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Well, what can I say - I'm finally satisfied with a tank. Current stocking: 13 Chromobotia macracanthus (Clown Loach) (more to come once others have grown on), 1 Mastacembelus erythrotaenia (Fire Eel) (about 25"), 16 Dawkinsia filamentosa (Filament Barbs), Loricariidae; Panaque suttonorum...

Nope, still Pterygoplichthys sp :P

Bigger tank then ;)

Tetras! Tetras! Tetras! Unlike the Platys/Guppies, they will school together so you can experience two different types of behaviours :)

Male platys are smaller than females but not necessarily prettier. Just be careful as I have seen many a "confused" male constantly harass another male... Their libido is kinda unreal.

Ah, gotcha.   Platys.. Platys are live-bearing fish the same as Guppies. They do chunk out at a surprising size so adding them would start limiting your overall stocking quite significantly.   Like Guppies, they reproduce like rabbits if both males and females are kept (even females can retain...

Small and orange.. Not a bottom feeder.. Any more clues? :P

Take a little look at Chaetostoma formosae (L444) aka the "Rubbernose Pleco". Only grows to around 4 inches and they are true algae eaters too which is an added bonus to their dwarf size. Either that or Chaetostoma aff. milesi (L445) aka the "Spotted Bulldog". Very similar to my former...

I always like to recommend species such as Harlequin Rasboras or Copper Harlequins. They're relatively small, hardy and attractive fish. A larger centerpiece fish such as Honey Gourami are bright and colourful but also very peaceful.   For the bottom, maybe look into some smaller species of...

Unfortunately housing a Betta splendens with Guppies isn't a good idea m'dear. Easily mistaken for another male with the long flowing fins.   What tetra species were you thinking of getting? Happy Birthday by the way! :)

Hm. Their growth rates can be fast, the loricariid that is. Especially with the high protein foods you'll be feeding the Oscar. Make sure you supplement with veggies as "commons" (usually Pterygoplichthys/Hypostomus species) are omnivorous. But it still may not be enough, Oscars stack on the...

Cute nonetheless! 

Just checked it out - I'm still 100% positive it's Pterygoplichthys. I've asked on a group on FB which is home to many of the PC folk (including Julian himself) and the ID is still the same.

Panaque? The body shape is wrong. They're very large in the head and it tapers very quickly down to a point. Even as juveniles the rostrum is very long, much longer than this chap here.   Sorry - I think I have been conditioned over the past few years from Facebook. I almost expect people to...

So, I don't want to rock the boat as I've only just come back to the site after quite some time but if you zoom in on the picture, you can actually count 10 dorsal rays.   It may not be P. pardalis but I am adamant it belongs in the genus. Many of the "common" species are mass farmed and...

May I ask how much you paid? This will be a good indication of species. Also, when his dorsal fin is up, count how many rays it has - the hard bones inbetween the thin membrane of skin.

The tank is a 7ft x 3ft deep x 2.5ft high. Including sump it's 1800 litres in total. It has 3, 2000lph pumps pushing the current from left to right. Giant val is something I'm considering but with a shoal of Tinfoil Barbs I'm dubious even that will work.. ADA soil doesn't come cheap to cover...

Where's TwoTank nowadays? He's good with L's as far as my memory serves me.

Or, if he counts the dorsal rays... 10 or more would place it in the genus Pterygoplichthys. It's definitely not a whip imo.

Looks to be Pterygoplichthys pardalis L021 - in which case, that's a 13/14" fish. http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=88

I've been thinking and planning for the longest time on how to create the nearest possible resemblance to the Clown's natural habitat. I've accepted it isn't going to be perfect as a vast majority of folk have reported it being extremely muddy and I'm not putting mud in the tank... I understand...

The legal limit in the UK is 50ppm... The legal limit in the US is 10ppm... How does that work?

A Valentines to remember for me - filling my 1,800 litre!

I have Aqua-Sed on hand for the rare occasions I need to euthanize. I thoroughly recommend it as a humane method.

JBL BioNitratex is designed to last around 12 months in a tank. It's the long term product unlike JBL Nitratex (you want the purple box not the orange). In short it introduces denitrification into your aquarium. Occasionally the air needs to be squeezed out of the bags but I've read it works...

My response now is far too late I imagine but... for clarification, it seems the fish has developed an internal bacterial infection, exacerbated by raising the temperature (bacteria propagates faster in higher temps). The bloating is symptomatic of bacterial infections (popeye/dropsy/oedema, all...

Have you a picture of the 'pleco' so it can be ID'd? The genus tends to dictate the diet, in the case of 'commons', it's usually either a Pterygoplichthys spp. or a Hypostomus spp. The Hypostomus tends to be herbivorous/omnivorous and the Pterygoplichthys are mostly herbivorous.   Here are two...

Is that.. 3 gallon or 30 gallons? Please say it's the latter.   Hardy plants; anubias, java fern, vallisneria (the smaller, more fine leaved specie), a variety of different cryptocoryne species.

So the fish has swelled up, lost colour and the scales are now protruding? 

I'm unconvinced the ammonia and/or nitrite levels were perfect. Is there any possible way of you testing the water yourself? I have never known QuickStart to work in regards to the instant addition of fish, sadly.

If in doubt, API have a .pdf of the manual on their website..   http://www.apifishcare.com/pdf/Freshwater_Master_Test_Kit_34_Insert.pdf

That's all Diana wrote so I guess the red gills are me being hysterical? I showed the pictures to another lfs yesterday and they said the Clown rosey cheeks are normal..

  So here is a response to my post on loaches.com. Apparently Purigen doesn't work on tap nitrates? But Nitra-Zorb will?     "Ways of getting rid of NO3: 1) Do not let it get in there to start with. a) treat the tap water ahead of time, running it into a large enough bin that you can treat it...

  Each of the three baskets has a large bag full of ceramics. When I changed tanks and filter, I put all of the media from old into the new and didn't take any new out so it's pretty packed to the point the flow is slightly reduced (good thing too as it allows a slower flow over the media)...

  Wouldn't it be dodgy using it to lower it fast? The shock might kill them as they've been used to such high levels for about a year now? http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Purigen.html Am I reading it correctly? Lasts on average up to 6 months before you can then REUSE by putting...

http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&p=200816#p200816 Posted elsewhere including updates from your answers here.       Oh I do just hope it's me being a drama queen!       What do you do to combat the nitrates if you're on par with me? Oh I do miss you guys! Immi is rolling over all...

  I'm a member of loaches.com. I'll give them a forum post and see. The only problem is, it can be pretty dead but hey, fingers crossed!

I'm guessing that it's a Common Plec? Be worth rehoming soon if it is. They get far too large for 180ltr and definitely won't help the problem.

Ideally up the water changes to 20% once a week. Then filter maintenance can stay at once a month. A few of the fish you keep are very messy so you'll need to keep it clean otherwise the nitrate levels will build up and is normally the main reason why there's BBA. Cut down the lighting period...

I did just think I might've offended some people by not mentioning them in the title, it was literally the first three that came to mind, it wasn't preference! :)