Caryl

Welcome Myst. My husband and I were very good at killing guppies.

Welcome myst. A female guppy can produce a new batch of fry every 3 or 4 weeks. Often, when they are close to giving birth, you can see the black eyes of the fry through her belly but I don't know about any black spot. They are usually very fat just before birth.

Higher order plants are the ones you recognise as plants - they have stems and leaves. Algae is a plant, but it is a lower order plant. Oops sorry mgilchrist but I did not see your last post :oops:

A well planted tank with lots of fine leaved plants lie sprite and Java moss will give the fry plenty of hiding places without having to separate them.

I haven't anything to add to Paul's suggestions. I have a Malawi set-up with 6 EYs and they all get on well with occasional chasing by the dominant fish but he gives up quickly with no damage done. The other fishes also have plenty of places to hide.

Hi jelte and welcome. Cees might have a point as you do not mention how many plants you have with the fish. Although fish keeping has got more technical over the years, it is not a great requirement when keeping fish. I always like to use the KISS principle - Keep It Simple Stupid! It works for me (and I do not need anyone making any remarks like - well they don't come much more simple than Caryl - either).

Good to hear from you Greg. I am in Blenheim so you will be just over the hill if you settle in Nelson. There is no club in Nelson at the moment but you could always start one yourself or join ours. There are 3 shops in Nelson and the stock varies. A trip to Christchurch would set you right! There are a number of discus keepers here and I am sure they will be willing to give help and advice when you are ready to set up.

Depends on the type of filter. I clean out mine (external canisters) when the water flow slows down. I never bother using charcoal myself.

Perhaps a ziptie around the jurapari's mouth? :lol: I think Warren is right, remove either fish or plants.

I pulled my Eheim wet/dry 2227 or 2229 (can't remember which) apart the other day as it wasn't running properly. Turns out we had a pipe in upsidedown and it was sheer luck it had kept going as long as it had before it blocked. Anyway, I was surprised at how little buildup was in it and it has been running since the beginning of April. Pulling it apart was so simple compared to the Fluval 404 - which is supposed to be easy but isn't.

Good name for him :lol: I have not kept them myself but someone in Dunedin had one a few years ago and it is the only one I have seen (I seem to remember I only got to see part of that one too). I understand they are very timid and shy during the day, especially when in new surroundings.

Nobody mentioned they were virtual fish! If that is what was meant then it is false advertising! :lol:

Now look what you've done pies! :lol: Everyone wants marines

:lol: @ Ira. Actually, it is finding the space in the house that is the problem.

I have both Eheims and Fluvals. For ease of use and cleaning the Eheim beats the Fluval 404 hands down. Sorry I have no experience with other brands of external canister filters but I know they are a lot cheaper than those two mentioned.

Something we might be trying soon. My brother has one of those open chillers they have behind the bar to store bottles in. We thought we could pump the water through it and back into the tank, using the chiller itself as a tank stand so the tank sat on top of it. Haven't had a close look at the chiller yet or measured it. Might be too big.

The diagram makes perfect sense to me. Please sent the chocolate fish! :lol:

I didn't buy coral sand or a skimmer. I had a tank, an AquaClear filter and that's it. Went to the beach and got the rocks and sand there, along with the critters.

Are you saying we are not allowed to complain if we see a fish being sold with what we think are incorrect conditions such as it is extremely likely the fish and/or anemones will not survive? Apart from that, once the fish dies it puts people off fishkeeping forever after spending heaps of money on it.

The cloudiness is just an algae bloom, very common in a new tank. With a bit of luck it should clear again by itself. Any plants in the tank? These will help. Don't worry about the temperature, it is not too much for the goldfish. Over summer if it rises too much, fill some 2 or 3 litre plastic juice containers with water and freeze them. They can then float in the top of the tank and bring the temperature down. As they melt you put them back in the freezer to refreeze. Chillers are available but are very expensive. By the way, welcome to the fishroom

Wow you were certainly lucky OS! Lucky also the front glass didn't go and hit someone. It is funny that you were so concerned about the stand yet it was the glass that failed It is times like this we wonder why we keep fish!

I have read stories about arowanas smashing their way through very thick glass weighted down with heavy objects.

How long had it been there Matthew? Arowanas are well known for jumping and need really good lids but I would have thought if they had had it a long time they would know that. These things happen unfortunately. Perhaps it went after a cat! :lol: I personally don't like to see large fish like this kept in aquariums as I think it is cruel but I bet it attracted custom.

I would not put discus in with these fish. I would think the tiger barbs would upset the discus for a start. If the kribs start breeding they will guard a large section of the tank and attack anything coming near. Another point - most of those fish like a similar pH (6.5 - 7.0) except the electric yellows which should be in an African set-up with a ph of 7.6 - 8.6 I will be interested to see what others think - especially those who actually have discus, which I don't.

What did he do with the plants? Are they salvageable? Tell him you could have got money for them and he won't make that mistake again! :lol: At least he didn't kill the fish and, as goldie said, good he is taking an interest. Just suggest he asks next time before he changes anything.