Soldato
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Cheers for that link. Ill look into it properly later 
Edit: we are going cold water btw.
Edit: we are going cold water btw.
Your current Fish tank Setups!
- Thread starter Malt_Vinegar
- Start date
Just my 2penneth...without knowing your set-up makes it a little harder to suggest something that may be suitable, but as mentioned, assassin snails are one that gets quite a bit of praise.
Clown loaches are also good but they grow to quite a size and therefore may be inappropriate.
I believe kuhli loaches are another worthwhile consideration (though they may require a mature set-up, IIRC).
There maybe other options available to you that I'm not aware of, so hopefully someone else here with more experience can help.
You may find this site useful, though it is IMO a bit chaotically organized:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/
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If you have pest snails breeding in your tank it means there is abundance of food available to them. I'm not really a fan of getting another fish to control Algae or Snail problems as it is just mashing the problem.
You can start off by feeding less.
Other options are:
Proper snail trap
Copper based snail treatment, these can have an effect on plants and will kill all invertebrates including shrimp. Read up about them.
Assassin Snails
Loaches (dwarf chain loach stay pretty small)
Goldfish
If there are no other fish you can get dwarf puffers. I wouldn't recommend putting them with other fish as they can be really aggressive. I have mine with shrimp and Otocinclus catfish they leave them alone but your mileage may vary.
Looking good, as per ci newman's post, read about cycling, and grab a test kit (at least ammonia/nitrite/nitrate) the API master test kit is good for freshwater
Yup, test EVERYTHING!
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Man of Honour
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Ok thankyou.
Can you expand on the Copper based snail treatment please?
What about this stuff..? Seems to have some good reviews although not sure what it will do to the balance..
http://www.completeaquatics.co.uk/esha-gastropex-10ml-snail#tab-description
I do have one very large snail I bought years ago. He does a great job of cleaning the glass but I'm wondering if he's laying the eggs and I'm pretty sure this stuff will kill him too..
I assume the large snail is a nerite or a rabbit snail, yes this will kill that.
The shop page doesn't say what the active ingredient is, I wouldn't like to say how long that additive remains active in your tank. Re-homing it for a short period may not be an option. It also doesn't say about shrimp.
The main issue with using treatments like this is that they can linger in your tank well beyond what you would expect and you will also have a load of rotting snails in your tank which are difficult to remove because they are small.
The shop page doesn't say what the active ingredient is, I wouldn't like to say how long that additive remains active in your tank. Re-homing it for a short period may not be an option. It also doesn't say about shrimp.
The main issue with using treatments like this is that they can linger in your tank well beyond what you would expect and you will also have a load of rotting snails in your tank which are difficult to remove because they are small.
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Man of Honour
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So I’ve finally got my new Juwel Rio 125 tank on the way. Stepping up from an old 45L tropical jobbie so looking forward to getting a larger size to play with.
In terms of transferring between what’s the best way to do it? I’m actually going to use an external filter I’m getting from a friend so will be taking the juwel built in filter out, but not sure how best to cycle it...
In terms of transferring between what’s the best way to do it? I’m actually going to use an external filter I’m getting from a friend so will be taking the juwel built in filter out, but not sure how best to cycle it...
If you can set up the external filter on your current tank for a while then that would build up the bacteria in there - obviously this involves waiting a couple of weeks before setting up the new tank.
Otherwise, take some media out of your current filter and stick it in the external on the new tank, this will kick-start the cycle(or if you're lucky, even completely bypass it).
Otherwise, take some media out of your current filter and stick it in the external on the new tank, this will kick-start the cycle(or if you're lucky, even completely bypass it).
Man of Honour
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I was wondering about setting up the external on my old tank but it’s about 3x the filtration needed for the tank... might try it for a while though
May put the old external filter in the new tank while I do that. Want to spend a while setting up the new one before I move the old fish in (some are 10 years old now!)I was wondering about setting up the external on my old tank but it’s about 3x the filtration needed for the tank... might try it for a while though
That shouldn't make a difference, if you gradually remove media from the existing filter and add to the new one, the bacteria will start to build up in the new one.
If you do that, you'll be removing all of your cycled media from the current tank which isn't a good idea! Unless you mean do it gradually while the external filter begins to build up?[/QUOTE]
Man of Honour
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[/QUOTE]
Yer, good point
On a related note - plants and sand, how are people planting in sand, and is it worth using root fertilise tablets or just dosing into the tank water.
Yer, good point
On a related note - plants and sand, how are people planting in sand, and is it worth using root fertilise tablets or just dosing into the tank water.[/QUOTE]
I personally wouldn't use sand it holds no nutrients, there is plenty of choices of aqua soil plus it looks more natural, I dose liquid carbon and plant fertilizer.
Just buy some bacteria in a bottle to speed the colony up in the filter, just don't plonk a ton of fish in one go, I use this method now and had no problems, instead of waiting 6 weeks or so the tank can be ready in a day or two if you add livestock slowly over weeks.
There are two ways of doing this but it really depends on your own circumstances such as space.
For changing filters you can just take all the media from the old filter and just add it to the new one and leave it as that on the existing tank. You should not experience any issues doing that as long as you transfer all the media. If the old media doesn't fit just cut it up and make it fit. I have done this many times with no ill effects.
Leave it like this for a couple of weeks to take up more bacteria.
Once you have your new tank remove the included internal filter. You will need a thin and long blade. Take your time as it is held in with silicone and make sure you don't cut a seem. You will need to find another way to mount the heater as it does not come with suction cups.
Fill it up and bring it up to temp, use the power head from the old filter to create circulation.
