Caryl

I would get a second tank for the discus and keep them away from all the other fish you have. 6 discus will outgrow a 180L tank on their own. "Sucker" type fish are well known to find the large sides of fish like discus irresistible.

Chlorine is used in water to make it safe to drink. It is used in many products today as well. Chloramine is a combination of chlorine and ammonia and is more stable than chlorine so many countries have started using it instead of chlorine to purify their water systems. Chlorine is unstable, easily dissipated in water, and has that awful smell whereas chloramine is more stable and doesn't dissipate in water so easily. It also isn't as good at killing micro-organisms so more needs to be used. The problem is, the same chemicals which keep humans safe can be toxic to fish. Not only can chlorine or chloramine kill fish, it also kills the beneficial bacteria in the aquarium filters.

Yes platies can chase other fish. Usually it is the males who try to dominate everything else and show them who should be boss.

Vinegar is good to clean glass with. I use glass cleaner spray and a cloth, or paper towel.

We have finally arrived home too after a great week's holiday and a thoroughly enjoyable conference (even if it was cold!). Will post pics as soon as they have been uploaded.

Sounds like one very stressed gourami. How is it now?

Leave everything as is until you get back. We have been away on holiday for a week and I am still trying to catch up on the posts!

I never add anything to my tank in the way of chemicals if at all possible. They are not needed if a tank is set up correctly (except for water ager for those unfortunate enough to live in areas using chlorine).

Don't tell him to get more fish! Judging from another thread of his, he is already well overstocked with what he has now, with totally incompatible fish and the wrong sort for his small 2ft tank.

The tanks ought to be fine. The fish won't get stressed with a change in feeding routine. Hmm, just read the date and realised you have already gone. Hope all goes well for your fish and your friend's surgery.

Oh dear Chakuna, if you have all those fish in that small tank then most of them will die! A plecostomus will grow way too big for the tank as they are very big fish. Not sure what your sharkfish is but if it is black with a red tail, it too will grow too big. A goldfish should not be mixed with tropical fish and will start to eat your other fish anyway. Angelfish will not fit in a tank this size either. A pair of them might, if they were on their own, but not with all the others. The see through fish must be an x-ray tetra and these are very timid fish who do better in a group of their own kind. Please see if you can return all the fish to the shop, except for 3 female guppies and 1 male and wait until the tank has cycled before adding more. From the list of other fish, the only ones I would suggest you add to the guppies would be the platys.

It makes me angry when a shop sells someone a tank, heater, plus bags of fish :evil: Hopefully they are small fish so will survive the experience. The tank and heaterstat should have been bought on their own and set up for a week at least to check the heaterstat stayed at a stable temperature. If you do daily 20% water changes you should be able to cycle the tank without losing fish. What size tank? What sort of fish (apart from the bristlenose)? What sort of filtration? I would return the bristlenose as there will be nothing for it to browse on in a newly set up tank. It also needs wood in its diet so needs wafers with this added or, preferably, a bit of driftwood in the tank.

Sounds good chrissy. I hope you others take her up on it.

Welcome MRSkz. Sounds like we are getting more southerners in here. Time to start a club in Invercargill? :lol:

Shops will come up with all sorts of fancy names if they think it will improve sales Caper is correct, a sex ratio of at least 1 male to 3 or 4 females is recommended. Even 1 male only in the tank with any number of females.

Hi and welcome from me too. I have been away on holiday for a week and it is taking hours to catch up on the posts I have missed!

Hi deevus. Have you met anyone from the Dunedin Aquarium Society? They can put you in touch with other marine keepers. Ask Denise at the Pet Warehouse for details. BTW welcome to the fishroom. 8)

It just goes to show there can't be much else of interest to do in Wellington! :lol: Hi and welcome to the fishroom

Excellent pics phillz. Hopefully we will see fry when we get to your place next week! Don't be surprised if the parents eat the eggs though.

I find neons to be not very hardy and it may have just been the stress of being caught and transported to a new environment that killed it.

Take Raven's help Maxy and you should be able to get the tank sorted.

I suspect he was ill and so was able to be sucked up the filter. You must turn the filter back on or the good bacteria in it will die and pollute the tank. Put the neon in a container and float it in the tank. If he looks too far gone then put it out of its misery.

Whitebait is made up of 5 different species of the Galaxiids; most common being inanga (G maculatus) then koaro (G brevipinnis), banded kokopu (G fasciatus), shortjaw kokopu (G postvectis) and giant kokopu (G argentius) Inanga grow to 9cm, koaro 18cm, banded and shortjawed kokopu 20cm, and the giant kokopu (also known as maori trout) grows up to 50cm

It isn't a bother and someone else is bound to be having similar problems so will find your questions and the answers helpful. Don't give up, it will be sorted shortly and you will know not to make that mistake again.

A chiller is an expensive device to keep the water temperature down to levels the fish can cope with. In this case, I imagine 18C maximum. Inanga are whitebait and are legal if caught during the whitebaiting season. My son used to have a group of them in a 2ft tank. Very pretty fish with subtle colouring that caught the light nicely. Banded kokopu (Galaxias fasciatus), not kokapu, grow over 20cm. Juveniles are good climbers and can escape from buckets by wriggling up the sides