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DW has several water butts all coming off his roof. I was using 2 when I had Crystal reds. Did nothing other than put the relevant amount of tap conditioner in it and then mixed 3:1 with some tap to reduce my heavy water down. Didn't do any filtering etc. Just used it.

So use the rainwater you said you had instead, throw in the usual water conditioner that deal with metal in case there are any metal pins or hooks in your roof setup and the remineralise that. Like DW said above, rain water is what he uses. It is what I used to use to cut 3 parts rain/1 part...

The water report for Something Fishy's area is very soft but quite puzzling (to me) on Ph. 28 parts per million (so his substrate or hardscape seems to be adding some on top of that) Clark 2º, French 3º, German 2º so it is very very soft water. The Ph though on the report fluctuates from 7.1ph...

how much do Whisby want for it though. lol. Not buying the 5 from pier. Their website isn't working payments wise and then they said they were collection only. I am also a bit wary of buying a group from 1 source as I would be concerned that they may be from the same bloodlines. However I...

Luke. Shhh. I'm making caves for L46s :) p.s. Northrop are ordering the Zebra Otos for me.

eek...bought a heater this afternoon :D

Nah. More the colour than anything however sorely tempted by that group of 5 L46s for £400. lol. Pity I haven't got a tank setup that I could use for them. Althoug I could shove a few caves and a heater in the tank the pitbulls would've gone in.

Nope dont like that Tom. Not my kind of thing. I'm looking at black and whites and maybe some subtly coloured middle / upper fish (+ bright blue shrimp. lol)

They don't have the pitbulls :) Waiting for their next order of O Cocama because they only have 3 at the moment.

Pitbulls are on the banned list but I think some still get through. I suspect that these are tank bred ones??? That is if they have them. Will ring them up today. Zebra Otos overated.....blasphemy :) I like black and white contrasts against the green. I like normal Otos but the problem is...

nice one Bridgey_c. They do mail order :) Will ask them what the price is :) And they have the pitbulls too on their list :) http://www.northtrop.co.uk

Hello guys, just wondering if anyone had seen any Zebra Otos in any shops they've been in. Searching for some but so far only come across Waterzoo in Peterborough but they only have 1 in stock :) Other option would be somewhere that has Pitbull Plecos (Parotocinclus Jumbo LDA25) Would either...

I replied 4-10 because of the statement after it 'It happens' In reality I could possibly say 50-100.Since I setup my current scape in March 09 I have lost 10 rasbora Espei. From bad stock? Bad blood lines? In fighting? who knows. I have lost 5 adult Corys for unexplainable reasons. I have...

I'm doing my bit for publicity. lol As Ceg says water changes in a non planted tank are essential. In a high light, high maintenance CO2 tank they are not essential but we do them as part of the routine. They can get by without water changes too because of the plants but due to the higher...

Water changes and good water quality will be fine. Use Melafix if you wish. Not a problem at all. Fish shops tend to have mixed males and females in the same tank and a large quantity. always going to be a fair few nips at each other in that kind of proximity :) AC

They've both got some serious fin damage to their tails by the looks of it!!! Plenty of food for them and care :) AC

This is about the best list (and possibly one of the best fish sites) on the web. http://www.minifische.de/minifischeE.html If you are into really into very tiny fish then according to Tropical Fish Finder, Maidenhead @ peterborough have Red Ruby Rasboras in stock (8-9mm)- Paedocypris...

For fish like Corys it's the substrate that is the main problem. Because of their feeding habits they aggressively shove their mouths into the substrate 'sifting' for food. However I think normal stone ad rock is OK as long as it isn't glass. I never had problems with pitbull plecs and slate...

They tend to generalise suggestions that are true. Corys are silt sifters and therefore smaller grained substrates are best, the smoother the better. Sand is ideal for them and you will see them display their natural feeding behaviour sifting the sand through their gills. With small grain...

Another factor is that many people fill their open topped tanks up too high and the fish basically 'swim' out. I leave a good inch or more at the top of mine. usually about 2 inches and then fill it up to an inch for photos. However I have found 4 rock hard rasboras behind my tank since I got...

