Luke*

Thanks Shae, Midas, does yours say it's fertilised?

Cool - can you make me a 5 foot tank? What would the height and depth be? There's designs out there where you don't have to use clamps, are those clamps joined? i.e on the corners?

I find it's easy to get off with just your fingers most of the time, depends what it's stuck to, for example it's easy to get it off my plastic DIY CO2 parts. How much glass do you have there Shae? Enough to make a 10 foot tank? (mmm dreams about 10 foot tank).

Hey I was ready to set up my 3 4L containers for whiteworms and I noticed the potting mix says "contains slow release fertiliser" Should I be worried? If I should be, what should I buy instead?

Nice tank Shae, real nice rock work/plants. What kind of fish are going in there? Selley's says: "Wipe excess away with a cloth dampened in mineral turpentine." And "Sealant will cure fully in 72 hours. At this point any unneeded sealant can be removed by trimming with a sharp blade, but avoid under-cutting seal." Hope this helps

I've read clowns ideal pH is 6.5, could be worth looking into futher via google. They come from Asia where there are areas highly acid and others alkaline due to limestone I believe. Regular water changes, consistent pH, can't beat that.

MAF is so strict it's a joke. Then again it keeps us clean and green, I suppose.

Ahhhhhhh Cheers Rob

Any success Krib?

Yeah what's the deal with runty discus for $100?? Every pet shop must think people are dumb. The best selection I've seen is at Jansens in Auckland (the three kings (suberb) one). Quite pricy there too, $70-$200ish but at least some are really good quality.

At work and on the forum? Nice. I have seen tiger barbs do the same thing bart which is a territorial display. Because discus are cichlids this is likely the same reason. Do you just have the pair in there? Ask your question at www.simplydiscus.com, they'll know for sure.

Congratulations Mouse, very exciting, what kind of discus are they? The parents will provide enough food until you can get some egg yolk boiled and ready and soon they will be able to eat newly hatched baby brine shrimp, if you don't know how to do this you should be able to buy them frozen from your local fish shop.

If the eggs are on their own, try using methylene blue to prevent fungus. Don't use it in your main tank as it will kill the nitrifying bacteria on your filter. "-Failed spawnings usually mean water conditions are not to their liking - they need soft, acid water and a slightly elevated temperature to be successful. -Condition the pair well on live foods before attempting to breed them. -Angelfish fry can be difficult to raise. If the eggs are removed from the parents (generally to stop them being eaten) the tank they are placed in should be treated with Methylene Blue to minimise fungusing." (http://www.wetpetz.com/angelfish.htm). If you move the eggs, move them to a pristine clean environment with a slightly elevated temparture as suggested and as a precaution I'd cover the tank with a towel to stop the light getting in causing fungus. Hope this helps

I read they thrive in ponds where there is cattle cuz they feed of the manure... how could this be healthy to then feed them to fish? I guess they can survive off other food too?

I like guppies (and platties) for a lot of reasons. They're easy to breed, are not scared of you, are well adjusted to tanks, and there's always cool new strains coming out that look amazing. It's fun to work on your own but to do it properly you need about 9 tanks. I read a good article on the net a while back. EDIT: Yes Dan is right, I looked into a while ago as there are top discus breeders in Australia who were willing to ship some to me. You have to have them quarantined at a MAF facility for 6 weeks and if they die during that time it's your hard luck. Considering I have no idea if they'd ever do a water change or use filters, I decided not to risk it, especially with discus coming from environments that had daily water changes. It's a lot easier if you can find a local breeder or get your LFS to get them in.

Where did you read that? That is an awful article if it recommends that!! Poor fish...

Just the way OLD was written I thought it was an acronym or referring to JF2003's post about bread and milk. It's funny how you don't get this kind of information at the petshop. I remember vividly saying "and you just leave it and it'll be fine?" "yeah" unconfident as it was, it was still the response. My batch was in a smallish Chinese takeaway plastic container and it was totally jam packed, they crawled right up to the lid and there tonnes in there. Sounds like a bit of work but if you always have a backup or 2 it should be sweet. Thanks for the info

Wicked thanks guys Hmm don't have a cat or dog...O well who doesn't enjoy the odd biscuit?

I have some white worms which I'm looking to expand into another larger 4L container (eventually 3). I have some potting mix, is this an okay medium for them? I know it needs to be moist not wet and holes in the lid. Cheers

Not normal for most people/fish, but I believe it is important for healthy discus that grow the fastest and get to be show quality (not that that is my real intention, just want nice looking specimens). Nitrate inhibits their growth apparently.

Are you gonna glue the schist together or try to balance it? A sledgehammer will break the schist. Oops just saw Matt's reply, oh well, I agree

Hello back to everyone who said hello Kim, I saw some baby discus in Auckland a while ago for $25 each which I thought was reasonable. I don't really want to get them though until I have an automated water change system worked out so they have daily or every other day water changes of 50%.

What do you mean Alan?

Thanks for that Dubbie, I get the feeling this mission will not be easy but not impossible either. I think I will just have to ring around/search a lot. It's difficult to know everything will work when I haven't even got the CO2 bottle yet, e.g I will have to find a regulator/fine needle point valve that fits. There's no point buying the bottle if I can't get the other necessary compatible parts. Pies, I've read on the net you can get CO2 bottles from liquor shops and when you take it in to get refilled they just exchange your tank for a new one, thus avoiding the $30 safety check every 5 years. How much did your tank cost you and what size is it?

Hi Jude, My tank has slate glued to the entire back of my 4' tank. Unless your dead set on rocks slate is similar and easier to work with in tanks. I think bricks may add hardness to the water. Goodluck