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I have a legacy Siamese fighter in my tank so even if I was lucky enough he would probably hunt out the Fry. When he goes I'm just keeping Chilli's, RCS and the Sterbai which are also legacy fish from another setup. They are probably 6 or 7 Y.O

:clap: Love it, it's something special when fry just appear without any intervention from the keeper it's like the pinnacle of fishkeeping. Hasn't happened for me with egg layers for so long I've forgot what that feels like. Maybe one day, I have six Chillis in a 50 ltr which have been there...

They tend to get more aggressive when they have a bubble nest, mine usually builds his at the same end of the tank where I put the food in where there is less flow, I put the food in there so it sinks for the corys and doesn't get sucked in the filter so quick and had chance to sink to the...

If I notice a drastic reduction in shrimp numbers or catch him with one in his mouth again I think I'll set up a dedicated shrimp tank for my better specimens and leave BOD in the 50ltr. As much as he's probably a PITA to the cory Sterbai it keeps them on their toes and active rather than just...

I think it may stem from in nature Betta tend to make their way from from small streams in to rice paddy fields where they end up residing and breeding in small land locked puddles which they are adapted perfectly for being labyrinth breathers so can survive in very low oxygenated waters and the...

Good Looking Fish Though!

Probably are all same sex mate, to be honest these ones here are only in a small tank, they really could do with being in something bigger so I won't be adding any. They are in my office at work and were only supposedly going to be a temporary holding tank while I was doing some work at home and...

I've had 4 Cory Sterbai in a tank that I've had as a conservative estimate about 5 years. Started out with 6, they've been with me through all carnations of my aquascaping career from low tech to high then back to low. Provided them with supposedly the right conditions and nothing to bother them...

Jealous

I couldn't agree with you more mate. It makes no sense to me. My local small LFS even pointed out when I took the Endlers when I asked if he would take some back said point blank no and I'd be better off not getting any females if that was the case. My only guess would be the issue of quarantine...

Nice fish and well done! It's a real shame that quite a lot of places won't take in fish these days. It stopped a large enjoyable part of the hobby for me. I wouldn't even be bothered about getting credit from the LFS as breeding and raising fry is satisfaction enough for me. There is nowhere...

Cumbria mate, a bit off the beaten track for most.

Very interesting thanks, so there's still chance some of these could be males. If I can find a shop that will happily take the young off my hands I don't mind carrying on with the project and see if I can bring some nice fish into the hobby. Don't really fancy setting up a second tank unless I...

How long does it usually take for males to show up? Out of them all I can't see any with colour in. I have three generations, 2 months old, 1 month and a day old. Obviously the day old ones I don't have a chance but you would have thought the rest would be showing something by now. I've been...

You know what, I've just realised I meant Pets at Home not MA. MA is a good trek for me. I think I've managed to re-home some from a friend of mine with medium sized fish that will eat fry. Hopefully he can take the ones they won't eat and fry won't be an issue. Sent from my STH100-2 using...

I suppose I could try that although I doubt anybody would be willing to pay.

BTW no idea how these things supposedly went extinct in their native country!

I think I'll file this one under "seemed like a good idea at the time! My LFS has some kind of Bio policy in case I infect their stock, TBH my fish are in much better condition than the ones in there. I'm limited round these here parts for LFS, ironically MA shut the other two down even though...

I don't want anything for them mate. Lesson learnt here, I'll see if I can get through and ask them this week, hopefully they will. The first batch are maybe 15mm long and are all clearly females, second batch can't see any colour in any of them but are only 1 month old, not sure when they...

Just wondered if anyone has tried to take fish to Maidenhead Aquatics and what their policy was? What seemed to be a good idea at the time as a project I bought two pairs of Endlers. I lost one of the females but now I have a population boom on my hands which is getting a bit ridiculous. I did...

No joy with the female. I deliberately let the tank get weedy so there was plenty of safe havens for her and the fry so not sure if she died in the tank. The fry are still here and seem quite happy, all the other fish appear to be feeding and not shedding so I'm hoping the worming as worked and...

Little Update. Woke up to 4 Endler fry on news days and the female still hanging at the surface but looking considerably thinner so I'm assuming the fry were hers. Came in today to find the 4 fry still here but the female is MIA. Checked about round the tank and in it and can't find a corpse at...

Just to add it seems lively enough reacting to other fish passing.

In the wars with these Endlers. Noticed a couple of weeks ago that one of the females wasn't eating and white stringey faces :banghead: decided to make a start on treating for worms with Harker Verm just to be on the safe side in case it infected the rest of the tank. The fish was doing lots of...

Even with my endlers sometimes if they investigate a small sized shrimp the shrimp will have a little panic attack and dart about in different directions unsure whether the endler is going to have a go or not. Instinct kicks in and the endler will dart about about trying to catch it. Only lasts...

