stillnzcookie

Thanks for the replies. New_to-fish-world - our filter is an Elite Hush 20, and we've found it has been fine! If we shift the tank though, we really need to get an internal filter. We have decided not to modify the hood. SamH - thanks again for all your help. Some of the filters I have looked at online say they are for 60-100L tanks and do 500lph, so that's the sort of thing we'll go for if we change. I don't know ANY brands! Our set up is an Elite, and I've come across Eheim, Aqua One and Fluval internal filters, but I don't know if they're all similar or if some are better than others. I'll have a look here when I get a chance, but I think it may require a trip to Christchurch to see what the options are. We have plants in our tank, but it's not heavily planted, so we'll add an air pump if needed, but hubby reckons the internal power filters with a venturi would do the job ok (he's a water engineer, so I'll believe him!). It's looking like we will shift the tank, but it may be a while before it happens. Thanks for the advice - I'm sure I'll be back for more soon!

Thanks, SamH. We are now considering replacing the filter with an internal filter (which completely solves the space problem), but I'm struggling to find much information about them. Do they work as well as the hang-on filters? Can anyone recommend good and reliable brands and models? If we have an internal filter, do we need an air pump as well, or do they provide enough surface agitation on their own? Our tank is only 60L and currently very understocked, but I'm not sure how to work out what size filter we need, and I presume it is better to get one a bit big than one that is only just big enough? Thanks!

Hi firefish, your tank looks great! My only suggestion would be to maybe plant something a bit taller in the back left hand side? What sort of fish is Kingston?

Hi, we have a standard Elite 60l tank setup, which came complete with filter, heater, lid etc - one of the "just add fish and plants" kits. At the moment, the filter hangs on the back (long side), and there is a hole in the lid for it to fit. We are considering moving the whole tank onto a narrow bench in the kitchen, BUT if we do this we will need to shift the filter so it hangs over the side (short side) as it would not fit behind the tank. So I would like to know: 1) Can I run the filter on the side of the tank - will it still be ok in terms of water movement etc? 2) If I cut a hole in the current lid, in the side, the filter will be very close to the end of the light fitting. Is this safe? possible? 3) If I can't adapt the current lid, can I get a new lid and if so, from where? How much would it be likely to cost? The major problem I can foresee is that the filter may be too close to the light fitting - not sure if there's any way round this? I'd love to hear if anyone has done this and your experiences, both good and bad, thanks!

Our fish tank turned into pea soup last winter and we couldn't work out why - turned out the sun was hitting the tank early morning through the high (curtainless) windows. We fixed it completely with several large water changes and blacking out the tank for 3 days. We now throw an old navy towel over the tank every night, which also helps keep the temperature stable overnight (stupid heater). HOWEVER, we now have algae growing on all our plants and I'd love to know how to deal with this without getting rid of the plants - is there any way? We have tried an algae product (algol?), but it doesn't seem to do much.

Thanks for the replies. Perhaps I should clarify that, since we added the coral rock to the filter last year, our pH is no longer dropping suddenly. BUT if, for example, the pH is sitting at 7.0 and we do a water change and the TAP water is 7.6, then the pH of the tank obviously will rise. Then, the following week, the pH of the tap water might be at 6.4, so the pH of the tank will drop. What I want to know is how we deal with this? Do we need to treat the tap water before it goes in, and if so, with what? Should we be doing smaller water changes as well? It's school holidays soon (I'm a teacher), so I'm going to test the pH in the tank (and possibly the tap water too) each day for a week, just to find out what is happening (if anything) between water changes as well. My husband is in charge of cleaning the tank every week, but he is a chemical engineer, so he happily throws in the pH 7.0, and has also bought some stuff to increase the KH, but I'm sure there are better ways to keep things stable. Our tank is actually running well at the moment - the plants are growing (so, unfortunately, is the algae), the fish are healthy and vibrantly coloured and two of the harlequins spawned last week, so it can't be too bad in there! However, it has been an ongoing problem which I want to try to sort out as much as possible before we go adding any new fish. Just as an aside, I'm finding it frustrating that we have done lots of research, chosen compatible, peaceful fish, cleaned our tank weekly, tested the water and tried our best to do everything in the best way possible and we have still had quite a lot of problems with our tank and yet, people who just throw any old fish in together, have completely haphazard maintenance routines and never test the water, have thriving tanks!

Hi, I've just posted about quarantining new fish, but before we get them, I need some help with our Ph problems! We have a planted 60L tank with (for now) 3 harlequin rasboras and 3 panda cories. It is currently running really well, and we have never had issues with ammonia, nitrite or nitrate, but we have a constant battle to keep the Ph stable. As far as we can tell, the problem we have is that our tap water is soft, so the Ph of the water coming out of the tap fluctuates widely - we have measured the tap water at everything from Ph 6.2-7.8. Last year we had problems with the Ph dropping suddenly, and we lost a few fish before we realised what the problem was. We added some coral rock to our filter, which seems to have stabilised it slightly, but how can we keep it stable when the tap water is so variable? We currently do a 30-50% weekly water change, but I suppose this is making the problem worse? If we do less than this, are we likely to start having problems with ammonia etc? Apart from adding Ph 7.0 at every water change, what else can we do?

