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The fish still appear to be very happy and the males, in particular, are behaving as I've read that they should (chasing each other and following the females). I'll certainly follow your advice, Moochy, as regards water changes and the next group of fish. I think I'm becoming addicted to...

Wow — I expected them to be shy at first and to hide in the plants. Far from it, they immediately began exploring and they've now covered every nook. I took this video of them when I first put them in (the photography bulb I've been using blew part way through filming this. I had to switch to an...

I now have 8 cherry barbs — 4 males and 4 females. They'll be entering the tank once their hour of gradual acclimatisation is over (about 20 minutes from now). Lovely, healthy little fish. My tap water comes out at ph 7.9, after being left overnight. The tank is slightly lower than that. I'm...

I prepared a sample of tap water overnight. I'll take it for testing today, along with more of the tank water. The IFs knows my area and said that such high ph is very unusual. It's known for being a hard water area though. I'm hoping I didn't fill the tank on a day when they'd treated the...

Moochy - I'm thinking of adding more gravel. The plants don't have enough to root into properly at the moment - getting the current plants to stay in was a Herculean task (one would stay in but then another would pop up). I did wonder about getting a finer gravel but was advised against it as...

I shall go and get some fish this afternoon, in that case (if they'll sell any to me!). Two questions: do you disagree with the seller who recommended neon tetras as the best for tolerating unstable water conditions? He wouldn't recommend anything else, even when I mentioned that they're known...

I'm intending to take another water sample for testing tomorrow and, if the ph issue has resolved itself, to buy a few fish. Just wanted to check that this is a good plan (and that it's the best route given the need to maintain ammonia levels).

I should add that in terms of fish, we'd also like recommendations for any that are particularly interesting to watch or charismatic, even if they're not bright.

The filter … I put the whole sponge in , yes. It was a rectangular piece, presumably from an external filter. I cut that into two squares and cut a slit in the centre (my Eheim is round, and the sponges are doughnut shaped). I then put the sponges on top of the ones in my own filter, one in each...

I'm concerned about the ammonia. I could possibly buy fish tomorrow but obviously I can't put any in until the Ph is less alkaline. Until then, fish food is all I have to keep the bacteria alive. The matured filter is now installed and running nicely.

It's no longer in the bag. I decided to put the matured filter in. It's now running. I haven't used the buffer yet though, or added anything to increase ammonia levels (other than the water from the bag the media came in).

I now have a matured sponge from a 12 month old filter. It's currently in a plastic bag, floating on the surface of my tank. My Ph levels are highly alkaline. I've got some buffer to put in to correct this but I'm not sure whether it will interfere with the matured filter or whether...

Thanks, Moochy — that's very helpful. We're going back to our main IFs now. Fingers crossed, we'll be able to get some mature media. Am I right in thinking that if a filter ever fails and needs replacing, it's necessary to keep the media from it in the tank and then transfer it to the new...

Presumably they'd each work just as well with the additional mature media, would they? I'm asking because Moochy13 suggested using it for a fish-in cycle. So I have that option, and then also the Add Daily and Add and Wait methods. I want to do whatever is best and yes, obviously the health of...

Please see my previous post. I'd really like some advice on which cycling method will be best if I manage to get some mature media. That is all I asked. Prime Ordeal misunderstood me.

I don't think that's particularly fair, Prime Ordeal. I haven't said that I won't do a cycle. In fact, my opinion is that I'll have to. Did you read my last questions? You took that quotation out of context, by the way. the rest of that paragraph was referring to the suggestion that some...

The filter is an Eheim Aquaball 130. Yes, I do have a dechlorinator. I've been rereading this thread (fishless cycling: http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/113861-fishless-cycling/ ). One thing I don't fully understand is how long the 'Add and Wait' method takes, on average. One member...

I'm reading the cycle guide again now. I do think that at least 3 of the IFs were offering what they believe is good advice — maybe they're just not as thorough as they should be. What you're saying certainly makes sense to me! We'd intended to buy just a few, hardy fish at first. I might have...

My IFs told me that I don't need to cycle the tank — that's what's confusing me. In fact, I've asked 7 different fish sellers and the advice has varied between 'You can put fish straight in!' and 'You should wait for a week'. It's odd — that seems to be standard advice over here.

Thanks, Lindsay and Craig! I'll look forward to that :) I have nothing against guppies, by the way. We're just rather excited by the likes of discus (too large, I know), knife fish, powder blues and electric yellows, etc. Also, I was warned that guppies have become very interbred in recent years...

First of all, hello from a newbie! I've been browsing your site and I've already found it very helpful. I kept tropical fish many years ago and I'm relearning most of what I knew about them. We bought my daughter this tank (see image) for Christmas. It's a custom build — 125 litres, or just...