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  • Users: idris
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  1. idris

    The ethics of Otocinclus

    What twisted sci-fi freak named that product? 🥺 (@Corbie Apologies for the OT comment.)
  2. idris

    The ethics of Otocinclus

    I've always found Ottos to be quite robust. On one occasion I had a tank of 30+ fish die in a matter of days, and the tank then sat derelict for maybe a year, but several Ottos (and Amanos) survived. And in 10yrs I've never known them to be remotely shy.
  3. idris

    Favourite fish

    Aphyosemion Striatum ... more easily pronounced as Stripey Killifish ... for their colours. Black Kuhlis or Ottos for their character.
  4. idris

    Plec problem

    At least 6 months ago I rehomed a plec for neighbour, I never got round to identifying it before I never saw it again in my tank, and assumed it hadn't survived the move. It was about 4yrs onld and 3" long. Today I'm sure I spotted it in a cavity in a lage piece of bogwood. but there may be a...
  5. idris

    Fish from Pets At Home

    I agree entirely on the ethics of big chain vs local. (For those with an interest in profane, post-perestroika, anarco-punk, click here. For all others, click here.) Everything I saw looked perfectly healthy, and there was a good range of fish - maybe 30 speciaes - albeit nothing exotic. I...
  6. idris

    Fish from Pets At Home

    Does anyone have particularly good or bad experience of fish from Pets At Home? I only ask because I went in to kill 5min today and their fish prices were surprisingly low (for relatively common species).
  7. idris

    LFS pricing and stock trends

    Lots of discussion about price. But going back to where this started ... Any trends relating to the availability of wild / exotic / run-of-the-mill species?
  8. idris

    LFS pricing and stock trends

    Maidenhead? Who said Maidenhead? I certainly didn't mention them. Nope ... definitely didn't mention Maidenhead.
  9. idris

    LFS pricing and stock trends

    Ok .. but before anyone mentions The B Word, is it just this one LFS / chain, or is it across much of the hobby? eg The other LFS I visit, just a 5min drive away,seems to have kept it's prices lower. (Maybe they just use UK breeders )
  10. idris

    LFS pricing and stock trends

    I think inflation has been around 3% for the last coupl of years. Prices seem to have fone up by 20%-30%. Wild species availbale have gone from two or three to 20+.. Not that I'm suggesting either factors are to be ignored.
  11. idris

    LFS pricing and stock trends

    In the last 18months, one of LFSs I've visited most consistently over the last 5-10yrs seems to have moved steadily cowards selling more "exotic" or "wild" fish varieties, and simultaneously the costs of even more common fish has increased. Has anyone else noticed similar trends?
  12. idris

    Live food

    i picked up some live Copepods and Blood Worms from my LFS today. (Never bothered with live food before.) Having got them home it occurred to me I didn't know if I needed to "clean" them before putting them in the tank. The bags have about 100-200ml of water in them. I've now read that...
  13. idris

    Cichlids with other fish

    I've always thought of keeping Cichlids as a separate branch of fish keeping - you pick cold water, marine, fresh water tropical or Cichlids, and that's what you stock a tank with. (Obviously Cichlids are a sub devision of fresh water tropical a, but you get my point.) From memory, Cichlids are...
  14. idris

    Hatching and rearing Killis

    I managed to culture some green water before, but I only did it short term. I'll do some more research on Vinegar Eels.
  15. idris

    Hatching and rearing Killis

    I tried raising Killifish (Aphyosemion) a couple of years ago and having seen adults at extortionate prices at my LFS, would like to try again. My memory is that the biggest PITA was raising / harvesting singled cell critters and then a Brine Shrimp / Naulpli. I know I can buy bags (I guess...
  16. idris

    Transfering young Killis to community tank

    They're Aphyosemion Striatum and I got them for their "gaudy" colours. I've had adult Aphyosemion before and the Gouramis didn't seem to be a problem. I hadn't considered their infrequent feeding in the wild, but that's good news considering my lax fishkeeping style.:( (I know they jump. I've...
  17. idris

    Transfering young Killis to community tank

    I've been giving them some crumbled up flake occasionally but 90% has been brine shrimp.
  18. idris

    Transfering young Killis to community tank

    I have about a dozen young Killis (6 months old) that I've raised in a 25L tank and it's time to move them to my 250L community tank. The only fish that are likely to be a threat to them are a pair of Dwarf Gouramis, and as they don't hassle my Rasboras or the smaller of my Neons, and the...
  19. idris

