jude

Hi and welcome, hope you enjoy your time here. Cheers Jude

HI and welcome and LOL Kim and Dan - tanks which are still in the closet perhaps :lol: :lol: Cheers Jude

Hi and welcome, hope you have fun here and get heaps of new ideas for more tanks :lol: Cheers Jude

Hi and welcome, hope you enjoy being part of the great fishy famly Cheers Jude

Yes, the bristlenoses will eat algae but they don't seem to eat or break plants the way plecos do. Cheers Jude

Your pleco will very soon be too large for that tank. When you have to replace it I'd suggest some bristlenoses. Your LFS might be willing to trade a larger pleco for some smaller fish. I think the rasboro harlequins are attractive and they school with neons and perhaps some orange platys to add more colour. Cheers Jude

Females can turn into males but I don't know why. It might have to do with the ratio of males to females. As for why he is only chasing one, I wouldnt have a clue - is she prettier than the other one? :lol: :lol: :lol: Cheers Jude

I'd suggest getting more females. The recommended ration of male to female livebearers is 3 females to 1 male. Cheers Jude

Very clever Alan and Doodle - I'd never have thought of that Cheers Jude (tucking away that idea for when she needs it)

I'd give the new gravel a good wash and perhaps boil it if I was concerned about the source. Then I'd work quickly - move all the fish and most of their water into another container or tank, remove all the gravel and the remaining water, then rebuild tank and add the fish and their water back. I'd also try to find a way to keep the internal filter running during this process so the good bacteria don't die. It would be a lot of work but would ensure you didn't release any bad stuff into the water. You probably would have to do frequent small water changes after that just to be on the safe side. If I couldn't be bothered with all that fuss I'd clean or boil the gravel then do the change in several small stages - scoop out an area of the old gravel and replace it - wait a few days then repeat the process until its all done. Cheers Jude

Thats a good thought LindyLoo - perhaps an internal filter with some charcoal in it to absorb whatever it its. Cheers Jude

Sorry to hear that Paul. Water changes sound like the right way to go and I guess if the toxins were in the tank they would have sneakily built up and done some damage anyway. Cheers Jude

Is it possible that moving things around released something sour - I seem to remember Alan saying that syphoning too deeply can bring anaerobic bacteria to the surface. Or would that show up with the water tests? Cheers Jude

Have you counted them? LOLOLOL

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations - the tanks were fantastic and deserved to win - well done Cheers Jude

Again, its not a tetra, but I love the harlequin rasboras and they school well. Cheers Jude

My Penguin Tetras didn't school. I think they might have formed a loose school in a very large tank but in a 3' they didn't need to. Cheers Jude

My peppered cories have spawned twice - and each time I didn't know until the solitary survivor appeared. ------------- the perils of a community tank I guess Cheers Jude

Why would having no filtration system be bad when you are changing the water every 24 hours? I thought continual fresh water would be preferable. Cheers Judy - showing her ignorance again!

Must have something to do with the amount of roughage in their diet :lol:

Stop watching the fish and do your homework :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I've had penguin tetras and they never got aggressive. They chased each other a lot and they were very active, constantly zipping all over the tank. They seemed to appreciate having large areas to swim in. I've never heard of clown loaches being aggressive. I know they can be shy and are out more if there is a group of them. I want to get some because I've heard they are really fun to watch. Cheers Jude

Yes they have teeth which point inward as Alanmin has said. We were told as children that if they take a bite they lock their jaw shut and just tear the hunks of flesh out - I'd hate to be bitten by a large one. Cheers Jude

Have a look at the "some people" thread. Ignore all the squabbling - there's some good links posted there. Cheers Jude

I found this link useful when I was trying to decide what fish would go together - hope it helps http://www.aquazoo.co.uk