7, it is neutral-neither acidic or alkaline. Because the pH scale is logarithmic, a difference of one pH unit represents a tenfold, or ten times change. For example, the acidity of a sample with a pH of 5 is ten times greater than that of a sample with a pH of 6. A difference of 2 units, from 6 to 4, would mean that the acidity is one hundred times greater, and so on. Therefore, 6.0 is very acidic.

A 60L tank is not big enough for sharks.

Fish don't care much plants like 10 - 12 hours

It may also be a case of old age.

Most of us belong to multiple forums!

Hi limegirl and welcome to another Aussie.

It is normal in a new tank.

Is this a new tank? If so, it is normal and will disappear as the plants grow and the tank cycles then matures over time.

I agree with bluetom

See how you go with the ones you have but remember your tank isn't very big and you don't want to overstock

Sorry about your loss. I suggest you stay away from oscar until you have calmed down a bit. Alternatively - fish for tea! Caper, as fish get bigger they will eat anything smaller so it doesn't matter how long they have been tank mates - smaller fish = food.

Fish are like people - they have different personalities (or should that be fishnalities? :-? ). It can depend on the sex and dominace of each particular fish. I would not have said that red eyes are particularly noted for their aggressiveness.