suphew

Have you considered leaving them in there? They will find their own ballance once they have cleared up the algae in the tank and don't do any harm. I have never understood why people spend so much time killing them and then complain about algae problems??? They are also very cute and interesting to watch, I have watched mine move around the tank by building up a bubble of air in their shell until they float then when they get to where they are going the release the bubble and sink again. If you still want to get rid of them, anything with copper in it will do the job, even water that has been stored in a copper header tank can do the job. Or you could put in a lettace leaf which will attract them then just remove the leaf and clean it off.

I use ripcord, you mix it with water and spray it onto surfaces using an old spray and wipe type bottle, (out of reach like on the ceilling), I only apply it a couple of times each summer and it seems to work. Because it is strayed water not super fine mist it doesn't seem to travel too far. I spray only the dinning room which has the back door that is always open for the dog, there is an open connection to my fish tanks from the dinning room, been doing this for 4-5 years with no problems.

FYI raising the temp doesn't kill the ich (white spot), it just speeds up the life cycle which makes it easier to treat, this is because the treatments only work during a certain cycle of the ichs life (while free swimming in the tank between the fish and the substrate I think). So the faster the cycle the more likely you are to catch them all with your treatment. Now I could be wrong, but I don't think Melafix actually kills the ich, just improves the health of the fish, improving its natural resistance to it, so while raising the temp would normally be advisable, in this case I think it will just cause extra stress to the fish and lessen the chances of a cure. FYI I'm no expert with loaches and just came to this conclusion via logical reasoning, and knowing how ich treatments work. So follow the advise of someone who KNOWS about treating loaches over this.

Sharp stones and broken shells can be a problem with fish that spend a lot of time on the bottom like your knife fish and loach, they can damage their mouths etc.

Often diseases will sit dormant in your tank until a fish is stressed or injured. IMHO unless you are forced to spot treat something or the cure is going to harm the rest of your tank it is safest to assume that every fish in the tank has it and treat the whole lot.

MOst fish are ok if the temp doesn't go below 20 or so, its pretty warm this time of year, i recon your biggest problem will be having enough water and keeping the water cleanish, without a filter. Don't forget most fish are imported and transported packed into little bags, it must take at least 3-4 days for them to be packed, taken to plane, flown, customs, distrubter, retailer. Also I understand that when transported they use pure oxygen in the bags.

I had a friend from singapore here, he told me chinese business men buy the golden ones for $88888.88 (yes that is the right number of 8's) cause they are luckly and 8 is a lucky number.

IMHO you are better off putting him in a floating breeding trap and treating the whole tank with melafix, it wont harm the other fish etc and if you have fin rot will help cure the whole tank otherwise he will just get infected again when you put him back, plus keeping him in the same tank will save stress of different water conditions etc. It should only take a few days (a week at most) before you notice the fins growing back.

How long has you tank been setup? It took a good 4-5 months for my firs tank to have 0 nitrate. maybe you need more live rock? or less feeding?

Do you 'vacuum' the gravel when you do you water changes? Interesting that you have algae problems as well, could you be over feeding? This could explain the algae and the loach problems (if it is swimming round in rotting food). You could try reducing your feeding for a month. By the way how long has the tank been setup?

Heat pumps blow warm air in the winter and cold air in the summer (basically air con) keeping the room at constant temp.

If you were going to spend $1500 on a chiller, why wouldn't you go the whole hog and put a heat pump into the room, making it a bit more comfy for the humans watching the tank?

Hi Gir, most fish problems can be traced back to poor water quality, esp if you are having problems keeping your other fish alive as well. Are you changing some water every week (around 10%)? And do you have a filter running? Also I'm guessing you would have a lot of chlorine in the water there so you will need to let your new water sit in a bucket overnight to get rid of the chlorine otherwise you will be harming the bacteria that are cleaning the water in your tank.

Thanks Steve, I had already worked this out (any one want to by a water cooler?!!?!?). And whats with bagging the Wellington weather??? It was in the late 20's at my place yesterday 30 degrees inside, forecast for 28 today. fecking Aucklander, gumble, mumble......

Skuzza, what sort of tubr/pipe are you going to use for your water, I understand plastic /vinel tube has a very heat transfer, I was looking at doing the same with a old office water chiller and gave up because of this.

IMHO I would go straight to MH, and skip the T5's, chances are you will end up doing it anyway. The T8's (fluro's you currently have) can still be used for blue light, if you buy T5's now either they or the T8's will be a waste of money. Metal Halide will cost you around $500 DIY or secondhand.

Agreed, very limited space, but how about putting in a sump and also using it as a baby bath, paddling pool.......

On the logride at rainbows end on the weekend, was flashed a bare bottom by someone wearing a tank top. Looked pretty good to me. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I have a mate who got a two turtles a couple of weeks ago. They were both in poor condition, had a white fungus on their bodies that has now cleared up with being kept in clean water, but they both also have white patches on their shell that aren't getting any better. He has been letting them outside to run around in the sun, put a calcium block into the tank (just last night), and is going to replace the light (currently a reptile one but very old). Is there any think else he should be doing? How long will it take to clear up??

It is a good idea but remember the heater will create its own circulation (as the hot water rises), its more important to make sure there are no areas with no circulation or you will get cold spots. It might be better to put the heater into the dead spot to get the circulation going??

Haha, just don't tell her!!..... "Gez how did THAT get in there??" I have a stream out the fount of my place so can just catch smalls eels, then put them back in once they get to big.

Never had clown eggs, but snail eggs look like piles of jelly (with little white spots after a few days). Congrat's if they are clown!

I have tried a few different ways but have had the most success with just jamming them into holes, I get about a 50% success rate. I have also read about ppl putting little pieces of coral rock and mushies into a container and leaving it somewhere with out much current. Once the mushies have attached, superglue the little pieces of rock where you want them (nb: I have never tried this myself).

I have taken a few plants from lake Taupo, not many survived, I assume because my water was too hot, but there are some really nice plants there. Not sure of name's or even really if they were native. There must be a lake up your way you could plunder, or do a day trip down the line. Coming from streams I think whitebait etc would need a lot of current in the tank which could be a problem. I have kept freshwater crays (crawlies) and eels, both are very interesting and easy to keep. Just need to have a tight fitting lid!