hovmoller

Looks really nice Dennis!.. Have you decided on how many Geos? and other tankmates?

Mozzies make it through the winter in hibernation as larvae.. I used to have them in Denmark outside on my balcony and they would even survive being stuck in the top layer of ice in the bucket. During summer if you want to prevent them from hatching into mosquitos then gather them while they are larvae and keep them in a jug in the fridge (For those who live with parents ask them first as they do not always like this! (personal experience)) It's important for them to have open surface area so they can still breathe at the surface. Mozzies ,like all insects, are cold blooded and their metabolism will slow down to almost nothing and they will then keep in the fridge for a very long time.

Ahaaaa.. Thanks Simon.. I was hoping you would comment

About a year ago I bought a few Anubias barteri var. nana. They looked like this: Now they have been through a few setups and now only grow very short and with much smaller leaves like this: So my question is: What affects their length/leaf size? They have been in the same tank all along (Juwel Rio 300 with 2 Juwel T5's Daylight and Nature)

If you do David then bring wetsuit + snorkling gear... You can snorkle down the river there and see lots of things like trout and little crayfish etc.. also just hanging on to an underwater branch while the current is trying to rip you apart is pretty cool! You used to be able to snorkle in the spring it self as well but I think they have banned that due to risk of introducing new species of algae etc. (probably Didimo)

Thank you for your comments.. I will send him off to fishy heaven, make sure the water is tip top and see how it goes..

I have a group of 20 cardinals and I think one of them has dropsy. I don't know much about this condition but from this forum and Google I'm guessing this is what it is. It has swollen abdomen, looks a bit like a pine cone from the scales sticking out and hangs around near the bottom. Still eating though so I take that as a sign there might still be hope. Questions: Is dropsy contageous? Some suggest mixing antibiotics into food as treatment, but is this realistic/succesful? Anyone with experience in this? I tested water: Temp 29, pH 6.8, Amonia 0, Nitrate very little (5mg/L) Thanks!

I agree with you on the juwel filter.. I used one as well and the same would happen.. with that model there is just no good way of preventing carp from blowing out when you restart it... so that's why I cut it out of there!! Gone burger! takes up so much space too and you can never clean behind it!! very inconvenient. Nice tanks though! I now use an external canister filter... way better.. quite clear water in general although not as clear as P44's tanks... He sets a new standard in clear!

Lamprey?

The bottom horizontal members are not really meant to have any load on them. I don't know how large a sump you are planning on resting on a shelf there but in that case I would just prop the long members with a few extra "feet" of timber block. Paint them black if they are going to stick beneath the cabinet. May sound a bit of being too much on the safe side but I am used to dealing with buildings so I might be a bit "damaged"

Smidey you must be the right person to ask this: What about "block board"? where pieces of timber are glued together and sandwiched between two layers of veneer? I have a stand made of that where my 4x2x2 is on and I find it to be the most wonderful kind of board! So strong, light and dead straight... can you still buy that stuff anywhere? I know it was probably used a lot to make furniture. Sorry Elusive fish it only sort of have something to do with your thread

Anything that has to do with water or humidity I would avoid using MDF. Ply is way better or even particle board. Yeah a pic of your stand would be good

I think the risk of introducing diseases/algea/bacteria to your tank far outweighs that they might be free if you had caught too many or whatever.. Better to use self raises fish like guppies as Navarre said.

What a freak of nature!! Looks kinda cool anyway though. I used to catch carp back in Denmark but not like this one!!!

Yeah there is quite a size difference between them because she was bullied up in a corner most of the time while he was eating. I think he has reached that 15cm mark (with 6-7cm fin extensions!) while she is only around 10-11cm... I'm feeding her heaps now and him only enough to get by to try to get her up to size. (but she also has to regrow a tale that was litterally completely gone after a bacterial/fungal infection as a result of his attacks! Tale is doing well now though) I am thinking that isolating a pair in not necessarily a good idea. If you keep them in a community the male can direct his attacks to a larger group instead of his wife.. but of course it makes raising fry more difficult.. I need a tank the size of yours!!!

I don't have the other 4 anymore... Sad story, goes like this: one died, was always the little one with big eyes thin skull etc. bad genes I think. Then two pairs formed and divided my 300L in two.. no room for the 5th so he/she went back to HFF. Both these pairs had fry several times but ate them.. Then I seperated the pairs. one in the 300L and one in a 400L.. wanted to see which pair turned out to be the best parents. Then my juwel heater malfunctioned and cooked the pair in the 300L along with 10 Sterbai Corys. Worst fish day ever One pair left.. but now the wife beating has gone too far. Thinking of some net divider arrangement that might allow spawning to take place but keep them appart. Not sure what to do yet. Was hoping for a complete natural breeding/raising of fry. Anyway regarding male/female I found with mine that it was definitely the bigger ones and then ones with the longest fin extensions that turned out to be the males. I'm following your big tank thread on MFK with great interrest. Sorry to hear about your sump problems

David have you experienced much "wife beating" with your altifrons? or maybe your group is so large that agression is directed outwards.. I have a large pair left of my group of 6 that have spawned several times but ate the fry and now the female is in quarantine from severe attacks from the male. I am sure when I put her back he will beat her up again.

I just bought the NLS Thera +A Regular formula (1mm) it has a picture of a clown loach on it! (and another picture of Dory from Finding Nemo!)

If all you want is the snails gone and there are no fish in the tank yet I would just start over... Disinfect the tank, boil the substrate and put the plants in a 1:20 bleach bath for a minut or two. Should be a quick job on a 21L tank... But you have to start the cycle again (which in any case I think is a good idea with all that snail rid in there)

Sure why not? with some sand, a few rocks and driftwood a pleco and maybe some tetras. But you need to have a plan on how to get rid of some of them once territorial behavior starts. They will most likely remodel your tank ie. shift the sand around in big piles.. so no plants.. unless you use floating plants which would give them some shade as well from the relatively bright light of a Juwel Rio. They definitely prefer dim light.

You can quite happily keep a little flok of tetras with them...to calm the geos a bit. Just not the small ones like neons (they will get snatched in the darkness of night) I have kept red phantoms and glowlights succesfully with mine for a year now.

Would they go in the 240 Juwel rio? If so I would reckommend no more than 4-5 and as soon as a couple is established get rid of the rest otherwise there will be trouble.. also you would need sand substrate.. Planning on any other fish in there?

It will most likely be Geophagus altifrons... Do they look like my avatar? The "surinamensis" name is used for a group of several species and because Geophagus surinamensis is on the "allow to be imported" list here in NZ and altifrons is not it is still being sold as surinamensis.. That list should be updated! SOON! I think they can easily reach 25cm under the right circumstances and they get quite territorial and needs a large space with time out places..

Haha yeah and you keep on picking bits up and then you realise that you can't carry it.. then you make a pile to come back and get.. and then in the end you spend ages looking for your piles because they are so damn well camouflaged on a beach with heaps and heaps of wood!

A Juwel Rio 125 with stand and all equipment in perfect condition (except - see below) on TM for $100!! and he delivered it too! Seller thought it had a crack in the glass.. turned out it's just a scratch... been running for months now no problem.