The Rams probably killed it mate. Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

Could go either way that mate. With 150 all you can do is look for the colony getting less and less visible and if you have to setup a small shrimp tank if it's not looking good. The dead shrimp could be just one of them things. In a colony 150 strong sooner or later an adult is going to pop its...

General rule of thumb with nature, try everything once. If it fits in an animals mouth, gains some nutritional value from it, doesn't taste awful or poisons it or the energy used doesn't out weigh the energy spent catching it then it becomes dinner. Problem is reproduction takes time feeding...

Just to add, that sounds a bit bizarre him using stuff that he didn't sell but he had a display with the full range of water life products on so maybe he had some deal with his supplier. Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

Just to add, not sure if this has any relevance but might be worth noting. The guy who runs my LFS who is also a renowned Discus breeder before he opened his own shop said the only meds he recommended for fungus, finrot, white spot and most bacterial infections was the Interpet ones. On internal...

Thanks for all your input guys, I did the salt bath at 20 grams per litre. The fungus appears to have gone on the one that had it on its mouth. The one with it on its side following closer inspection seems to have lost most of its pectoral fin when I could see it clearly in the salt bath box. I...

Also says shrimp safe in the FAQ which Andrew has confirmed. If it's no use for sorting the fungus it looks like a good all round med to have on standby for a quarantine tank....which is what I should have done in the first place to avoid this situation [emoji848] Sent from my STH100-2 using...

This was the bit I was referring to mate. Says increase dose in cases of low KH below 4. Mine is around 2. Also copper in the ingredients is a worry. Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

I've just ordered some Andrew, was reading the online pdf and it says you may need to double the dose of you have soft water. Do you have soft water and how did you dose? Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

I'll need to keep an eye on it mate. I may have to set up a small tank. They currently reside in a shrimp tank so very dubious about any meds. My water is also very soft.

So far I'm getting 10 to 30 grams per ltr for 30 mins from here. Sound about right?

Just wondering, I bought 4 Endler Guppies from the LFS about 2 weeks ago. two of the females have developed firstly one what appears to be a bit of fungus on its mouth and the other female what appears to be a very slight swelling on its stomach although this fish was very lucky in so far as...

Yeah I think two females as well. The size of your tank you could get away with adding a male as long as the spare female has plenty of places to keep out the way. The females are less aggressive than the males, as they mature they will want some space for themselves so will fratch a little but...

Also a good sign with green faeces coming out. Non stop algae eating machines which is why they need added green stuff veg added. They strip the tank of soft algae in no time. Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

Just to add, the fish in the pic looks healthy to me. Shows good colour and good proportion. When they are not well they tend to lighten with a more pronounced stripe and it's usually their tails that are very thin from the stomach back when starved.

Other animals including humans gain energy from the grazers so a bull would spend all day eating grass getting very little energy/nutrition from it then we eat a small portion of the bull in 10 mins and get the energy/protein the bull took a long time to build up. same for say a Gazelle and a...

Another thing that should happen is the govt should be lobbied to prevent Goldfish being given away as prizes at fair grounds. As far as I'm aware this is still legal and common practice. An uncle of mine (rest his soul) was partial to having a few beers in the afternoon even at the ripe old age...

Strange things aren't they, they all seem to have individual preferences. I had 9 I think from memory but generally I will only see tops 4 or 5 if I look hard for them and they are not switching about too much. A week ago I just happened to be sitting watching as you do and realised there was 8...

I wouldn't overly worry about flow unless the Betta was getting thrown around the tank like leaf litter on a windy day. Fish can sense the direction and strength of water so if he goes into the outlet and gets blown about I suspect it's because he wants to. I find some fish just enjoy it.

One of my ottos trying to muscle in on the Pepsi challenge. [emoji16] Seeing if the inhabitants prefer courgette or cucumber, seems like they aren't fussed either way. At least the Amano can't take off with these! Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

The problem I have with my Amanos which are also in the setup is my Ottos didn't like many algae wafers but seemed to prefer the Hikari mini wafers, the Amanos are a size now that will just grab a whole wafer and take off with it regardless of where I put them. The Otto's need to compete for...

Probably best to get a load in one hit regardless of species. Ups the chances that they came from the same batch. I've bought three different groups so no idea how to tell them apart. Sometimes they look different just because they are nervous. Some seem to have stripes while others look like a...

Now compare that to when they had the tank to themselves pre explosion. Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

They can't get a look in at cucumber for these cockroaches [emoji45] Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

I think if they get peace and there's something to eat in the vicinity they just hand about in the same place. Every now and again they will have a little mad spurt. They're quite shy as well I think. Last count I had 8 or 9. I'll be lucky to see four max, whether it's the same four I don't...

