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Can you get an energy meter?  We (luckily) can borrow them from libraries / councils in the UK.  They are great for working out what your current consumption is - especially for peak usage and overnight usage - just to check how much background electricity all your appliances use (fridges...

Hi All,   Okay, really dumb question... there seems to be a bit of "should I" / "shouldn't I" in the background with regards to getting Baby Betta's.   What are the issue(s)?  I have no idea on the background / why / why not you should or shouldn't get baby betta's (as opposed to adult betta's)...

Hi All,   The other day I noticed that our filter wasn't pushing out as much volume of water as previously (less rippling of the water surface) - plus it is rather old.   My idea was to buy a new one (exact same model), swap them out, and then I have an "old" spare in case the "new" one ever...

What about salt?  I heard that snails don't do well in salt water.  If there are no fish in the tank, then would adding a vast amount of salt kill the snails off?  After a while with no more snails seen, lots and lots of water changes should remove all salt traces.   I don't know if this would...

I'm really glad things are getting back to normal (or as normal as they can be with depleted stock).  Fingers crossed that that is the last of it.

OMG - I am so sorry for you.   Definately give the LFS a call - it does sound like the neon's are the culprits as they are the only new additions to the tank and all the other readings / tank params sound fine.   Fingers crossed for the survivors.

I went for just the light in the end ... and that did the trick. Seeing the pic with the dark ends, and then seeing what a brand new tube looked like, I thought I would take the risk on a new light - and voila !!!  Good new lighting for the fish (RCS and plants!).   I also ended up buying some...

Hi Lunar.   Yes, there are some dark areas around the ends of the tube - I guess it is the tube then that is likely to be the culprit.  I will try that first (and keep the receipt just in case I need to return it and get a starter motor!)   Dave - the picture was one from Lunar - it is not my...

Hi All,   I have one of those fluroescent light tubes in my tank, but it started flickering (quite noisily) the other day.  It has been off ever since (I thought the quick extres of light/dark - like a strobe light - would scare the fish otherwise).   From other people's experience with tube...

We have pearl danio's that get on well with our RCS.  The RCS colony is thriving - we often see a RCS and Danio swim side by side without one going for the other (but we have too many RCS to really tell whether the Danio's do have the occasional snack).   Danio's are also supposed to be...

Red Cherry Shrimp definately do breed !!!  I'm not sure on how much cross-breeding will occur (someone else may be able to help on this question) or how quickly some of the other shrimp breed (some require brackish water for their young if I am not mistaken, whilst others are happy in fresh...

Well done.  This happened at our local street fair last year.  I complained and got a "we will look into it" response.   This year - sad to see that it was exactly the same. I believe the law says that animals as prizes cannot be given to minors, and they get around this by giving the prizes to...

  sooo pleased for you... baby shrimp are amazing !!!  I started with 7 RCS about 6-7 months ago (2 adults and 5 juveniles).  I have since donated about 20 to a good local fish shop, and at my last quick count the other night had about 50 in my tank.   BTW - they love carrots!  Sometimes if...

  Hehe.... I did have visions of trousers in cold water!!!!   Seriously - thank you to everyone for your comments.  I think I will give the hot and cold method a go :-)

Hi All,   I am off to get some more plants today (likely to be dwarf hairgrass, or other type of foreground plant).   Technically my tank has snails (from another plant purchase ... grrrrrr...) but I wanted to avoid different types of snails coming in from any new plants.   I have heard that...

I can never get a clear focus either (let alone crystal clear!).  The fish never seem to stay still long enough <g>.  Any help / suggestions would be great too.

My son named one of our fish Michael.  So we now have a "Michael Fish" in our tank weather it rains or shines!   We also have a Peter, Chinky, and Lily (also known as Charlie).  Peter and Chinky from Enid Blyton's Magic Wishing Chair (RIP poor Molly!).  Lily is a boy fish, but our daughter...

If the filter was previously used, and if it was allowed to "dry up" then the beneficial bacteria would have died anyway.  If it literally came from the previous owners tank, then it should have had some of the beneficial bacteria, although the beneficial bacteria would need ammonia / nitrates...

Hi and Welcome!   I'm relatively new as well.  I'm sure you will get loads of advice, so I'll keep mine to just a couple of bits about maintenance that I found useful...   - When cleaning an "in-tank" filter, wash/clean it in water taken from the tank. Keep the sponges moist, and only...

