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  Thanks, that's good to know. Would you say it's a good thing, bad or indifferent? I was going to do a water change tonight, but is it worth leaving it a little longer?

  I added 8 new bunched plants.

Last week I upgraded tank from a 64l to a 130l (very exciting). I had the tank set up for a week beforehand, then last weekend I moved the fish, old filter and ornaments into the new tank.   A bit of a mini cycle seemed to take place in the following days. On Sunday ammonia was up at 0.25. On...

Some strange goings on! So I moved the fish (along with the old filter and ornaments) into the new tank on Saturday. I'd also had one of the new bags of filter media in the old tank for the previous week so it could start to build up some bacteria. All seems to be going well (everyone is still...

I'm in the process of setting up my new 130l tank and I'm going to have a crack at a low-tech planted aquarium. I picked up some driftwood, plants and a piece of ocean rock on my way home from work today. I never really thought about the effect a rock would have on water parameters, but as it...

It has the filtration chambers built into the back of the tank so the heater is placed just next to the pump. It's a digital thermometer so it should be quite accurate. I'll keep an eye on the temperature over the next couple of days and hopefully it's just the one degree.

Thanks for the advice, that's all helpful stuff. I've got the new tank set up and ready to go. I'll give it a few days to settle and then move the fish and filter materials over at the weekend.   In terms of fish, I'll add some guppies and cories after a few weeks. I'll have a think about the...

Exciting news!! I've just got myself an Aquanano 130. This is quite an upgrade from my 64l fish box.   At first I assumed I would have to keep my old tank running whilst I ran a fishless cycle, but I've read that if I simply move my old filter and ornaments into the new tank during the first few...

Thanks all. Fortunately my fears of ending up with an ever increasing stock of inbred platies have been alleviated. Whilst none of my local stores would take the fry, I spoke to a lady a little farther away at Ely Aquatics who is happy to take them when they reach 1" (still a way to go!!).   I...

I've got a bit of a problem. I added a new female platy to my tank about 6 months ago - she then had lots and lots of babies. It wasn't a huge problem because I would simply take them to my local Maidenhead Aquatics once they were big enough. HOWEVER... she's just had another batch (which I...

  No redness, but there are a few black lines showing in between her scales near her dorsal fin that I haven't noticed before. Almost like veins. I don't know if this is related. Yes the white marks look like her golden scales have been bleached out. No I haven't seen her flicking or rubbing...

My favourite fish is sick.   She's a female platy that I got last June (my very first fish). She's in a 64l tank with 2 other female platies and 5 neon tetras. The water parameters are all normal, but about 2 months ago we moved house so they all went through a pretty stressful experience...

Thanks for the advice, I'll stop using the PH Down. I do have some driftwood, but it doesn't seem to be having a noticeable effect. Are there certain fish I should avoid keeping, or are they usually all ok if they were tank bred? As I mentioned, habrosus cories were going to be my next addition.

I moved house about 6 weeks ago and I'm very pleased to report that everyone survived the journey and has settled in. However... the PH in my new house is very high (around 8.2). I have a couple of Platies which should be fine, and 5 neon tetra's which I understand could be problematic. I've...

Thanks for coming back Dave. Unfortunately I put him down at the weekend. Having treated the tank with Melafix (for bacterial infections) and Pimafix (for fungal diseases) he didn't seem to be making any recovery. When I saw that he had started swimming round at the surface I decided that enough...

The good news is all the fish are still alive (they even survived moving house, which I was extremely concerned about). The bad news is, our little neon tetra is still no better. As it's clearly not neon tetra disease I guess it must be bacterial, but Melafix doesn't seem to have helped. I'm...

Fingers crossed you're right. I'm treating with Melafix, will let you know what happens. The other problem is that I'm moving house this weekend, so I'm either going to have to destroy him or mix him with the other fish for a time :-/

It's not like a salt piece, it's more patchy. I moved him into a separate tank on Monday night, so far there doesn't seem to be any change. He isn't very active, but I'd have thought that's normal for a fish in isolation.   If it is Pleistophora, does anyone know how long it usually takes to...

I've just noticed that one of my Neon Tetra's has pale patches on its red stripe. After a quick Google search, it very sadly looks like neon tetra disease. That said, I need to be sure before I carry out what would be my first euthanasian. Other than these pale patches, the fish seems to be...

