alexyay

Perhaps - unfortunately I can't get out to the vet for another 2 weeks but I want to get some metro in case this kind of thing happens again. I knew TB was zoonotic so I wanted to make sure it was a risk or not. Being in an apartment all of our water goes down the drain but hopefully I never get it in the tanks (I know the basic signs but apparently it can be carried without symptoms)

Bloated male Super skinny female The healthy female is behind the male, constantly following him around etc as usual. But basically the super skinny female looks nothing like the healthy girl, who looks nice and round. Also a slightly unrelated question - is TB a common occurrence in fish in NZ and are there any other zoonotic diseases that can occur when handling aquarium fish?

If of any interest, these guys previously shared the tank with my sick gourami who passed away on Wednesday night. Since they were looking better they've since shared water with the same tank again (which was also dosed with Prazi). Do you think I should dose all my tanks?

I had an issue with what I believe to be internal parasites back here - http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariu ... p?t=117849 and they got a lot better after 3x doses Prazi. But they're looking sick again and not eating, which is very frustrating. Can parasites survive all that and make a comeback & start thriving again? I now have - 1 healthy girl, looking a bit sad, but eating. - 1 male with a slightly large "firm" looking abdomen - almost looks eggbound if he wasn't, well, male. He's not eating. - 1 very very skinny girl, not eating, I moved her into another tank with lots of filamentous algae and she hasn't perked up. What I'm going to do is - Move her back to their hospital tank - Give the male an epsom salt bath? - Do another round of prazi Does anyone know of any others things that might be causing this? Any other suggestions? I'll try to get some pictures in a second.

She passed away overnight - no response to meth blue or salt. I didn't find any eggs when *attempting* (note that I don't have the proper tools with me) to dissect her, but a lot of her organs just went a dark green and she was the worst smelling fish I've ever dissected. After death her abdominal area went a dark green too. I still don't know what caused it :dunno:

Oh, really? I mean I thought eggbound initially, but I've not had an eggbound fish look this sick (but I've only ever had eggbound tetras before). So I guess the question is whether she's better off in the salt treatment or with the tank with the male D: I had her in the tank with a male overnight with no effect, but not looking any sicker either.

I came back from a week-long holiday (father was feeding the fish) so I don't know how long she's been like this. I've had her just under a year, now. She's sitting on her side, kind of sinking whenever she tries to swim, leans to one side, not eating from what I can tell, but trying to swim. She's got this weird kind of swelling on the right side of her face, it's hard to tell but it looks kind of "lumpy", and there's a small lump at the base of her fin/underneath her gills. I found out this swelling/lump this could indicate a thyroid tumour but haven't been able to find any pics of one. She's the only sick fish, in a tank with honey gouramis and indian banded gouramis, she's usually the boss. No visible injuries, nothing external. Ammonia and nitrites 0, I don't believe my nitrate test kit is giving me accurate results so I'm yet to go out and buy a new one to test it with. My initial thought was eggbound, so I moved her to my other tank with thicklip gouramis (stupid move, it's not infectious), but no improvement, so I'm moving her to the hospital tank with another honey gourami (who's healing from some wounds from the store) and will treat them both with salt at 1/2 a tbsp/gallon.

Ah, thanks! I'll have to go check on my RTL in a couple of days! (yet to acquire barclaya)

Thanks! I'll have to take some pics once I get back this weekend

Another :smot: hijack - does that mean it's easily possible to ID crypts without flowers? (if so I will need to post a thread of my own asking for some IDs) and am I right in thinking that's a sad looking java fern rather than madagascar lace plant (I think it is, just triple and quadruple checking)? I didn't even see the MTS at first I thought they were part of the substrate. That's what my old tank used to look like lol - but they were more obvious on the black gravel. Would be fine but they really creep me out :oops:

:smot: but what plants do you guys consider having bulbs? If swords - does that mean I should be planting them slightly higher than I am? (they're shoved right into the substrate - might explain why my E uruguayensis isn't growing (at all... every other sword is fine except for that stupid one)

I'd say a RTS would be too big (and maybe a bit boisterous) - I'd still stick to 5 kuhlis if possible (I actually only have 3 regular kuhlis at the moment, mind you - but I have 5 black kuhlis at the moment too). I find some gouramis are OK with a female and male but what quite often happens is the male stresses out the female by chasing her 24/7 - although I find with gouramis it's not so bad as sometimes the male spends so much freaking time bubblenesting he's not even interested in the girl (and wants to protect his precious nest)!

Just an excuse to increase stock :gigl: Need 2 more killies, but not sure what else to add after that.

