purplex

Just been watching her hoover my tank, and I realised what she reminds me of - a hedgehog snuffling around for food! LOL (Just had to share that LOL)

I'd never even heard of or seen a Hoplo before finding her, and I did some research, and they said that they are fine alone, but once my 200L is up and running I'll move her over and find her some friends (hopefully!) There is a nice big gap at the top of my tank as she's in with my betta, so they can breathe What I was meaning was there is a gap in the lid of the tank, and she was shooting water right out of the tank... has anyone else this? I asked the previous owner, and she said she'd never seen her do anything of the sort!

I got a new thermometer today, and without changing anything, it reads 27 degrees, so I'm pretty happy with that! And Sophia, his colours are much more impressive in person.

Yeah, I've already been warned about that, I've got a 200L that I'm working on (and hubby -he's making the stand and the lighting )

Hey guys, not the best photo, he was being little sod this evening, but here ya go. You can see his tail is really short... it seems to be taking a while to grow back, I'm hoping it does, he had the most beautiful tail before he got attacked!

I picked up this beauty from someone online the other day, I'm pretty sure she's female. I've called her Hoover, I know thats probably not original for a catfish, but she suits it. She is missing one of her fins, but she was like that when the previous owner got her, and she's never had any problems. She's also full of personality - I was watching her last night, and she swam up the side of the tank, and there is a 1.5cm gap in the lid, and she sat there shooting jets of water through the small gap! Just one question though - how much is too much to feed her? She never seems to stop eating?!?

Freddy is doing MUCH better, as soon as I had him separated, he perked right up! I got rid of the tetras, found someone who wanted them, explained that one had died, but the rest seemed fine, she came and had a look, and said none of the others looked sick, so she was happy to take them. So Freddy is back in his tank, got him some nice new decorations too. His tail is still short, but I think it is slowly growing back. I'll get some photos up soon Thank you everyone!

Can we new people come along to this? It's literally up the road from my parents, so I have free babysitters just there too

Thank you Sheepsnana for the use of yoru spare tank - just getting the water up to temperature now If this is the quality of member here, I am well and truely impressed!

Right, I'll pick up the cheapest tank I can tomorrow, as I can't do anything else til then... Trademe here I come.... His tail fin does seem to look 'lacy' for lack of a better word. And I don't know whether this is important or not, but I just noticed on the glass of my tank there seems to be little white 'worms'? They are very tiny, and I just thought it was marks in the glass til I happened to see them move... Would this have anything to do with it?? Getting really worried now...

Ok, the other tetras are all ok, but I think there is something wrong with Freddy! He's just sitting in one corner, literally on the gravel and the rocks. He doesn't want food - normally you can't get him away from it. He goes for the tetras if they get too close, but other than that, he's just sitting there. Do I need to get a QT? And move him to see if that helps? (And if yes, is there anyone in TGA who can let me borrow one? Please? ) I can pop up a photo of him, its not perfect, but you might be able to see what I mean... I take it I have to link to the pic rahter than upload to the forum? This is not how I imagined my first fish tank would go... I know it's not a walk in the park... but still EDIT: He's not flaring at the mirror either. At all. No interest

Thank you for replying. I've seen the Neons have a go at my Betta a few times, but now they seem to be ganging up on him - I'm watching them sneak up behind him and have a go at him. I had a friend at Animates do the water testing for me, and the Nitrates was less than 30ppm. It was low, but not that low that there was no reading. I don't have a pH test kit, it's on my to get list. I also did an Ammonia and Nitrites test before I posted, and both were still sitting at 0ppm. I did a fishless cycle using a raw prawn. Waited til Ammonia spiked, and Nitrites kicked in, then waited til Ammonia and Nitrates were reading 0ppm, while there was trace Nitrate. I test for ammonia weekly (I'm a newbie, so am constantly worrying). The water has been a bit cloudy, but it has been clear for the past day... I'm hoping he was just an old fish or something... The gills themsleves weren't brown either... but that could of been anything I'm guessing, like the way he was hiding under the rock etc... I'll try and take a photo of him, but he's camera shy, and moves too damn quickly.

