Hi All, I'm new to this site. Have been keeping tropical fish for some time now, but have never really had time to go online. Getting adventurous in my "old age", I suppose. Venturing into unfamiliar territory, so hoping you guys will give me plenty of advice Iqbal
Hi & welcome to TASA Go and register an account at www.photobucket.com and upload your pics there. Once uploaded, use the "Direct Link" of the applicable image and use that to upload the pic to TASA Hope this helps PS - Please state in your account setup where you are from so that all can see Cheers Dale
Full instructions..... I usually do not use photobucket but upload directly from my PC.... How do I attach a file to a post? To attach a file to your post, you need to be using the main 'New Post' or 'New Thread' page and not 'Quick Reply'. To use the main 'New Post' page, click the 'Post Reply' button in the relevant thread. On this page, below the message box, you will find a button labelled 'Manage Attachments'. Clicking this button will open a new window for uploading attachments. You can upload an attachment either from your computer or from another URL by using the appropriate box on this page. Alternatively you can click the Attachment Icon to open this page. To upload a file from your computer, click the 'Browse' button and locate the file. To upload a file from another URL, enter the full URL for the file in the second box on this page. Once you have completed one of the boxes, click 'Upload'. Once the upload is completed the file name will appear below the input boxes in this window. You can then close the window to return to the new post screen. What files types can I use? How large can attachments be? In the attachment window you will find a list of the allowed file types and their maximum sizes. Files that are larger than these sizes will be rejected. There may also be an overall quota limit to the number of attachments you can post to the board. How do I add an image to a post? If you have uploaded an image as an attachment, you can click the arrow next to the 'Attachment Icon' and select it from the list. This will be inserted into your post and can be located where you want it displayed. To include an image that is not uploaded as an attachment and is located on another website, you can do so by copying the full URL to the image, (not the page on which the image is located), and either pressing the 'Insert Image' icon or by typing after it, ensuring that you do not have any spaces before or after the URL of the image. You can insert pictures from your albums (?) in this way too.
Okay, I've updated my profile. What's next? Pics are gonna have to wait. Kinda busy at work, so will only be able to do when I get a chance.
Hi Veegal, Yeah, guess that makes sense. Okay let's start: Have a standard 4 footer. This weekend, I purchased a Jardini Arowana (Pearl?), a fire eel, 3 more black ghost knives, 2 clown knives (wife wanted them), 5 kuhli (spelling?) loaches and an awesome looking albino plecostamus. It has lots of feelers on its head, which get hard when it feels threatened. It was pricy, and I was told they are rare. Don't know exactly what it's called (Any ideas?). Already in my tank: 4 Black ghost knives (2 are quite large) total now 7 5 red eye tetras 5 black widows 1 golden gourami 1 rope fish 1 clown loach 1 albino polypterus (smallish, recent addition) I know that I should probably kiss the tetras and black widows goodbye, but I always really wanted the arowana. Tank is maintained via an undergravel filter connected to a powerhead, and an external cannister filter (Dolphin, I think), connected to a spray bar. I've pointed the powerhead and the spray bar straight down, as the arowana didn't seem to like the water activity. That about sums it up :bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile: Iqbal
welcome to TASA! your tank is overcrowded for the fish you have in there that will soon outgrow it. perhaps tell us about your maintenance schedule (how much and how often water is changed/replaced), exact filter specs (to be sure its correctly rated for your tank) and also the current water parameters (also if these have fluctuated much)? the albino plec is most likely an albino ancistrus species. post a pic and we can help ID it better.
