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Thanks for the advice, You've been very helpful. All the best from Bill.

Thanks so much for the reply. I had pictured a tank with vallis actually, which I had read about in an article on your site linked to the above link. I was astounded that one of my favourite freshwater plants would do well in brackish conditions. Would a tank with a stand of vallis be...

I have had the idea of getting a brackish tank set up, mostly in order to keep spaghetti eels, which are superb fish IMO! As they can be qquite secretive would I be best to keep them in a species set up in the hope that they will get braver as they realise they are alone or could it be better to...

Very nice, very well photographed too. Did you collect the wood yourself, or was it part of a larger piece that you cut up? Do you know what type it is? I could do with some similar pieces for mine, but I haven't had chance to get out and find any just lately. All the best from Bill.

Thanks for the tips one and all. That has been a lot of help, many thanks. All the best from Bill.

Hi again. Littlemonkey: you can use any glass or plastic container, but a tall glass vase would be great. Make use of the height, so tall plants like vallis or maybe a stem plant like cabomba or bacopa, and maybe a smallish crypt down the front. bitteraspects: I have had lots of success with...

Not as small as your one; 3inches x 3 inches x 4 inches tall. It's about five inches in all because of the thick glass bottom. It was a vase, but the square shape said aquarium to me. All the best from Bill.

Hi, I would like anyone with a planted moss tank to go over their lighting regime with me please. I am specifically interested in Lighting types (T8 or T5 etc.? size, Wattage, etc?), and length of photoperiod. If you know the Wattage Per Litre, could you include that too please? I would be very...

That's really nice. I have one of these myself, it's a UK biotope, with some small Gammarus species or Crangonyx species amphipods. the plants are Eleocharis acicularis Callitriche species from the C.hamulata group, and some willow moss varieties, the mosses and the Callitriche sp. are from a...

Regarding the ADF as communal can be this creatures undoing. In some set ups with fast communal fish like tetras, the fish out compete the little frogs when it comes to feeding. using forceps meant for planting up aquariums to deliver food direct to the frogs mouth can work. As for favourite...

They're only like underwater woodlice. I've seen them in ponds with dead leaf litter. Very cute. Let me know how you get on. Thinking of trying to find some freshwater seed shrimp my self. Some of the larger ones, 2mm+. Did I just say larger? All the best from Bill.

I take your point on the Crypts needing to be quite big, but you still have a lovely lay out. Perhaps some more wood and ferns could help as you suggested, but don't go crazy, I love the idea of the crypts being allowed to dominate this set up. Love the photo, looks professional. All the best...

I always have to give my Vallis anything up to a couple of months before it acclimatizes. Then it really starts to grow properly. Another thing to consider is that vallis needs quite bright lighting.If I were you I would give it a chance for a few weeks, what harm can it do? All the best from Bill.

I would like a few Gammarus or "scuds" for a fish free set up. I am a little nervous of introducing pathogens or other nasties from wild caught ones, so I wondered if anyone knows of someone who is breeding them as a livefood, or if a livefoods company breeds them. I am in the UK. If people want...

Okay will try that, thanks. I was secretly inclined towards the P. helferi for aesthetic reasons, but I didn't want to influence the decision. Thanks for the advice. All the best from Bill.

Hi thanks for your response. I dose the recommended dose of Excel daily (see my post above). Are you saying I need to dose more? Could you say if Pogostemon helferi or H.C. would be suitable, maybe one would strike you as more suitable than the other? All the best from Bill.

I have an 18 x 12 x 12 inch (45 x 30 x 30cm) tank with 2 15Watt T8 lights. My pH is 7.5, my KH is 9 degrees CH, and I dose 0.12ml Flourish and 0.5ml Flourish Excel daily. I change one to two gallons of water twice weekly. I currently have 1/3 of my substrate partially covered with Dwarf...

Dude; I am agape and agog. That looks fabulous. Wish I had the funds for this sort of thing. I think I can see the difference made by the opti-white glass even in the photos. Superb anyway. I look forward to the next photo session (your photography and your 'scaping skills are better than mine)...

