Caryl

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.

Purchased?? I must have hundreds of dollars worth in my bath outside. Hokitika beach is a great place to find already waterlogged native hardwood (a bit far for you to go I realise). Easiest to try is leaving it in a tub for a few weeks. Change the water every few days so you can tell if it has stopped leaching. Some do so quite quickly and others never stop. Perhaps that's why it was for sale - it wouldn't stop?

We only have about 6 - 9 members attend our meetings as the majority live too far away. We used to have a raffle when we had more people at meetings where tickets cost $2 and the winner supplied the next prize. This paid for the hall hire (which was $8 so we always made a profit). We now meet in members' homes so it is no longer needed. Our subscriptions cover our costs as our newsletter is emailed to the majority and I have so far forgotten to charge the club for printing the rest :roll: When we do fund raise, we prefer to get money from other people rather than club members so have, over the years, run a sausage sizzle outside The Warehouse and run grocery raffles at displays we have set up at flower shows, hobby exhibitions, A&P Shows etc. Each member was asked to donate a grocery item or 2 so it cost very little, if anything, to set it up but we have made $100's doing this. We have also set up a 30cm square tank with suitable inhabitants, ugf and pump (all donated) and raffled it at the above mentioned displays with the winner getting 1 year's sub to the club as well.

Cool! Fins crossed

To lighten it up... what do you call a fish with no eyes? A: A fsh :lol: It should be fine plecs. Keep an eye on it though to make sure it gets its fair share of food.

I wouldn't put them together. The acara is a Sth American cichlid that likes it slightly acidic to neutral and does best in a species tank whereas the livingstoni is a Lake Malawi cichlid from Africa who prefers it alkaline.

Thanks Jude. When you photograph the tank, try putting both strip lights onto the one 'angle' as you photograph it. The more light the better. Take it at night and try with the room lights off. No reflections. I will bring my camera with me on the 15th too.

Water trickling in the bedroom isn't restful (especially if you have a waterbed :lol: ) it makes you want to go to the toilet! Grant says we can have tanks anywhere in the house I like - except the bedroom.

The tank is looking good Jude but I think it might help if you were also able to post pics of each 'angle' separately. It looks a little bare in the middle at the bend but I suspect it is the camera angle making it look that way and not so in actuality. I would like to know more about those lights. Brand, where you got them, price etc if possible. They are really neat and low units and look very unobtrusive.

It is the oddest looking hygrophila I have ever seen then, but possible . Where are the rest of its leaves? Are you able to get a better pic of it? Discus feel more secure with lots of plants and they would love a screen of vallis running along the back.

I wonder if that skinny plant with the little leaves sprouting out the top isn't bamboo? That ambulia you have still needs to be bunched together. It grows much better in bunches than planted in single bits as you have there. You can also chop the tops off and replant them. The bottom bits can be kept if they aren't too scraggly or thrown away if they are. If you keep the bottom bits they grow out the top again quite quickly.

Hey if garlic works on vampires I don't see why it couldn't get rid of parasites! Have faith!! :lol: