Aquatopia

Just a couple of quick questions regarding Silica Sand. I bought mine at Placemakers, Riccarton and it was described as white sand. The guy told me its also called Silica Sand and as someone else on here said they also got theres at the same store Im hoping its the right stuff. 1) How much rinsing does it need ? Is it the same rule as with gravel ? (IE rinse till water runs clear). 2) How deep should it be in the tank ? I will be placing rocks in there too, of course. I have some calcite so am thinking about sticking that as a thin layer under the sand to act as a buffer. Will this work ? Cheers.

Sorry to add another nail in the coffin but I am of the same opinion about the keyholes Sorry dude.

Organism had some a short while ago - $90 a pop. They are rare as rocking horse S**T

Thanks for the answers so far. Seems maybe they are not a widely kept fish in NZ then huh ?

Anyone use these filters ? I bought one for cheap on TM recently but the inlet tube wont fit !! Could do with some advice. They seem a good filter though - got a turbelle powerhead etc.

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: No one else keeping or breeding Rainbowfish ?

Hey Spider, yup - i think it boils down to care. I dont see why a large tank needs to be more of a concern. Someone mentioned if rocks or whatever falls against the acrylic its gonna scratch - i say bring it on, cos i'd rather a scratch than a smashed glass panel Personally, Ive been trying to find a manufacturer who does those double and triple octagonal tanks that link together with a couple of square swim-throughs (for want of a better description). A mate had one in Europe and it looked pretty cool, and the fish seemed to love the fact they could swim off and explore. (God did i really say that, lol)

I had an 18" square acrylic tank for ages - it didnt end up with the blur of scratches everyone seems to think it will. Yes, some people dont look after acrylic tanks and they get scratched but if you are careful and use a specific scrubber specially for acrylic as I did then it should last well. I'd say dont knock it before you try it (JMTCW)

Hi Caryl, yeh thats the ones - just been looking at a specific rainbowfish forum. Man there are some awesoe looking fish and tanks there too

No it wasnt dwarf ones i was talking about though they are lovely too - what size do they grow to ? Lots of people seem to like rainbow fish as dither fish in a cichlid aquarium. Im hoping to set up a cichlid tank with fish that stay to 5" or less and wonder then if the dwarf neon rainbows would be big enough not to get eaten?

thats a good deal - whats the name of the place livingart ??

Just wondering if anyone has managed to breed rainbowfish ? I saw a variety that were two toned - blue and red i think, separated vertically - they were particularly nice. But would like to hear about any. Cheers

Below is a good read 8) HTH http://www.theaquarians.net/ArticlesandWallpapers/dither_fish.htm Very useful article, thanks. I like the idea of Rainbowfish too - they are lovely fish. Are they from the African Lakes too ? Boesmani sounds sort of South African, lol. I saw a pic of a rainbowfish that was red and blue - divided vertically. Do you know what one that is ? Cheers.

Great, look forward to it.

Huh? :lol: Meant to write WHOLE width (of the tank)

Sounds a lovely set up. Do you have a pic of the who width ? Ive heard the term dither fish before, but just passed over it - what does it actually mean ?

Fantastic pics Afrikan - are they all in the same tank ? Whats your stocking and tank/filtration details ?

plec - fuller name, PLECOSTOMUS

Great tanks waterfaller !! You've done an awesome job. Dare I suggest one idea that might make them even better (IMHO) Some kind of backing or color to the back of the tanks which dont have it ? I always think if you can see right through to a plain wall or filter etc, that it detracts from the beauty of the tank - and yours are certainly beautiful tanks. Great idea to share lights for the small 4.3g tanks too. Spot on !

Hi bogglesmum - no i have not tried it (yet) but it looks ok - i know someone made rocks for a marine tank out of concrete mixed with (crushed shells ?) i believe, though he soaked it for a LONG time to allow it to leach any nasties out. I would be doing that and/or coating it in something safe too.

Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

I've made a booboo ! I wanted to make my calcite substrate darker so added some (washed, and by god it took some time) grey sand from the LFS. Unfortunately the effect I hoped for has not worked - I wanted the two materials to mingle evenly but the sand just wont do this because of the different grain size. So now I want to separate them again (duh!). I tried running water over the mix whilst in a kitchen food sieve but the calcite grains are just small enough to go through the holes too. I was hoping the sand would rinse out through the holes and the calcite would remain. Anyone got any (polite, lol) ideas ? :oops: Cheers.

They really are the "Rolls Royce" of the cichlid Me want some .. :roll:

Lol - buy a shed for the 1.5

Lol - thats what I like, a fish that think with its stomach