me love fishy

I still think boiling is a good idea not only to get rid of some of the tannins, but more because of the little greeblies that could be in the wood. I have bogwood in my tank and it leeched tannins for quite sometime, but it does clear eventually overtime, doing good water changes often in your tank will help keep the brownishness to a level that isn't too bad. All the best with your tank

Definitely do another water change and get your water tested as mentioned above. Keep a very close eye on your fish over the next couple of weeks and keep doing water changes every few days and get your water tested again in another week maybe. Do you have any other tanks? If so you could use some filter media from an already cycled tank to help cycle this tank.

Welcome Saxsena Bettas are beautiful fish. Enjoy the forum.

You could be right there Caryl My java fern grows like mad and I only do a 30% water change every two weeks. Is there a specific reason why you do such large and frequent water changes in this tank? If so then maybe java fern isn't the best plant for the tank.

Unreal!! Keep us posted with more pics Fishboi, really cool to see fishies spawning!

Maybe the "friend" that broke it might be able to cough up to get it fixed for you, or know someone, nice friend. :-?

sorry for your loss Meeshelley Its such a mystery with fish deaths sometimes.

I used one when I first started but like most don't bother now unless I have a problem. I have noticed though that once your tank is established, if you have a large piece of bogwood in it, the water can get more acidic, so just something to watch for, but easy to fix by doing a few water changes every couple of days, that will bring it back into line without resorting to chemicals.

nasty I have never noticed aggression with bettas in my tanks before, they often keep to themselves, but adding a new fish can upset the balance of the tank and some of the previous occupants might get a bit territorial, so maybe move the betta to a new tank, or swap it for something else?

Siamese fighters are generally okay with other fish that go in a community tank. They are not particularly aggressive IMHO. I have one in with some gouramis, angels, congo tetras, serpae tetras, golden algae eater and BN. I also used to have one in with some cardinal tetras and harlequin rasboras. The only community fish I would be concerned with are fin nippers like barbs as a beautiful male fighter would be a prime target for them. Others might say different, I have never had barbs, but this is what I have heard about them frequently. You can get them in Chch from most pet stores that sell fish, try animates, petworld on Ferry Road or Critter Kingdom on Stanmore Road, I find those places usually have good stocks, so you can have a choice of colours. There are other stores in chch (not to promote any particular store), but the above are the ones I frequent the most. As said previously, definitely don't keep them in those little containers, very cruel IMHO, I think they do it in the petstores so their fins won't get nipped, and you can't have more than one male together as they will fight. Good luck in choosing your fighter, there are some really beautiful ones out there.

I have seen freshwater puffers in Petworld on Ferry Road before, in Chch. So even if they don't have them they might be able to get them in, not sure which variety of puffer they were though. Ira your puffer really is a cutie, does it have a name?

Yep like everyone has said, fishies need darkness too. Good question to ask to help keep your fish healthy, though. I have my lights on for about 16 hours a day on a timer and about half an hour before lights out, the fish are getting in there sleeping positions, quite funny to watch. All the best

Welcome Kris Enjoy the forum. There are some great spots in NZ to live. cheers

I'm with Diver John, I have an Eheim 2217, I bought it off trademe so was a bit cheaper than buying new and it works well, but I have never had any others to compare, somebody on this forum advised me to buy the best I could afford, so that's what I did. All the best with whatever you choose, alot of people swear by fluvals or jebos, so its personal preference really and price.

I think whoever you bought that off should have definitely arranged for it to be fixed or replaced for no cost, under the consumer guarantees act you are entitled to that! Dodgy seller if you ask me and if you can not use them again then I wouldn't! I had my 4 ft tank for 6 months when it started leaking out one of the corners, the shop I bought it off took it away and added strengthening rods in the corners and totally resilliconed the whole tank for nothing! They were exceptionally good about it. Can you borrow a tank off someone until you get your new one? If not I would do little water changes more often in your overstocked tanks until you get your new one.

Do you have a friend with a tank who can look after your fish until you get your tank set up again? How big is your tank that you are moving?

After having heater thermostat troubles and cooking my fish with cheap heaters, unsure of brands but they were cheapies, I only have Jager heaters in my tanks. I have two in my 4 ft tank and one in my 60L, can't remember the wattage offhand I think maybe two 300w in the 4 ft tank and one 150w in the other, maybe a bit OTT but figured it can't hurt to have extra wattage. I had probs in the winter down here with the tanks not holding the temperature they were supposed to at night and lost quite a few fish to fin rot etc from the stress it caused them , well not 100% sure it was that but it was the only thing I could pin it down two and it happened over two winters, so I installed the Jager heater in the little tank and an extra heater in the 4ft tank, (was advised on this forum that two heaters at each end in a large tank are better than one thanks for that advice), so I got another the same wattage. I think they are pretty good, never had any temperature issues since I have had these heaters. they do get condensation buildup, but it doesn't seem to affect the way they work and I am clumsy sometimes when I am cleaning the tank and bump them and have not managed to crack one yet. I have had the one in the little tank for a couple of years.

I gravel vac once every two weeks, and it definitely needs it by then. Maybe new rocks could be the culprit?

I find the most important thing to do is make sure you do good water changes in your tank. I usually do a water change once every two weeks of about 30%, but you will probably need to do water changes more often until your tank is properly established, and if you have fish that are particular about their water you might need to do them more often. But if you do water changes and clean your filter material in tank water every couple of water changes, ie when it gets clogged, then this helps to keep your pH and nitrate cycle in check. I have some of the tests you were looking at on trademe and they are good, easy to use. I only use them now if there is a problem, but they are quite useful when you are first setting your tank up to keep tabs on your water, as mentioned by others. good luck with your fishies, don't be scared to ask any questions, you will find others here like to give advice to newbies.

that's classic Yeah you could get some dimwit to buy them off trademe for heaps. Nice shade of green!

All the best to Craig. I hope he is okay. It sounds really nasty, I never thought much about washing my hands afterwards before reading this thread earlier on, I mean I would rinse them in cold water but now I wash quite thoroughly with soap after having them in fish water. And to think I used to syphon water using my mouth to start it off and sometimes I would get a mouthful of fish water, well won't be doing that again.

Hiya You will need to keep it weighed down in water for a long time. I would pour boiling water over it and change the water daily pouring boiling water over it for several days to kill any undesirables. I have always bought my wood from a petshop, so not the best authority on how long to soak it etc.

Great photos Loopy. Love the one of the silver dollar especially

I use an Eheim 2217 cannister filter and I don't use wool either Tanksman. I only use ceramic noodles and little stones(can't remember what they are called) and I only clean it out about once every 6 weeks or so. I couldn't be bothered trying to clean it out every fortnight, its alright for small internal filters but more difficult with larger externals.

Awesome photos Kttk You must be pleased with how many have survived. Keep us updated as you take more photos.