Caryl

Did you know your accent shows when you're excited? :lol: Dwarf gourami colours do not make a difference except when they breed. The parents' colour affects that of the fry of course. They will still interact. Think of them as blondes, red heads etc. All the same except for hair colour. I never found dwarf gouramis to be aggressive but some of the larger ones are (like the blue and 3 spot gouramis). A group is always better as the aggression (if there is any) is then spread out over several fish rather than the only other inhabitant being harassed all the time. The number you can have depends on your filtration and maintenance schedule.

Hi Brian and welcome "officlally"

Do you mean Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps? Also known as red sailfin plec.

I don't think so and I have seen it for sale in ChCh. It is common around the upper Waikato river and L Rotoiti apparently.

and depends where you are taking it from. As long as it is not a protected species.

I have never added anything extra to my tanks for plants. They just get fishy poo and grow OK.

Could also be lack of light. Does your lighting cover the whole tank or just the middle?

My concern is the height. How do you reach the top tank? Also, will it be anchored to something to stop it toppling forward in an earthquake?

I too think cardinals look great with discus - neons tend to be too small. A school of rummy noses would also look great, even harlequins ot other tetras of that size.

The closeups help give a better idea of what it looks like. Can't wait to see it "live" next week :lol:

If you had picked him up as I suggested he wouldn't have been able to bite you :lol:

Hi there and welcome. Hope you meet lots of fellow fish freaks here. Where are you based?

It also depends on why the pH is "bad". If it rises, or drops once it is in the tank you need to find out why. If you have high, or low, pH from the tap you need to think about what fish to keep. Limestone in the tank will raise the pH and peat in the filter will lower it. Much better than pH up or down stuff which is only a temporary fix and can alter the pH too quickly.

Mad Fish Disease... now that is different :lol: Like us, fish like variety. Good quality flakes plus the occasional live food treat.

I confess to always cleaning my filters under the tap, even though we are told not to. I make sure the water is running at a similar temperature to the tank. Never had a problem. We don't have chlorine in our artesian water supply.

I don't have any medications, fertilisers, tonics etc at all and don't believe in adding anything to my tanks if possible.

Lovely anemone Fay

Sorry to hear that BG. She was a good age though!

otocinclus sp.

When I click on them I only see a very small pic so can't tell one plant from another. Did you link to the large sized pic or just the thumbnails in the album?

Your tank inspires us all reef.

They're right - it's a female tuxedo platy all right.

Whether the fish are leopard or spotted danios is beside the point. Alan was merely educating you youn'uns on the differences in the 4 species available. Perhaps smashing can now have another look at his danios and tell us more accurately which species he has

Are you able to boil one end at a time?

It would have been easy to miss plecs if you have a well planted tank.