they are now spawning every 2 weeks or so. they are at it again as i speak. i have 3 fry growing in a 2.5 gallon tank from their last spawn, and im not saving any eggs this time. i guess they must be happy fish, i havent even done a water change since last monday so i dont know whats set them off this time randy little buggers

maybe their peas they had for supper last night contained something

more eggs this morning, my 4 inch common decided to spawn for the first time plants everywhere, eggs everywhere, mayhem in the tank

Sounds like B/B

no more fishy business going on in the tank today. all is calm. the 3 fry i saved from their last spawn are growing stronger by the day and are now very fast when swimming, tomorrow they will go into the 3 gallon tank so they have more room

Hi kelly

How often do you clean your FX5s hosing?

I just bought a new set of hosing (for a spare) for our 405's. I was wondering how often you cleaned out your tubes so to speak

cleaned out my tubes lol! personally i havent-yet, and i didnt with my rena either when i had that running, however, the hosing on the fx5 is ribbed which means it will collect a lot of debris. i may have to take it all apart and see how much its got in there. it usually blows some (i call it tank snot ) out when it restarts after a water change or when it stops for 2 mins each day to purge the air from the system. i would say maybe once every 6 months to make sure they are clear. my rena never really had much build up but it was crap and the water flow rate was dismal at best much better now i have the fx5 doing its best for the fish

Thanks Kelly, I have some more questions lol

That baby Oranda is getting nice & big, but she's still bronze coloured & shows no sign of going orange like her parents lol

Will she stay that colour do you think?

Also...

Filter floss. Does the FX5 let you put in floss/wool? If it does, how often do you change it? My 405's all have it in their top trays, but I only change it about every 3 months. I was reading a post by someone who said she changed it every week Overkill?

Finally, what media is in your FX5?

goldfish can change colour up to around a year old as far as im aware. shes got plenty of time yet

i dont use filter floss, it clogs way too fast. the fx5 has a central column with sponge around each circular basket, then the baskets each contain bio-balls and ceramic media. its fantastic and i wish i got one sooner. it has a purge valve at the bottom of the canister which you can open to drain all the chunky crap from it, and then once every few months i take it apart and rinse out the sponges in old tank water. i never replace any of it unless its falling apart, same in my 4+ and 3+ filters in the tank.

changing media removes the largest populations of your beneficial bacteria. i had to change the floss when i used it so i swapped to sponge instead as it doesnt clog as fast and is more easily cleaned.

Yes, I use Ehiem media & I will never need to replace it. It's sintered glass & will last forever.

I was just wondering what media the FX5 uses. It's a beast of a filter, do you use a spray bar at all? All my tanks have one filter with a spraybar & the other with just the nozzle. I can usually tell when the floss needs changing by the amount of flow.

We've found a house now, with a big garden. All our kids have left for uni etc so we just wanted a smaller property with a big garden. I will be using a guy I met off PFKs pond forum to design & build our pond. My poor Orfes are going mental cooped up in their tank.

Should be moving within 6 weeks. Plenty of time to build the pond. It's going to have a large plant biological filter to run along side the mechanical one. We both love lillies etc & they just look the business. It will hopefully be ready by early Summer. I won't bother cycling the pond, it will be 10,000+ litres & only have 5 fish to start with. This is kinda why I was asking you about your hozelock pump lol.

yes it certainly is a beast of a filter, im after a 2nd one to put on alongside the one i have (can never have too much filtration ). it does push a huge amount of water through, but saying that the outlet which has 2 multi-directional nozzles really doesnt cause too much disturbance (but i do have both of mine pointing up slightly so it creates waves on the surface) they dont come with spray bars but i have known some people to make their own to fit.

one day, when my 2 girls have grown up, im hoping to find a house with a huge garden for a nice pond. i too will be using a bog filter along with a mechanical filter. the small 250gallon pond i had i put 2 comets into to cycle it along with lots of plants. the rain did the water changes for me

hope it all goes to plan for you and good luck with the move

I'll make a video of my Orfes feeding tomorrow for you Kelly - It really is something to behold lol

Can't wait to see them picking off flies from their pond when we get sorted though.

I might look into getting an FX5, I'm not sure it'll fit under the cabinets though

i love orfes, before i knew better i had 1 golden and 1 blue in with several comet goldfish and 2 weather loaches in a *mumbles under breath* 1 foot tank couldnt figure why they were always sick, and why i kept losing fish so often

i had considered a couple in my 6 foot tank but i dont think they would be happy in there. also considered a couple of green tench coz i think their faces are adorable.

i look forward to seeing your vid of yours

the fx5 is a huge filter, i was shocked when i actually got one at the sheer size of it my tank is 24 inches off the floor, and theres no more than a couple of inches above the inlet and outlet valves, and it needs around 12-18 inches across too. even if i didnt have the space though, i would house one beside my tank as the filtration is 2nd to none IMO.

Put them in a garden pond.might cool off their ardour

i dont have a garden pond, and they are fancy goldfish which cant live in cold winter temperatures though the change from 24* down to around 2* would certainly put them off chasing im sure

Yeah, it would put them off life full stop.

They don't belong outdoors.

How noisy is the FX5?

its not nearly as noisy as my rena was. infact its very quiet i think, my air pumps are definately noisier, and the sound of the water from the 2 fluval 4+ breaking the waters surface is much louder. i cant fault it, apart from i struggle to remove the inlet/outlet valves when it comes to cleaning but i think thats due to me having short arms and not being able to reach all the way under the tank easily

I don't use airpumps anymore - the surface agitation the spray bar generates is more than adequate for oxygenation. I think airpumps are more cosmetic than anything else.

the only reason i really have them is because i love the columns of air bubbles also i figure any additional surface aggitation is good, especially as the surface area of 6 feet x 2 feet is hard work to keep moving all over, i dont like to see still areas on the surface, although i do still have some even with the 2 larger fluvals, the fx5 and the 4 air stones moving it around from various angles and different parts of the tank.

Think you will need to Batter them.

Deleted - will post again when it's uploaded properly.

After much faffing about with copyright issues, I made another account in case they banned my main one lol

Here's the clip Kelly, it's only 60 seconds

[Clicky]

it says the clip is private and it wont let me view it!

Try this

[Click]

wow they are gorgeous fish. what size tank do you have them in at the moment? they are so fast

They're in a Roma 240, so about 200L approx. Not ideal, but it was not really a choice.

Cleaned out the filters today, what a total nightmare getting one of them to prime. Took ages & kept leaking. Got there in the end though.