I find Ottos tend to just have a favourite spot, why that is I have no idea. Lot of people say their Ottos won't take veg, still can't work out why this is. Mine used to love cucumber, when I put a piece in it was the only time I could make sure they're all there but these days I maybe see the...

Regardless of where you stand on the Flowerhorn subject you need to check the same guys no filter no co2 tank. Amazing tank with amazing camera work. I could watch it all night.

Marginally better than my LFS who used to leave them in the bags they came in [emoji45] Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

"I think if rubber bones gave him the opportunity to play out natural behaviours without causing harm then it would be a brilliant idea" From what I've seen so far they also like to get their teeth into things as well so it will give them something practice on instead of their owners fingers...

Its certainly opened up a lot of questions about the hobby. I watched a video the other week about a respected fish keeper and in his fish room he had a row of betta tanks with no decoration probably for ease of maintenance and cleanliness. Once a day he exercised the fish by pulling out the...

What an amazing cat! there's a zoo round where I live, at a certain time of day which was the highlight they would put a side of beef at the top of a telegraph pole and release the Sumatran tigers which had to climb the pole to get the food, stopped them becoming lazy feeders and made them work...

Checked the comments @zozo as in this forum lot of mixed feelings and i don't think this is Foo's final destination. However while following links I came across the King of DIY and Frank. I think he can explain things far better than I could so if you have the time watch it all. I think I might...

Never thought of that actually, I'll check them out. I do know at some point earlier on in keeping this fish that it had smashed its head off something and had a bit of a war wound which had cleared up which would go some way to explaining the lack of hardscape.

Yeah I tagged him in earlier in the post to get his side then regretted it thinking he was going to get tore a new one by the purists. Not sure if he still hangs out here or just popped in when we were discussing his non co2 soil tank. Depending on his settings he may have got an email saying...

Here's my rabbit, unfortunately he died two weeks ago at the grand old age of 10ish, not sure of exact age as I don't know how old he was when I got him but I had him ten years. Died in the best way possible lying in the sun in the garden over the bank holiday week. Just noticed he hadn't moved...

Yeah, they discovered that rabbits breed so fast because the mother has very little to do with them other than feed milk now and again which enables the mother to spend more time grazing than bringing up young. People used to laugh at me when I said my rabbit had a toilet :D Seems that's how it...

The reason I ended up with the Rabbit was because my brother in law bought two with an interval and they fought all the time. I looked into getting another but what it would have required was a bit of a PITA, two separate hutches and gradually introducing them to each other over a period of time...

The problem with this being the offspring are worthless as an end product, same goes for race horses, greyhounds, trail dogs and these fish apparently. Less than 5% of them are worth selling and most females are useless and probably infertile. The KC club already know in breeding causes health...

I have to admit I wish I hadn't posted this. There's a lot of debate on whether or not (quite heated at times) and I didn't realise what the fish was until afterwards. I just assumed it was some kind of large Cichlid that I've never heard of because those type of fish don't interest me. However...

I would say it depends how bright the light is out side the tank. You tend to get more reflection when the outside room is dark. My fish don't seem to notice me as much in the evening when house lights are off. The fish can clearly see outside of the tank rather than itself as its chasing about...

A self obsessed fish constantly checking itself out in the mirror. It should be on love island.The fish is probably more intelligent though. [emoji3] Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

Lot of debate as well over whether these hybrid fish are ethical and a risk if released into the environment but the fish seems healthy and happy. Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

I was thinking that, there was a rock in there earlier on that seems to have been taken out, don't know if the fish had injured itself on it or not. Seems to be getting a lot of it interaction and stimulus from the owner who treats it like a pet. The owner is a member in this forum and I've see...

What a great relationship going on here. Comical to watch, reminds me of my Discus days when they would take bloodworm out of my fingers and swim in between them for a little stroke. Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

I think shrimp are mainly affected by copper based medications. Shame about the fish, I find neons are really bad quality in the UK, in fact I won't buy them any more from any supplier. Every single time I've tried them in the past it usually starts with one neon and one by one they all succumb...

Interesting, its not a soil tank just a low tech with cat litter substrate. I suppose I can only keep an eye on the situation and hope if I have damaged the fauna in the substrate over time it will come back to normal.

Hmm interesting, I don't think co2 is an issue. I hardly use any in this tank, previously they were in a high co2 tank. Maybe just one of them things, I've started putting some food in to coincide with the point that they chirp up a bit but before they were constantly sifting about through the...

No mate just on / off with a timer. Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

Can you brain damage fish? I'll put some meat on the bones, had a heater failure, well actually was human error and my tank plummeted to 10 deg. My Sterbai were all on the bottom dead as far as I can see. Thinking I had nothing to lose I got the tank warmed back up and lo and behold they all...

