Search results

If you follow the forum thread slaphppy7 posted it'll walk you through a fishless cycle step by step. If your level is 1-2 ammonia you'll need to add some more, but check the thread for advice on quantities. Unfortunately it can be a bit of trial and error to get the amount just right, plus the...

This is just a filter, no heater involved. That would still need to be bought separately. The filter with the tank will come in a box, not attached to the aquarium. This one can just be put on the side of the tank instead. It will come with instructions but any problems you can always ask on...

Shame. Nitrous oxide gave a mini high :lol::lol::lol:

Essentially it is a sponge filter but doesn't need an air pump. I bought something similar recently for my small tank.

https://www.pro-shrimp.co.uk/internal-filters/2104-aquael-pat-mini-filter-5905546137997.html This one looks good! It has a sponge but no carbon (unless you buy the other sponge) and is self powered.

It also takes a good long while. I did 6 weeks of cycling using bottled ammonia.

Hmm. Would you consider getting ammonia? It works out simpler as you can tailor the doses, and it is easy enough to buy online.

Is it definitely CO2? In the old days it was nitrous oxide.

And did you have a filter and heater both switched on?

Hello. Just a couple of questions first. It sounds like you tried cycling with food to make ammonia. Is that right?

@NannaLou @Essjay Would the OP do best with a straightforward sponge filter and air pump? It would cost a little more, but bypasses the carbon issue.

The filter is good. It has carbon but it is not removable as it is part of the sponge, so you would need to put in a different sponge if you wanted to remove the carbon. My only concern, and I don't know if it applies to the smaller tanks, is that it is over powered and wouldn't suit a betta...

You're very welcome! :)

You need to buy a canister of CO2. I use aquaGro. It is made for aquaria so can be bought in an LFS, at least here in UK. There must be other sources available too. Anyway, the aquaGro comes with silicon tubing which you attach to its nozzle and then, having filled the plastic bottle with tank...

Oh, you didn't mean into the bottle? Once the CO2 is in the bottle it just diffuses into the water passively. It'll need more adding from the canister as it disappears into the water and the bottle sinks.

Well I am no longer finding it relaxing watching my fish. Fork, the male gourami, is tearing around chasing away the others as he protects his newborn fry. He's making me anxious too! I have a breeding box coming by post today plus some fry food. I hope I can save a few of them to make all...

String with a weight hanging from it to keep the bottle inverted. Melting leaf of a plant from when I didn't have the CO2 diffuser :lol: Bubbling is done by holding one end of the tubing down under the water into the neck of the bottle, and switch the gas on through the other end. I hope that...

Do you think, maybe, they aren't getting a good layer of warm humid air above the water for development of their labyrinths? It would be difficult to arrange, especially when feeding them so often. It might also explain why they die after feeding.

Hello @alfiethefish I assume by replacing the filter you mean throwing away the old one and getting a new one in. The manufacturers want that for increased revenue. In future it's worth ignoring them - keep the same filter until it falls to bits. It is the main site of your beneficial bacteria...

Going on what I've seen others recommend - give them a large water change before going and leave them be. They'll survive off biofilm etc. for 2 weeks without needing anything extra.

Hello Mark That might be possible, although unlikely if you do a full cycle of your tank, which everyone is most likely to recommend. What you could do, although no-one would recommend it, is a 'fish-in cycle'. There are 3 big downsides. 1. It is unpleasant for the fish. 2. It limits what fish...

Does it tickle?

Hello and welcome to the forum 👋 !

Might I add peacock gudgeon gobies as a potential tankmate. They don't seem to come up as a suggestion very often as they don't fit the usual groupings, but they are characterful, peaceful and use all levels of the tank. I have them with honey gouramis and they seem a good mix. They shoal...

Hi Avel. Well I've seen videos of LFS's doing it for plant growth. You just invert a bottle full of tank water and bubble CO2 into the end of it. It then gradually dissolves into the tank water. It works best for me when in the filter flow, but also works in quieter water, just more gradually...

Have done already!

Thank you for getting back to me. Yes, he's constantly chasing off the peacocks at the moment. They are circling like tiny vultures. I think I shall set up my QT as a breeding tank. I have a sponge filter and air pump so I should be able to take some substrate and decor across and cycle it...

@Essjay I have nowhere cycled to move the bubble nest (which is growing) so I guess I'll lose all the fry?

Well, that settles it. Definitely a pair of gourami. Lots of mating and about 10 bubbles as a nest, so not much hope for the fry. Lovely to see within 24 hours of bringing home the female....

You might need to make a list of pros and cons for each tank, assign each a number out of 10 for how much of a pro or con it is, add them up and subtract the cons figure from the pros figure. Whichever option has the biggest remaining number wins. If, though, you then feel disappointed, do the...

I'm not sufficiently up to speed with the plants, but I have Salvinia natans and the roots are quite short. It looks like Frogbit are longer. Anyway, one or other might do for a floating plant for bubble nesting.

Loving this tank now it has fish! It's buzzing with sexual tension. The male peacock is trying to get one of the females to drop her eggs in the heater vents (Darwin in action there I think), and the gourami seems to be interested in one corner - perhaps for a bubble nest?

The bottle has CO2 in it and provides it passively rather than by actively bubbling it through - it has a more subtle effect.

So he certainly thinks 'it' is a 'she' and is showing off. That is what I thought at first, it just looked quite boastful. He hasn't made a bubble nest yet, but he's not really had much of a chance. Funnily enough he spends a fair bit of time around the cables too!

Behaviour to own reflection and to other fish.

Video of behaviour to own reflection

They are natural coloured. The male was the only full coloured one in the tank.