At Dolphin: Overcrowded why? Arowana will definitely grow. As I said, tetras, black widows and gourami will probably end up as feeder fish. That leaves the knives, and to be honest, the ones that grow (Clowns) will probably be taken to LFS as soon as they crowd the black ghosts. They were wife's choice, and told her that they go as soon as they are too big. Plan is to keep Arowana and Black ghosts and pleco. The black ghosts don't grow as large as the clowns (I think...), so ideal playmates for the Arowana The dream is to custom build a very large tank (between 3-4m by 1,5m) between my study and dining room. This will be for the Arowana, ghost and pleco. With regards to setup, you guys are gonna think I'm crazy. Temperature is about 26,5. I don't check ph, hardness or anything very often, maybe once a year. I clean/replace the canister media every 3rd to 4th month. Every 2nd month I replace 1/3 of the water. It works for me, as the fish are thriving. I must admit, if the tank starts looking murky, I do everything, but that rarely happens. The image is the tank before I added the new fish. Sorry, Still getting the hang of this More pics of the fish I added. Sorry for the poor quality. Cellphone shots resized with Win XP
standard 4-footer = 120 x 45 x 45cm (is that the size of your tank?) if it is, then you have 1. +/- 200L of water in there (depending on you water level and displacement caused by rocks, gravel etc) 2. space for +/- 18-20 10cm fish (180cm of fish). Fewer if these are thicker body fish, perhaps half that number. (based on the assumption that you do regular water changes and have correct filtration) Now the fish you have: 1. Black ghost knife = 60cm adult size (perhaps 45-50cm in the aquarium) [you have 7 so that means 7 x 50cm = 350cm of fish] 2. Clown loach = 30cm adult size in the aquarium [30cm of fish] 3. Fire Eel = 45 - 60cm adult size in the aquarium [45cm of fish] 4. Jardini = 90cm adult size in the aquarium [90cm] so thats a TOTAL OF 515CM of fish before we add in the clown knifes or other fish! I hope you now understand why I say your tank is overcrowded. Building that big tank will certainly be the solution for your fish.
Dolphin: Thanks, very informative. I think my wife solved the crowding problem for me. Turns out, her choice of clown knives were from a store with a bad rep. Got home yesterday to the following: 1 x Fire eel 2 x Boesemani Rainbows (forgot I had these) 1 x Clown knife 1 x Black Ghost knife DEAD Immediately rushed off to my trusted LFS. Told him the area where we got the fish, and he immediately told me the store where we made our mistake. He said "everybody knows about them". Unfortunately I didn't. Cycled roughly half the tank, treated with salt and general aid. removed activated charcoal/carbon from canister (BTW it is a Cascade 1000). Will repeat process tomorrow evening. Last night, rope fish didn't seem too happy while I was cycling. Hope it makes it. Don't really want to lose it. Obviously did not get much sleep last night. Iqbal
Get real aquatic plants into your tank...lots of it. It'll greatly aid in keeping your tank healthy Cheers Dale
very sorry to hear! Cascade 1000 is good enough to filter a 200L aquarium. What filter media do you have in there? Did you test the water before doing the water change last night? Are the remaining fish showing any signs of disease? Are they at the water surface gulping for air? Any gill issues? Clamped fins? Did the Clown Knifes also die? Or are they alive and sick - disease ID?
Dolphin: That's the strange thing, no visible problems, Rope fish looked asleep this morning, and calm after feeding last night. remaining clown knife looks okay. normal behavior. Tank size sounds right. Solex69: Don't think of me as weird or anything, but I'm not a fan of live plants. Must be a throwback from my allergies. I am allergic to grass and shrubs. Iqbal Dolphin, Forgot. Canister has three trays. Bottom tray has ceramic tubes topped with cotton. Middle tray has Sponge topped with cotton. Top tray normally has activated carbon/charcoal topped with cotton. Removed Charcoal and replaced cotton matting. Iqbal
Quick question, What lighting would you guys recommend. I currently have a Tube (from LFS) on a ballast (also from LFS). Also for what duration should the light be on. Had a problem with algae buildup on the glass and a friend advised it was from leaving light on too long. Iqbal
Iqbal, I would STRONGLY suggest getting real plants in that tank. Based on your routine of water changes only being once every few months, your Nitrate levels will soar. Normal levels of Nitrate is around 40ppm, less is better. The only way you can get rid of Nitrate levels is (1) regular 10-20% water changes every week, and (2) introduce life plants. I'm assuming you've read up on the ammonia and nitrite cylce in a fish tank, and are aware of what I am talking about. The Plants will use up the Nitrate as fertilizer in order to grow. Thus, the benefits are incomparable to plastic plants. (1) Elliminates Nitrates. (2) Produces oxygen (3) Stops algae. (Algae thrive on Nitrates, therefore if your plants are not taking in the nitrates, the algae will blossom.) Sorry mate... I'd consider the plants...
