BrendanNSANZ

Took some pic's this morning after the WC.

Methylated Spirits and a paper towel.

Thanks, will do. :thup:

Hi, Just walked in this evening and noticed my female Dwarf Gourami has a white circle approx 1mm in width around the entire eye, the eye seems perfectly fine and isn't enlarged. The fish is behaving normally, I'm wondering if this is just the result of an attack by the male as he is quite sensitive about his territory and she likes to mess with him. Has anyone experienced anything similar? Can't really take a photo as she's quite zippy.

The same could be said for many commodities. New Zealand is one of the most expensive countries in the world to ship to because of it's geographical location, obviously the same applies for exportation of goods. It doesn't make economical sense to manufacture and export the majority of goods from New Zealand, regardless of what our reputation may be. It's more logical to manufacture commodities where raw materials are accessible or economical to source, more importantly also where primary marketplaces are located. Unfortunately we in New Zealand will most probably always have to pay high prices for our commodities due to the fact we rely so heavily on importation and the cost of importing said goods.

Good to know, cheers :thup:

Yes the glosso was left in the tank when it wilted, it only melted when the tank was changed to emmersed. Glosso requires medium to high light otherwise it will grow up toward the light. High CO2 levels are recommended and regular pruning is required. You should avoid it being shadowed by any surrounding plants. As it grows it can become quite a thick mat and the upper leaves will shadow the lower growth and the lower growth will become suffocated as a result, this will cause the suffocated growth to rot. Are you injecting CO2? Are you dosing nutrients? Water params? Lighting?

You didn't appear to lay much down, at least that's what the pictures suggest. Could the problem of leaching perhaps be the type of gravel used to cap the soil rather than lack of thickness in the cap?

Don't worry about it, we all knew what you meant.

So, what's next?

It would appear that way.

Nice :thup: I like the first images arrangement.

Presuming that the 'bubble filter' oxygenates the water then yes this should be sufficient No peeking on the blackout, be patient. To avoid a recurrence: 1. Check your Nitrate & Phosphate levels, maybe take a sample to your LFS and get them to test it for you. 2. Waterflow, should be a good level of circulation throughout the tank. 3. Try to avoid direct sunlight on the tank. 4. Remove organic waste as frequently as possible. 5. Should you have a recurrence and all the above are fine then try elevating your light from the aquarium to reduce intensity thought I suspect you're getting a bit of external sunlight rather than your lighthood being the issue? Goodluck

1. Physically remove as much BGA as possible. 2. 30% WC 3. Pump oxygen & blackout for 3 days. 4. Vacuum/30%WC Worked for me on two occasions, no more BGA. Occasion #1 - Excess light. Occasion #2 - New tank setup Make sure you're removing any mulm/debris. What is your photoperiod, light setup & tank size?

Lots of Daltons at the new Palmers centre on Greville road, North Shore.

Update: Tank has been rearranged and a dash of red added to the left side and also along the back. Unfortunately I gassed all of the stock in this tank not long after the previous update. I drained the tank and left emmersed for a month as I had hair algae galore and just couldn't seem to get rid of it, the glosso melted as a result but is starting to come back now.

Update: Tank was broken down and soil substrate added, dry start method followed for which all plants were given a big prune. Also added an external CO2 reactor: 50x25mm UPVC Reducing Bush x 2 25x15mm UPVC Reducing Bush PL/THD x 2 50mm UPVC Socket Coupler Plain x 1 50mm UPVC Cap Plain End x 1 15mm PVC Male NPT Hose Adaptor x 2 50mm UPVC Tee Plain x 1 50mm UPVC Pressure Pipe PN 9 Class C SOE x 0.5M Current sole inhabitant with his mrs to keep him company:

Freaking awesome but alas the wife says no... :facepalm:

Have referred this to the Cichlid section :thup:

Anyone had any experience with Red Forrest Jewel's? Aggressive? Availability? Cost? Difficulty to keep? How much vegetation do they typically consume?

Anyone had any experience with Red Forrest Jewel's? Aggressive? Availability? Cost? Difficulty to keep? How much vegetation do they typically consume?

Cheers for the feedback. Agree re the Apistos, definitely going to stock something vibrant. Am going to wait until the tank is more grown in before introducing anymore stock. Roger that, little buggers have already begun multiplying like crazy. Fortunately I can spread their numbers across the other tanks or just crush them up for food.

Dated 11/05/12 Planted approx 20-30/05/12 Dated 24/07/12 Currently stocked with: Otocinclus Crossocheilus siamensis Ramshorn Snails Trumpet Snails Plants: Anubias barteri var. nana Glosso Java Fern Tiger Lotus

Find out the contents of the fish food you're looking at importing and phone MPI to speak with an officer to gauge whether there will be any fish hooks on arrival into the country, same goes for anything else you have a question mark over. The foods you're looking at importing may be allowed into the country but the wholesaler/LFS in NZ would most likely have an MPI permit (held by their broker) to import and have an ATF approved to the required standard to store said goods. Ring 0800 00 83 33, they'll let you know.

The agitation caused by the HOB will off gas the CO2 but won't render it ineffective, most probably you'll just need to add more CO2 to compensate.