Hi, I posted here a while back about some injured harlequin rasboras we had. Sadly we lost both fish, but we set up a hospital container for them, which I'm now wondering whether we can use as a quarantine tank for new fish. It is a plastic container which holds 2L of water, and floats in the main tank (to keep it at the right temperature). To keep it stable in the main tank, it has a bit of gravel in the bottom, and a small plastic plant for shelter. It has a filter for a nano tank (can't remember brand, but it is basically an air pump which bubbles through the filter media - sponge and a bit of coral rock from the main filter). The filter has been running in the main tank for the last month or so. SO, my questions are: a) could I use this as a quarantine tank for some new harlequins (and maybe a couple of panda corys later on)? b) if so, how long do I need to quarantine fish for? Two weeks? Three weeks? c) how many fish could I have in there at a time? I would like to get 6 more harlequins, but I presume I couldn't get all 6 at once? When we used it as a hospital tank I did small water changes every couple of days, and I would plan to do small daily water changes this time, but I'm guessing 6 harlequins would still be far too crowded in only 2L of water? We have always had a very understocked 60L tank, so we're looking forward to getting more fish! It currently only has 3 harlequins and 3 panda corys. I would like to get 6 more harlequins, then see how things go and maybe get another 2 corys later on if the tank is running smoothly.

I'm a wuss, so my husband does it. Blunt force trauma... it's messy but quick, so hopefully the fish never knows what hit it. This link was in another post as well (in Diseases - Dropsy?): Hope that helps - sorry you have sick fish

Sadly, we had to put our wee fishie out of its misery. We treated it in the container with Acriflavine (3 days, then clean water for a day, then another 3 days). By the end of treatment, its body looked completely normal, but it was still gasping a bit and swimming with its nose higher than its tail. It seemed to be eating normally, but was getting a bit skinny. We put it back in the main tank for a day, but it started heading downhill again, so we decided to not let it suffer any more On the positive side, we have managed to get some more plants for our tank, so the remaining Harlequins can hide if they want to, and we seem to have a fairly stable and healthy tank at the moment. Long may it continue...

Right, we've set up a container as a hospital tank. It's got 2L of water, and a filter and air pump for a nano tank - it was just as cheap to buy the whole kit as to get an air pump and airstone. I've also put a small plastic plant in to give the fish some shelter, and we had to put gravel in the bottom to stabilise it in the main tank. So it's a bit flasher than we originally intended! We had to alter the filter, as it came with a sealed unit full of carbon, so we cut it open and replaced the carbon with a bit of coral rock from our other filter, filled the container with water from the main tank, added stress coat and acriflavine. We put the fish in on Monday, so tomorrow we'll replace the water, give it a day, then dose with acriflavine again (as per darkfur's advice - thanks) The fish is still swimming with its tail slightly down (it almost looks like it has a sore back), and is very keen to get back with its tank-mates, but apart from the odd swimming angle, I can't see anything wrong with it. It is eating fine, and can swim fine, but is resting quite a lot of the time. So what do you think I should do after the treatment is finished? If it is still swimming funny, but has nothing else obviously wrong with it, do I put it back in the tank? I think the fish that we euthenased may have been the main aggressor as, since it has gone, the corys are swimming all over the tank again, and not just staying at the bottom. So fingers crossed, we'll have an easier time from now on! The harlequins in the main tank are a bit subdued now there are only 3 of them, so I hope we can get everything going well again and get some more soon!

Bother, bother, bother! Went to pet shop this morning to get an airstone, and they are closed all weekend for stocktake (before anyone asks, there's nowhere else in Timaru, and Ashburton and Oamaru closed at midday). We have euthanased the fish with the hole, as it rapidly got worse this morning , so hopefully the other one will hang on until Monday and we can start treatment then...

Thanks, we'll buy an airstone and give that a try. I think we will treat both fish and see what happens, but I don't think we'll treat the whole tank at this stage. As both fish were injured through fighting, I'm hoping there's nothing contagious. Neither fish seems to be getting worse, and they've hung on for so long, but they don't seem to be getting better either, so they need medication. I guess it will be a kill-or-cure treatment...

