F15hguy

your LFS should be able to order them in for you

i'd dose asap

says it all really

oh well, said yes.... btw now have a nice Synodontis schoutedeni for sale

use a toothpick to gently flick them out, best done while feeding the parents so they don't get too disturbed. meth blue will help, but tbh the parents doing their job is normally just as good

nope just a festae with firey eyebrows

I see a Festae cichlid in a gloomy tank with a bleeding fish in its mouth (and strangely fire like eyebrows)

ime the strip tests are rather inaccurate, try getting a drop test btw unless you have liquid rocki or are trying something that absolutely needs softer water, hardness should not be an issue, most council supplies are reasonably good as water that is too hard clogs their pipes

what a stunner :nfs: :thup:

Jewels are Africans, just not rift lakes, they live in slower moving rivers in west africa ranging from guinea to liberia

there are heaps of colours available, try the tangerine (orange) zebras, they are a nice bright orange/pink depending on the supplier, maybe some orange peacocks

darker colour, maybe a darker red would bring out the black ghost nicely or grey would bring out the cichlids colours. just avoid white unless you are doing green severums (seems to make them a lot nicer)

the dwarf chain loaches would only worry the smallest of the smallest fry (and the eggs)

carefully positioned flat rocks can redirect current quite effectively, plus they look natural if the plants are bending towards the current flow

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=60555 look for any slower moving stream that connects to the sea and has plants growing on the edge, scoop the net through the plants during the day time, or take a torch at night (their eyes are reflective) p.s. mollies rock as well, just be warned if they are happy they can get rather big

I have a Synodontis decorus (supposedly) that is about 112-14cm atm, on its own in a large fish community setting. I have been offered a Synodontis schoutedeni that is 12cm would they mix ok, and would they be peaceful with the other inhabitants. 2x medium/large angels, 4 x slender hemidosus, 1 x banded leporonis, 3 x small (8cm) Surinamensis type geos, 1 x 20cm Goldspot pleco, 3 8cm+ gourami.

i'll stick to using the water conditioner, a: because its cheap not the place to save your money b: why risk it, they increase the chlorine levels after rainfalls better safe than sorry

Freshwater shrimp love that stuff, Otos tend to knock it off so it doesnt attach to anything plus keeping up with the water changes. could try a blackout as well but to be honest you cant go past shrimp

I have about half a cup of left over JBL aquabasis plus, that'l do for the substrate and we can have a look through the plants cya tomorrow

make sure you don't use snail rid as it contains copper which can be toxic to many things) probably the planorbis ramshorns... great reason to buy swarm of chain loaches

I dunno, jewels have a pretty vicious set of dentures compared to the lake cichlids, can do a fair amount of damage (especially when larger, they can rip up a hand pretty quick). anyways, they prefer different water conditions as they are not rift lake cichlids (although they will tolerate most things)

American or Holden all the way

imo there is no real difference between curved glass front and flat, but the curved glass can increase the angles it can be veiwed at.. the tanks foot print is the main concern, and this can also affect your fish options, most SA like tanks that are at least 600mm high probably want to go 700mm + for a ghost knife as they have no sense of up down or sideways and you'll want him to be able to move in 3 dimensions when he gets bigger. yu may be able to find 15Ltr bags of white gravel at a landscape supply store, but it will be expensive wherever you go, and many of the white stones will make your water go hard. ghost knifes will hide just about anywhere they can, mine alternates between a divers helmet and a stone cave. those big hollow logs are great too. monster fishkeepers has some cool tanks or just google it

Jewels will probably be too aggressive especially if you happen to get a pair. keeping just one can help unless you want a couple of fat evil little beauties (and their million fat evil offspring)

ime fish are happier in stable conditions, those parameters are fine for most community fish. Nitrates are the least toxic part of the nitrogen cycle and should be kept well below 40ppm (imo 20ppm is very high). Ammonia and Nitrites are very toxic and ideally should be at 0 at all times. personally I hardly test my water unless I notice something unusual or my spidey sense starts tingling. also if you are not using additives, and your tank does not contain excessive amounts of driftwood, your pH normally stays pretty stable once its gone through its settling period. the main tests you should be looking at is Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate.