Caryl

I would forget the silver mollies. These are not a fish for a beginner as they develop white spot very easily. They also need a little salt in their tank and are not a true freshwater fish. That is not too many fish either and you won't know what sex your RTB shark is. I also agree that some bottom feeders wouldn't go amiss. Perhaps Corydoras or some Ancistrus (bristlenose catfish). It is the bristlenoses that need hardwood in their diet as Goldie mentioned.

I could not see what the point of it was as I have never had any trouble the old way either.

If he looks happy just leave him as is and his tail and fins should grow back again. I have always maintained bettas are not suitable for community tanks as their finnage is too tempting to others. Keep a close eye out for any infection and treat it then if necessary. At the rate you are going Goldie you might have to move to a bigger house - or build a garage! :lol:

What about "Something fishy reported in neighbour's garage"? I am sure Bruce is relieved we are not planning to bunk down in his garage too! :lol:

You sneaky little cheapskate! What a great idea!! Do you have trouble with the fry losing colour against the white of the pail? Perhaps they are not in it long enough for it to be a problem. I am thinking of when you transport fish in polystyrene containers and they lose their colour as they try to adjust to the colour of their surroundings. Now, where I did I see that spare bucket?...

I can assure you we were probably panicking more than you!! :lol: We figured it probably wasn't ours as one report had said the building was derelict and due for demolition but others referred to it as the old nurses' home so we weren't sure. Didn't realise you had a surfeit of old nurses' homes. Bits of the Midnight Oil song about "How can we sleep when our beds are burning?" had been running through my head.

Speaking as one who knows nothing about these fish and has never kept them :lol: my book says sexual dimorphism is very slight with the females being more silvery. I would wonder if the larger fish was the dominant one so got more food. This would not necessarily mean big meant male, small meant female. The less dominant one probably doesn't want to attract the attention of the bigger guy.

RTB sharks do not have sucker mouths to clean algae.

Just watched the news and saw the building at the old Napier Hospital go up in smoke. I hope this is not anywhere near our beds Bruce?

You can have them together it's just that the daphnia don't last long cos the fish eat 'em

If the water changes aren't achieving anything (apart from a wet carpet and sore back) I would stop doing it. Between two windows means light is coming in from almost all sides. Try covering the two ends with card or something so natural light is only coming in from the front of the tank. Don't forget it will be very slow to clear - don't expect things to correct themselves overnight.

I'd throw some daphnia into it. The water will be crystal clear in no time!

Hi Kellz. You certainly started fish keeping young! Welcome to the fishroom.

Hi Anita. Oh to be able to fit tanks in the garage. We can't even fit the cars in there because of the junk so clearing it out to make room for tanks would be impossible. One day Grant will shift enough stuff in the computer room for my other 4ft tank but I would never have anywhere to fit a 10ft. It looks great!

Don't give up - someone may disagree with me!

I don't think you will find any fish willing to eat black algae.

Anyway, where's the tropical fish in this again? This is the technical section Cees and we don't want our fish to catch viruses do we?

"Can be aggressive" may refer to either general aggressiveness (especially once they reach sexual maturity) or aggressiveness when spawning. Many fish can cope with 'standard' water conditions outside their preferred pH as most fish these days are spawned in captivity. Years ago, when the hobby was new, all fish were wild caught and did not cope in other water parameters but these days many will tolerate a reasonable difference. If you want to breed them it sometimes requires making sure the pH etc are more to their liking. What is the pH of your tap water? If it is up around 8.0 for instance, you might consider an African set-up but if your tap water is soft and acidic perhaps tetras or discus would be the way to go. It is easier to keep fish according to your tap conditions to start with than to try and fiddle around trying to raise or lower the pH.

We run a computer company from home John (and Grant worked for Telecom for 33 years) so we know all the pros and cons regarding permanent connections . Yes, we have a very good firewall thanks.

Has the Year Book been finished yet do you know Warren?

:lol: :lol: You obviously aren't a round to it

Does IT manager stand for International Travelling manager? :lol: Anyone who doesn't use anti-virus software these days is asking for trouble. We would love to have a permanent connection but alas, it is not possible from where we are and we are not even on the list of places to be upgraded. Not enough of us minions for Telecom to give a stuff about. :evil:

Aha! Here is the answer to Rob and my question as to what could possibly have been offered to make you part with some cash in a fish shop. :lol:

I am wondering the same as you Rob. Which shop actually had something so spectacular that Andrew forked out cash????

The actual temperature of the pad under the tank is the same as the temperature of the water, apart from a very small differential due to the glass. However as glass is a very good conductor of heat, in practise you can ignore that loss. The glass is in direct contact with the wire. The wire sits on a backing board of Pinex which then sits on your under tank insulation. This means efficiency is very good. If the insulation is working correctly there will only be very small losses of heat under the tank. Our pad is made up of two 150 watt elements because 150 watts meant the length of wire used was a good length to fit neatly under, and support, the tank. A 300 watt heating pad will be on almost the same amount of time as a 300 watt internal heater in the tank, assuming the same amount of insulation for the tank. With an internal heater there will be heat loss through the bottom of the tank the same as if you were using the pad because your insulation will be the same. As we have a well insulated house, the heater doesn't have to work too hard even in the middle of winter. In summer the heater is never on because the ambient temperature of the room is usually higher than the desired temperature of the tank. Some years we have had to turn off the lights and lift the lid (even having to drop a slikka pad in at times) to get the temperature of the tank down to a manageable level for the fishies. I will email you both a copy of the plans. Ira, if you have any questions you can ask Grant about it at the fish display weekend.