Hi guys. I'll fill out the form first. 1. Size of tank? 50L or about 13 Gallons. 2. Water parameters a. Ammonia? 0.0 b. Nitrite? 0.0 c. Nitrate? Normal (had pet store do it) d. pH, KH and GH? pH was 6.8, the others were normal (pet store again) e. Test kit? API Liquid 3. Temperature? 26 Celsius, or 78 F 4. FW (fresh water) or BW (brackish)? FW 5. How long the aquarium has been set up? Since March 6. What fish do you have? Betta, Neon Tetras How many are in your tank? 1 Betta, 9 Neons left now How big are they? Averaged sized How long have you had them? Since April after the tank was cycled. 7. Were the fish placed under quarantine period (minus the first batch from the point wherein the tank is ready to accommodate the inhabitants)? All put in at the sametime 8. a. Any live plants? Yes, an Amazon Sword, and two others I can't identify. Fake plants? None b. Sand, gravel, barebottom? Gravel c. Rocks, woods, fancy decors? Any hollow decors? Nothing fancy, a bulldozer, and a few bits of fake wood for caves that have been in the tank since I got it, and a pot that has also been in there since I got it. 9. a. Filtration? Marina Slimfilter S15 b. Heater?Aquaone 55W 10. a. Lighting schedule? Around 12 hours. What lights are used? All I can see is 15W Phillips. b. Any sunlight exposure? Obliquely How long? Maybe an hour. 11. a. Water change schedule? Weekly b. Volume of water changed? Between 30% and 50% - depends on water evaporation that week. c. Well water, tap water, RO water? Tap Water d. Water conditioner used? Yes - API Stress Coat e. Frequency of gravel/sand (if any) vacuumed? Just along the front edge weekly. 12. Foods? TetraMin Tropical Granules, Aqua One Tropical flakes, other little treats like mossie larvae when I get my hands on it. The neons hate the flakes, always eat he granules. How often are they fed? Usually twice daily. 13. a. Any abnormal signs/symptoms? I noticed the tetra last night hiding under a rock. I moved the rock, and he went swimming happily off, so thought nothing of it. This morning, he's dead, under a different rock. b. Appearance of poop? Seems normal c. Appearance of gills? Just below and under the gill area it is brown. 14. a. Have you treated your fish ahead of diagnosis? Nope b. What meds were used? 15. Insert photos of fish in question and full tank shot if necessary. I'm sorry, I can't get a good shot, they are all blurry (The form is from another fish keeping website - thought it might save time to copy and paste it here) So as I said above, I noticed this one tetra last night hiding under a rock in the gravel. I moved the rock, and he (or she) swam off, and went back to the school of tetras. The this morning, I come out, and he's on the other side of the tank, under a rock, obviously dead. So I pulled him out, and I the only thing I can see is the area under his gills, and back a bit is brown. He's a bit faded, but I assume that that is caused by the fact that he's no longer here. I'm a bit sad, this is my first loss, and I'm glad I have a large school of them, otherwise my three year old would be asking questions :-? But in saying that, I have noticed this morning that my betta has been picked on, his tail has been mauled, and he's taken to hiding under a log, and flaring and chasing off anything that comes too close. They've been getting on fine for several weeks now, and now this? :tears: Any ideas and advice is gratefully received...

There's a local fish club? *sigh* gotta love the local pet stores telling you things like that... :-?

Hi all, I'm reasonably new to fish keeping - but I'm loving it! I currently have a 50L with a beautiful male purple VT betta, and 10 little neons to keep him company. I have also picked up a 200L tank which needs a few repairs, and I may have got my hands on a 300L, but I'll let you all know (Hubby isn't too impressed - he let me get some goldfish for my birthday in March, which I have since sold cause I liked the look of the betta in the store... he didn't think I was going to go this nuts over fish :lol: ) We need to do a wee bit of DIY with the 200L, and my electronics enthusist hubby is going to be making the lighting for larger tanks (LED). (Gotta keep him happy somehow :sml2: ) Anyways, feel free to message me if you're local, and I'll see you all around the forums!