Caryl

See if your library has a copy of The Complete Aquarium by Peter W Scott. It shows step by step how to set up a number of different biotopes complete with lists of correct fish and plants etc.

Aha! So there really ARE baby bristlenoses. I was starting to wonder if you were imagining them Would your g/f like to come and stay with us? We could do with someone who tidies things.

Make the most of your Melafix as I believe it is about to be banned from sale.

The plants will have been damaged by the cyano. It forms a thick coating over the leaves so the plants can't photosynthesise. Mine did the same thing when I treated my tank except I didn't use Furan, I used Erythromycin. I also didn't renew bacteria or anything and don't believe 'live bacteria' products do a lot but others may disagree. I had no trouble dosing my tank (although I must say it was lightly stocked so there was no great load on the filtration anyway) and made sure I netted and siphoned out the cyano quickly as it died.

Ask for them here in our trade section

People with discus in display tanks use gravel but for breeding only they keep the tank bare for ease of cleaning.

And here is what happened when Misty found it... I hope she doesn't develop dropsy too (I can imagine her fur sticking out). She only wanted a drink and ignored the fish. The fish ignored her too :lol:

Had visitors today and one noticed a danio he said had dropsy. I have tried to get some shots to show the pinecone effect when the scales stick out...

Planaria all right. Harmelss but unsightly if they reach plague proportions. Cut back on the feeding.

If it is a well established community tank I would not worry about feeding them while you are away. I don't feed mine for that length of time if I am going to be away. Better than having a feeding block disintegrate too fast and pollute the tank. The fish won't starve. If I had small fry, I would put the required daily dose of food in separate containers and ask a friend or neighbour to empty them into the tnak on the appropriate days. I also like my larger Malawis to be fed more regularly. Luckily on our last trip my daughter was home for part of the time and then my brother came and lived in - this was for the cat's benefit, not the fishes :lol: As the others said - a timer is the way to go for the lights.

Give them up? Just get another tank!!! :lol:

I was wondering if a gourami or keyhole was meant too but figured it didn't matter in this case. A 3 spot gourami I think has 2 spots on the body and the eye is the 3rd spot. Might be wrong with that thought mind you Are there plenty of hiding places and plant cover? Hopefully she will settle down.

One of our members made one. To quote him... 'The tank was made from 18mm construction plywood with fibreglass reinforced corners and resin coating on the inside of the tank. Over the fibreglass was epiglass 2-pack reaction lacer primer. The finish was 2 coats of black swimming pool paint. The glass front was 10mm thick. ' The tank was a corner one holding 600 litres. That tank was built in 2000 and is still going strong with no problems whatsoever.

Sounds stressed to me. Was he introduced slowly? Do you know how closely your tank parameters match what he was in before?

Its the click of a mouse as one of the tank inhabitants surfs through The Fishroom reading the saltwater posts

Tall narrrow fish = angels Always look good in a hex.

Hi Bluetom and welcome. A lot of members here can't spell so don't worry about it :lol: Tell you what has really annoyed me though. :evil: We have had a tagger at work overnight in one of our main streets. Now, you would think spraying "EAT S**T" would be easy but he spelt the last word wrong! And no, he didn't use ** either :lol: He did miss out the I though. For goodness sake! If you can't spell a simple 4 letter word don't display your ignorance on other people's fences!! Rant over. Welcome to the fishroom Bluetom :lol: I have a L Malawi tank myself. A few of meet in the chatroom around 9pm so perhaps we will see you there one night.

Sometimes there are little critters living on the surface of the water and you can see them leaping about just above the surface. Perhaps these bit you? I assume the only affected parts have been those in the tank water?

Looking good Shilo. May I remind you Myriophyllum propinquum is a Class B noxious weed? This means you can have it, but not pass it on. I thought Callitriche stagnalis was also a native. Half the fun of setting these biotopes up is the gathering of the inhabitants is it not? 8)

Anything and everything. First meeting, just get those present to introduce themselves and tell the others what their interests are, how many tanks etc and perhaps how they got into fishkeeping. From this, conversation ought to flow. You can discuss what they would like to get out of a club. If you ask everyone to bring a small plate you can easily chat informally over a cuppa.

Hi Peanuts and welcome. A friend with an uncle into fishkeeping in a big way...thanks to Paul...Billaney by any chance? :lol:

Hi. Don't know the answer myself but suggest you try ringing the Mapua Aquarium over Nelson/Motueka way.

I can't see how removing the charcoal could cause the problems either and the Fluval should be plenty. Did you do a water change or anything at the same time? Perhaps something was in the water? How long had the charcoal been in there? It only lasts a few months and perhaps as you removed it the bad stuff it had absorbed was released back in the tank?

But Minch, what about MY costs for conference and travel if I have to go and do this? I recommend everyone to visit the Tawhiti Museum as it is spectacular and the photos do not do the models justice. The detail in them is incredible! They have their own website too www.tawhitimuseum.co.nz

Organising a first meeting is easy. Get the venue booked then put an advert in the papers and posters up on as many noticeboards as you can find. I can do some full colour posters for you if you want that will be sure to attract attention. Give the title (eg. Northland Fish Nuts Meeting!), place and time then keep your fingers crossed. If you can arrange to have some fish and/or plants etc to swap, sell, giveaway then that would encourage attendance too. If you have local free papers get them to do an interview with you the week before the meeting.