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Put the wafer in the tank a few minutes after lights out, they'll soon cotton on (one between the two of them will be plenty). It's a shame you don't have another LFS; any shop that sold dyed fish wouldn't get another penny of my money.

If you can make sure that Otos are eating in the shop tank, you'll be ok. They are VERY poor travellers and, after their journey to the UK, then on to the shop, they can take a while to start eating properly. If they look well fed and plump in the shop, you'll be ok. I've had my six for over...

What size is your tank?.

As you have a small tank, more regular water changes are probably the best preventative measure you can take against illness/disease. In a small amount of water, things can go very wrong very quickly. Weekly is definitely the way to go. That said, I personally wouldn't touch Guppies with a...

Can you get some used filter media from your LFS?. ANY amount will help - the bacteria multiply very quickly. As Corleone says, shrimp (or for that matter, any fish) are the last things to add to your tank at the moment.

But you're buying medications without knowing exactly what's wrong (and some of them may harm the filter bacteria). What were the EXACT test results?; 'fine' covers a lot of things. We need to go through a process of elimination before you start spending money. Best thing you can do for now is...

Not as many as there used to be, though; probably easier for fishkeepers to keep in touch via t'internet.

Shouldn't be a problem; bacteria reproduce very quickly. What fish do you have?. Some are more known to jump than others. I have an Arcadia Luminaire and have never used a cover, but I only keep Cardinals, Harlequin Rasbora, Rosy Tetras and Corys. If you're wary, you could try adding some...

Never been a fan of anything like skulls, pirate ships etc. I've seen some large ones in small-ish tanks; they do displace a lot of water.

If you really, really need a feeder try to get a mains operated one; if you're away and something happens to the power, you don't need a battery operated feeder carrying on dumping food in the tank when the filter may not be working. You say 2+ weeks, any idea how much longer than two weeks it...

Hatchets are notorious jumpers. You could try a covering of floating plants, but I fear it's in their genes to try to escape. I quite like them but I have an open-topped tank..............

IMO, people get FAR too worked up about algae in the tank; it's a natural by-product of light+water. As long as it's not over-running the tank I wouldn't worry. My tank gets 1-2 hours sunlight per day, but it's no big deal. If the sun was on it most of the day then you WOULD have a problem. Any...

I'd always buy a tank - that way you get a guarantee!. Doesn't cost so much, my Clearseal 4ft was around £45 and it came with a five year guarantee. Just make sure you get a cabinet made for the job - NOT an MFI special!.

IMO, I wouldn't risk Corys with that substrate. Trouble is, if you want real plants (assuming those you have are fake) you'll need a decent, small-ish substrate. Any large gravel will also trap bits of food; not so bad when it's around the base of any live plants, but anywhere else and it's not...

Not good. The only acceptable level for Ammonia is zero. It will - at the very least - permanently damage the fish's gills.

I think I should point out that as we're onto larger tanks, you should always make sure you have enough space to work safely in and around them (it's not always something that springs to mind when 'going large'). I know it's not a pleasant thought, but people HAVE been seriously injured and even...

I wouldn't keep Angels in a tank less than 16'' high, they grow very quickly; try to find out if the shop will take it back and get a credit note or a few more plants. The Angel will probably make a meal of the Neons. I'd take the plants out of the pots, too - there's nothing in there that will...

The only silly question is the one that isn't asked. Ask away.

Great that you're going for a 4ft tank, but don't give in to the temptation to fill it with fish. When you do upgrade, Otos really do best in groups of at least 5 or 6, many fish don't do well as 'loners'. Always ask here before buying any fish, as stocking levels are important, even in a large...

Hi A and welcome. The only thing I'd add to what you've already been told is to take your time. It really doesn't take much effort to get things right. Get it right at the start and you'll avoid problems later on. Also, don't think maintenance is going to take a lot of your time; once you've got...

Yes, that's what I thought. Strange that someone like Tropica don't point out in the instructions that daily dosing is better. Thanks all.

I think you could have phrased that a little better.

I'd go with Otos. The most important thing, though, is to have a good look at them in the shop. Otos don't travel very well, and after they arrive in this country they can take a while to start eating properly. IMO that's why people lose them early on - they buy Otos that haven't recovered from...

If it's any help, my lighting is an Arcadia Luminaire 2x40 watts (one light for fish, one for plants) over a 4ft 43(ish) gallon with around 40% planting. Is there any practical difference between dosing everything at once and dosing daily?. I'm sure my plants have improved since going daily.

Cheers Mr.B; daily it is.

Hi all, A couple of months ago I started using Tropica Plant Nutrition. At first I used the weekly dosing method as shown in the instructions, but after a while, I split it into a daily dose - I'm sure there's been an improvement; the green leaves look more vivid. I don't keep anything...

Trumpet snails I don't mind at all; they keep the substrate well turned and cleaned. If I found there were too many, I just held off feeding for a day or two, or just waited until ten minutes after lights out - they always seemed to congregate on the pieces of slate I have in the tank.

I've always thought of a well-planted tank (not full to brimming) as a very handy backup filter if you have any power cuts.

Yes: it's good to be overfiltered. No: not if you're spraying your fish around the tank. But there's a distinction to be made; you can have a well filtered tank running off an averagely sized cannister filter. Some can hold much more filter media that you'd think. My 4ft 40-odd gallon is...

I've not seen anyone comment about the Angel yet; if you have an 84l tank, it's highly unlikely to be suitable for one. Angels really need a tank that's at least 16'' high. If it were me, I'd have been back to that shop with all the fish demanding my money back. Oh, I'd have flogged the...

Exactly. I've had people at work (who've seen me on this site) thinking about starting a tank, but they always say something along the lines of ''It's so expensive, all that stuff you have to buy'' and I say ''What, a tank, cabinet, filter, heater and lights?''. ''Oh no, all that other stuff in...

If it's any help, I have an overtank Luminaire over my 4ft, 40-and-a-bit-gallons (2x40 watts) and haven't had any problems growing plants you'd find in most shops, even with floating plants that cut the light down a little. I dose alternate days with Tropica Plant Nutrition and EasyCarbo (a...

Any clues as to which shop?. I'm sure a few of us Leodians could probably guess. Would it be in Armley, by any chance?.

If it's collection only, you'll probably have to shave something off the price. People won't come to collect and pay almost what they'd pay in a shop.

When we had ours changed, it took around thirty minutes. It's not the long job it used to be.

Which kind of snails do you have, skimmy?. They're not always a bad thing.

Nothing to do with that; he was all but wiped out by a flood and a landslip several weeks ago as I posted at the time. A terrible shame, you don't get Andy's kind of service everywhere.

I've heard wildly varying opinions about Plants Alive. Such a shame that Greenline has gone.

This is what I keep telling people who think setting up costs an arm and a leg. Yes, if you buy everything the shop wants you to, you'll have a cupboard full of stuff you'll never use. Take your time at first, get it right and the only things you'll need to buy with any regularity are...

Dwarf Gourami are prone to a fatal Iridovirus. Once you're satisfied the tank conditions are ok, try some Honey Gourami.