That sounds reasonable to me. You may want to instead have 10x Cardinals 3x Dwarf gouramis (with three males, having 3 helps to spread the aggression rather than one dominant and one being picked on all the time) 6x Adolfoi cories (shoaling fish) 1x BN 1x Choc zebra 5x Kuhli loach (shoaling fish) I think this is a pretty good stock list - maybe skip the BN? He will be quite the bioload - that or the Choc Zebra (although they're cuter imo) My stocking list for the 120L used to look like - 3x Otocinclus 5x Kuhli loaches 1x L129 5x American flagfish 2x Thicklipped gourami 5x Threadfin rainbow 5x Red whiptail catfish From that I needed to remove all the otos (they passed - nitrate spike, probably unknown fish death) as my nitrates were too unpredictable (I wasn't aware and should have been testing more regularly) and possibly the L129 as they're better in groups and I didn't see him out much. On that tank I needed to do 50% water changes weekly or 25% biweekly. So just be prepared to do regular WCs (plants helped). My current tank stock for the same tank is 5x Red whiptail cats 3x Indian banded gourami 3x Honey gourami 5x American Flagfish (to be added: 2x Thicklip gourami, 10x Rocket pencilfish) I need to do about 50% each week on this too - found my nitrates at 40ppm a couple of weeks ago so it looked like 30% wasn't doing the job. Before adding the pencils I intend on starting to grow emersed plants out of my HOBs along with doing pressurized CO2 and testing the nitrate consumption after that to make sure I can handle the levels. SO it sounds OK, but I'd be expecting 50% WCs and maybe drop a couple of fish? Plants will always help, too.

Higher or lower nitrates? Nitrates are pretty low in that tank. Am doing a "semi" 3-day blackout (not completely covering the tank so it's still slightly lit by the ones around it) to see whether it slows down the growth. They're only T8s so I don't plan on doing CO2 but I guess I maybe could set up my little DIY Nutrafin CO2 kit and see whether that makes a difference (no idea what rates to "dose" for a tank < 70L though). Unfortunately it's not so much the crypt leaves with the algae but the stems (works its way up to the leaves) - the BBA is actually pretty easy to remove from the leaves. You don't think they'd handle an Excel dip? I mean, I can just leave them, but I'd rather remove as much as possible as I move everything over to the new tank (which won't be getting CO2 for some time yet). I don't mind them melting too much but these ones are small and still establishing so I'll do most of what I can to reduce melting (new tank will keep the same lights etc so not too much of an issue there - I find crypts don't like the lights changing and time out of water). I've been trying to do Excel daily but I'm pretty slack and forget it - which of course just makes things worse. Hence why I was wondering whether there was any more low-maintenance options. Sorry, but do you know what issue of the Aquarium World it is? There doesn't seem to be much in the way of a clear index of issues available D: I see some TM sellers saying they "sterilize" their plants before shipping - I'd like to do the same but not sure what to do it with especially around sensitive plants. Ideally you would have an algae-free setup and snail-free setup, but I'm only growing mine casually and am yet to do a "commercial" planted setup. Edit: I'm still getting a lot of brown diatomic algae in every tank (even ones established for 3+ months, and Dad's tank which has been established for years but was moved around February). Are there any ways to remove Silicates (because of the varying conditions in my tanks, I'm guessing it could have something to do with the silicates in my water - water company is yet to get back to me on any average levels though) other than Seachem's product which removes phosphates at the same time?

I'm upgrading one of my tanks to a 220L and want to do a dip on my plants which have both BBA and another type of delightful algae which is black looks a bit like staghorn and the texture reminds me of iron wool. From what I've read these are both CO2 fluctuation/low level based but am yet to get a CO2 unit so am dosing Excel (not as regularly as I should be). (New algae above) I was wondering what I should be dipping them in which is safe for "sensitive" plants like crypts but will kill the algae - something like H2O2 or Excel? Also I'm having algae troubles on one of my tanks and it's getting pretty frustrating The tank is 55L, with the double T8 Aqua Zonic unit. I'm dosing Excel and Brightwell Multi (multi about once a week). Quite a low bioload - 3 Australe killies and 7 hara catfish. The tank has been established for at least a couple of months, now. It's currently suffering BBA and cyanobacteria. I've now changed the lighting to have a 2-hour break in the photoperiod, and will change the "super pink" tube to a 6500K-ish tube (have read cyano thrives under warmer tones). I will "eventually" use CO2 units on my 120L and new 220L that are suffering BBA but I'm not that keen on starting it up on such a low-light tank. I've upped the flow and attempted to get it flowing around the areas on cyano but can't do much as the fish prefer the lower flow. Any ideas as to what might be causing the cyano and BBA to be thriving? Any further things I can do to reduce the algae?