I wonder, as these fish seem to graze pretty much non stop with only small stomachs and limited nutritional value to the stuff they eat whether it doesn't take very long without access to food for them to take a turn for the worst. They've been in transport for some time no doubt starving and...

Yeah I would agree with that, when I watch mine they pay little attention to commercial food. They spend most of their time on anything that's decomposing matter so I would suggest its the bacteria on decomposing matter they are after. They appear to hang on the glass walls but more resting than...

I watched this on youtube and will get round to making some one day. I use a bbq skewer to put my cucumber on and for some reason the ottos love rasping up and down it even when the cucumber has gone so maybe worth a try.

I've been finding my ottos appear to be livelier without co2, same for my corys. Also could be oxygen related as the tank they're in now is air driven. I can't honestly say they shoal though as such. They will all hang about in the same area but if a couple wander off and do their own thing they...

Just reminded me to check my filters when cleaning.

GBR would be good sellers purely because the one's out the fish store are generally rubbish. Any you get need medicated right from the off IMO.

You know what I think, there are shop stalwarts with made up names and if they have a name people will buy them. If they haven't heard of it they won't. Amount of people I talk to at work who tell me which I fish they have or are going to get and when I say I've never heard of them I always get...

Know the feeling mate, chances are if you have a lot of them someone is going to end up with them who shouldn't. Many, many times I have given fish away to people then asked a couple of week later how they're doing and they simply said "oh it died that, I ended up getting something else" in such...

I often wonder what happens to all the "decorative fish" Its one of the reasons I'm not a habitual scaper. I don't have multiple tanks usually 2 at the most and one is usually mid sized and a cube or similar. Round my way the LFS just won't take any in at all. even if they know you run a tight...

No problem ;)

I was replying to @roadmaster Lindy regarding keeping dwarfs. I find it doesn't really matter the size of the fish they still seem to defend a similar sized territory. :)

In that size tank I would still only recommend 1 pair or 1 male and harem of female of dwarf cichlids depending on the species. General rule of thumb I use is 1m2 per pair. They won't fight to the death but when you have two pair constantly fratching its not pleasant to watch and all your other...

Wow that's some mixed bag. Regardless of the water parameters or how clean you keep the tank nearly all the fish in there a territorial and will at some point want their own space. I have one pair of Blue Rams in 100ltrs which depending on the mood of the male is either perfect harmony or a war...

I bet there's something to eat in them floater roots for small fry Lindy, maybe rotifers or something. I recently got a night lamp which I leave on for about a hour after main lights off just to see what activity goes on. My ottos and Amano love digging about in there which they don't usually do...

Yeah I added a pinch of yeast on this one with it being my first but as you say I'll just use the yeast that comes in with some worms on the next one. Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

While we're on the subject, I harvest mine with an ice lolly stick and just scrape it off and straight in the tank. Worries me about the amount of yeast in the water column, can it cause problems?

Ahh OK, thanks for the tip. It's only 6 days old this one. Been saving Chinese food tubs so I might as well get another one going in case anything happens to this one. Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

Mine are all up the sides and on the lid. Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk

How you doing this? I did the porridge oats and yeast version and it isn't that bad just the smell of yeast when you open the lid which isn't the worst smell in the world. My understanding is when it smells vinegary it's time to start a new culture. The only issue I have is they are so small...

So I tried microworms using porridge oats and a starter culture off well know auction site. Seems to be successful and had my first harvest today. I knew they were going to be small but didn't realise that small. I could actually see the worms swimming right in front of ember tetras faces and...

Congrats :cigar: Have you thought of names for them yet? :D

I was going to start a new thread about this to help cure the obsessive but I might as well put it here... Lots of posts about going away and what to do regarding ferts and fauna but IME we all obsess too much. I've recently been through a "conscious uncoupling" for the want of a better...

Male was sitting on about 20 or so wrigglers yesterday which are preparing to swim. He keeps catching them and spitting them back on the stone taking it in turns to chase nearby fish away. Tried feeding some medicated food last night, used frozen brine shrimp, flakes, prima and even done half...

Damn never thought of treating the food. I just gave them a little pinch to see what happened. They look like they have stashed the wrigglers around the back of the stone from the flat piece at the front, going by how defensive they are I think there must be some still about. Can't really get...

Final thought, is there any problems using Prime at the same time? Word on the street is that it's very potent stuff at removing nasties. Is there any chance it could react with the wormer? I don't have any other dechlorinator right now but I could get some tomorrow. Sent from my STH100-2...

So here's the dilemma, never a dull moment in this tank. Got home and found I have wrigglers which I've never got to that stage before unless it was the pair moving them to a better place. I have to ask the question is this treatment safe for fry? Thing is there's high probability that these fry...