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I think we will put them in a smaller container and try the acriflavine and see what happens. I'm tempted to only treat the one with the hole first, as the other one has lost all the white patches (after I added stress coat), so has no visible marks at the moment (but is still gasping, and swimming with its nose pointing slightly upwards some of the time). So, I think I'll keep adding stress coat to the whole tank, and just keep doing lots of water changes in there to keep things as clean as possible, and isolate one fish and try to treat it. Can anyone answer the following questions, please: 1. How often can you add stress coat (at the recommended dose) and do you need to change the water every time you add it? 2. How long do you treat with acriflavine? Is it a single dose, and if so, how long do I leave the fish in there? If I am changing the water, do I need to top up the acriflavine? 3. Do I put stress coat in with acriflavine? 4. How often do I change the water in the container? 5. Should I keep the fish isolated until it gets better, or do I treat it then put it back in the tank?

Thanks for the reply, whetu. No, we don't have a second tank, and would have nowhere to put one even if we did. I put some more Stress Coat in the tank today, as it says it is for healing fish as well as removing chlorine, but I'm not sure how often you can add this/whether you need to do a water change every time you add it. Can anyone advise on this, as the last thing I want to do right now is poison the tank! You suggested antiseptic - is there anything that can either go in the tank without affecting healthy fish, or is it possible to put a sick fish in another container just to treat it and then put it back in the tank? We have some Acriflavine 5%, which we got to treat fungus on a cory last year, but I have just googled it and found it is an antiseptic, so that might be worth a try? We were told to net the fish out and apply it directly, rather than adding it to the tank - is that correct? Both harlequins are still swimming round and eating, so they are not yet at the stage that I would send them to the great toilet bowl in the sky. The one with the hole actually looks perkier than the other one and is a better colour - not sure what the white thing was last night, but it's gone now and the hole seems to have healed over a bit. I come out every morning worried at what I'll find, and each day they're still swimming around, eating, chasing the others and acting remarkably normally. They're certainly tough little fish!

Hi, I posted a thread last week on the beginners forum about our harlequin rasboras getting into fights. Two of them are looking pretty sick at the moment, and I'm wondering what the best course of action is. Harlequin 1 has no visible wounds, but has white/grey/opaque patches (possibly slimy?) at the base of several fins and on its body. It is swimming with its nose pointing slightly upwards and is gasping all the time. It looks very unhappy. Harlequin 2 has a huge wound (hole) just in front of its tail, on both sides of its body. On one side it has been alternating between being bloody and being white, and I really thought it was getting better, but tonight I noticed it was bloody again, then when I checked 30 minutes later it had turned white and had a white string hanging off it. (could it be a worm?) It has also started gasping. It looks as though all its insides could fall out, the hole is so big in comparison to its body. Both fish have been eating still and swimming around with the others, but are slightly less active than the three healthy harlequins. Annoyingly, they are both still trying to fight the other fish! I am also getting concerned about one of our panda cories. It has been really fat for ages, and I wondered if it is a female and full of eggs, but it is now looking very lopsided - one side is a lot fatter than the other. The tank is 60l, temp 25 degrees (but fluctuates 22-26.5), Ph is currently 7.0 (as I mentioned in my other thread, we struggle to keep it stable), ammonia, nitrite, nitrate all 0. We do weekly water changes of 30-50%, last one was done two days ago. Tank currently has 5 harlequins and 3 panda cories, so is definitely not overstocked! Tank has driftwood and java fern, and I have just added some taller plants for the harlequins (but not tall enough yet - lfs only had little plants). Thanks for any advice - I'm worried about my fishies

How many fish you can keep depends on the volume and surface area of your tank (there is an article on stocking levels in the beginners forum). When choosing fish, you are best to choose fish that like the same conditions (temperature, Ph etc), fish that will fit in your tank when they are fully grown, and fish that will get along with each other. I was advised in another post that, in a small tank, it is a good idea to only have one type of fish for each level of the tank - top, middle and bottom. We wanted a siamese fighter, but decided against it, as they seem to be difficult to find suitable tank mates for - either they will see other fish (especially with long fins) as a threat and attack them, or they will be nipped by faster fish. Some people seem to keep them in a community tank with no problems though - it seems to depend on the individual fish and tank setup. We also wanted neons, but were put off by the number of people who said they die really easily. We got harlequin rasboras instead, which are a lot hardier (they may not look much at the shop, but they get more colourful once they settle in). Any schooling fish (like tetras) will do better when you have 6 or more, so maybe you could get a few more serpae tetras, if there is room in the tank? I think Angels grow quite big, and may eat smaller fish like neons? I'm only a novice fishkeeper, but my advice would be to not get any more fish yet - let your current fish settle down, and get into a maintenance routine that works. If your tank is under-stocked, it will be easier to deal with any problems that may arise. We found that our tank ran perfectly for a few months initially (we originally only had 5 corys in a 60l tank), then we started having problems with Ph levels, which killed 2 of our fish and caused other issues with algae and the like. It took us AGES to get things under control before we could add more fish, and we still struggle with Ph levels. If you are not already doing so, you NEED to test the water regularly (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and Ph) In the meantime, research the fish you would like to keep, whether they all like the same conditions, whether they are compatible with one another and whether they will all fit in your tank. Who knows, by the time you have made a decision, you may also have persuaded hubby to get that bigger tank!