The operative word is 'had' rather than 'has' ;) I had a group 4 which were gassed by a faulty needle valve in March 2007 and then in Jun(ish) last year my second group were killed by my son 'dosing' washing up liquid into the tank :( All plecs have 'chamelon' habits and this is often confused...

Maybe I'm the only one who has kept Pitbulls in a planted tank? I know SmithRC on TFF has too. Here they seemed very interested in the plants........Not :lol: This one has stripped this tree of leaves!!!.........Oh thinking about it that is driftwood and never had leaves :lol: Now thats...

I was going to say the same. lol Mine never touched the plants. They went for the wood most of the time but cleaned rocks and scavanged the substrate too. lol AC

I would say 4+. They were fine with my plants but just like Corys they will uproot unrooted plants so best to give the plants a few weeks to root first. AC

I've just ordered some of this food. I got the: Astax crumb Grade 2 for the Cory fry. To replace first bites Astax crumb grade 8 for the Otos & Corys. To replace tetra ruby prima pellets Standard flake for the Rasboras. To replace tetra ruby flake. Will let you know how they like it :) AC

I just got 25 Rasbora Espei from them for £30 delivered. All alive on arrival and 5 days later still looking good :) Read loads of bad things about them r.e. delivering via the post but these came via courier so maybe they have changed their method of delivery :) Either way I am very happy AC

Pitbulls are everything eaters. They love wood best but in the process clear algae from the wood. They tend to do the same as Otos algaewise rasping the glass etc. with the added bonus of cleaning the substrate like Corys. Wood is their fave though £5 is an awesome price. Normally closer...

Smaller mature plecs like protein foods like bloodworm and will probably eat fry but they won't go after adult shrimp. Thats my experience with pitbulls which are even smaller when mature than zebras AC

Thats the excuse I am using :lol: AC

Buy a small clearseal tank one of the £15 12" ones as a nursery. small filter small heater. Then use it as a nursery just when needed (using water from your main tank to fill it) or an excuse for a small scape!!!! ;) AC

On the same theme this thread: http://www.barrreport.com/co2-aquatic-p ... tions.html AC

As per above. Just acclimatise them as you normally would. Mine go from low tech LFS tanks straight into high tec. AC

Corys often look bloated!!! Like Otos they are constantly scavaging and therefore get fat. Peas every now and again will help any constipation they may have. Othere than that I don't understand either EC is OK with or without sand. How thick is your layer? My Corys dig in the sand but not...

Saintly. Wait till you find the fishing trawl of cherrys each time!!! AC

There's no harm in buying mail order but good to research first. There are some superb on-line sellers out there of which Corys4u and Trimar I can highly recommend. there are however some dodgy outlets just as there are in the high street!! You take your chance either way. I personally would...

tri-mar were awesomely packed. 2ft square poly box within a cardboard box with 5 bags of water in (to keep heat up) All this for 1 bag with 4 Zebra Otos in which came to £36 inc shipping!!!! AC

I think I maybe just got a weak batch or they had been stressed too long in a plantless tank when I bought them. The shop manager did say they were reduced because noone had bought any in the 3 months they had been there!!! As per above post. they don't react to the CO2 much at all. The...

I have a suspicion that maybe some have died whilst their bodies remain hidden and then the cory may have died from feeding on one of the bodies. Maybe is a disease or bacterial infection or something but never had fish just die on me before. AC

Don't know what it is with these Zebra micros. I originally bought 12 in August and found one after a month with a white tumor like growth just in front of its anus. A Cory died the very same day. Since that occurrence another one has had a tumour like growth in the same place and promptly...

Tetra Prima pellets and flake (bagged from a seller on ebay £6 for 3 big bags) King british catfish algae pellets (cos I bought them when I bought the tank in 2006) Frozen bloodworm (5 blister packs for a tenner from P@H) Mix of flake from Wilko (£2 for a flowerpot sized tub. I mix the Tetra...

it will still load up from tf4u webstie. That was where I first saw them for £3.50 or something. Then I found some in my local MA at £9 for 6 so I bought 12. Huge saving. AC

If you saw my "airline horror stories" thread you will know I am still stuck in Lisbon and therefore my father took delivery of and acclimitised the 6 black corys I had arranged for the day after my scheduled return. My sister in law who is in our house while we are away says that they all stay...

