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Have you been spraying anything near your tank that might have gotten in? Is your heater heating correctly? Just a couple of ideas.

The bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrite have grown enough to deal with what is being produced, but the bacteria that convert nitrIte to nitrAte are still growing. Just keep doing what you're doing.

The bacteria should be able to cope with any load of ammonia, as long as you're not silly with overstocking. While they should multiply to cope with it, they can only multiply as much as there is space for them on the filter media - there is a limit. Obviously more fish means more ammonia being...

Chlorine will gas off after 24 hours, so if you did run out of dechlorinator the best thing to do would be to leave the water to stand for 24 hours. While it may be possible to store water, I wouldn't like to put any bets on how long until it would be unsafe to use. I would bet that it isn't...

I personally wouldn't leave it very long, a few days at most. The chlorine in particular is what keeps the water from going stagnant, but that gasses off after not too long. Is there any reason you need to store it?

I agree with sadguppy. Many people do small water changes without even using dechlorinator, so I really wouldn't have thought you'd have a problem. The bacteria are much more resilient than we give them credit for.

I have the fish in a bucket or container of some sort, then drip water in, then as it fills up I just remove some every so often with a jug, though you could also have another line to siphon water out into an additional container. I realise this isn't an ideal situation, as the temperature can...

tbh, I wish there were more instances like this in a way. Fish are resilient little blighters sometimes, surviving long after the conditions turn bad, and people assume that because they're still alive, they must be okay.

Can I ask why? I'm in the process of converting to marine, and I've always been scared I'm making the wrong decision though I'm sure I'll love it when I get there.

I understand your point. From my point of view, I would have thought that by the time they get to you, any damage done by ammonia will already be done, and an extra hour (at most) won't really make a difference. I would never plop and drop a fish bought from an LFS, let alone a fish that may...

Thanks for clarifying Donya. I'm in the process of converting to marine so have lots of knowledge but no real experience to back it up at present. One of the advantages of acrylic rods is that they work by fixing together and there isn't really anything to come off. I intend to drill small holes...

I was told to use milliput to fix my live rock together, plus to drill holes for acrylic rods (look for generic acrylic rods on eBay, don't fall for the greatly inflated "reef rods") for extra stability. Having said that, my tank is much bigger and taller than yours, so you may be able to get...

Unfortunately you just can't tell some people. This sounds harsh, but there are times like this where I really wish fish would just die, so people would learn you can't keep them like that.

I would personally go for the shrimp, just because it has more to decompose and release ammonia. If you think you'll be cycled two weeks before you leave, then by that point your bacteria should be numerous enough to be processing ammonia and nitrite pretty fast. Given that, I would go for the...

Depending on the size of the crushed coral, you could put some netting over the end of the siphon. Holes big enough that the crud can still be sucked up, but too small for the crushed coral to get through.

I'm not disagreeing with the ammonia issue, but surely when you drip water in, you're massively diluting the ammonia until it's almost non-existent? I would have thought that the risk of shocking/massively stressing your fish by plopping and dropping was far greater than leaving them in the...

The bottom pic does look like a guppy, though the top one could be a platy or a molly. Someone more clued up on livebearers should confirm.

No, it shouldn't cause any problems. At the end of my cycle I was doing water changes every day to keep nitrite at readable levels, so it certainly doesn't hurt to do it once a week, as long as you're not ridding the bacteria of their food source.

Make sure you get them on eBay and not your LFS. I got five on eBay for less than the price of one from my LFS!

All looks good and is progressing well. The optimum temperature for the bacteria you're trying to culture is 29C I believe, and higher than that can cause problems so if I were you I'd leave it where it is. I'd carry on dosing up to 1ppm ammmonia every time it goes down to zero, though soon...

Both seem good then. Nothing there that might be causing algae to build up. Filters that come bundled with tanks do tend to be only just adequate, though I doubt replacing it is going to help with the algae.

I don't like having the forums for each species of fish in the same section as Tropical Discussion etc. It's too cluttered.

How much does your LFS sell water for by the litre? I've got a 155L tank, so a water change is a fair few litres that was going to cost me at least £10 a month if I bought the water, whereas a good RODI unit cost me just over £100. If you've only got a 46L tank though, you'd be changing 10L a...

Two questions: What are your nitrate levels like? How many hours a day do you have your lights on?

Ssh you, I didn't notice

No, it won't help. The bacteria in the filter convert ammonia into nitrate, but there is nothing in there that converts nitrate to nitrogen gas. Therefore adding another filter will make no difference at all.   The only thing for it is to either lose some fish, or do more frequent/bigger water...

  Actually, thanks to the EU it's illegal to sell apple snails in the UK now.   If you have an excessive amount of algae in your tank, I would be looking to get down to the root cause of it, rather than adding fish or critters to your tank (which will create ammonia and therefore nitrate, which...

  I believe the rule with litres is that one litre of water weighs roughly 1kg. This is without the weight of  the tank itself, any decorations etc.   The advice the others have given is correct. A bigger tank will certainly give your fish a much more comfortable home in the long term, but...

I had a dwarf gourami and he was a beautiful fish. Certainly didn't bother any of my cories, nor did the honey gouramis that I replaced him with after he died.

  DO IT.

You said your nitrite levels were good, but that ammonia was little/none. There should be zero ammonia and nitrite in your tank. Exposure to these can make your fish very susceptible to disease, which may be what ultimately killed your fish here. I'm a little concerned about there being no...

SOLD!

Hi, I'm afraid the tall anubias has gone now, but I've still got the unknown green and red plant and another marimo moss ball I found while clearing out my tank. I'll do them both for £4 if you want them.

Update: I believe the unknown green and red plant to be Echinodorus Ozelot. There's a picture of it in this month's PFK, and if it's not the same plant then it's something very similar.

Still available. Make me an offer?

I used Kleen Off. Works fine. Ammonia is hard to find in the UK. By the time you drive around trying to find it wasting petrol, you might as well order online.

The tank backgrounds are also quite clever, in that it makes it look like there's alot more in there than there actually is. Either that or Photoshop. Nobody who actually cared about their fish would put them in such a thing. (When I win the lottery though, will make a lovely shrimp tank!)

Is the lid completely beyond redemption? Would it fit if you modified it?

Glad to hear they arrived in good condition and good time Few little bits still available: Unknown green and red plant Im not 100% sure what this plant is, but it has thrived in my tank. It is twice the size it was when I bought it. http://i233.photobuc...zps1f05186a.jpg £2.50 plus £1.50...

I agree, perfectly safe for the fish. In the wild, water doesn't always run clear.