Rozski

:lol: at fishroom... Tho I'd much prefer a big display tank in each room of the house hehe Poor wee neons, no-one loves them Tho I really thought they schooled more :-? Gotta also think about whether I want koi angels, a black and/or white angels or the striped zebra type ones... too many choices! Now just to figure out why my powerhead filter is making an annoying rattly noise. Already pulled it apart with no change, grrr

Oh that sucks (I would use stronger words, but forum rules lol) I HATE pointless vandalism. Yeah, people break in to steal valuables (and yeah, hate that too), but when they have to smash everything within reach while they are there really sickens me Will insurance cover your tank losses?

Just reading up on them now, the site I am on says the golden and blues get to 15cm and the pearls to 10. Not sure if I like the pearls, and 15cm seems quite big, especially if I have 2 (and also if they get aggressive). Up and down big (like angels) doesn't seem as big as nose to tail big for some reason :lol: Am still keen to give angels a go, as it seem some people have success. I think our LFS has a return/swap policy if fish get too big/aggressive and you can't sell them on, so have a backup. Its a while off before I have to decide anyway, hence asking early so I can think about it

Apart from the dwarfs, all the other types get very big though don't they?? Have had dwarfs, but they kept dying off from one ailment or another. Still have a female dwarf, but she now has a problem too. Have heard of plenty of others who haven't had success with them What kind of gourami were you thinking of?

Oh yeah, I realise that, but they still fall under American cichlids don't they? Like the rams I forgot to ask, what are the differences between them? Like what types did you guys have? Will there be any difference in size and/or aggressiveness between getting koi vs black vs zebra... Haven't seen any differences mentioned in my browsing as of yet

Yeah from what I have read, its a luck of the draw, as some people get really calm ones and many others get territorial ones... and the posts from you guys seem to show the same They are a type of cichlid, but seem to have seen them in a few community tanks hmmm...

Whenever I have seen them in our LFS, they are all just sitting there in a school, facing the same direction and not moving I like them Not quite enough to buy a school at $25 each though...

Just considering the possibility, and have been doing some reading on them online. Tank is roughly 180 litres, and has been up and running for a few weeks now. Wouldn't be adding them for a while anyway, as already have: 7 danios 10 neons 2 leopard corys 1 bristlenose Fish I am planning on getting over the next few weeks are: 1 more cory (maybe 2 lol) 2 otos and eventually, a pair of blue rams. My tank pH is on the low side, and I assume soft as I use rainwater for changes Had originally wanted to add a small school of Hengels/Swift rasboras, but I think now I would rather have a pair of 'centre piece' type fish, rather than more schooling fish, as they aren't really schooling as such lol. The neons are flung far and wide through the tank (must be comfortable) and I think I'd prefer the look of a pair of angels, rather than more small fish scattered around the tank. Have been reading and realise they can eat neons when they get larger (but sometimes may not if they are raised with them from a small size, or I could exchange for a smaller pair if they got too large...) So before I mull over them for a month or so before I could get them, be nice to know anyones opinions on adding a pair of angels? Both compatibility wise, and tank stocking levels wise. Rather than look forward to it, then ask just before I go to get some and find out its not a good idea Thanks for any thoughts

pH should be fine as long as it is stable. I use rainwater in my tanks and the pH is low in them too. My big tank was measuring around 6.2 the other day, raised to 6.4 when I last checked as I put a cuttlebone (bought one of the budgie ones) into the filter. Have neons, bristlenose, danios and now two cories in my tank, all seem fine (neons were spawning the other day even) As to the algae...do you have any algae eaters? Tho my bristlenose isnt doing a great job of cleaning the green hairy specs on my front glass. That'll have to wait until I put some Otos in (I hope they'll clean it) Had dwarf gouramis in my small tank which also has a low pH. No luck with the males, but apparently they are hard fish to keep alive sometimes. I don't think the pH was the problem. Female is still doing well *shrugs*

Put killies in it

Went to our LFS yesterday and picked up 10 neons. Lovely to have some colour in my tank. They were schooling so nicely last night, but have become comfortable and spread out today (I like them better schooling :roll: ) Was sitting and watching them just now with my flatmate, and explaining the finer points of fish, and saw a pair of neons spawning! Yeah, I know the eggs wont even hatch (especially when a danio cruises past and hoovers up the eggs), but still, was neat to see. Least I know they must be happy if they are willing to spawn a day after a tank change. My bristlenose needs to get her a into g and clean the tiny bits of green algae forming on the glass though *tsk tsk*

If only you were closer fievals, we could exchange

:lol: LOL Ira I have two of those I think. One is much bigger than the other, 8cm now, and still no bristles on either of them! Silly non bristleschnozes. The big one is sleeping on her own personal driftwood ledge in the big tank right now..

