Caryl

Already!!?? Wow your postie is speedy. Thanks for the compliments :oops:

Just found room in my bookcase for my latest acquisitions 1 Atlas of marine aquarium fishes - Dr Burgess 2 Dr Axelrod’s Atlas Lge 3 Atlas of Freshwater & Marine Catfishes - Burgess 4 Handbook of tropical aquarium fishes - Axelrod & Shultz 5 Exotic tropical fishes expanded edition 6 Dr Axelrod’s Mini Atlas 7 The Aquarists Encyclopaedia - Gunther Sterba 8 Breeding Aquarium Fishes - Axelrod 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 9 Tropical Aquarium Fishes - Dick Mills & Dr Gwynne Vevers 10 Complete Book of Dwarf Cichlids - Hans-Joachim Richter 11 Atlas of Killifishes of the Old World - Jorgan & Scheel. 12 Catfish Atlas - Warren Burgess 13 The Freshwater Aquarium - Hans Frey 14 African Cichlids of Lakes Malawi & Tanganyika, - Axelrod & Burgess 15 The Cichlid Aquarium - Dr Paul V Loiselle 16 Schmidt-Fockes, - Discus Book 17 Catfish in the Aquarium – Dr Carl Ferraris 18 Back to Nature Guide to Tanganyika Cichlids – Ad Konings 19 Back to Nature Guide to Malawi Cichlids – Ad Konings 20 Atlas of Miniature Catfish - Burgess

That's what I thought Rob but am not too up with the various plant types

Typical isn't it? 5 minutes with the new toy then they don't want it any more :lol:

Aww did Inter make his Russian fudge again??

It does look the same Ira but it was given to me and I have no idea what it is. I thought it was a crypt :roll:

Cycling is for new tanks only. It refers to the gradual build-up of bacteria in the filters that convert fish waste to good stuff.

If you want a metal stand, try a local engineering firm.

Real ones - LOTS

We do not have clubs for people interested in a specific species - except for the killifish club which is nationwide and postal only. There are 3 FNZAS affiliated clubs in Auckland and one reef one just getting off the ground.

ORGANISM!!!! Redwood Aquatics Pet World Critter Kingdom Fish Tank immediately come to mind - especially Organism.

Peter couriered guppies and Cambodian fighters down to Blenheim OK. Well, one bag leaked but the rest were fine

Welcome to another Rob! We have quite a collection now :lol: You will find all sorts of information on the Internet - just don't blindly believe it all - unless you saw it in The Fishroom of course

Plants need light for 10 - 12 hours a day. My tank is a similar size and I have 2 double fluoros on it but don't use the special tubes, just bright white or daylight ones.

Speaking from a female point of view - if you have a bust, then 2ft is too deep :lol:

Just read your original post re the dying fish. I am wondering if the massive water change (and possible filter cleanout?) has meant your tank needed to cycle again and you had an ammonia spike. Have the fish continued to die since your original posts? FT: Why would plant fertiliser kill algae? I have never used plant fertiliser so can't comment from experience either The norm for most people I know re charcoal is - don't use it unless it is required :lol: . It is expensive stuff to replace!

OK, let's deal with your questions one at a time. Plant conditioner? You can get plant fertiliser or water conditioner but they are 2 different things. No conditioner will do anything for mossy stuff growing on plants and wood. Water conditioner is used if you have chlorine added to your water supply. Plant fertiliser helps the plants grow. Since the mossy stuff is algae and algae is a plant, it will make it grow faster. Can't comment on different test kits as my experience has been limited. I have Aquarium Systems test kits and a big JBL selection (won at conference). I don't know whether some are really good or bad. Watch for use-by dates on them. Water changes depend on tank size, filtration and stocking levels. The more fish you have the more you should do water changes and everyone disagrees :lol: I have a medium stocked tank which only gets a change every 2 or 3 months. Most suggest either 10% once a week or 20% every 2 weeks. More water changes may help get rid of the algae too. My tank is OK but would be a lot better if I did more frequent water changes. Both of your filters are fine and one is not necessarily 'better' than the other. I run both canister and HOB (hang on the back) filters on my tank too. The HOBs are easier to clean and a lot less hassle IMO. Do not use carbon unless you are removing meds from the water. Short term use can make the water crystal clear but it should not be used long term as it doesn't last long and ends up putting more impurities back into the water than it originally removed. Lots of plants help keep algae down too as they use the nutrients needed by the algae. A few algae eating fish are always helpful too.

OK. According to Sid, who gave the rainbows to me, the pic is of a hybrid M lacustris and M trifasciata

Thanks Frenchy. Yes, I agree with you as to what they are. The pic I was referring to when I said I forgot to ask Sid was for the wrong ones - I was referring to the rainbow I posted elsewhere which has been causing dissention as to what it is

Good to hear no more losses overnight. You are going to have to decide which fish to keep though as the mix you have (according to what you said last night in chat) is not compatible. The electric yellows will be happier in the higher pH anyway. Have you measured the pH of the tap water? Is it higher or lower than the tank water?

Cool pics Rob. never seen an alligator cat before.

Rob I have a couple of male borleyi's then I forgot to ask Sid about the pic

Is she always upsidedown? Sometimes they can have swim baldder problems after overeating. As the food digests they go upright again.

Hi RobW and welcome. You have come to the right place! First of all, the bigger the better when it comes to tanks. Larger ones are easier to look after than smaller ones. If something goes wrong, it generally does so more slowly in a larger volume of water so you have more time to realise there is a problem and correct it before anything starts dying. There is nothing wrong with taller tanks but surface area is more important than water volume so a shorter wider tank is better than a taller, narrow one. Bear in mind the taller ones are also harder to clean as you have to reach further. Sure, you can get all sorts of equpment to help you but it doesn't help as much as being able to reach with your hand. What sort of fish are you thinking of getting? Some are not suited to taller tanks as they swim quickly and tend to hit the sides in a narrower tank. Where are you? Is there a fish club nearby? They are always a source of good information and often cheap tanks, plants and/or fish

Photos to the AW editor would not go amiss Kim