mustcooktea

You just need to get a bigger tank to match your light! :lol:

I think it is well worth trying using water from a different source, Jo. How many fish are left? MCT

Funny but confusing! :-?

Hi Casey I have been following your aquarium endeavours with interest. It is so exciting to choose fish and set up a tank. We are about to do the same with my son but will wait until after Christmas. BJ is now in the big tank with Santa (a gold fantail). After some initial shyness he is now a busy little fish and holding his own against Santa who is twice his size. Santa chases him a little, particularly at feed time, but BJ just heads back for more food. I panicked the first day I put him in the tank as I couldn't see him no matter how hard or how many times I looked. I even did a water change and looked under and in everything but still couldn't find him. I looked all around the floor thinking he had jumped out as there is a small gap at the back of the tank due to the hang-on-the-back filter. A little later, there he was :roll: Here's hoping he grows big and healthy! MCT

Hi Alex and welcome to the site. You goldfish will love the extra space of a larger tank. How many do you have? You will find lots of information on Bettas too. My son is planning to get one once his tank is set up next year. I think you may have trouble putting females in the tank with him except for short periods for breeding particularly in a tank that size but others can advise you there. Look forward to hearing more from you. MCT

Welcome along! I look forward to hearing more about your tanks and fish. Do you have any particular favourites? MCT

That sounds interesting. Have you tried the potato trick yourself?

Well, after our sad time losing my daughter's blackmoor and it's replacement, a fantail, we seem to be doing well with the lastest addition. :bounce: His name is BJ and he is a very unusual looking fish but I have grown to really like him over the week that we have had him. I finally retrieved our digital camera from hubby's ute so that we could take a photo. MCT (keeping fingers crossed)

Yes, I definitely think this is a sign that you need a pond, Caryl! A bath outside is a great idea for a pond. I would love one but I still look after toddlers here at home once a week. Toddlers and water - too scary! How deep is your bath? Do you have trouble with it icing over in winter? MCT (dreaming of having her own big pond one day)

Welcome to the fishy community, Chookness! How is your new tank going? Tell us more about it. Glad to hear that you are finding your way around and getting the information you need. MCT

Hi Starlyte How are your fish doing? It does look like your tank is in the middle of cycling. Is the nitrIte reading of 5.0 correct? I have just looked at my test kit and it only goes up to 3.3 - perhaps you meant 0.5? Fish will suffer with a level over 1.0 and you will need to dilute it with water changes. Hopefully it won't be long now and your tank will be cycled. You won't need any more 'waste-control'. The nitrate cycle and water changes will take care of that. MCT

What gorgeous photos! How about some names for those like me that couldn't name a cichlid to save themselves? MCT

Welcome along Doubie! How old are your 'helpful' children. I know my daughter (8 years) only gets an occasional whim to help with her tank and that usually only involves moving everything around to a different position. I find that suits me since I am currently living my fishkeeping dreams through her tank. The Inanga sounds interesting. Did you catch it yourself? Best wishes for your tropical set up. MCT

Hi Alan The original fish that died was in a different tank which had been set up for seven months. Its other inhabitants are still happily swimming around. Sparkles was in a small tank that hadn't been used for some months. I gave it a wash out in tap water before using it. I think perhaps the stress of the move was the problem for him. When I think back, there was a tank in the store that had some goldfish in it with quite bad white spot - they looked like returned fish rather than the stores usual stock as they were quite big. The fish we got was in a stand alone display tank but the same net as is used on the main tanks were used to fish him out. Thanks for the advice on the tank, Pegasus. I was wondering what I would need to do with it before getting another fish. I will probably wait until next weekend before fish shopping again as I have exams this week. I hope the next one does okay. It's hard on children when their pet dies and then when the replacement dies it's extra bad (pretty hard on Mum too!). MCT

Sadly, Sparkles died during the night. MCT

Thanks for that Bill. Sparkles is looking a little better this evening. He is a little more active, his fins are looking better than they were and I can't see any white spot on him. His breathing still seems laboured and he is still not eating. The temperature is up to 26 degrees since I turned it up a notch. I will turn it up slightly more in the morning. I'll be happier once he is interested in food again but at least he has improved today rather than got worse. MCT (fingers crossed)

I'm just using salt, Caryl as I understand that this can kill white spot in the correct dosage. I will slowly increase the temperature. MCT

Sparkles isn't looking the best at the moment. He was such a happy active fish when we brought him home too! On Wednesday, when we noticed what looked like ich on his tail (half a dozen or so 'salt grains') I started adding salt. I added 8 tsp in three doses to the 12-13 litre tank. Those spots fell off and he was still active and eating. I had also raised the temperature a few degrees but was concerned about stressing him with the heat so left it at 21 degrees. How hot can goldfish go? Yesterday morning I checked on him and his fins were white around the edges. I am concerned that I may have overdosed the salt but perhaps he has developed finrot from the stess of everything. He was quite inactive yesterday, just hovering at the bottom of the tank and not eating. This morning he is still hovering at the bottom of the tank. His breathing doesn't seem right but I can't quite pinpoint why I think that. He seems to have a couple of white spots on his head and fins. Poor little fish! I have been changing 3 litres of the water each day since Wednesday. I have an airline in the tank to agitate the surface. Is there any more that I should be doing for the fish? Am I dosing the right amount of salt? Should I get anything for the finrot? Should I raise the temperature? MCT (feeling worried)

Hi Cath I'll have to pass your photo compliments onto my 6 year old since he took that photo (it was better than mine!). Digital cameras are great but fish don't stay still. He is in a small quarantine tank at the moment and I think he may be developing ich. There are a few suspicious looking spots on his tail so I have added some salt. I will add more tonight and again in the morning to get the concentration up to a .3% solution just in case. After quarantine he will join Santa (another fantail) in my daughter's 760x300x500mm tank which holds about 100 litres. Sparkles is currently about 4 cm without his tail and Santa (who we got in March) is now about 6 cm. The only other fish in there is Shrek who is the last of my son's leopard fish. He is only about the size of a neon. MCT

Don't be shy about posting your test results and asking for advice on their levels. It is great that you have the tests. I think they are well worth having while cycling a tank. MCT

Be patient, Starlyte! There will be other Trade-Me auctions! I am looking at getting glowlight tetras for my son's new tank after Christmas. They are cool little fish and I am glad you have enough of them for them to shoal. By-the-way, what size is your tank? MCT

Thanks Lyndyloo I felt dreadful about walking out and leaving him. I have this image in my head of him tail up at the top of the water with his big bug eyes. Poor little fish. My daughter is feeling better than she did and is excited about her new fish in quarantine, Sparkles. Hopefully he will live a long and well swim-bladder balanced life. MCT

After coming home to a dead blackmoor last weekend http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/bad-timing-vt9732.html my daughter has a new goldfish in quarantine. His name is Sparkles since we got him on Guy Fawkes day. She had thought about getting another black moor but was worried that it would develop the same floaty problems. I thought this was a good opportunity to have a go at loading a forum friendly photo. MCT

You could try and spot them by putting some zucchini near the front of the tank and checking it after lights-out as I think they are more active at night. Hope you find them. MCT

New fish are so exciting. What size is your tank, Donna? How big do silver sharks get? MCT PS Well done for having quarantine!