So it definitely seems that carnivorous plants are probably a no-go for emersed roots, but I'll have a look at the Coromandel Cacti - lots of species to go through there! I might look more into ferns for the nitrate-eater? :dunno: I'll grab something like a pothos for Dad's tank, but am going to look into doing something more aesthetic based for mine. Any ideas for a tank with a rim that a HOB filter can't get over? D:

Is it a new tank? Three reasons I've read that brown diatomic algae occurs are - Nitrate booms (common in new tanks, or a high bioload tank) High silicates (silicates come in your tap water, not too much you can do about this other than silicate removing filter media) Too low of light (personally I have only had one tank get it for this reason which was when I had very low light over it)

Two topics, wouldn't mind combining them into one if possible. But I imagine it's not! PITCHER PLANTS I've fallen in love with these and wouldn't mind some out on the deck (apartment, not exposed to any rain/wind/etc), but have NO idea where to start. - What are the most common pitchers available? Something simple for a beginner, and will work in lower humidity and temperatures. I love the red marbled types but if anything like aquaria they could be more difficult than basic green types. - Is there a clean "List" for what's available in NZ? - Is lighting an important factor? My room gets very little light so I'm thinking they're going to have to go outside. - SOILS! What kind of setup do I use for these? Any particular soil layers? What kind of drainage do they need? They'll probably be hung up on the wall somehow, so they'll definitely drain nicely. - I have a feeling I may have to provide extra food - I may be able to get fruit flies, and we get mosquitoes during the summer, but not much else. Are there any particular insects that are best for the job? And now the nitrate eating part. So, I know the typical options are things like pothos, peace lillies etc for growing out of HOB filters. I'm looking to see whether there's anything available that's a little "different". I'm having some trouble keeping them down on a couple of tanks - of course willing to do extra WCs but it'd be nice to get something else natural to help out. It needs to be low-light (again, room doesn't get much light, the tank light is directly on top of the tank so that won't provide much either), "small" and big on "eating" nitrates. So, - What kinds of "oddball" plants are available in the above requirements? I like ferns, which are typically low-light plants anyway, are they possibilities? I'm thinking carnivorous plants may not grow too well in a setup where their roots are constantly in the water. Am I right in this thinking? They also (from what I read) don't really care for nutrients as they gather those from being fed. So I'm thinking they probably aren't an option. BUT if anyone's done anything or read anything about any carnivorous plants working, I'd loove to know! If the carnivorous plants are a no-go, "food" plants would be of interest. Herbs or anything like that. Mint is doing awesome in another tank of mine, but seems to really rely on light and is struggling to expand where the light isn't strong.

I don't quite understand what you mean - my advice still stands. The clown loaches, boesemani rainbows and angels all need shoals of 6+. It also looks like silver dollars and spotted mets need shoals of 5+ each too. This means that your final list (assuming you have/had the tank size for so many large fish) would look like 5x Silver dollars 6x Clown loaches 6x Boesemani rainbows 2x Bristlenoses 1x Chocolate talking cat 5-7x Angels 5x Spotted mets

+1, the upside down can needs a group too (about 6+ - not sure whether they're much of bottom dwellers). Clown loaches are best in groups of 6+. I think the boesemani rainbows are schoolers too? Also for the surinamensis it'd be best to have sand as a substrate. I'm not too sure how angels and surinamensis and angels would get along, but you want at least 5 angels as they are pretty social fish.

I have done that before - was looking for something clean and pre-made - I found housing bulbs quite awkward and was really just looking for the unit.

Thank you for all the help! I might go for the + but am probably going for the regular - what else do you suggest price-wise for LEDs at 6500K? I think the regular + shipping ended up costing around $90 USD which is similar to a T8 Aqua Zonic unit (and I'd rather go LED as I'm not the one paying the power bill!)

Thanks for the updates! Looks so amazing and inspiring! Love the "altum" and geos - and the plecos are just soooo gorgeous.

I was under the impression that the "nose" was a lot shorter on acus? "Although often sold as the closely related F. acus (a species that is highly endangered and imported very rarely, if at all), F. vittata is the most common representative of the genus in hobbyists’ tanks. The easiest way to distinguish the two is by comparing the shape of the rostrum, which is longer and more slender in vittata" http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/fa ... a-vittata/ Edit: the HFF lot I would say are not acus as acus apparently only get to 16cm, which these guys exceeded (Vittata apparently 22cm?)