They are cute fish. Are these top dwellers or do they hide in the lower half like other micros seem to? AC

these were almost see through as were the galaxys when I saw them in Maidenhead. 2 days in my tank with plenty of cover and they were coloured up nicely. The males are the same colour as the pic in my journal but I have yet to get a decent actual photo. AC

Microrasbora erythromicron. This is called Burmese Zebra Striped microrasbora in Maidenhead Aquatics. Like most of the other ideas this fish doesnt shoal. After they are settled they tend to seperate into smaller groups 3 or 4. Then they chase each other within their little groups. If they...

They have to home and feed the fish until they are sold so I would guess thats about right. I would go on somewhere like TFF and offer them for sale there. someone always willing to collect for good fish. AC

I think that rules Killies and hatchets out then. I cut some large sections out at the back and side of my hood to allow me to lower/raise the lily pipe and feed in all the necessary hosing etc. Those pencilfish look cool but I would guess hard to find. I am now leaning towards the penguins...

I wouldnt trust myself to be able to do the eggs thing. shrimp hatcheries and all that. I was look at an auction for 2 pairs of live killis. in pink and yellow...I think Im losing my marbles. lol AC

Now you mention killifish I have had a quick look at several types. The more colourful ones of course. lol Good Idea AC

As per title I am now thinking of adding a small school of mid to top dwellers. Something like Zebra Danios but a little less common/normal. If Zebra size then I would get 6 or so. Another alternative is dropping the temp to 25ºC and getting 10 or so WCMM. Any other suggestions? Nothing...

I personally would keep the Queen. or trade him/her in for its value which would be £20+ at juvy stage. full adult at 6inches should be worth more. AC

On the display front, when I had Cardinals (pre washing up liquid) 5 or 6 of them (I assume males) would line up head to toe about an inch apart in front of the large Mopani and just "hang" there, meaning that they would be motionless. Was quite cool to watch as if they were all tied together...

Is that true? I wouldve thought that the fish wouldnt be as coloured up as desired if they had only been in the tank a few hours. AC

Is it no important to remember that most fish dont shoal like you envisage due to that being their safety mechanism as in safety in mubers? I have found that with smaller fish that are shoalers that after a while they dont really shoal unless they are startled or feel vulnerable. When first...

Should the WCMM not be in a tank closer to 22ºC? as they are colder water fish than the rest? No experieince with them but that was the main reason I never bought any. I have kept cichlids (Rams) with bottom dwellers like ED and there is no problem. They are largely ignored and at spawning...

from the pic it does look like damage to me on the back . the sort of damage that often occurs after a little battle. If several have it in the same place however I would treat. Does look like some fungus on the dorsal though unless its a trick of the camera As per above with a fungus...

you have to hope that the plec with spots is a bristlenose and that the 12 smaller fish are not small tetras (or similar size). The Angel will pick neons and cardinals off. The shark is in about its minimum size tank dependent on what it actually is. It could be a biggy though which...

Melafix and Pimafix are organic meds and will not deplete oxygen. They don't require 'removing' with carbon as they are biodegradable. Temp of 27ºC is not overly hot either. Are you running pressurised or DIY? Most of us have never run an airstone, and many of us have at some stage run CO2...

Be very careful with your Otos though. Don't assume that they can get all their food from your tank. They will only eat certain types of algae and then once that's run out you may find some casualties!!!!! Make sure you supplement their diet to avoid this. Andy

Big plecos are a no no really. They thrash about for fun and uproot things by accident. They can also use your plants as food. Smaller plecs like bristlnoses, pitbuls etc are OK as are Otos Fish under 4-5 inches basically. Andy

Angelfish are larger. They won't bully the smaller fish but when spawning will chase them away from their territory. Nothing to worry about and is normal behaviour to protect their eggs/fry. Its different with Angelfish because neons are their natural prey in the wild. Also being bigger they...

