Snowman

Hi Shelley I had a pair of Gold and a pair of Blue Rams, i'm down to one of each, i've bred Gold Ancistrus with no probs but would have to agree the Rams aren't the easiest to keep, they love white worms but i've got to trick my Angels over to the far side of the tank for the lil Rams to get any (angels are pigs). One of my Blue Rams developed a lump on its head that turned into a crater on it's head then died, no idea what it was. I've got all sorts of fish and they are the only ones that have died or been a problem. Probably get some more though as they are cool and get on well with B/Nose several different Loaches, Otocinclus and the Angels.

Hi PENEJANE, i sell mine on Trade Me and a bit cheaper to members on here, some of the pet shops will buy them but depends on what sort of fish, how many and how much you want for them. I'm not workinh at the moment and things are tight with a baby so the only way my fish get fed is by selling them. As an example i've seen Gold Ancistrus the same size as mine for sale at $34.95 at a LFS so mine are cheap and enables me to keep up my hobby that would have to be scrapped otherwise.

Mine are only $15 What size are they for $20 Kim? If anyones keen can on some P.M. me

I'm dosing at 5ml per 100ltrs (double normal strength) nearly finished my current bottle so going to try to dilute the phosphate with daily water changes (breeding GBA get water changes every second day anyway).I'vehad a Green-X in for over a week now (supposed to remove phosphate) but it hasn't made any difference, got to sell some more GBA to buy some Phosphate Remover as suggested by Warren : -)>

Because the BBA covers the plants to the point where they all start dying, i prefer the look of plants to BBA, normal algae can look natural but BBA just looks crappy. How much BBA do you have in your tank ? You say keep it natural but then say you added chemicals for white spot so you added chemicals to get rid of something you dont want in your tank, exactly the same for BBA.

I've been using the Flourish Excel double dose but found that the LFS recomendation of dosing every 2 days did nothing so i do a double dose every day and thats in the Gold Ancistrus tank with 3 day old fry with no probs (other than the price of a big bottle) .

White spot look like the fish has had salt sprinkled over it, anything from a light to heavy coating. Try a google search on white spot and should be able to find some pictures.

I think they can still be brought in but it's the huge price tag that puts them off, have heard someone will bring them in but at about $350 a piece and minimum quantity is 12, anyone got $4200 spare? LMAO

Would be worth taking out a second mortgage as it would be an excellent investment and they are one of the most "WOW" plecos around. I wonder how many there are in lil ol N.Z.?

They are an awesome fish, got a spare $400 for one Mystic. One of the dearest plecos around. They seem to be made of Unobtanium. LOL

No it wont eat holes in the breeding net and it wont eat the guppy fry.

Does it look like a fur, or maybe hair?

Yeah i didn't want to say but mine died to, in the end it seemed to erupt and ended up more like a crater

Any chance of posting a picture? One of my Blue Rams developed a lump but was more in the center of the head not on one side.

Your LFS should have the pleco chips, i think i paid about $15 for a 140 gram container which would last for ages. I think they would survive without the veges, but not sure how healthy or how well they would grow. Even one Courgette a week would do the trick and they would love you for it.

The B/Nose prefer JBL Novo Pleco Chips (as these contain 10% wood), i feed mine these, shrimp pellets, and they love Courgette/Zuchini or Cucumber. I soak the Courgette in a small bowl first to remove excess juice as it can foul the water. The Courgette/Zuchini or Cucumber should be changed approx every 24hrs as it goes soft and will make a mess in your tank and filter. My standard B/Nose in the community tank only gets Courgette once a week but as i'm breeding the Gold they get it daily. If you have the Pleco Chips they will be ok until you get the driftwood into the tank, i would recommend Pleco Chips as the shrimp pellets can be a bit messy as well. They will also eat any excess flake left by the Guppies. Hope this helps Those ornaments sound great for B/Nose

I agree with Dawn and Wok and would recommend a piece of driftwood, even a small piece. Try to find one that gives them somewhere to hide in the middle of it e.g. hollow underneath or has a couple of 30-40mm holes in it, as i notice mine love lounging around/playing/hiding inside the driftwood and some wood is essential in a B/Nose's diet. They are a cool fish and usefull as well, although there are some types of algae they wont eat. They breed relatively easy as well if they have good water conditions and a good hiddy hole with reasonable flow. This is where my male Golden Blackeyed B/Nose prefers to look after the eggs. This is my male

Hi, yes guppys definetly breed easily and rapidly, depending on how big the convicts are and how well fed the cons and adult guppys are you may find the guppy fry disappearing as both will readily eat them. Some people put the fry into a seperate tank but i leave mine in with the parents and make sure the parents are fed well.

Have you been feeding them some greens, mine love Courgette/Zuchini, i put in a piece about 40mm long cut in half with the seeds removed once a day and there's not much more than the skin left the following day. They seemed to like pumpkin to but makes a mess of the tank and filter. I give my Courgette a 1 hr soak in a plate of water to get rid of the excess juice as it seemed to taint the tank very quickly. They also like Nutrafin Bottom Feeder Tablets but it's similar to shrimp pellets, messy.

Does the fishies owner breed them by any chance? (crosses fingers)

Ummm Mystic, check out Blitz's first post he does have a main tank LOL (Wonders what you been smoking) LMAO

Just put them in there and leave them there for a week or so, if by then there are no problems then transfer them to the main tank. I had bought 1 new fish from a LFS and with my usual impatience put it straight in my 160l community tank, 3 days later i noticed the new fish had white spot and as it turned out had passed it to my other fish, so i had to medicate the whole tank then water changes carbon in to filter the med out after 1 week, a whole lot of risk and med cost that could have been avoided with a little patience. I have now found a shop that sells patience and bought a big bag full LOL

Hi Blitz, the spare tank would be ideal to have as a quarantine tank i.e. when you get new fish put them in the small tank for a week or so to make sure they are healthy, if you find any problems with them it is much easier to deal with in a small tank (less medicine needed) and means you don't introduce the problem to your main tank and existing fish stock. Also excellent for a hospital tank or confining an aggressive/sick/injured fish. I found out the hard way so now have a spare small tank. (It's hard to keep it empty though, tempting every time i'm at the LFS=Local Fish Shop)

Thanks Warren....Adds it to the list LOL

I've had some Green-X in for just over a week now, supposed to remove phosphate, is there anything better at removing phosphates? I'll get a test kit from LFS tommorrow and post a level. Thanks guys