Funkytown

You were using the fire hose to fill your tank? I assume the sulphur filter was making the water acidic...? H2SO4? Interesting. Tough lesson though. Sorry to hear it. Still, could've been worse...

They just liberated themselves, that's all. I'm sure they're doing quite well for themselves now...

I thought I'd start an amusingly morbid (morbidly amusing?) thread. [Edit] What is the worst mistake you've ever made that resulted in fish death as a result of a temporary intelligence-deficit? I'll start... When I was 8 or 9, I had a tropical tank with some guppies, a few neons, a small silver shark, and some sort of cory. This was some 20 years ago now (OMG! 20?), in the days before heaters with tempurature readings. You can see where this is going... One day I came home to discover the tank "dangerously" cold by a couple degrees. The fish were fine, of course, but eight-year-old panic is only quelled by over-reaction, so I cranked the heat up and promptly forgot about it. Upon return to my room, I was greeted by a fishy odour and wafts of steam rising off the fish tank like a death-cloud. I promptly flushed the fish and told my parents that they all died "mysteriously". :roll: I don't think I ever told them what really happened. Actually, that lie has been bottled up for so long, it feels so good to let it out! This thread is probably a subconcious cry of apology to Sharky and his friends! Your turn. Brian (I actually did tell my mom that story just last month, but it makes a better story if I say I didn't. Incidently, she didn't remember at all.... )

Hey KM! You're most welcome! I'm fairly new to the hobby, so I look forward to having the pool of knowledge that is FNZAS deepen further to my advantage! :evil: :lol: Brian

How are they going Plecs? You like them? Are they purdy lookin'? Are these the same as regular bristlenoses bar the colour? Brian

This is a good question. I'm interested too. So we've got clown loaches and skunk loaches on the list...Any others? Has anyone else found skunk loaches to be a bit agro? Thanks, Brian

I like a sense of humour on a man... :lol:

Thanks Dawn! I might get three or so and see how they are, if they're a bit grumpy, I'll add one or two. How tough are they? Are they very sensitive to less than optimum water conditions? What are optimum water conditions? [Edit] Brian

I'll try to be as welcoming as others have been to me! Welcome to the forum Scalare! I'm a newbie, so I can't answer your question, but there seems to be a wealth of knowledge here if you need to tap into it. Good luck! Brian

Um, the question is in the subject line... ie. What is the optimum number of dwarf gourami in a 34 liter tank? I wanted to get a couple of Corys or similar, and a number (6?) of tetras, and at first I thought 2 dwarf gouramis. I've since heard that two can be aggressive to each other, and (thanks Caryl) that a greater number of fish can spread that angry energy around to safer levels. Then again, I don't want to stress them by having too many for my small tank. Hence the question... Is it better to get 3-5, or just one? Opinions please! Tank is/will be fairly heavily planted. Thanks, Brian

Good thinking 99! Okay, we'll work on so-called "fishy poo" (thanks Caryl ) and whatever seems to be working in the tank. Fertilizer if I feel ambitious... Thanks, Brian

That was a good one! :lol: We yanks aren't too fond of vinegar on fish tho, so I won't have problems with using Acetic acid. Citric acid on the other hand... Brian

Just saying an official hello here. I've already cracked into the q's and given a bit of background, but I thought I say a bit more here so you know who you're humouring... I'm Brian, from the North Shore of Aukland, originally from California, been living here 9 years or so now. I run a "boutique" (euphamism for small) sharebroking company I set up last year. Turn-ons include: Well-planted tanks, fundamental analysis, and low P/E ratios. Turn-offs include: High Ammonia levels, those little "No Fishing" signs, and management diluting stockholder value by increasing the number of shares outstanding. You folks seem like a good bunch. Thanks in advance for all the help you're about to give me! Hopefully I'll be able to return the favour... Brian

Hey fullas, Getting further along the fish selection progression, and them thar' dwarf go-ram-eez sher are purdy lookin'! Yee-ha! :roll: I was told by the lfs that siblings can sometimes be a little mean towards each other if in a pair, and a way to avoid this is by getting quite a few, or getting another type of gourami. Is this true? I was thinking of having a couple in my tank. Is it best to get a dwarf and a cobalt/royal blue or royal red one instead of two of the same? Does it matter? Will they still interact with their 'feelers'? I'm thinking of scrapping the livebearer idea, and getting a small group of tetras (6?), and a couple of small corys (peppered?). How many gouramis could I have in a 34 litre tank? What's the plural of gourami? I'm talkin' the cobalt/royal blue, royal red, dwarf gourami here, if it makes a difference. Sweet, Brian

Yeah, I'm on to you! :lol:

