Caryl

Have you asked in the trade section? An interesting fish aren't they? I am trying to remember where I saw one a while ago - Wet Pets in Palmy I think.

Plecs and clowns are not fish I would add to a new tank as they prefer a well matured one with plenty to graze on. Keep a close eye on the clowns as they are very prone to whitespot. If they are OK, I would suggest the neon was a one-off sickie. Plecs sometimes change colour according to mood and substrate colour. They go pale on a pale substrate and darken up on a dark one.

You are right Blutom, they are Africans and should be in an African set-up, not suitable for a community tank. Inlet pipe should be as close to the bottom as possible with the outlet at the top to create flow. Heaterstat should be almost horizontal and as low as possible as heat rises so it is most efficient like that.

Congratulations on the new house. 8) Put a post in the saltwater section as there is a lot of knowledge in there and many of them do not read the other freshwater forums.

I hope you have warned them how big they grow and make sure they go to a good home.

What else was in the tank they were caught from? I agree with you re the plant too suphew. Commonly sold as an aquatic.

and yes it is available in NZ by the way

Very difficult to rehome as they get so big only places like the Napier Aquarium and Kelly Tarltons have tanks big enough. A guy in Dunedin recently tried to get his rehomed as it had outgrown its 8ft x 2ft tank. It could barely turn around in it and was still growing. They grow up to 3ft and are very deep bodied. One site says that even a 500 gallon (Imperial) tank is too small for an adult pacu. That is around 2273Lt I think so your 360Lt may be a tad small

I have always liked the scats and monos but have not kept them myself. Note to self: YOU DO NOT NEED ANOTHER TANK!

Never heard of almond leaves being used for anything! Anyone else know more about them, or have used them?

Cool pics Lee! Those small fry are hard to focus on

Hard to tell. May be injury or some sort of internal damage. Changed food recently? May be a temporary intestine blockage or swim bladder problem.

You having to give up the cafe?

You can have all males so get more male guppies and platies (although platies are good at changing sex when required). Most small community fish will go with what you have. Harlequins or other rasboras, cherry barbs, pencilfish, rummy noses, cardinals, glowlights, lemon, yellow, phantom, emperor, black widow or bleeding heart tetras, pristellas, danios, etc. Not tiger barbs though as they tend to nip tails. Rosy barbs should be ok though. Lots of others but what we can get here isn't necessarily what you can get there.

Andre you need an importing licence and it will be an expensive proposition. You might try approaching an importer and asking them if they will bring them through quarantine for you but I think you will need to start again here - especially if any of your fish are on our banned list.

If there are any bits you particularly need to siphon out then use the hose without the siphon tube on the end. It will fit easily around the plant bases without damage.

Like Ira my one dose worked after nothing else did. My cyano was introduced with some plants and once once treated has not come back (so far, several months later).

I agree with the rest - the shark is the culprit. I also think the goldfish should be in a separate tank and not mixed with the tropicals.

Good to see you BG. Does this mean I can email the club newsletters again? By the way, are you re-joining the club as your subs are due

OK. My tank went brown also due to algae then I got lots of green and red algae. No plants to provide competition. I also don't do as many water changes as I should so phosphates and stuff is probably sky high which the algae love.

Congratulations. Time will tell re colours since you don't know the parentage.

It isn't something I have come across. My disease book mentions black pigments as you describe being a form of cancer but the pic of it shows a very black section.

I should think harnessing all the hot air and wind from the saltwater sections here ought to keep a few tanks going too :lol:

Why do you have shells in a freshwater tropical tank? Have you checked the pH? Shell will increase the alkalinity.

I would definitely not put a puffer in a commnuity tank!