When moving to the new tank you will loose a load of your beneficial bacteria that is on the surfaces in the tank its self. You need to move as much of it over that you possibly can.
Once it is up to temp:
Move the filter over, fish, decorations, plants and if possible the gravel/sand.
If you don't want to re-use the gravel/sand, plants and decorations put them in it in anyway and remove them in a few weeks once the tank has matured a bit.
The important thing is do not feed the tank for 3 days and then start building up the food really slowly. This will give the bacteria in the filter a change to multiply to a accommodate what was left in the old tank.
The other way to do this and arguably easier is to:
Set up the new tank with the external filter and bring it up to temp.
Move your current filter to the new tank as well.
Move the filter over, fish, decorations, plants and if possible the gravel/sand.
If you don't want to re-use the gravel/sand, plants and decorations put them in it in anyway and remove them in a few weeks once the tank has matured a bit.
Again don't feed the tank for a few days and then start building up the food.
In a month remove the old filter and you should be up and running, there is no harm in leaving it in for as long as possible.
It is possible to change the sand/gravel when there are fish in the tank, I have done this. Or you can catch them out and put them in a bucket it is up to you. If your taking out sand, suck it out with your siphon hose. If your taking out gravel use a fish net. When adding the new gravel, give it a good rinse take the water level down to a couple of inches and add it slowly 1 bowl at a time and add some more water back if you need to. The fish will move out of the way. If you use an aqua soil type product don't rinse it, just be prepared to have a cloudy tank for a few days, have as little water as possible in the tank and add it slowly. ADA Aqua Soil leaches ammonia, not recommended when doing this. Use a different brand.
If you really don't want to move the gravel as it can be a pain to remove later when fish are in the tank then don't but you need to be really diligent with monitoring the tank and quickly reacting to any spikes in ammonia/nitrite.
For changing filters you can just take all the media from the old filter and just add it to the new one and leave it as that on the existing tank. You should not experience any issues doing that as long as you transfer all the media. If the old media doesn't fit just cut it up and make it fit. I have done this many times with no ill effects.
Leave it like this for a couple of weeks to take up more bacteria.
Once you have your new tank remove the included internal filter. You will need a thin and long blade. Take your time as it is held in with silicone and make sure you don't cut a seem. You will need to find another way to mount the heater as it does not come with suction cups.
Fill it up and bring it up to temp, use the power head from the old filter to create circulation.
When moving to the new tank you will loose a load of your beneficial bacteria that is on the surfaces in the tank its self. You need to move as much of it over that you possibly can.
Once it is up to temp:
Move the filter over, fish, decorations, plants and if possible the gravel/sand.
If you don't want to re-use the gravel/sand, plants and decorations put them in it in anyway and remove them in a few weeks once the tank has matured a bit.
The important thing is do not feed the tank for 3 days and then start building up the food really slowly. This will give the bacteria in the filter a change to multiply to a accommodate what was left in the old tank.
The other way to do this and arguably easier is to:
Set up the new tank with the external filter and bring it up to temp.
Move your current filter to the new tank as well.
Move the filter over, fish, decorations, plants and if possible the gravel/sand.
If you don't want to re-use the gravel/sand, plants and decorations put them in it in anyway and remove them in a few weeks once the tank has matured a bit.
Again don't feed the tank for a few days and then start building up the food.
In a month remove the old filter and you should be up and running, there is no harm in leaving it in for as long as possible.
It is possible to change the sand/gravel when there are fish in the tank, I have done this. Or you can catch them out and put them in a bucket it is up to you. If your taking out sand, suck it out with your siphon hose. If your taking out gravel use a fish net. When adding the new gravel, give it a good rinse take the water level down to a couple of inches and add it slowly 1 bowl at a time and add some more water back if you need to. The fish will move out of the way. If you use an aqua soil type product don't rinse it, just be prepared to have a cloudy tank for a few days, have as little water as possible in the tank and add it slowly. ADA Aqua Soil leaches ammonia, not recommended when doing this. Use a different brand.
If you really don't want to move the gravel as it can be a pain to remove later when fish are in the tank then don't but you need to be really diligent with monitoring the tank and quickly reacting to any spikes in ammonia/nitrite.
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Soldato
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Associate
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Please don't do fish in cycle. There is no need for it and it injures (and can kill) the fish. Please don't do it. Just because they're stupid and can't talk doesn't mean they deserve no respect.
I think he was meaning with my post, bacteria in a bottle as well, totally safe for the fish just go slow.
Associate
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Bacteria in a bottle alone won't protect your fish. If you are seeding with used biofilter material you will be ok though.
It appears that one of my goldfish is suffering from Ich (two white spots on one of its fins). Never dealt with this before. Is this a suitable way of treating it or is there a more effective method?
https://www.wikihow.com/Cure-Goldfish-Ich
Cheers.
https://www.wikihow.com/Cure-Goldfish-Ich
Cheers.
I lost half of my stock in my marine tank due to ich it was very depressing, I couldn't treat it, properly as I would have lost all my corals as I don't have a separate tank, a copper treatment is the best for marine and the only way to properly cue it, have a look at that for your fish certain fish won't tolerate it though, you can try and use some salt which can also help, Invertebrates will be affected if you have any.
http://completegoldfishcare.com/goldfish-diseases/white-spot-disease-ich-treatment/
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Thanks. I've had a look at different products and eSHa Exit seems to have the best reviews. Not sure if it contains copper though (malachite green apparently). It's only a fresh water tank with two goldfish.
Hopefully it doesn't kill off my plants.
