heather

I want to add it to my 250L, which currently has 3 Bol. Rams, 6 Panda Corys, 12 Black Neons and will have another 12-20 tetra of some sort. I have soft, acidic water at 28C. Want it for its cleaning abilities but not too big, i.e. not the common plec. Wish for the Zebra but that ain't gonna happen! It needs to be reasonably easy to get in NZ and not too expensive. So say around the $50-70 mark. Any ideas?

Why not some Bolivian Rams. They dont bother the other fish much and dont hassle the plants. They like moving sand around but cant move gravel as much. And the Bolivians are easier than their smaller cousins the German Blues. Give them a terracotta pot/cave and a big flat stone and they will be happy as. Recomend two, 1 male and 1 female.

Ok so having a prefilter is a good thing and agree that this one lacks finesse. I will look at doing it another way - maybe slimline with pvc pipe. What media should be in them? Floss, sponge, carbon?

Any opinions on inline prefilters? Check this one out http://www.kencofish.com/5gal.htm I'm thinking about putting this or something similar on. Prefilters are thought to help the media in your canister last longer, and/or to be more effective because they dont have to deal with so much rubbish?

Yes, the purpose of the air pump is to add oxygen to the water, but the oxygen exchange takes place on the surface. So by agitating the surface the rate of exchange is increased. I suppose it can get really technical but thats a basic explanation.

Jetksisteve -thats abit more than just testing the waters, huh?

The purpose of the airpump is to agitate the surface of the water enabling oxygen to be absorbed. The amount of oxygen absorbed from the bubbles from, for example, an airstone is so small as to be unreadable. If the return of water from your filter is agitating the surface sufficiently then an airpump is unnecessary (unless you actually like the look of bubbles in your tank).

Well i added some more plants as a temporary measure and it seemed to work. The smaller female's colour has picked up and she seemed to be trying it on with the male... Didnt work though. This morning I noticed the larger female jealously guarding her eggs!! Incredible really as they should still be stressed by the new environment - I only got them last Sunday, nearly on a whim and still not really prepared. Put them straight into a newly set up 50L that I had only waited for the temp to come right and I was feeding them on Betta flakes and Goldfish crumble!! If the eggs turn into fry that will be a miracle and if even one survives then I will call Altispinosa's the hardiest little fish in the world.

I thought that might be about the only way. Anybody know if they could kill it?

So i got three. Two have obviously paired off leaving the smaller one to be harrased, bullied and chased. I think it is another female. What can i do to help it? I cannot remove it yet as all three are in my 50l holding tank while my 250l is still being set up. There are two pots and some plants to hide in already. There are no other fish in the tank. Any ideas?

Thanks all, that makes sense. One more question, does it make a difference for the fishies as to where and how i put the outlet under water. i.e. spraybar or normal, if spraybar then horizontal or vertical?

I was thinking I would have the outlet or spraybar running under water to minimise disturbance and so to minimise CO2 loss. If I do that then it would probably be a good i idea to add the O2?

Yes it has a valve on it. Extra oxygen cant hurt, can it?

I just unpacked my Rena XP3 filter, which has arrived by Courier from Mike at Riverlea in Nelson. (Dont mind giving him a bit of a plug cause he's been really good!) Anyway it has an optional venturi fiiting on the outlet pipe. Its a bit of ailine that pokes above the water. But i have not a clue about what it is, what it does, or if i need it. Any ideas out there?

try the calculator at http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/tools.php The answer it gives can be a handy guide but consider other things like the size of your filter.

You are obviously a perfectionist cause you did really well!

a good place to start for beginers is to test PH and hardness of your tapwater and that should give you a starting point of what fish will be easiest to keep. And the fish you keep will help decide how you plant it. Landscaping is pretty much up to taste though.

thanks diverjohn. i will check out the solenoid. Have you got carbon in your filter, maybe it is exhausted and needs replacing?

Thanks 'cool hand luke'. i had printed that out and used as bedtime reading (lol) last week. interesting. no hints though i guess?

Did you ever find out, cause i was wondering the same thing!

Thought i might have over done it. its for a 250l tank 122x45x45cm. used 4x2" s and gangnails and 16mm ply. But whats in the picture was so simple to do and hardly took an afternoon. I'm reasonably handy with tools but was even easier when Benchmark precut the 4x2 s for me.

ok ive added the pic. ive added plywood 'cladding' and its nearly finished now but still to take another pic.

and dont forget to check out the amano site http://www.adaeuro.com/

Thanks Caryl, why didnt i think of that? Will post tonight when back on my home computer. (im at work-naughty eh!)

and heres the first pic...