    Temperature

    I take your point entirely about temp variation. And I hasn't thought of it in terms of temp vs filtration. Though surely the difference with rivers/lakes/sea is that most of us do run tanks at constant temps?
  20. idris

    Temperature

    I've always run my tank at 26c. For a long time I've hardly seen my Ottos at all and my Amanos only occasionally. Last week I blacked out the tank for 5 days (to tackle algae) cleaned my filter pipes (improving the flow) and at the same time accidentally left the heater off (resulting in the...
  21. idris

    Kuhlis and substrate

    @somethingfishy They don't stay still for very long, so I don't know how easy they'll be to photograph, but I'll see what I can do.
  22. idris

    Kuhlis and substrate

    Just a quick updaye on this. I've had 6 Black Kuhlis for a couple of weeks now. They seem happy with the Adakama, and are actually quite active. I liked the look of them as they seemed more active than regular Kuhlis in the shop, and whilst they're not as pretty, the Blacks are full of...
  23. idris

    Kuhlis and substrate

    I know Kuhli Loaches like sand to dig in, but does anyone have any experience of them with Adakama?
  24. idris

    Salt dip concentration

    What is the normal concentration for a quick salt bath for treating parasites? I'm expecting about 2g of aquarium salt per litre and having the fish in it for only about 2 min. Does that sound about right?
  25. idris

    Preventing another stock implosion.

    Water quality is possible. But last time (good memory Darrel!) water changes seemed not to help. This time the deaths have actualy been when I've been about a week after water changes. This strikes me as significant, and to my uneducated mind points to desease brought in by new fish rather than...
  26. idris

    Preventing another stock implosion.

    I've read mess aren't so good with a well planted tank. And is the Esha safe with shrimps?
  27. idris

    Preventing another stock implosion.

    A few weeks before Xmas I got 3 Female Dwarf Gouramis from Chiltern Aquatics. They lasted about a month and then died within a week of each other. I replaced them from the same LFS about 2 weeks ago and the first of these died within a week. The rest have since followed. I spoke to the LFS and...
  28. idris

    Harrassed to death. Really?

    I've had 3 male Dwarf Red Gouramis for several months. Although I was suprised, I was originally told they'd be fine without females. This turned out to be bobbins as they're been quite agressive towards eachother. 6 or 8 weeks ago I bought 3 females. They lasted about 3 or 4 weeks and then all...
  29. idris

    Nesting Gouramis - little b*****ds.

    Thanks Darrel. I like the idea of moss on a cork. I've got Taiwan and Round Pelia - the Gouramis aren't using any of that but would they work as well as Java?
  30. idris

    Nesting Gouramis - little b*****ds.

    I realise it's just normal behaviour, and that's precicely why I added the females - so they would be in a more normal social group and behave more normally, less agressively. And I'm certainly not going to begrudge the randy little f****rs getting jiggy. Far from it. I'll be more than happy for...
  31. idris

    Nesting Gouramis - little b*****ds.

    Just got some female Dward Gouramis to stop my males from being so aggressive towards each other. What's the first thing the alpha male does? Start pulling up my newly planted Tennullus to build a b****y nest. It hadn't been in the tank 48hrs. Little b*****d. I assume there's no way to stop...
  32. idris

    New fish at LFS - settling in time.

    I've not tried the bottle trap yet. I'm waiting for the last of my new plants to arrive first. Hopefully tomorrow, then I'll try to catch them.
  33. idris

    New fish at LFS - settling in time.

    It wasn't so much a question about quarantining them, but rather the stress the fish would be subject to fro putting them through two changes of environment in a very short period of time. (I was just struggling with how to explain my concerns.)
  34. idris

    New fish at LFS - settling in time.

    I'm hoping a NSLFS (that's a Not So Local Fish Shop) is getting in some Dwarf Gouramis tomorrow. Is it worse to get fish from a LFS the same day as they arrive, or is it good practice for them to settle in to the LFS for a couple of days and then stress them all over again moving to my tank...
  35. idris

    Desperately seeking Gouramis in Herts

    Thanks Morgan. I've spoken to 4 MAs so far but I've not got as far afield as Iver yet. I'll give them a call.
  36. idris

    Desperately seeking Gouramis in Herts

    I'm after some female Dwarf Red Gouramis to calm down my 3 males, which are quite aggressive. Other than one place that has some less than half the size of my males (which I don't think will help) none of my LFSs have any, and a couple don't even bother with females at all. Can anyone help?
  37. idris

    Otos - 30L Suitable??

