HummingBird

Not at all, clowns about half-three quarters that size go for $15-$20 in shops usually. Bigger ones are more expensive, and much harder to come by.

I wouldn't trust a thermometer on the outside of the tank, it'll be affected by the air temperature too. Ideally you should have one or two thermometers in the actual tank to make sure the heater is doing it's job properly, and to verify the accuracy of each other. I wouldn't trust the heater myself, they can often be off by a fair bit.

I wouldn't trust a thermometer on the outside of the tank, it'll be affected by the air temperature too. Ideally you should have one or two thermometers in the actual tank to make sure the heater is doing it's job properly, and to verify the accuracy of each other. I wouldn't trust the heater myself, they can often be off by a fair bit.

In my experience black loaches can be crazy bastards like that. I used to have a tank with 6 khulis and one black, the khulis were pretty placid but the black was like it was on crack cocaine a lot of the time, just went nuts swimming around like yours do. Every now and then the Khulis did too, but way less often than the black.

Paradise are definitely sub-tropical. The fact that they can survive at lower temperatures doesn't mean they'll thrive in them, in my experience they do best in the lower 20's (°C).

Yes exactly. I didn't mention that nitrate can be gotten from ammonia or nitrate because those really shouldn't be in a planted tank anyways I said that nitrogen is more important than iron, but that's just because more of it is used. Really, nitrogen, iron, carbon, potassium and a few other elements are all "essential" in that they play a critical part in plant functioning at some point or another. What luke said isn't true obviously, but what he probably meant was iron is one of the most important to supplement, which is true. Usually enough nitrogen is produced for most people to not have to worry about supplementation.

I'd disagree with that, Nitrate is more important than Iron I'd say.

Yeah, like Caryl said, basically unheated in-house tanks are usually sub-tropical (though it depends on the house...) and outside is true cold water.

lol, it's pretty rare for that to actually ever happen, and they'd have to be pretty big to even attempt it. I'm not sure what your experiences are with them jn but when I've kept them they've mostly just kept to themselves (and eaten anything they could get their hands on, too).

Yeah they're made for root feeders like jn says, not java fern though (which you're right does absorb right from the water column) but swords and crypts and whatnot.

I'm a fan of the Eheim pickup models (2008 & 2010), I've got four of them and they're quiet, efficient and easy to clean.

Yeah Hoplos are neat. I've got a 4x3x2ft tank that has an Oscar, a Datnoid and four Port Hoplos in it. The Hoplos are really active and even the Oscar doesn't mind them swimming over him now and then, almost like they're cleaning him.

Beautiful fish, hopefully a few dedicated hobbyists will pick up enough to get a stable breeding population out of and we won't lose them forever.

Yeah as he mentions in a further post he took the photos at like 2am. They look better than I would under the circumstances.

That's an understatement - I know a guy who's bred them in a bucket before!

Bristlenoses are fine at mid and low tropical ranges too.

Frozen shrimp and bloodworms seem to be the only thing they generally accept, apart from live fish obviously. How big're your borneos? Pics would be cool

I think Caryl is. Water Boatmenn are herbivorous and completely harmless. Backswimmers are the nasty ones, I've seen them take down fry the same size as them before! The difference in them is obvious - backswimmers actually swim upside down, where as water boatmen swim upright.

Good looking setup shell, what sort of plant is that in the foreground?

Yeah, One of the guys with Glo Danios turned me into a newt! Admittedly, I got better.

Ah right my bad. Yeah I don't really know, I only use a Nutrafin Co2 kit (rated for tanks up to 75L) on a 120L tank, so I know it's not anywhere close to being too much. The plants do appreciate it though. I haven't noticed any pH problems since I've been using it either, and I have been monitoring.

To find out your bubbles per minute you use a bubble counter. This can be like a ladder thing which is also a diffuser, or a drip-type one. And just...count how many bubbles there are per minute. Or if you're lazy, 10 seconds and times it by 6.

It's probably just the difference in substrate size, so you're just seeing the poo more. People always comment on how "clean" my tanks look and it's like, you aren't here when I suck up what comes out of the gravel.

Yeah a heater guard's always a good idea with any catfish that like to jam themselves into small places (which is most of them). The frayed fin, at a guess, is probably fin rot brought on by the severe shock the wound would've caused to it's body. In any case Melafix should be an effective counter. Although Synos are scaleless they're not particularly sensitive to it in my experience, I've treated tanks in the past with synos with no ill effects.

Doesn't look like a disease to me, definitely looks like some sort of physical wound. Could be from fighting with the other syno, the bristlenose, maybe another fish attacking him or even a burn from the tank's heater. As long as there aren't any sensitive fish in the tank (eg. Black Ghost Knifes), I'd add some melafix to prevent secondary infection of the wound and apart from that just give it time to heal.