Buying Fish Online

[fluttermoth]

Old media is best put near the 'in' side of the filter so the flow encourages the bacteria to spread forward into the new media.
 
Yes, just cut it off (or you can cut it up before you put it in, it doesn't matter).

 

[Seal36]

Ok when I switch it over in a week or so I will put the media behind the new one so it can spread forward. I was also thinking of replacing the plastic plants in the tank with real plants should I do this at the same time or wait until they have settled in from Tom

 

[fluttermoth]

If you're doing any kind of major overhaul on a tank, it's better to get it done all in one go.
 
Don't feed the fish for a couple of days before, and keep it to a minimum for a couple of days after as well. This keeps pollution down while things settle and in case of a mini-cycle (where some of the bacteria die back after being moved).

 

[Seal36]

Ok will keep them on just enough food after the change and also what plants do you think will look good in a 70 litre sand tank. Also I don't want the plants to be to hard to care for from Tom

 

[fluttermoth]

I have low tech planted tanks (so, no fertlizers, CO2 and 'normal' lighting) and all these plants do well for me; Java fern, anubias, bolbitis (those three need attaching to wood or rocks rather than being planted in the substrate), christmas moss, subwrassertang (sometimes called 'round pellia'), cryptocorynes, cabomba, vallisneris, sagittaria (there's a giant and a dwarf variety), Amazon swords (might benefit from root tabs, but I don't bother!) and moss balls.
 

 

 

[Seal36]

Ok thank you very much I will look into those plants and plan my tank. I'm not going to add any new species of fish to the tank but wondered if I could increase the rummies number from 7 to 10 or maybe more? From Tom

 

[fluttermoth]

In the 70l? Are the kribs still in there?
 
If the answer to both of those is 'yes', I would say not.

 

[Seal36]

The answer is yes to both. So do you think I should reduce the number of rummies or is 7 a good number to stay at from Tom

 

[fluttermoth]

You're fine with the seven.

 

[Seal36]

Ok thank you very much I hope to see more natural behaviours from the fish the bigger tank and I was wondering how people condition there kribensis for breeding don't know if you have any fluttermoth. Also I love the way the rummies stick together but not sure if they want to or if they are just to scared of the kribensis from Tom

 

[fluttermoth]

No, I don't have kribs; think they're decidedly unattractive

 
 
My mum used to breed them though, so I spent a long time with tanks of krib fry all over the house (seriously, they were everywhere; on the landing, in the porch

).
 
Plenty of good quality food (including frozen and/or live, if you can get it) and plenty of water changes and that's it really; I think your are still quite small, aren't they? So they might not be big enough yet. 

 

[Seal36]

I dont mind that you think that they are unattractive as everyone has there own preferences on fish. The female is about 2.5 inches and the male is 3 inches. I use gamma frozen food don't know if that is a good quality brand. I change ther water two times a week. They have had 4 batches of eggs but never seem to get wriggles could there be a reason they are only ever having eggs and not having wriggles from Tom

 

[fluttermoth]

Sounds like you're doing everything right.
 
Do the eggs fungus, or just disappear?

 

[Seal36]

They just disappear. Some times the eggs will last 4-5 days and others will last only 1 or 2 days. I was wondering if I could raise them away from parents or something like that from Tom

 

[Blobfish]

I have recently ordered a few fish online and being favourably impressed.  I did have one that was DOA - didn't look like it had been dead for long at all so I did try resuscitating it but to no avail.  The others in the bag were fine and the vendor refunded for the fish instantly.  I was against the idea of online ordering for ages but then it occurred to me that many have already been shipped long distance anyway so an overnight journey is no big deal for them.  I used Kesgrave Tropicals who are on Ebay.