RIP.  After best endeavours, sadly no more. A massive thank you to everyone at the LFS for taking so much care over what is, technically, a fish that you can buy quite cheaply.  But it is the fact that it is a pet / member of the family that they appreciate and they helped so much.

He is still with us today (about 16 hours later) but still poorly.   I went to the LFS at lunctime, and they said to bring in both the fish and a water sample.  They would put the fish in a quarantine tank and monitor him / see if they can find a cause.  If he gets better - great.  If not, then...

One of our Danio's has been swimming awkwardly this afternoon/evening.  He is almost listing over to one side as he swims along.  The swimming itself is erratic.   Now the lights are off, he is resting on the plants so he doesn't have to sleep/swim.   I am not hopeful of him lasting until the...

I'm definitely a fair weather diver too... I learnt how to dive (and sail) out in the Arabian Gulf.  That was a far cry from drysuits required in the UK.   Alas, a young family also means time is at a premium, so I haven't done any diving for about 5 years now.

Definitely do not get any more fish until the tank has cycled.  More fish = more waste = more ammonia / nitrates.   Once all has settled down (in terms of the cycle) you can review what / if you want to add or do.   Also agree with the smaller daily (or every few days) water change rather than a...

And 20 can become many many more Grrr....

I have been lucky enough (touch wood) not to have any problems with my fish.   But I have been wondering what I should do should anything ever happen. The problem is that in the tank I also have a lot of Red Cherry Shrimp, and I believe that a lot of medication wouldn't do them any good.   I do...

I have got Pearl Danio's and RCS in my tank, and they pretty much leave each other alone.   At first, the danio's were nosy and kept on checking out the RCS, but after a couple of weeks you would see them swimming almost along side by side and ignoring each other.   The RCS have multiplied, and...

If you are doing the bucket thing so you can clean your tank, remember to put your current filter into a separate container (with existing tank water).  Take out the filter media - Mine is a sponge so I would just squeeze it clean, then leave the media in some more existing tank water (see if...

I did my monthly filter clean yesterday.   I removed 20% of water from my tank into a container (water changes weekly BTW!)   I then put the filter into the container to ensure the bacteria is wet and doesn't die, etc, etc...   When I took the filter apart in the container, lo and behold two Red...

  Hi Chaydell,   That sounds like a good idea.  Do you completely cover the veggies with water - or just put a few drops in?    What veggies have you tried (successfully) in the past before?   I'm thinking of trying out as a Christmas treat for mine

I've been seeing various snippets on the net and on this forum regarding using various veg as treats for fishy diets.   But how do you do this?   Is it as easy as putting some carrot / cucumber / courgette / brocolli into your fish tank?   Do you have to boil them first to soften them up? (and...

Could you not add the new stock to the tank when you are back from vacation and the tank is back at your house?   Also, if your tank is just cycled (I am presuming a fish-less cycle here) could you not just keep it at home cycling away without any stock in it whilst on vacation?

Do you have anyone who lives locally who could feed the fish whilst you are away (either taking the tank to their place, or letting them come into yours?).   Our neighbors do this for us - I just leave little pots of food labelled up for each day (eg Mon, Tue, etc..) so if you don't feed daily...

10 / 10 (Thankfully, as I did do a maths degree!  It's amazing how much you forget so quickly though)

  LFS = Local Fish Shop

Looks like the cat is keen for you to get your tank up and started too !   Good luck with the fishless cycle - keep us all updated on how you go.

  I weighed up the pro's and con's of a test kit and decided against it - but I am also lucky enough to have 4 "pets at home" stores within 15 mins.  During the fishless cycle I got a different store to test every 3 or 4 days (so I wouldn't need to go back to the same store for about a fortnight...

Apart from English I can do some basic French and some even more basic Polish.   My wife (again apart from English) can speak French, German, Spanish, and Russian.  She can also understand some Italian and Afrikaans too.   Our kids (2 and 4) can both do sign language (our2 year old can do over...

I have tried feeding them flakes and also pellets that sink to the bottom, but in both cases my Danio's seem to devour the lot first!!!   They seem to be happy eating all the algae (and anything leftover food that may float down) in the tank though - and I know that they are growing as I see the...

Really excited, as last night I saw 2 small baby RCS in our tank (hiding in the home-made bamboo shelters I put in last week). This morning I counted 7 baby RCS in our tank (and Mum is looking a bit less bloated now!) - although there could be more as there are a lot of hiding places under...