Snowman

I use a couple of the 2213's last time i had a noisy one it was wear on the impellor shaft, they are ceramic. I got one from Hollywood. It was $24 i think for a new impellor, shaft and the 2 rubbers that contain it. When you get the new one make sure there are no cracks on the magnetic part of the impellor as 1 new 1 i bought had a crack in it (if it does it will fly to bits).

I've got a blue Ram that seems to have a swollen head, he's had it for about 4 days now, i've moved him to a hospital tank with some methylene blue to be safe, (been there 2 days) i've noticed hes got what almost looks like a few spots of white slightly protruding (possibly fungus) around the injury area, i'm wondering if it is a disease or has he maybe been headbutting the glass or his surroundings. One of the white spots seems to have a small clear bubble on top. Thinking of trying some Furan2 to treat the fungus??. Any suggestions & would methylene blue treat fungus (as the spots have gotten worse while hes been in it.

If your after white worms these guys have several sizes available but i'm not sure about freight. http://www.ak.planet.gen.nz/~bio/

Thanks Dan, i've been using it for 2 weeks & it's slowly killing it. Got BBA in 3 tanks so was hoping for something cheaper as it's gonna cost $40 a month to keep treating them, working on possible excess nutrients as a cause so hopefully have it sorted soon. Cheers

BBA Black Beard Algae

So if i was to use the 14000k light it would slow the BBA growth but slow the plant growth to, and if the plant growth slows it allows nutrients for the BBA, talk about murphy's law LOL. Cheers Brian : -)>

I have 2 lights one has a 14000k bulb the other one has 2x7400k u-tubes. Which is most likely to promote plant growth ? Which is more likely to promote BBA growth ?

I'll have to get a phosphate test kit, i've been trying to put more plants in my community tank but my 7" loach seems to love digging them up and my GBA tank i've planted more but the BBA gets them and stops them from growing. I've lost a few plants in there, if i can get the BBA down long enough for some plants to take i'm hoping things should settle down, been using Flourish Excel for 2 weeks and its slowly working, i try planting trimmings that are BBA free twice a week but no joy yet. I was tempted to use more lights to try to promote plant growth but dont know whether it would have the same effect on the BBA. I cant use SAE with the GBA as they would eat the GBA fry, another tank has a red tailed shark & from what i've read on the net they aren't compatible. Anyone want to swap a large red tailed shark for some SAE ? LOL

The GBA wont eat BLack Beard Algae, i cant reduce feeding as there are to many fry in there ranging from still got eggs sacks up to 60mm long with a new generation about every 2 weeks, the lights are 6 mths old and only get used every second day as they get a lot of natural light, i have a towel draped half over the top and back to reduce the light, as for the correct type they are twin u-tube 7100k 48w. They were recommended by Kim at Pupuke, i know what kelvins are but dont know which is better suited to fish, plants, algae, if you could shed some light (pardon the pun) on that subject would be much appreciated. I have reduced feeding on my other 2 tanks & feed 6 days a week now but hasn't made a lot of difference, its by far worst in the GBA breeding tank.

I only make about $30 a fortnight from selling them which goes back into food and hopefully a heater and filter for the smal hospital tank i bought with the money from the last sale, i dont have any money to spend on them so selling them supports my hobby (hopefully LOL). Having to spend $40 a month on Flourish Excel for my 3 tanks doesn't help. Matt GBA (Golden Blackeyed Ancistrus) & GBN (Golden Bristle Nose) are the same thing BBA is Black Beard Algae a long haired algae that smothers everything, covers the plants so no photosynthesis happening meaning slowly dying plants, its starting to cover the substrate now as well, horrible stuff i hope you never find in your tank LOL.

I've been getting fry for the last 6 mths and because the BBA is killing the several plants in there and the BGA enjoy sitting on the leaves also BBA is not the prettiest of things to have in a tank.

Cheers Matt i'm getting GBA fry about every 2weeks, was looking at SAE to control BBA but looks like i'll be sticking with Flourish Excel.

do SAE grow ? would they be a danger to GBA fry ?

Thanks Diver Thats the one i've been using so i'll keep with it , the only thing that's put me off getting the SAE is how to tell the real ones from the fake , have heard there's another one that looks identical and is sometimes sold as a SAE but doesnt eat BBA , i've got 3 tanks with it so i'll need a few LOL

I've been using Flourish Excel for control of this , just called FSP and they have 2 different versions one for algae and one for fish , the one i'm using doesn't specify either way , i've been using the standard one for 2 weeks , there is an improvement but hasnt killed it yet , from what i've heard it should be dead by now , does anyone know which of these 3 Flourish Excels would be best to kill it . Thanks in advance : -)>

Cheers for the replies, i wont be crossing but its interesting to know its possible, as i understand it thats how we have so many different types of the same species in some cases.

Yes thats the one, i've got some on Trade Me and had someone ask whether they would cross breed, i havent heard of it before but wondered if it was possible, i wouldn't think so but then swordtails change sex so anything is possible LOL

Does anyone know if a GBA and a standard dark Ancistrus have breed before ?

I agree with Hummingbird , i've had good & bad advice from the 2 big ones , even been told by a so-called specialist that the little mites in my white worm culture turn into white worms LOL. In my case i dont have a lot of spare money so its not by choice i pick the cheapest shop but by necessity. Theres a huge variation in pricing, try pricing a filter at hollywood then the same filter at lady gays, lady gays doesn't specialise in fish but shes the closet to me (but out of my price range). I got told by one of the big shops that my red tailed black shark was non-aggresive yet he chases the small clown loaches , rams & angels bought from the same store. IMO just because someone works for a big shop doesn't mean they know what they are talking about. I have found a couple that of people that are awesome & a couple i wont be asking again. In conclusion when you find someone that is good stick with them. But as with everything else ill shop around for products.

And welcome BM i'm sure you'll enjoy this site as much as i do, theres a lot of friendly people in here who offer a wealth of knowledge. FNZAS is a real asset to NZ fishkeepers.

Sorry to change the subject but just saw Alan's posting time of 4.04am , was just thinking that with over 100 tanks do you ever get to sleep LOL

I do like to support my LFS but if someone can offer the same product but cheaper id be a fool to pay more. Then i can put the saved money into more tanks LOL ; -)>

I have a Panasonic FZ-20 5MP & 12x optical (macro is brilliant ) that takes real good pics of my tanks or anything else , part of it is patience in waiting for the fish to slow down or stop preferably , its got full manual controls so i play around a lot to capture the best pic , can take quite a few with different settings to find the perfect one , cost $1300 but would like an external flash (have sent a letter to santa LOL) so that should help , i find the exposure and flash settings make the most difference but in the end its still completly reliant on the fish co-operating to a certain degree , its nearly impossible to get a good pic of a fast moving fish though.

LOL Im definetly not political , i keep my promises LOL :lol:

Agrees with wasp , i thought it was as valid an opinion as any , everybody is entitled to their own opinion aren't they ? , if wasp's comment was pathetic then your first post was pushy . Old saying goes " if you dont have something nice to say then say nothing at all" ;-)>