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Mmmmm... Apistos. Where abouts are you based apisto_uk2? I have triple red cacs, and some Inca50 from Peter (nice to see you here Peter :) ) May well be interested, if I can persuade SWMBO that a fifth tank is necessary. :lol: Ian.

I love it when they do that. My Balas do it too, and it drives the GF nuts. :rofl:

I haven't experienced that behaviour with mine, but my female does sometimes sit with her head and mouth half out of the water. Seems to quite enjoy it as well. I wouldn't know if it was a problem though. Try planetcatfish, lots of good info on there. Ian.

Olive and GrullaQuarters, you are both spot on. The male has bristles, the female doesn't. (although the female may sometimes appear to have very small bristles). As far as breeding them goes, I can't stop mine. I don't do anything, and my water parameters are dreadful for breeding them. Very...

Apistogramma stay small, but have varying levels of aggression depending on the sub species or genus or whatever it is. If I am not mistaken though, all cichlids will get agressive if they are spwning, or defending young. Ian.

:crazy: Nothing. Little buggers will rip the fins to shreds on any fish not too much bigger than they are. And keeping them in groups won't help either. Mine have been taking it in bloody turns to harrass my poor little albino tiger barb. When one gets bored / tired another starts. He's...

CFC is absolutely right. I'v been unintentionally breeding them for a couple of years now, and 'daddy sticky' really does protect the young fiercley. Keep an eye on things afterwards though, because the parental care is very hard on the male, and if you find he does three in a row, it might be...

Hmm, I'm on my fourth Juwel tank, and the only problem I have had is when the light unit on my Rio 180 filled with water and shorted it out. My LFS replaced it straight away. Other than that, I have no problem. As for the filters being a nitrate factory, I haven't found that to be true either...

I think you mean "happier" and "stopped". :P

I think pretty much the only cichlids you are going to get in a ten gallon, are a pair of Apistogramma, and even that might be a bit of a squeeze. However, I stand to be corrected. :) Ian.

I've had that happen as well. After some investigation, I believe it is where soft parts of the wood are rotting. As far as I am aware, it doesn't do any harm, but I took it out of my tank, and haven't got around to doing anything with it yet. Plan to boil it for a couple of hours and then try...

I bought one in a sale, 'cheap' for £20 at a lfs, before discovering that Petsmart have them at about £18 permanently! Ian.

Yeah, 0.5ppm nitrites is a bad level in an established tank. It should be running at 0. I would hazard a guess that the nitrire level is killing your fish. Plenty water changes, for a while I think. Is there anywhere you can beg, steal or borrow some existing filter media from? Ian.

MV, For the benefit of your fish, I would suggest that you do daily water tests. If anything shows up, just do a 50% water change to thin out the polution, and I think you should be fine. You may have a few too many fish to start with, but simply monitoring your quality will let you know what's...

While bristlenoses are excellent at clearing algae, it would out grow a 10 gallon fairly rapidly. I have two otos in my apisto tank, and they are idle gits. I have to clean the algae off the glass myself. Don't know why I bother with them really. -_- Ian.

I use a dechlorinator that makes the water blue. Looks very unnatural if you ask me. Fortunately unless I am setting up a new tank iit doesn't stick around for long. Ian. ps, if you want I can find out the name of it. Still Ian.

Complicated area this so I'll point you to this link...... http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/chemistry.html Altering your water chmeistry in any way, has all sorts of knock on effects, and should always be done with care. Cheers. Ian.

Hi STB. Silver Sharks are often also known as Bala sharks. I've been keeping them for a few years now, and whilst I'm no expert, I have learnt a lot. The short answer to you question is that no, they are not really that easy to keep. The long answer starts here. The first problem with them is...

Hi Olive. Mine does this from time to time as well, usually when I get close up to the tank to have a look at him, or when one of the other larger fish gets too close. Personally I don't think it's anything to worry about. I believe it's a defense mechanism to make them difficult for larger...

In my experience, it's not very easy to get pure ammonia in the uk any more. When I were a lad :P my mum used to use it for cleaning windows I think. Ian.

Hi Sanj. I know Coventry well. I'm from Hinckley Originaly. :) The not my fault comment was aimed at anyone reading it, not specificaly you. :P Right, firstly, I didn't bother to aerate the water my filter media was in. I don't aerate my tank, so I didn't see the need. The towels ond the...