My Dwarf Gourami (Gourmi) died over the weekend. Absolutely gutted - he was a great fish.   From what I've seen and read, it was almost certainly iridovirus. It started with a red sore to the right of his mouth, then in the days that followed he became lethargic and lost his appetite. On...

Just to let you all know, he died over the weekend. Reallly sad, he was a great character and the tank is not the same without him.

I'm gutted. Last week I noticed a pink mark next to my Dwarf Gourami's mouth. I've had him for nearly three months and he's still his usual active self and still has his appetite, but presumably it's the disease you've all mentioned. I'm going to treat the water with Melafix just in case it's a...

You may find you also have issues if you go for a pair of male Guppies. Chances are the bigger/stronger one will pick on the smaller one, and eventually it will die. You'd be better getting 4 or 5 of them, which will spread out the aggression. My tank is a similar size and for my 'bigger fish'...

  I can't say I can notice a difference day-to-day, but it's certainly more prominent than when I first noticed it last week. The mark is still small, but certainly a brighter pink.

  That's really sad to hear, he's a great fish. I know you said untreatable, but is there anything that might be worth trying? Even if there's very little chance he'll survive, I'll feel better if I know I tried to do all I could...

Afraid I don't have a camera good enough to pick it out, but it looked a bit worse this morning. It's a definite pink lump on the right side of his mouth. Could it be some kind of infection?

I hope this isn't an emergency, but last night I noticed a pink mark on one side of my Dwarf Gourami's mouth. It looks almost like a cut. I'm not sure what could have caused it, or if it's dangerous, but any advice would be appreciated. His behaviour is otherwise completely normal and he is...

Thanks. I decided against the betta, although I would love to have one one day. I've now got 2 female Platies and a male Dwarf Gourami. All are doing fine. I've had the Platies for around 9 weeks and the Gourami for 5 or 6. Next weekend I plan to replace my gravel with sand ready for...

I got myself a new plant about 7 weeks ago. A short while later, I noticed a snail casually making his way around my tank. Then 2. Then 4. Then 8. The other day I counted around 30, and no doubt there were many more in there that I couldn't see at that moment. Is this a problem? Presumably if...

Hi all.   I'm looking to add a dwarf gourami to my relatively new tank. I read an article on here that strongly recommended you quarantine them first as they are prone to disease. I assume this involves buying and cycling a second tank? How long should new fish be quarantined for? And is it...

  How's your betta getting on in that tank? I'm looking to get 2 platies, 6 neons and 6 cories and I can't decide whether to get a betta or a dwarf gourami to go with them.

  They'll be Mollies. Mollies (like platies and guppies) are livebearers, so they breed like crazy. If you buy a female livebearer from a mixed tank, it's very likely that she'll be pregnant. The bad news is it means the other one is probably pregnant as well and you're going to see more many...

Sorry, I was thinking of Pearl rather than Honey. It sounds like the females are less colourful than the males, so I think I'll go with a male dwarf unless I can find some honeys locally.

  Thanks again Lock Man. Do you think a solo male would be a better option? Completely open to other suggestions of fish that would be suitable in a pair or solo.

Thanks for this. I've been looking to get a pair of Dwarf Gouramis so it was certainly useful.   Coming back on to the point about pairs, I only have a 64 litre tank so there's not a huge amount of room for the female to get some space. Would you say it's better to have a male by himself? Also...

  Thanks Shelster, My tank has cycled and my 2 Platies are settling in nicely. They're very active little things!   Once the tank is a bit more established I'll look to add 6 neons and some salt and pepper cories. I'm still in a dilemma about the final addition. I was thinking a betta, but lots...

  Good to find someone local on here! The Guppies on your signature look fantastic. Where did they come from? My LFS is in Soham, but their Guppies didn't excite me. I looked in Pets at Home in Newmarket and they were pretty much all on the brink of death.

I'm looking to get a betta to go in my 64l tank with 2 platies, 6 neon tetras and 6 salt and pepper cories. A good mix I think??

Hi all,   Thanks for all the advice so far. I now have a pretty good idea of how the cycle works, what fish are suitable for my size tank (64l) and what fish are compatible with each other. So here comes my next question...   I live in the East of England (Newmarket) which is a notoriously hard...

  Thanks for the advice - particularly about the Siamese Fighters. Taking on board everyone's comments, I've narrowed it down to 2 options:   2 platies 6 neon tetra's 1 beta 6 salt and pepper cories   Or...   2 platies 5 male guppies 1 dwarf gourami 6 salt and pepper cories   Has anyone had any...