    Makes sense. When I do see mine during the day, they're almost always sitting on my Valis near the intake.
  38. idris

    Otos - 30L Suitable??

    A related question: I have / had 6 Otos. But in the last few months I've rarely seen more than 3 at a time. They have plenty of places to hide wih no chance of me seeing them, but I've had a spate of fish deaths recently, so I don't if I've lost any. Is blanced cucumber a good way of gettting...
  39. idris

    Diagnosing fish death

    Interesting ... ish. I've spoken to one of Veolia's water quality team at length on a couple of occasions over the lasr 48hrs and he was very helpful (and not at all defensive or evasive as I expect from companies these days so I'm inclined to take what he said in good faith). In that perios he...
  40. idris

    Diagnosing fish death

    A VERY interesting development this evening. I just made myself a cup of tea and noticed it tasted odd. Not a chlorine taste, and one I can't describe. So I sniffed the water still in the kettle and it smelt the same. We have a kitchen tap with built in drinking water filter (the tank is filled...
  41. idris

    Diagnosing fish death

    They do. :thumbup: It doesn't. :thumbdown: We may never know, but it'll take a lot more than this to make me give up. :) Thanks for the help anyway. Any thoughts on why it's just killed one species. (The dominant / strongest male is currently the last one swimming.) My guess is that more...
  42. idris

    Diagnosing fish death

    Thanks Darrel. I'm aware of the limits of what the LFS can test for, and AFAIK their comments on Chloramine were not the result of a test, but rather local knowledge. Very interesting info about Luton water though, as it is contradictory to what Veolia told me. And we live just south of Luton...
  43. idris

    Diagnosing fish death

    And then there was one :(
  44. idris

    Light: rest vs oxygen

    I'd rather deal with algae and kill plants than kill fish. (Did I just hear aomeone shout "Herassy"? ;) )
  45. idris

    Aggressive Neons

    In the last couple of days I've increased the temp in my tank to 26-27c. I'm not surprised to see my Neons a bit more active (along with some of the other fish) but there have been some definite signs of aggression ... which I've never seen in Neons. There are possible other health issues in...
  46. idris

    Light: rest vs oxygen

    (Apologies for a spate of related questions but my current fish problems are raising different issues which I think merit separate posts.) I've lost 4 fish over 3 nights. dw1305 suggested the nocturnal aspect suggests oxygen problems. I've added an air stone but one fish died after that. On...
  47. idris

    Corpses

    I'm pretty sure there's at least one dead fish in my tank. But without dismantling half the tank I'm pretty sure I'll never find it. Other fish have died but with no visible causes. How bad is it to leave a corpse in a tank?
  48. idris

    Diagnosing fish death

    Another Rainbow down over night. Some of the Neons are very flicky. If Ottos or Amanos have died, odds are I wouldn't find them. Had the water tested at LFS (MA) and they say he water is fine, and confirmed that chloramine is not a consideration. Their only suggestion is that I've been running...
  49. idris

    Diagnosing fish death

    I've just spoken to Veolia (our water supplier) and have been told (indirectly) by their water quality team that they don't use chloramine in our area at all. I've now spotted one of my Neons occasionally rubbing aginst leaves. And it's possible one of my Kilis may be slightly clamped. I'm in...
  50. idris

    Temp, salt and oxygen (Urgent-ish)

    Having lost 3 Dwarf Rainbows in 2 days I've been reading up on medicating. One of the rmaining Rainbows seems to be breathing heavily but is active enough most of the time. I'm reluctant to use proprietary medications so I'm leaning towards putting an air stone in, increasing the temp by a...
  51. idris

    Diagnosing fish death

    :( Another one down over night. (A female.) If it is an O2 deficiency, would it be any use to put an air stone in? I don't know if it's related but I've spotted a small bit of damage to a gill plate on one of the Dwarf Gouramis. Though this could be related to bullying by one of the others.
  52. idris

    Diagnosing fish death

    Correct, there is no added CO2. I'm not aware of the water board doing anything locally. I dechlorinate all water going into the tank, but I guess if there are unusually high levels I may not be adding sufficient dechlorinator. I'd say biomass is moderate and although flow distribution needs...
  53. idris

    Diagnosing fish death

    Over night I've lost 2 Dwarf Blue Rainbows. I know dwarf varieties are usully weaker, and if it was just one I wouldn't worry, but as I lost two together it seems logical to think they're connected. They've been in the tank for several moths and both were males. Aside from the dead fish having...
  54. idris

    Rainbows slow to settle in.