Just a question... how can you use water straight out of the hot water cylinder? Is it not full of copper?

Thanks for the suggestion Wok, but my fish are friends, not food...

Thanks for all the advice. Our tank is a standard Elite setup (60 x 30 x 30) with an Elite Hush 20 filter, to which we have added coral rock to try to stabilise Ph. We have dark gravel and one largeish and several smaller pieces of driftwood. The Java fern we have is thriving, but gets covered in algae - we prune it often and just leave the healthy leaves and it just keeps growing. We initially had something that was sold to us as cabomba, but wasn't (can't remember what - I did find out), which grew like a weed - we had to remove 50-75% weekly. Unfortunately it all got eaten by a snail (which was sold to us as an algae eater only - went back to the shop a week later, having stripped the tank bare!) and we haven't been able to get it again. We have a bit of proper cabomba and a grass, but neither is growing very fast. After my initial post, I realised there is nothing tall in the tank at the moment, so we will find a tall plant or two to give the Harlequins somewhere to hide (should have noticed this ages ago - oops). Maybe this will help calm things down. Our Harlequins are about 2cm long, I think, so nowhere near fully grown. They have been in the tank for about 10 months, and the cories were there about 6 months before that. As I said in my first post, we never have problems with ammonia, nitrite or nitrate, but we do have problems with fluctuating Ph, so I'm sure this does stress the fish. I just wish we could stabilise it without having to use Ph buffer all the time, but what else can you do when the tap water is so variable?

Hi, we have a 60L planted tank, which currently contains 3 panda cories and 5 harlequin rasboras. The tank has been set up for about 18 months. As we were novices, we did quite a bit of research before choosing fish, and deliberately went for small, peaceful species. WELL, we have already lost a bristlenose, which was bullied by the cories and stopped eating, and now the harlequins are beating each other up - we have lost two already, and have another two with significant wounds. It looks like we may lose these too. I can't identify a single aggressor - they used to have a definite heirarchy, but not anymore. What can we do to restore peace to our tank? If we get more harlequins, will this "spread the love", so to speak, or make the problem worse? I would love to get a couple more cories and/or another bristlenose (as we have quite a bit of algae), but the three seem pretty happy now, so perhaps I should just leave the bottom of the tank to them? Also, is there anything we can do to save our sick fish? One of them has quite a big hole in its side (and possibly dropsy - its scales are not tight, if that makes sense, but it has been like that for ages. We lost another fish to dropsy and it blew up very quickly), and I think they both have fungal growth - patches of white on their bodies and fins. We have tried to treat other fish for fungus, but never successfully - they always seem to die eventually. Occasionally we have just left fish with fungus, and upped the water changes and they have survived and recovered, so I'm not sure what the best course of action is? We do weekly water changes, have never had problems with ammonia, nitrite or nitrate levels, but we do struggle to keep our Ph consistent. We have added coral rock to our filter, but still need to use Ph 7.0 buffer on a regular basis. We have VERY soft tap water, so the Ph coming out of the tap can be anything from 6.0 - 7.6. Thanks for any advice you can give us

Thanks for the advice - we'll keep up the water changes and see what happens

Thanks lmsmith, we will do that. We have also just had a bit of an algae explosion today so hopefully it will get that under control too - obviously something isn't quite right in the tank. Is it possible to overdo the water changes? We do a 30-50% change every 7-10 days, but what is the most you could do if you're wanting to clear everything up? Would 50% twice a week be too much? We found the fish and it was still in one piece, so at least the others hadn't eaten it. This may be a stupid question but could dropsy be caused by bullying? Our harlequins seem to be jostling each other more and more (maybe reaching sexual maturity?) and we lost the first one after it had a huge hole taken out of its side. Will getting more harlequins make the bullying better or worse? I wonder whether it would be better as it would spread the love around, so to speak?!

I took the cover off the tank this morning and I can't find it at all, so I'm guessing it's gone to the big toilet bowl in the sky. Will have to clean up the whole tank and find out where it is - I presume the other fish wouldn't completely eat it up? If they have eaten it, will they get sick too? We would like to get some more fish at some stage - how long do you think we need to wait, to make sure none of the others are infected? Thanks for your help!

Thanks for that - yes I googled it and it looks like dropsy. Should I just let things take their course, or should we be putting it out of its misery? We don't have a quarantine tank and are not in a position to get one, and I'd rather not treat the whole tank. Also, how contagious is it? I'd rather get rid of one fish than risk losing all of them. Thanks