Hi Sanj. Warning, long dull post comming up. I went from a 300 to 400 just three weeks ago, and did exactly the same as you. Even put the 400 where the 300 was. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS JUST THE WAY I DID IT. I AM NOT SUGGESTING THIS IS THE CORRECT WAY. IF YOU LOSE FISH, IT IS NOT MY FAULT...

Yeah, sorry if I panicked anyone :unsure: I set my Apisto tank up that way as well. I won't use existing substrate, but instead I will put a pot or piece of bogwood from the comminuity. Total stocking will be something like 4 dithers, 3 rams, and 3 otos. Each group being a week or so apart...

Guys, Relax.... B) I've been doing this long enough to know about cycling, and I haven't lost a fish to NTS yet. (touch wood). I'm not planning on filling it with 20 fish tomorrow morning :P I recently moved everyone to a new larger tank, took substrate, and filter media into the new...

I found an old forgotten tank in my shed this afternoon. :D After a good cleanup session, I now have a 12 (uk) gallon tank for some new fish. So I was thinking about some Rams. Drop some substrate in, some filter material from my community, and I could have it up, running and populated by...

My two main tanks are in my living room, one next to the sofa, and the other across the room. There is also a fry tank in my office/spare room, and I just rescued another tank from my shed, so I have to find somewhere for it. Ian.

There is no quick fix for this. The first thing to do would be a 50% water change. Next get some meds. IIRC finrot is a bacterial poblem usually cased by water quality problems. What are your amonia/nitrite readings? When I was new to keeping and had goldfish, I had a very nasty outbreak of...

Hi Sanj. I don't know how they arrive at their calculations. Even with the corner cut off for the filter, it would be more than 400 litres, and they don't know how much substrate and decor someone is going to put in. Maybe it's a German thing. unfortunately 4 foot isn't going to be large...

I expect that may have something to do with it, but much more important is simply space. Most fish will grow to accomodate the space they inhabit. Unfortunately this only applies to the outside of the fish, not the insides. So a small space containing a fish that should get big, results in much...

Mike777, There is not much good information available really. If you do a google search for Bala Shark, you'll get plenty of sites with very little information, but have a sort through, and you'll find some good info. Here's a few to get you started.... http://www.wheelpost.com/Jansarticle.html...

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I have just found two mayfly larvae in my Apisto tank. I have no idea how they could of got in there, and I don't know i I should be having a good hard look for anymore, in case they are harmful. I have added nothing new to the tank...

Ich usually looks like your fish has been salted. Little white grains on it's body. If it's a bit fuzzy, then that sounds more like some kind of fungal infection. A bit like little tiny blobs of cotton wool? I've never had to treat that, so someone else will have to advise what to do.

I feed mine lettuce all the time. All I do is wash it, then put it in the tank using a lettuce clip. I also feed them cucumber, and algae wafers. Ian.

Not entirley sure, but I can't see a ph of 6 being a problem. The Tetras will certainly enjoy it. I'd be more worried about the fact that my PH is moving, as stability is more important than outright value. Are you using CO2? Have you chanegd anything in the tank lately? Test the water from...

Clowns and ICH. I'm sure they do it on purpose. :crazy: I always use a half dose of Interpret and raise the temp to above 80 degrees. Catch it in time and he should be alright, and you should avoid an outbreak. Good luck. Ian.

Hmmm, I see how it helps get the water out, but the dechlorinator I use has to be added to the tap water before adding to the tank. I find getting the water back into the tank the hardest part. Ian.

You only need to worry about this if you are keeping fish which require soft water. Alkalinity is actually a measure of the hardness of the water, not it's PH. Usually it is refered to as kH, and is the buffering capacity of the water. ie it's ability to remain at a constant PH, and absorb...

I use a regular syphon and a bucket, to get water out. Then I keep refilling an old 5 litre mineral water bottle and walk to and from the kitchen until the tank is full again. Quite good exercise really..... :flex: :lol: Ian.

Sorry, but I disagree about keeping them singley. They are a shoaling fish in their natural habit, and do much better in groups. They are a social fish, and will establish hierarchies, and a total social structure when kept in groups. They will really show off their best behaviour under those...

Silver (or Bala) sharks should be kept in a group of at least 3, preferably 5 or more. And they will outgrow a 70 gallon fairly rapidly. Expect them to get to around 7 inches well within two years. After that they slow down a little but will get to be 12 inches or more eventually. Clowns...