Pegasus

Nice looking fish Paul. Now what you need are some decent virgin females to start your lines running. Bill.

Hi Caper, Often this is food related.. but as only certain fish are showing stringy waste, then it could be something in the digestive tract that is not quite right, but possible a change of food type might help. It certaily won't do them any harm to give them a dip every day or so.. but then there is the stress factor you have to consider.. so do it as gently as possible. Hard to say what is in your tank and causing the fish to scratch... but water changes can only improve things by reducing whatever is the cause. Fish scratch for a number of reasons, and it is "usually" a sign of an upcoming ailment. It "could" be parasites.. or it could be water conditions, but unless you/we can isolate the cause it is hard to suggest a remedy. Bill.

Hi Seahorse, Sounds like you certainly have the bug Why not add your location to your profile so that everyone will know where you are from. What fish do you keep.. and have you any pics

A cheaper method still would be a simple sponge filter, which also won't suck the fry up. You could buy two, and run one in your main tank as a backup. Bill.

Hi again, I honestly think that you are worrying too much over this, as it is one of those things that we can "do".. but only do if we see our fish looking a bit off colour (so to speak) You don't "need" salt in your tank, but the reasons we add it are outlined above. I personally only add a little salt if I see that the fish are a bit down, but don't add it on a regular basis.... nor do I add it at every water change. I "do" use it as a medication in preference to chemicals, but again, only as required. As mentioned... Livebearers seem to fare a little better with the addition of a bit of salt.. but your fish are not going to die if you happen to forget to add some every few months or so... or even if you leave it out all together. You ask: Most of my signatures have the addy. You also ask: There are lots of post on this subject, and most methods vary from one to the other. One method is to add (approx) one level tablespoon per two or three litres of water... but again, it depends on what you are treating. I mix the salt and water thoroughly before adding the fish. I usually leave the fish in there for ten mins or so... or remove it if it shows signs of stress. Many use less... while many use more.. so there is no fixed rule. For severe fin damage I use the progressive salt treatment. With this method the salt is increased gradually over a week or ten days so that you finish up with around three or four level tablepoons per imperial gallon (4.5 - 5 ltrs) I never dose "in tank".. but always in separate quarters. HTH

Ok... Let's see if we can make this a bit easier Salt is added to some tanks mainly for two reasons. First... It replaces some of the minerals lost by water changes.. or adds minerals to certain water supplies that have few minerals in them. It's important to remember, that salt DOESN'T evaporate.. so as Alan points out.. you DON'T add it willy nilly just for the sake of it, as the concentrations would build up to a high level, which is not good for most freshwater fish. Second reason for salt addition is that it is a natural tonic for the fish. Every fish carries a protective coat of mucus, and this mucus acts as a barrier that is constantly being replaced naturally. Often if the fish becomes sick, this barrier breaks down, and so the fish is then subceptical to further invasions of all manner of things. Fish that are twitching or scratching often damage this mucus layer, and so once again are open to attack from disease. Often the scratching is due to a parasite that has attacked the fish while it was run down and at a weak period of its resistance to disease. High ammonia levels can literally burn this mucus off, which is why we have to be very careful not to let these levels get out of hand. The salt added to the tank.. (or as a separate bath).. flushes the damaged mucus from the fish and rapidly promotes new growth of the protective coating. There are countless thousands of articles written on the benefits of salt in the aquaria.. and also a great deal of confusion on the recomended doses, but all agree that certain levels of salt are good for most livebearers.. but not for catfish. The products marked "Sea Salt" at your supermarket are suitable for your use. If you take water OUT of your tank, you are removing not only the salt, but the minerals. If you are TOPPING UP because of evaporation, then the concentrations of salt and minerals remain the same, so therefore you don't need to add more. Remember that it takes only seconds to PUT something into your tank (meds etc).. but could take months to remove if you need to.

Hi Candela, Such a wonderful part of the world to be in if you are into the aquatic scene, as some of the best fish in the world originate from your area. Would be real nice to see some pics of setup you have over there. A warm welcome to the site, and we hope you find lots of interest here

Sorry.. you "want" it down.. the other was too "low" If you don't want to use chemicals.. then some peat moss in a nylon bag in your filter will lower it... as will some driftwoods and logs. Bill.

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/ph-dro ... t8258.html

Concrete in the "raw" will leach lots of nasties, and needs to be "matured" before you put it in the tank... unless you want to seal it first of course. There are products that are used to seal concrete, like the ones they use for water tanks that hold drinking water... plus some garden centers carry products for sealing concrete fish ponds. Weight is another factor, but you could make a hollow structure by forming your shape over a mold to reduce the weight. Appearance.... Looks terrible until it has blended in and aged sufficiantly... but you could include small bits of rock stuck into it to give it a more "natural" look All the best with your project.

Just wondering if it is a "live" bloodworm, as they often come in with livefoods un-noticed. Also wondering if a piece of raw meat (steak or something).. would attract it so that you can catch the damn thing

Welcome WTM We've been around a fair few years now, and it's still amazing that a lot of people don't know we are here Hope you find lots of interest here and look forward to your posts.