    Thanks. Pretty much what I was planning. I've read about "Dwarf Gourami Desease" being present in pretty much all Dwarf Gouramis. I hadn't seen anything similar about Rainbows, so it's good to hear its not a certainty.
  55. idris

    Rainbows slow to settle in.

    Thanks. I avoided Dwarf Gouramis for precisely that reason. :roll: Are there any such long term concerns with Dwarf Rainbows?
  56. idris

    Rainbows slow to settle in.

    I got 6 Dwarf Blue Rainbows 2 days ago and they're being quite slow to settle in. They hid as soon as they went into the tank and gave hardly broken cover since. When they do, they scurry away at the least movement outside he tank. As a result they're pretty much missing out on food as it...
  57. idris

    Enough algae?

    Thanks guys. Between the shrimp and catfish they've cleared all the diatoms iabutut a week (and there were a lot of diatoms) but still seem to be grazing away on wood, substrate, leaves and glass, though nothing I can see. Having done some reading I put about 1/2" of broccoli stalk in the...
  58. idris

    Enough algae?

    Working on the basis that Amano Shrimp and Otos predominantly algae feeders : How do you know when you've got enough algae to feed Amano Shrimp and Otos? ... or ... How do you know when your Amano Shrimp and Otos aren't getting enough food from the algae in your tank?
  59. idris

    First fauna

    Thanks Spyder. Ammonia and nitrite levels are zero so I'm not concerned about that initially. And I've been adding old flake as an ammonia source with no apparent ammonia or nitrite spikes. My concern is whether it would be ok to add eg 6 Otos, 10 Amanos and 4 snails on the same day, or whether...
  60. idris

    First fauna

    My initial plans for an algae crew in my 250l tank are Ottos, Amano Shrimps and Assassin Snails, with other fish TBC to follow. 1) What would be good numbers for the respective species to start with? (These will not be the stars of the tank in terms of quantity, but rather just to keep the...
  61. idris

    Problems finding Ottos - insider knowledge?

    Thanks. Good to know Ceg. Sorted! ;)
  62. idris

    Problems finding Ottos - insider knowledge?

    FWIW After a bit of phoning round I''ve found somewhere with some in stock. Quite a few stores that either can't get them or don't want to though.
  63. idris

    Problems finding Ottos - insider knowledge?

    I have spoken to a couple of local LFS (including a VERY large MA) and the concensus sugests that Ottos are in short supply at the moment – no one has any and I've been told they're on order but there are problems getting the from South America just now. Does anyone have any insider / trade...
  64. idris

    Bottom dwellers, carpets & a deep tank

    Thanks for the input. (I thought this looked like a good forum!) Unfortunately it looks like the Grand Plan may need some adjusting (some of my ambitions are truely mad!) and I''m going to have to do a lot more research. Anyway, in no particular order ... The tank is the size it is because...
  65. idris

    Bottom dwellers, carpets & a deep tank

    RudeDogg1 What wattage / wave length lighting do you have? Other than Java Moss (which I'm concerned may be too fast growing) are there any other good carpet plants for a deep tank. And when you say sand would be good for Kuhlis, good to discourage them digging or good for them to dig in? I'm...
  66. idris

    Bottom dwellers, carpets & a deep tank

    Pardon my ignorance ... what is HC? My guess is Hemianthus callitrichoides? Are Bristle Nose Plecs the same as Bristle Nose Catfish? I've seen plastic tubes and babboo used for Kuhlis to hide in in LFS tanks. Presumably they'll burrow even if you provide something like this? And are there any...
  67. idris

    Bottom dwellers, carpets & a deep tank

    Firstly, hi to everyone on the forum. My first thread, so be gentle ;) I've got a 275L tank which will be getting filled fairly soon, but I want to have a plan before I start. It's 3'6" wide, 2'6" tall, and 12" from back to front. As it's relatively tall (and I don't initially want to go for...
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