Recent content by Cracken

Hi Kieth, Went home and checked and yes, I am using Seachem Prime. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I didn't test the water last night but did a 20% change out and gravel vac as it was starting to get a bit messy. All inhabitants still very happy now, except maybe the fry as I seem to...

Hi Carole, That sounds like good advice. At present I just quickly rinse the tubes under a running tap then cap them and pop them back in the API test kit. I'll give them a thorough clean and see if it still turns up an ammonia result. Many thanks... Keith, I don't think its due to the tap...

I think my tank might be cycled now! :) For the last few days the Nitrite has consistently been coming up at zero, a nice beautiful blue without any hint of Nitrite. My ammonia is stubbornly at 0.25ppm but never moves from that level without any water change outs. I haven't done a change out...

I have the same issue in my freshwater tank. I have two Plateys and half a dozen guppies. One of the Plateys is brave and the other one has been named "Heidi" or more accurately "Hidey"... ;) It spends the whole time hiding down the back underneath my plants behind the large plastic...

Hi Carole, Beautiful avatar shot, is she a border collie? I have a red girl border collie that looks very similar to that shot. I read some posts of yours over on the planted tank forum I think and thought how beautiful she was at the time... Thanks for your input too! I've just got home...

Thanks Goat, I'll dive over to the planted section and start my research. I've added another plant which I'd taken out as it was starting to rot a bit, but with the fluoro light in place now should be OK. I'll keep an eye on it though. I'll also gently clean the filter in the swapped out...

Hi Al, I held the tubes just away from the card when testing it tonight for the first time. I'd appreciate any guidance from the experienced members here around these results and what I should be doing differently if anything. OK, tested the lot before any change out: Thursday 20/1/2011...

I went home and checked and all the white spot seems to have cleared up on the fish anyway. I'll keep a close eye on it and see what happens but won't need to treat it at present. Unfortunately, one of my male guppies is not happy. Its swimming around a bit tail down and no visible dorsal...

Many thanks! Will do that then. I've currently got the temperature set to 25 so I'll turn it up when I get home. Given its a 5 degree increase, should I stage this over a couple of days so as not to shock the fish too much? I'm not sure how quickly the little heater would increase the...

Thanks Guys (gender non-specific Aussie colloquial term ;) ), I will increase my water swap out to 50% daily until I can start testing. I don't even have any PH +/- solution either so will not be able to adjust that even if it is out of range. On top of all this I have also noticed a couple...

Thanks one and all, good to see a few other convicts gracing these British pages... ;) Cheers, Michael

Hello all, I am a self-confessed absolute noob with no redeeming features except maybe my ignited passion for tropical fishkeeping... To be fair, I am not a fishowner. My son is. Well, it was his Christmas present after a lot of pleading so technically I am just the assistant fishowner, but...

Hello one and all, The time has come to throw off the mantle of inaction and to stop lurking and start contributing to this excellent forum. In sooth, my initial contributions will be by way of questions, but I hope in time to repay the anticipated generosity of the established members with...