jude

That makes sense, my golden barbs do the same thing. But, as in nature, that lowering of temperature is only for a short time. I don't know how the fish would cope with a long term reduction Cheers Jude

Yep, I guess it does ......... marginally. I lived in Singapore for two years and can't say I ever got any respite from the heat unless it rained, and that was only brief. I remember reading that many plants, like roses, have a much shorter lifespan in the tropics because they don't get a hibernation period in winter. But they don't naturally occur there either .......... and tropical fish do. And I should be in bed .............. work tomorrow Cheers Jude (who loves the way talking about fish can spawn some really interesting topics)

Welcome to the site. Its good to see you have already had some help. I learn something new every day on these forums Cheers Jude

I don;t think the tropics has a winter - just a rainy season ........... and I don't think you could make the fish wetter :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Cheers Jude

Hi Heni Ira tells me the only stupid questions are: the ones you don't ask and mine :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Cheers Jude

Hiya It was great to see you in the chat room tonight. Make sure Mr doesn't hog the computer so you can pop in often Cheers Jude

I agree with everyone and shame on the fish shop who sold you all those fish for a new tank. If you can't return some of them maybe someone local would buy them off you - perhaps at a reduced price. To keep the tank going in the meantime you will need to do small water changes often. I made the same mistake as you and I did small water changes daily for 2 or 3 weeks, then went to changes every 2 days, then every 3 days. After about 2 months I reduced it to weekly water changes. I would change about 20% of the water and I used a chlorine remover in the fresh water. I just changed the water and only vacuumed the gravel lightly about once a week so that the bacteria could build up and the tank would start cycling. Don't give up, I think most of us have made similar mistakes and its easy to get carried away when first starting out. Good on you for joining the forum and asking for advice, its a great way of learning Cheers Jude

I agree with Caryl, keep doing small and frequent water changes. It's how I kept my brand new and overstocked tank going and I had no fish losses. Don't forget to either age the water or use a chlorine remover if you have it in your water Cheers Jude

LOL about the buckets - trouble is the kids would then use their sticky fingers instead :lol: :lol: :lol: Cheers Jude

And a belated welcome from me. I haven't been away but have been a bit swamped at work Hope to see you in chat some time soon Cheers Jude

If you don't mind the babies being eaten (and the adult guppies would do that anyway) how about golden barbs, rosie barbs, bristlenoses, corydora catfish, loaches (but watch out for clown loaches because I believe they uproot plants). I have those fish plus a female siamese fighter, some currently small angels, golden and blue gouramis, and a couple of bolivian rams. Platys might be good too and would add colour Cheers Jude

That's it Caryl - we need indoor hobbies ............... :lol: Welcome Vimmer and don't take any notice of Caryl - she has to battle 5 metre swells just to get to anywhere civilised ......... :lol: :lol: :lol: Cheers Jude

It must be those assassin fish :lol: :lol: :lol:

Wow You must have hundreds and hundreds of fish by now. What on earth are you going to do with them all? Congrats Jude

I'd be interested too. I give away heaps of trimmings now and it would be interesting to see what others have Cheers Jude

You might end up with pluppies or gaties ............... :lol: :lol: :lol: They might stress them out a bit if they keep on chasing. Do they nip the guppies fins at all? Cheers Jude

well I was only half kidding about the tummy ache, but I'm mystified about why its happening now. Problem is, the tank is so heavily planted its a bit hard to see whats going on in there. Could be a gang of assassin fish lurking in the alleys for all I know :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Cheers Jude

I have (had) lots of BN's in my heavily planted tank. There are also golden barbs, Buenos Aries barbs, a couple of black widow tetras, several SAE's, 5 tiny angel fish, 2 bronze cories and 2 pepper corys 1 female siamese fighter 2 gold gouramies 1 blue gourami several pearl gouramies 1 yoyo loach 1 queen loach 2 bolivian rams The tank looks healthy, all the fish look healthy, it gets a small water change weekly - perhaps 15-20% The BN's wouldn't be more than a year old. Over the last three weeks I have lost 3 BN's - usually I don't find them until they've been dead a while so its imposible to tell if there was anything wrong with them but they looked fine until they croaked. PH is OK. Tank is well cycled but I don't have any other test kits and don't intend to get them either. The only thing I have been doing that's different is giving them courgette. Is it possible for them to overfeed? I usually don't remove it because in 2-3 days they chomp through the whole thing including the skin. Could they be getting a tummy ache from eating it when its too old? Any suggestions gratefully received Cheers Jude

I don't know if clown loaches react the same way as my yoyo loach, but whenever he gets pale and listless I know a water change is overdue. And he always perks up as soon as its done Cheers Jude

She probably stuck her head in and yelled at him to get out of bed and get some exercise :lol: :lol:

I have heaters which can be completely submerged and others that say do not completely submerge - so I guess it depends on the brand Cheers Jude

Hi GeeTee and welcome I agree this is a great site and very helpful. At the moment several members are away at the annual conference but will be back soon. There are tons of people who will be able to answer your questions but I'm still an newbie too. Cheers Jude

Glass comes in different thicknesses Caper. A bigger tank needs thicker glass. 6mm glass is fine for smaller tanks but it needs to be 10mm thick for the larger ones, otherwise the pressure of all the water might break the glass Thats the limit of my technical knowledge so don't ask me how big is a small tank and how large is a big one .............. :lol: :lol: Cheers Jude

I think thats a fantastic offer. Lets hope something can be got up and running Cheers Jude

Good to hear all arrived safely and :lol: about the temperature. I want some of Caryl's pills, they sound great Cheers Jude