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UV steriliser sellers say they do some pretty amazing things. Whilst true that in certain marine systems a UV can be a really useful thing, in most freshwater setups that are not running on centralised filtration, they are of very limited value. In such a setup, what they have the ability to do...

That is true. in a low pH environment, the dissolved NH3 picks up one of the surplus H+ ions to form ionic NH4+ which IS less toxic then dissolved NH3 as it is already protonated, therefore less reactive. The thing is, how much less toxic, and the answer is "not hugely so".

Both species are gregarious so should be kept in groups. Bala's in particular, are a very skittish fish and even in groups, are prone to suddenly take fright and dart across the tank. Bala's reckon on 350mm, CL, less but still big fish. Bala's grow fairly steadily, CL's grow quickly to about...

Is it eating, is it "passing waste"? What are you feeding? How long have you had them, how long has this behaviour been going on?

Sadly, my comment is "well they would say that wouldn't they". They want you to buy fish now and some other chemicals and nonsense. It amazes me that ammonia is not available in fish shops - I guess there is a lot less profit in a bottle of ammonia then a dozen dead fish and some nitrozorb...

I'd go with B. kubotai as well.

We don't usually "delete" posts/threads unless they are obvious, (duplicates, "please delete" things etc.). Rather, we move them to the "Deleted post archive". We do that so other mods can see what is going on, also that if there is a misunderstanding etc. or a simple goof, they can be moved...

The "Watts per gallon" rule is in the same category as the "inches per gallon" stocking guideline. It is a guideline. The Wattage needed does not increase linearly with volume, rather as the volume increases, the rate at which the wattage needed increases falls off. Large tanks do not need the...

If we are talking about a fluorescent lamp, a 20W lamp will be twice as long as the 10W, so unless it has loose lead end caps, it physically won't fit.

I have no experience with this particular species, but many Garra species become increasingly intolerant of their own kind as they mature. Of the fish in your tank, the other Garra would be my first choice.

Thing is, when that thread was started, they probably were still being called Botia angelicus!

Your filter converts ammonia->nitrite->nitrate so you should have some nitrates unless you are VERY heavily planted. If that is not the case, where is the Nitrogen going?

Just tried it, worked fine for me using chlor*.

One of the reasons you are always advised to keep shoaling fish in groups is because there will be a dominance heirarchy, and the more dominant fish spread their inate aggression out amongst the group. If there is only one other, (or very small number), s/he will get all of it. TYpically in such...

The rules encompass the use of this service. The PM system is one of the conviniences for members and are a part of the bulletin board software. It may be true that we do not monitor the contents of PM's, it is also true that if someone complains about the content of a PM they receive, and can...

There are several man made morphs of Harlequins. They are all the same species, and should regard each other as "same" and thus group with them.

Because it requires a higher level of access to the database than the regular members have. To "move" something requires that a new record be created, the content of the old record be copied to it and then the original record be deleted. If you have a real beef about it, you could ask the...

Many of the rainbow group will hybridise, indeed, hybridisation is one of the biggest problems facing the rainbow group today. If you wish to pursue your project, I suggest you ask in the Hybrid Forum, who may be more sympathetic.

The board software does not allow activity such as you suggest to people that do not have access to the mod or admin panel.

Indeed, FishBase does use that taxonomic schema and they are not alone. However, numerous US governement agencies, the British Museum, the Horniman Museum Trust... etc. etc. do not. Hence my advice when searching for info is to try both. When a "new classification" is proposed, it remains...

Barbus lineatus I think. They appear to have a slightly golden sheen on the upper body whereas johorensis is a silver fish. Both are highly desirable. Any shop selling them as a tetra is clearly worth avoiding. The Barbus - Puntius/Capoeta/Barbodes argument runs and runs. The original Barbus...

Since you have already PM'd some mods and there is already a thread about it in the mod room - this thread seems superfluous.

If you have an established cycled filter, the extra expense of this stuff would hardly seem worth it. I had to look it up, never use anything like that.

Another frequently overlooked issue is crud in the hoses. I clean my hoses 2-3 times a year. Tie a nail to some string and pull it through the hose with an algæ magnet. When all the way through, tie a suitably sized rag to the end and pull it back through the hose, repeat a few times. It really...

I use pool filter sand. The evn grain size prevents compaction to the same extent that sands with varied grain sizes can do. There are no "small" grains to fall between the "large". It still needs a poke and a prod from time to time, I use a chop stick, but it is the best of the various sands I...

Acanthodoras are catfish not CC&A, you may get a better response if you post here.

Yeah, people buy them, an even bigger what?

Although you do see sports of Neons being line bred. Diamond head, lutino and albino. They are being line bred to take colours out, I mean, what?

If you search this board, you'll find a lot of threads ealing with this topic. Almost all of the regulars, me included, will use nothing but Eheim. Eheim is the ASUS of the filter world, the rest are ECS. ;)

I'm afraid we do. I don't know if it because the group as a whole are less "known" in Europe then in their native areas, or simply that the breeders see a bigger market here. Every year a "new species" of rainbow appears, none ever look like the true species and I'm afraid a good number of these...

Live plants. Heavily planted tank owners have to add nitrates to their tanks. Interestingly, federal law in the US limits nitrates to 10mg/l at the tap. The EU figure was revised down to 50mg/l, (from 100mg/l), in 1985 - probably time for re-visiting that particular piece of legislation.

It's generally a bad idea to try to read anything from the way an lfs has their tanks set up. Better is to consider the natural environment of the species you are interested in. Very few species normally kept in regular community tanks come from high energy environments, (certain loaches are an...

A big problem with this and other groups I'm afraid. Hybrids are also causing a lot of confusion as "new species" seem to appear with uncanny regularity.

Air pumps are generally not needed in tanks, the filter usually provides enough movement for gas exchange to occur.

I've never heard them called Pigeon Blood before, but a quick search turned up a few sites which were, indeed, referring to M. splendida with that moniker, here for example. There are 4 sub-species of M. splendida, of which M. splendida rubrostriata is the "reddest" - could be that they have...

Without exception, Rasboras are peaceful shoaling fish. You should always aim to keep a decent sized group, say 6 or more. In a tank that small, 6 Harlequins and the gourami are going to be plenty full.

Cut it in half and "T" the hose? Trim it to length and drill a few more holes to keep the pressure the same? Don't use the spray bar? Lots of ways forward.

They are easy to breed. They are not really a blackwater species, so the usual hassles with keeping the pH steady at almost zero hardness are avoided. In water which is clean, mildly acidic, say 6.5 and fairly soft, say less then 50ppm they will scatter viable eggs which hatch in 24 hours and...

I think you'd get a more accurate answer to the eating question in Oddballs. It is my understanding that the eels lie buried and grab anything that passes by, bearing in mind the shape of the loaches, I'd guess if they can fit in their mouths then they will eat them. My other observation is...

The Botias all possess a greater or smaller eye spine. These can inflict a painful cut if the fish is mishandled, although normally, it is not apparent. Another thing to be aware of is that the spine can catch in nets, not noticing the spine is caught can lead to it being damaged, this sometimes...