Bettarazzi

Welcome KB5. Sounds like you’re off to a great start.

Welcome Sass. Sounds like you’re hooked good and proper.

Go ahead and ask questions. We’re going a bit slow right now. But the only way to get things back to the way they were is for people to post.

Welcome Sig. That’s a classic and not uncommon getting started story. I think you’re going to enjoy this hobby a lot. The Eastern Districts Aquarium Society hold meetings at the Whitehorse community centre in Nunawading on the last Friday of the even numbered months. Next meeting in February. They are very closely linked to the Aquarium Society of Victoria who hold meetings in Clifton Hill on the odd numbered months. Next meeting Friday 31st January. You should try to get along to those. There’ll be a guest speaker, trading table, and supper afterwards. You don’t have to join as a member until after you’ve gone to a few meetings.

Sorry to hear that. It’s hard to know what could have caused that.

I would give him a complete water change immediately. It sounds like a bad reaction to something in his water. Save some old water and take it to an aquarium shop to get tested. They should be able to advise you further. Good luck.

Hi Betta_Addict Welcome to the forum. You should be able to find a koi or salamander pair pretty easily. There seem to be plenty around.

Welcome Kesh!

Welcome BettaGalore. Great to have a scientist in the group.

Rainbow tank would be awesome. There are a few shops that will send fish and plants to you in the mail. You want to go with the really experienced ones. Allfish2u is in Kingswood NSW. They do a lot of shipping.

Hi Jessy, Welcome. Yeah 2 litres is pretty small. A lot of breeders do use small containers but they have the experience manage water quality and detect problems early. I usually use small containers when I'm breeding but my current spawn doesn't have many males and I managed to fit them all into slightly larger 6 L containers. This allows me to have more time in between water changes. What I'm saying is that the shop assistant didn't give you the full story (they may not have known better). I suspect your female is cold. Small containers generally don't have room for a heater. So unless you're keeping it in a warm room (24-26 deg C), this is likely to be the problem. Even in summer, the overnight temperatures could be a lot lower than ideal. You should check her carefully to make sure she hasn't caught velvet. This will look like a fine yellowish-gold dust. It can be difficult to see depending on the colour of the fish. My recommendation is that you get a larger tank, say around the 20 L mark. This will have room for a heater and filter, and you can even add a couple of companion fish. But don't add any other fish until you are happy this one has settled down. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

What happened with this tank? Did you end up going for cichlids?

Hi Simon. Welcome. Yeah clown loaches are great. I haven’t kept any in a long time but I do remember the sleeping upside down thing.

Welcome Griff! How big is the tank? And what kind of fish are you generally interested in? You could do a nice planted display if it also came with lights.

Amazing how resilient they are. Would never dare try that in Melbourne.