Hiya I'm New :)

[Redgeorge]

Hi There.

Im new to fish keeping and to his forum.
I am already totaly in love with my tanks and the beautiful inhabitants in them!!!

Thought I would say Hi to everyone.
George.

 

[mattlee]

Hi George and welcome to the forum.

please take a good look around and feel free to ask any questions no matter how serious or silly they may seem.....

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum RedGeorge.
Why don't you fill us in on what fish you are currently keeping and what direction you expect to go in the hobby.

 

[fatheadminnow]

to TFF!

-FHM

 

[Redgeorge]

Well I currently have a small tank with 2 adult Damation Mollies with about 20 fry, a zebra and a leopard Danio. This small tank is also home to a zebra snail (which I think is laying eggs all over the place, i'm not sure, they are white and are over the gravel and the filter!!)

I also have a tank with an assortment of Gourami's, which includes....
a male & female dwarf,
a female Pearl
a female Gold
a red honey (I think)
an male Opaline
and a male Paradise Fish.
& I also have a Platy that I moved from the dalmation tank when the I realised there was an arrival of fry.

Unfortunatley this tank is having an bit of a brown algae problem at the moment!

 

[mattlee]

the brown algae will be DIATOMS and is usually caused by ammonia, even a trace can cause this to appear. it will/should just wipe off.
how long has the tank been set up?
try feeding a bit less for a week or so

 

[M.R Otter]

Hi and welcome to TFF where a fish dreams come true!!

 

[Redgeorge]

the brown algae will be DIATOMS and is usually caused by ammonia, even a trace can cause this to appear. it will/should just wipe off.
how long has the tank been set up?
try feeding a bit less for a week or so

Yeah that's what I figured, it does wipe off but then comes back rather quickly. I have a mix of real and fake plants and it seems to cover the fake ones which I am finding hard to clean off. I also have white gravel so it makes it look alot worse than it actualy is!

The tank has been running for about 2 months now. 3 weeks without fish but I added the real plants at the same time as the first fish and the algae came straight away.

 

[mattlee]

the brown algae will be DIATOMS and is usually caused by ammonia, even a trace can cause this to appear. it will/should just wipe off.
how long has the tank been set up?
try feeding a bit less for a week or so

Yeah that's what I figured, it does wipe off but then comes back rather quickly. I have a mix of real and fake plants and it seems to cover the fake ones which I am finding hard to clean off. I also have white gravel so it makes it look alot worse than it actualy is!

The tank has been running for about 2 months now. 3 weeks without fish but I added the real plants at the same time as the first fish and the algae came straight away.

do you have a test kit to use for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate at all? if not i would recommend getting one. API freshwater masterkit is widely used on here and can be bought on ebay for about £17. dont get the test strips as they are inacurate and a waste of money.
if you do have a test kit do you have any results? you may well be in the middle of a fish in cycle hence the diatoms due to ammonia present.

 

[Redgeorge]

Ah, yes I have test strips, they dont test for ammonia however all my other readings are fine.
I was aiming to get an ammonia test kit however my lfs was sold out. I may well get a combined one shortly if you're telling me the strips are rubbish!!
I'm trying to get some pics up of my boys and girls so as soon as I get the hang of this technology lark I will add them!

 

[stoneagedinosaur]

Hi and welcome

Check out the planted tank section - loads of good stuff on getting shot of algae

 

[mattlee]

Ah, yes I have test strips, they dont test for ammonia however all my other readings are fine.
I was aiming to get an ammonia test kit however my lfs was sold out. I may well get a combined one shortly if you're telling me the strips are rubbish!!
I'm trying to get some pics up of my boys and girls so as soon as I get the hang of this technology lark I will add them!

yeah the test strips are very inacurate and basically a waste of time and money.... sorry!
the API freshwater masterkit is quite a good kit and its cheaper to buy the kit than individual tests. you get ammonia. nitrite, nitrate, pH, high range pH tests some test tubes and result cards. they are about £30 at the lfs but can be bought for £17 on ebay a single ammonia test can cost up to £10 and its the same size as the 1 in the kit so for another £7 you get a lot more for your money.
technology hey! who needs it.........

 

[Redgeorge]

As I said, i'm not great with technology, so lets see if this works...
Meet some of my little ones...

Sawyer...

Heather...

Jacob...