Search results

My 180 litre is an ND Aquatics custom built tank. They were very helpful when I ordered it at the end of 2013.

I agree, I kept honey gouramis for years and they never nipped any other fish in the tank. The male gouramis did nip the female gouramis' tails when they wanted to breed but that's all.

What is your pH doing? With pH, it is a good idea to test your tap water - both a freshly run sample, and a glass of water that's been allowed to stand overnight. They may be different. When water is soft and acidic, water providers sometimes add something to raise the pH to stop their pipes...

I'm not sure that anacharis feeds though it's roots as it grows successfully as a floating plant. The two most often recommended liquid fertilisers are Seachem Flourish Comprehensive Supplement, and in the UK TNC Lite (in the USA Brightwell FlorinMulti). These companies make products with...

When the tester hasn't been used for a while, or is new, that reagent which settles on the bottom can solidify into a lump. Tapping the bottle on a worktop can break up the lump making it easier to mix it in during shaking.

Plants take up ammonia as food and they turn it into protein rather than nitrite. When there are enough of them, they take up all the ammonia made by the fish so nitrite never shows up. It is possible that the plants you have will be enough for 1 platy, it's when you add more fish that you might...

Nitrite binds to the fish's red blood cells and stops oxygen binding which is why it needs to be kept low. It basically does the same to fish as carbon monoxide does to us.

it would be better wait till you have zero nitrites before getting more fish. Until there are enough bacteria to remove the nitrite from one fish, getting more will just increase nitrite and we need to keep that as close to zero as possible with fish in the tank.

It shouldn't be overstocked. But keep an eye out to make sure the bettas don't pester the tetras.

Hmmm, most people want to know how to make the bloom go away :) But as the bloom bacteria won't do any harm, except make it harder to see the fish, if you want a bloom ......;)

Curious - why do you want a bloom? Most people can't wait to get rid of it......

The one inch of fish per gallon is pretty much outdated now. Stocking a tank is more than just the total length of the fish. It does depend on the species of tetra. Some grow pretty big and 10 of those would definitley be overstocked. But 10 of a small species would be OK. As Byron posted many...

Yes, keep adding food until you decide what to do. It will feed the bacteria you already have, and hopefully grow some more. But remove it before it goes mouldy and put some more in. Don't forget that most pet store workers haven't a clue so any advice they give on plants may be rubbish. Always...

It sounded as though you thought the plec might have been pregnant when it was bought! But yes, an egg attached to something from a shop tank would be possible - that's how we get pest snails as well. Or even a fry caight up in a plant.

I suggested hornwort as a temporary plant in case you didn't want to keep live plants permanently. It would be OK in 10 gallons until you'd got fish and the bacteria started to grow properly, but I agree, it would take over a 10 gallon if it was there permanently. What I am trying to achieve...

No I don't. All the plants I know about do need fertiliser. The plant experts in the plant section might be able to help. But I expect that any plant which does not need fertiliser would ve very slow growing, and they wouldn't take up any significant amount of ammonia, which is what you need...

Most plants do need fertiliser. Some, like amazon swords, take it up through their roots so we use root tabs (lumps of solid fertiliser) put in the substrate near the roots. Others take it up through their leaves so they just need a dose of liquid fertiliser added once a week the day after a...

I wasn't sure from what you wrote whether nitrite was really very low or whether that's just what it looked to you (because of colour blindness) and could have been higher. As long as it is zero on Friday that's OK. But I wouldn't just assume it's zero on Friday, I would check by adding 3 ppm...

It depends on whether you want to have live plants permanently. If you don't, floating plants would the better option as they can be removed once they've done their job (a few at a time). Hornwort can be left to float. When I had some I anchored it down by wrapping the stems round branched wood...

So the 20% you didn't remove had the ammonia and nitrite that is in the latest photo. Both show only a tiny amount. IF you can source some fast growing plants, another water change should get them down to zero (or at least as near to zero as the testers can manage) then with the plants in the...