Recent content by Fish-mates

I've got to say it's not nice to think a fish might be on its way out.... I find I'm coming down each morning not knowing if it'll still be alive :-( And somehow it's different to the times I've euthanased a very poorly fish, as then I hope I'm doing it a favour.

Just wonder how you'd know if a gold barbs unusual behaviour might be old age. I have 3 barbs left out of 10 bought over 5 years ago. One has had a bit of a twitchy way of swimming for a few months and every evening seems to be resting on the sand. When I approach it quickly swims up - ever...

I know you say this may be a long way off but please make sure you factor in a smaller recovery tank. I have a 30 gallon planted tank with 12 tiger barbs and they always seem to be picking on someone. It's not always the same fish yet near tail loss has been a massive issue. Every couple of...

On the topic of fish hearing, does the constant hum of a powerhead, (which seems to be louder in the room because of reverberations on the acquarium lid), upset the fish? Just interested to know as I'm tuning into it in the room so surely the fish do too, yet I can leave the room.

I love rummynose tetras as they all enjoy swimming together and you can easily see they're happy by their lovely glowing red noses. I also have black phantom tetras, a great shape and seem to be happy with my rummynose tetras and gold barbs. (Get female black phantoms as they're more colourful)...

Not sure how powerful you want the flow to be, as too much may blow your fish around, yet I gather more filtration is usually a good thing. Perhaps DrRob may know more as he has an APS 2000. Also, is your tank well planted? If so, you may find the 2000 is fine and you could use powerheads to...

I bought the 1000EF to run alongside my Juwel internal filter on a 100 litre tank. Seems to work well but noisier than I'd expected, although I've tried to muffle it with a blanket. If I ever want to remove the internal filter I'll need to upgrade to a more powerful model as with media in it...

Thanks everyone for your input, it's really great to know you're all out there. I'll do a water change tomorrow and try and knock it off when I syphon the water.

No but I'm discovering the joy of otos :-)

On the subject of wood...anyone know why diatoms are more attracted to wood than plants? I mean the plants do appear brown in places but the wood in 3 of my tanks seems to get lots of diatoms. I've increased flow, increased water changes, but it's been months...

I've had the wood totally submerged in the tank since May. It only went like this after taking it out recently, as I had a diatom bloom after changing from T5 to led lights. The last time I took the wood out I painted the branches with Excel and left it for a couple of days to dry. I put the...

I've taken the wood out several times to clean it from diatoms, yet each time it is put back it triggers this grey fuzz. It's not tufty enough to be bba so how should I deal with it? Any suggestions?