That's good news James. Look forward to pics

Yeah, it'll be great to get it sorted out. Sadly I lost a couple of the neon tetra last week, and the oto seems to have vanished without trace. I suppose he must have been eaten. I had everything out of the tank today to make it easier to catch the loach and the sharks, no sign of him. I stripped down the filter yesterday, but he wasn't in there either, he's just completely disappeared. It was a bit sad having to part with the loach, as he was one of my favourites, but I guess it had to be done.

It can be hard to part with a fish - it's easy to get attached to them, but you're doing the right thing for them by rehoming some so it's for the best really.

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I've been a bit busy with one thing and another. I rehomed some more fish at the weekend - the molly, gouramis, scissortail and glass cats, got £10 for the lot. The tank is looking a lot better now, the water's been clear since I started rehoming fish. Sadly, three of the zebra danios have managed to escape from the tank. They must have jumped out when I was cleaning the other day, and unfortunately I hadn't noticed they were missing until one of my cats retrieved two dead bodies from behind the cabinet. A quick check in the tank revealed that there was only one left, which leaves one unaccounted for. I haven't found another body yet, but I'm pretty certain it's not in the tank. I was planning on getting rid of them, but not like this!!

Sorry for the losses, it's a shame But very glad to hear things in general are improving in the tank

Did some tests last week, the nitrate level has dropped significantly since I rehomed the last lot, and the ammonia and nitrite levels are very low as well. So I'm getting there!

Well, I'm getting there. Haven't had time to rehome any more fish yet, although sadly I have lost a couple, which is a shame but I suppose on the plus side at least it's helping to reduce the stock level. By my calculations I now have 213cm of fish based on adult sizes, which is still pretty heavily overstocked but a huge improvement on what it was like before. The test results have improved dramatically - ammonia 0.25ppm, nitrite close to zero and nitrate between 10 and 20ppm. I've also reduced the amount I've been feeding them, as I think I may have been overfeeding, and less fish obviously need less food anyway. Although the water is still a bit yellow, it's crystal clear now, I can't remember the last time it was cloudy. Also I have been having problems with hair algae, which also seems to have dramatically reduced now - it's still there, but nowhere near as much, and it's not growing as quickly. One question - not really a problem, I'm just curious as to why it happens. I've noticed that sometimes many of the fish gather in one corner of the tank for no apparent reason. The effect doesn't seem to be peculiar to one particular species. Any ideas why they do it?

Hi james

Well you are making inroads then which is good. Unfortunately, you are still experiencing fish dying due to the water quality Ammonia levels registering even 0.25ppm are toxic to fish and they have been living with this since Feb so some more may still die yet as this burns the gills. Long term damage may have occured already - I'm sorry

Continue with daily water changes whilst ammonia still reads, hard work I know, but it must be done and continue with the rehoming would be my advice. How often are still undertaking water changes at the moment?

With regards to the fish hanging around in one corner. Which corner exactly? Top of the tank perhaps? That would usually indicate seeking o2 (see above).

I'm managing to do partial water changes a couple of times a week, I haven't really got time to do it every day unfortunately. As I said in an earlier post, I know any amount of ammonia is bad news, so I'm planning on rehoming more as soon as I can. The majority do seem happy and healthy, but I know that doesn't necessarily mean anything. As for which corner - they're not at the top, more towards the middle. They don't do it all the time, just every now and then. It's the corner furthest from the heater, which I first thought may mean they were too warm near the heater, but it doesn't always happen when the heater is on. Just wondering if they may be something in that corner attracting them.

Rehomed some more fish today! I've rehomed the Bengal loaches and the one remaining zebra danio, so all of the fish unsuitable for my tank have now gone. I also rehomed the glowlights and the Peruvian blue tetra. By my calculations I now have 149.5cm of fish in there based on adult sizes - still overstocked but a huge improvement. Just wondering - what effect does using an oversized filter have on the stocking capacity of a tank? Some sources suggest it will allow you to keep more fish, but I can't find a definitive answer anywhere. I'd be willing to upgrade my filter if it will help, as I can't help thinking the tank will look very empty once I've finished reducing the stocking level.