Hey loopy, Just wanted to say, NZ is not GE Free. People are campaigning us to be GE free, but as we already have crops of GE corn and things, doesn't seem to be that way. But thats a whole new debate...

white cloud mountain minnows. A small, cold-warmwater schooling fish

Its a shame about the Palmy store. Their store manager left last year, and she was excellent on the fish side of things. I went in there one weekend and there were bundles of dead fish. My bf commented that this manager would not be impressed (we assumed she wasn't working that weekend and would be back Monday). Found out later that week that she had quit. Amazing how fast things can go downhill... We are lucky enough to have another store here which is amazing and helpful with fish though

Thanks for your thoughts. Going by the once inch per gallon rule, I would definitely be overstocked though. Which is why I was asking how flexible it is when you are using small schooling fish. Have considered the loaches, but don't want too many down the bottom, as my tank has only so much groundspace... Would be good to eat the tiny snails that hitchiked in on a plant in my other tank though (and thus into my new tank via the big java fern) But yeah, don't want to overstock

Nice tanks. I love that dominant male peacock, gorgeous colouring 8)

Anyone else have any comments on my fish list? Just tested tank water again, pH still at 6, zero ammonia, zero nitrites and zero (maybe just above, its definitely not 5 though) nitrates. Also ran another 10 litres of siphoned guck out of my small tank (tested the water in that tank too for the first time in ages, still all good) through the big tanks filter wool. Two adult danios have been in there since Tues, and 5 smaller ones added on Thurs. So they are either not excreting ammonia , or can I assume my filter has a nice amount of bacteria in it? If so...which fish could I add next this weekend *rubs hands together gleefully*

Thanks guys! Oh, and the heater has migrated too :lol: Fish! Now theres the million dollar question :bounce: Was going to ask how this sounded: 7 danios (in there already) 1 bristlenose 3 leopard cory's Neon Tetras Swift Rasboras 1 pair blue rams 2-3 ottos Now if I am thinking 10 neons and 6 odd rasboras, my tank is techinically quite overstocked. Do I need to cut out the rasboras, or am I able to overstock a bit because the majority of my fish are small peaceful schooling fish? Honest question, just because I have seen a few other tanks listed here that are overstocked, but have neons and things in them.

lol cheesy evil Small update (I upload the photos to pass onto my Dad, so may as well put them on here too): Got some val cheap from the Aqua Fun day, had it at the back, but the filter was playing a bit of havoc with it so it got stuck on the left. The twisted val is looking very sad after being posted, so I hope it picks up. Rotala at the back, and ambulia in the back right corner. Anubias are kind of under the gravel, held in by a wing and a prayer as I know they aren't supposed to be planted as such. I'm hoping they'll grab onto the rocks. Big cheers to Caryl for sending me the rotala and anubias Not really final or anything, just to get the plants in there and hopefully growing first Am thinking of saving for a month or so and getting a DIY ballast & endcaps and 2 T5 bulbs to up the lighting

:lol: I read that thread, hence why I used the term Didn't know that the outcome of the thread meant the use of the term was banned

Cool, just checking. My pH is usually low in my other tank as I use rainwater for changes. Used tap water to fill the big tank though, wasn't quite enough rainwater in my 20 litre collection bucket I bought a cuttlebone last year for my small tank, I still have a spare here so might chuck that in the filter to buffer it a bit. Yup, no chemicals

Looking good! Be awesome once its all full of fish and plants and bubba fish

Just tested the water, pH has dropped to 6. Would the driftwood be doing that? Was neutral at 7 when I checked it on Monday. Ammonia is either at 0, or might be between 0 and 0.25. Nitrites and Nitrates are at 0.