I am in a similar position with my tank, and changing my dosing of Flourish from weekly to daily seems to be starting my vallis putting out new runners. But people seem to do fine dosing weekly... So still a mystery to me! All the best from Bill.

It's something I have seen with Vallis in my own tanks, but I can give no reason as to why, unfortunately. All the best from Bill.

Well thought out, get the family involved. My suggestions for fish are Gold Tetras and Diamond tetras - both very pretty when well cared for and quite unusual these days. They are both shoaling fish so you may find a bigger shoal of one variety bolder and more content. All the best from Bill.

I have heard of small numbers of shoaling fish attaching themselves to a larger group of another species when a shoal of their own type is not available. For the general wellbeing of your fish, a proper sized shoal (6 or more) would bring benefits to your existing fish. As you have only a ten...

Yes, I don't suppose the chemicals used in test kits are always kept as they are supposed to be, and what's more a trail of several handlers/companies/storage sites leaves you no way of knowing, either. However, for me regular testing pays as general trends and sudden spikes can be picked out...

This looks like one to watch, a lovely idea :nod: . I knew I would like it from the title. I like your choice of fish too, I think they will add a lot to the mature tank :good: . Can't wait to see how it progresses. All the best from Bill. :D

A picture or description of the leaves is necessary for a positive ID, but I would go with Anubais too. All the best from Bill.

I didn't mean that your nitrates are excessive, simply that these fish find water quality changes difficult to cope with, due to either what they are used to in the wild or simply because they are such small fish, my feeling is that a bit of both is what it is. I realise I wrote about symptoms...

Hi, I keep Boraras maculatus, and have had one or two symptoms that you describe. I realise they are quite different fish however so it could just be coincidence. The symptoms I have noted are susceptibility to ailments and the gasping at the surface. Looking back at my notes, it seems that my...

I have read about fish needing a varied diet, so naturally I want the benefits of this for my Boraras maculatus. However I am unsure whether I should include vegetable flakes in some feeds, or stick to regular flake and live and frozen food? Also does anyone have any live/frozen food ideas for...

Hi, not sure if this is the right forum for this, but my question will affect a planted tank, so here goes... I have been keeping fish for two years, and have decided my 10UK Gal planted tank would benefit from using RO water mixed with appropriate additives. I had heard that it was possible to...

Right, thanks. All the best from Bill.

Got an Azoo HOB filter. I like it a lot, except for the fact that the outlet is just a gap that the water falls through. Most others seem to be of a similar design. I really want one with an outlet pipe that goes below the surface before allowing the water out, as the CO2 loss is crazy. Does...

Very useful, thanks. I bow to the master. :good: All the best from Bill.

sorry, what is the "common" name for NO3?:unsure: :blush: All the best from Bill.

Cheers mate thanks for the advice. All imput welcome, keep it coming. I am not stocking the Vase with any critters, it doesn't seem right to me. Actually what started this idea was a quote I read in someone's signature on this forum a while back. It read something like " 4 Gallons is a vase not...

One of my tanks is being shut down, as carrying buckets full of water up two flights of stairs is no longer funny. However my Cryptocoryne parva is too nice to just chuck away, so I came up with the idea of using a square glass vase as a little tank. This thing only holds a litre of water. The...

Wow, that's lovely! It's pretty much the look i'm going for for my ten gallon Dwarf Puffer tank, only mine is obviously on a smaller scale. Really nice tank, well done. All the best from Bill.

Hi sorry to hear about your problem. Yes, it does sound like MBD, but It's difficult to confirm without seeing the animal in person. The best thing to prevent this happening is to use either a calcium and vitamin dusting powder on the live foods, (I use Nutrobal), two or three times a week or...

I seem to have been unconciously making tanks in this style! :lol: Some what short of perfecting it though ;) All the best from Bill.

Can anyone describe to me the principles of the "Jungle" style of planted tank, as mentioned by George Farmer in past issues of PFK? Many thanks from Bill.