Hi WTM... Welcome to the NZ Fishroom I think if the cause was overfeeding it would show up in your readings. Just a few questions... Has it just started doing this recently..? If so.. what has changed,,? Are you using fertilizers... CO2 or anything..? Have you any logs or driftwood in the tank..? Both the above will cause a pH drop. You can stabilize your pH by adding some Oyster or Shell Grit to your filter. Put a handful in a nylon stocking bag (Ladies tights).. and pop it in your filter. This will raise the pH "gradually".. so you need to keep checking and replace the grit around every week or ten days. HTH

Hi Naomi , Welcome to the site, and we hope you find lots of interest here. Tell us about your fish

Hi Rockpool... Welcome to the NZ Fishroom. (We like to say we are "addicted" to the hobby btw he he) It should also be remembered that increasing the temp will decrease the amount of disolved oxygen in the eater... so you may have to increase your air supply if your fish stocks are high. Using your existing filter to "seed" another tank is fine, but if the filter has been in an infected tank, then you would be wise to leave the new tank "fishless" for a week, as most things like White Spot can't survive without a host for longer than a few days. Hope you enjoy your visits and make lots of friends here

MMM.. Didn't take long for them to show what they can be like. I remember mentioning it to you in the welcome section a week back. Hope your fish get well. Bill.

Hi PeneJane, What Stu is saying is correct if you want a decent result, as a female at three or four months will give you better results to work from than a first timer at a few weeks old. You say: Almost is right... but what are you aiming for...? Just fairly good looking guppies.. or a large majority of Snakeskin or Cobra's.? Sure... the male "may" pass some of his genes down the line, but the results would be spasmodic, especially if you have "two" males in there, as you wouldn't have a clue which fish was giving the results you were after.. if any. If you do "have" some virgin females.. then it would be better to know what line they have derived from, as this will give you "some" indication of what results you will get. Just because a female has some fancy colours in the tail or body, is no indication that it will throw true to form offspring. Often a good sound normal female will give better results. The "female" is the one that is responsible for the outcome... as "she" is the fish that will carry both sets of genes onto the next generations, so the genes put there by the males are the ones that will be mixed with her own to give the results you see... so if "she" hasn't such a mixed up gene pool.. then often better results are seen earlier. If the V Females "are" from a Snakeskin line, then you would put two or three in with the best SINGLE male in a separate tank and see the results. If you are getting say... 25% good looking Snakeskins from the first drop, then you would separate the best of these... again into separate tanks of males and females. From here you would breed the best male from the batch back to the female parent, and the best female back to the male parent. This "could" improve the strain.. but is no guarantee. Then you could cross sibling to sibling to see the result here.. but as you can see, you would need lots of tanks and patience to do this, but if you are wanting fish that breed true.. then it is a process of elimination, unless you start off with true blood and a known gene pattern to start with. Bill.

Hi Bulldog, Welcome to the NZ Fishroom. Got any pics you can post in the Cichlid section

PeneJane asked: It depends on what name someone.. or some LFS.. has attached to it... or what part of the world you are in. Cobra's and Snakeskins are basically the same fish.. being called Cobra mainly in the West.. while in the Eastern countries they mainly call them Snakeskin. The early "Cobra's" were called King Cobra Delta's, and shortly after the so called Snakeskins began to appear.. but all the breeders at the time claimed they were just a variation of the Cobra Guppy. The "Blondes" are called the "Golds" or "Bronze" in many places, and even some of the "Blacks" are claimed to be "Blues" in some places. The Cobra or Snakeskin have been around since the early '50's. It seems that every breeder that gets a slight variation in colours will attach their own name.. (much like the Discus and Angels).. but few are recognised by the WGA, but the standard tail shapes are the ones that are recognised. Bill.

Hi there Lindy, .. great to have you join us.

Hi there Douwe... hope you enjoy your visits here. Sounds like you were real involved having 23 tanks. Look forward to your posts

One advantage that there "is" with the marbles, is that it allows you to "see" them spawning, whereas net and the mesh basket tank inserts (like on my site).. don't let you see what's going on. I think the thing I hated most about the marbles (which I tried a few times).. was getting them out afterwards, as to be effective you needed a few layers. The stuff I use to use was called "Netlon" from the garden centers, and it was a semi rigid plastic mesh with approx 3-4mm holes on in it. This was "welded" with a hot knife into a basket shape that just dropped into the tank and was held by pegs.

Obviously Whitecrust is in grief... but hey.. Why he chooses to continually insult me I have no idea. It seems he has taken my post as a personal attack on his experience.. which was not the case, but as a general warning to others that "may" purchase fish without knowing their full requirements. They "are" generally a shy fish, as many searches on the web will tell you.. http://species.fishindex.com/species_61 ... _nose.html .. so perhaps when it was "interacting" it was trying to tell you something. Again... I regret your loss, and regret posting in the first instance now that I see the results. Bottom line is that you may have researched the fish.. but did you do "enough" research.. ? We will never know. All further insults to myself or others will be removed without warning. We are here to try to help, not to be insulted. Bill (Pegasus)

Great pics and fish guys. Gonna move you over to the Cichlids Section where other might want to add theirs. Bill.

Whitecrust said: Obviously aimed at me.. but you gave no indication how long you had owned the fish, or how long you had kept fish for, and my comment was as a general warning for people who purchase fish before knowing their exact requirements. Bill.