You should find loads of info on Apistos. Probably struggling because there are so many differnt types. They are a Dwarf Cichlid. Go onto Google, type Apisto and then click on images. You should be able to match them up then. You will also see how many different Apistos there are. Dwarf...

Cat amongst the piceons etc.. I heavily stock from the start!!!. Heavily planted of course and with a good filter. I do have mature media in though each time I redo the tank and seed the substrate with mulm. Andy

I used to have 6 zebra danios in with the black mollys and it was fascinating watching them pick the molly fry off. kinda like nature although someone always adds that those 2 fish are from different areas. lol Was intersting to watch the Danios behaviour though. Andy

Well there are only 8 cardinals and 3 pitbulls to defend against now. a month ago one of the cardinals died with a tumourous growth at the tail joint. had been growing slowly for a few months. Then 2 days ago came home to see one of the pitbulls belly up on the floor. Must've been old age I...

she bred again. same male. same result. she seems to get her fill and then spurn the male. wanting to go it alone. I think she ate them after a week or so. They were free swimming and then within 2 days all gone. I can't see it being the other fish because she is super aggressive to any...

Well she didn't let him help. Silly of her because I think they became too much for her to defend once they started swimming rather than shuffling on the bottom and they've all gone now. Quite hard for 1 fish to defend such small wrigglers from Tetras and other Rams etc. Better luck next time...

Some good news and some bad news. THE GOOD I was trying to snip a lotus stem quite close to where the female has been very territorial the past couple of days, near the stone she has claimed and she started attacking the scissors which meant my 'snip' timing had to be very good. Anyway after...

Ed - It seems to be the case here too. Although all the Ram advice says they don't need caves. I have 2 (of sorts) 1 Mopani and 1 slate and prior to adding the Juvys, the 2 adults were defending 1 each. The adults now seem to have left 'their caves' and are both hovering over 1 of the 2 flat...

An early update: 2 days after introducing the new male & female to the tank. The older female seems to have becomer very close to the older male and is almost fluorescent (as is the male) and her ovipositor has swolen nicely so I think its a case of introduce some competition and shes finally...

Whilst taking photos of my usual overprune I managed to get a couple of shots of the 'seniors' This is the adult male. You can also see the adult female on the left and the new female trying to get out of pic. This is the adult female and again you can see the new female trying to get out of...

lol. of course matey. I have been on the BRC club thread for ages in cichlid forums. Originally wanted blues when I got the first 2 but these were much cooler when I saw them and have awesome personality Andy

I already had a male and female ram but they weren't pairing up and the female was getting very stressed from all the unwanted advances from the male and I guess knowing males he was also getting a little frustrated. Therefore after some advice on cichlidforums I today decided to get another...

I have pitbull plecs and dwarf cichlids. They both require some bare substrate. The plecos sift the sand for leftovers and the Rams need substrate to dig their breeding pits. Therefore I leave some of the front open. andy

Sorry to be a pain but can you put up the actual name as listed on theie site? Mixed crumb seems to cover loads of different things, not to mention the grades on there. lol I'm interested in replacing Tetra Prima pellets. I get them quite cheap and the cardinals, Rams and Plecs absolutely...

Some shops will label commons as juvy or female bristlenoses as they know they can sell them easier (not that its not easy to sell the commons when small. lol) Others mislabel them. I got my Pitbulls from Pleco Aquatics as he is pretty local and drops things around on his way home so no heat...

If you buy a 'real' bristlesnose then it will get no more than 15cm. most will grow to about 12 max. I have Otocinclus (Otos) and Parotocinclus Jumbo (Pitbull plec LDA25) in my tank. Pitbull Plecs are 3 inches max when fully grown and are lovely fish. Both these species should be kept in...

To make 'melafake' dilute 1ml pure tea tree oil with 99ml distilled or dechlorinated water. Use 5ml per 10 gallons for all fish El Cheapo me. This is what I used to use but haven't had the need lately. The oil and water spereates so either get an emulsifier for carp fishing from your angling...

My 4