Hey guys, Recently aquired an AquaOne 380 tank setup, 34litres and whatever light/filter it comes with. I've put $12 worth of cheapy plants from the lfs in it; grassy-looking types. I'm not particularly attached to the plants, but I don't want them dying and stinking up my tank, nor do I want to have to replace them in the near future, so... Are most lfs sourced grassy-type plants pretty hardy? Will they get enough nutrients from the stuff in the tank (once its stocked) to keep from turning brown and dying, or do I really need to add something to keep them alive/growing? If its a matter of buying a little bottle of something and adding some to the tank once a week or so, or if I notice they look a little off colour, sweet as. Is there a danger of over doing it? Is it best just to see how things go and wait if any symptoms occur, or should I take pre-emptive action? If I was to add something, I'd like a one-stepper type product. I'm not interested in testing levels. I'm still getting used to the idea of keeping fish. No CO2 or fancy lights or anything like that. I'm not particularly interested in fantastic growth, I just want easy and alive-looking (and not plastic, smart-aleks ). Thanks, Brian

So what's the trick to telling the males from the females? Is size the best indicator? Are big ones pretty well gauranteed to be females? I'm not well versed enough to know what the golombumbu...thing looks like. Is it easy when you know how? Brian

Sweet as! Thanks for that monster of a reply! I liked science at school, so pH isn't completely foriegn to me. Very good post. Thanks heaps! Its good that baking soda is a suitable alkalizer, is Acetic (sp?) acid (ie. vinegar) inappropriate to use to lower pH? This is all hypothetical at this stage for me...of course. Brian

I believe it! If you couldn't tell from my accent, I'm American, and upon returning to California after living here for a number of years, I was shocked by the tap water. It literally smells of pool-water to my nose. So much chlorine! Bit gross really. We've got it good here!

Thanks Shae! That's helpful. I wasn't serious about the Madcow thing btw.... Brian

Another Q from the que... (that's a pun, get it?) :lol: I imagine there's a lot of products out there that aren't really that useful if you know what you're doing, while other's are indespensible the the aquarium hobby-ist. What's in your aquarium toolbox, and what is the biggest waste-of-timer in your opinion? Brian

The Q's keep rolling... What's the best wah to deal with "bad" pH if/when I get it? Fish don't like change (just like most people), so how is this done successfully? Is it just best to do weekly 25% water changes, and make sure the new water is appropriate? Thanks

Hello again. Here's a Noobie Q for ya. Is most tropical flake food a complete diet for most fish, or does it need to be suplimented with other stuff? Are some brands better than others? Will my livebearers get mad cow disease by eating their offspring? :lol: Thanks, Brian

Thanks everyone for the advice! It's quite difficult chosing the fish for my small tank! I think I'll have to go bigger in the future just so I can be less discriminating with the fish selection...My GF comes back from overseas on the weekend, and she's sure to want to have a hand in the fish picking too. She's going to want fish that aren't to my taste, and that's going to cut my own selections down further! We might have to get a 4 footer to save our relationship... I appreciate that there are different opinions out there, and I'm sure to develop my own soon enough. Thanks for your help! Rob; 16 tanks?! My goodness! Is there some sort of Govt. sponsored Methadone (sp?) program for Aquarium addicts? I'll have to talk to my MP about that. Spooky; It is very hard to judge the size of the small tank. I could have easily bought too big/much of everything! I had to keep comparing to the 380 in the shop... The good thing about going slow and properly cycling the tank is I can modify my choices as I go along. If it looks different to how I expected with some fish in it, I can change to suit. I'm getting there! Thanks. Brian

Thanks guys! Letsee... I've set things up already. I've got a heater, a gravel cleaner syphon, and a timer for the light. I've put driftwood (some sort of hardwood, Malaysian?) and quite a good number of cheapy live plants, as well as the requisite gravel into the tank. It's actually okay to look at as-is! I'll be sure to watch the pH...thanks. Yeah, the appropriate water level was difficult to determine. I'm a "slowly-but-surely" guy, and I made sure I had that right. I'm glad I'm not alone in my confusion! Hmm. It sounds like my eyes are too big for my tank! The silver dollar might be out, but that's fine, I wasn't that attached. Will the Kuhli Loach really have probs with the filter? I've cut the tube an inch to keep it above gravel hieght, and the gaps don't seem that large. It might be a little bit too much hassle to pluck fish off the filter every day. :roll: Yeah, the red-eye tetra is quite good looking imo. Not enough space for them? Is there consensus on this (I'm dissappointed on this one)? Okay, snails out, though I think I had a stow-away on a plant that I bought... :-? It strikes me as quite an art, putting together a nice aquarium. There's a lot to balance! I don't remember my first aquarium being too much work, and I think I had a good little mini-ecosystem going. I'd like to have that again. I'm not at the stage of getting into CO2 systems and the like for my plants, but I must confess I can already see myself upselling to a much bigger tank in the future, when I've got the space. I've seen some amazing set-ups and beautiful displays! Thanks for all the advice so far! I'll have to head to the "lfs" (I'm using the lingo!) and have a look at your fish suggestions. Thanks again, Brian