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Aww, glad they're going to a good home though

Good luck! Tomorrow someone is coming to catch all my fish and dismantle my last aquarium. I will be fishless for the first time in 45 years. I am unable to do the maintenance myself and want them to go to somewhere they will be well looked after.

Yoo nice! Got home from camp today, whole thing exceot a little bit of 'scum' on the weight was gone! Breeding caves got delivered today and I will wash them and put them into the tank in a couple hours.

I was going to post an updated pic of what the cucumber slices looked like today but when I looked, at lunchtime, the knitting needle was totally bare! It usually takes them 3 or 4 days to finish it and there are often rings of skin floating about, which I remove.

Here is what it looks like day 2. See how they have eaten from the inside out? You can also see gnaw marks on the outer skin.

Ah makes heaps of sense, thank you! I gave them raw zucchini with a plant weight last night and my male loved it! Tried it in about an hour. He's a very active and curious fish, though, so I'm not surprised. Female hasn't tried it unless she did so when I was asleep which wouldn't surprise me.

I've never boiled any veg before adding them to the water. I would think they would break up and foul the tank faster. You don't have to weight them down either but I think it makes it easier for the fish to eat. Try spearing a slice onto a fork and dropping that in. Try various veg but make sure they are washed first to remove any pesticides or other stuff on store bought veg. It can take the fish a day or two to recognise it as new food. If they haven't touched it after 3 or 4 days, and it is starting to break up, remove it and try something else. Pumpkin is also enjoyed by some fish but it does break up faster, which is why cucumber, zucchini and the like work well. Shelled peas are often used for constipated fish. Experiment and see what your fish like best. I knew a cichlid who loved bananas!

Yooo that looks cool! Cute lil guys!! Does raw zucchini work too? We've got frozen slices and I was thinking I could defrost it, weigh it down (ziptie around a rock or a plant weight) and drop it in. I'd love to do that even just for the adults tbh. Are raw vegetables safe in general? Is the boiling just to make it sink/make it softer or is raw stuff unsafe?

Thought you might like to see these pics, taken today (excuse the messy tank). The gold ancistrus is around 8cm. The Odessa barbs went nuts over it as soon as I dropped it in.

Alright, sounds wonderful thank you!!

Until they have eaten all but the rind, or it all starts to fall to bits. Start with 1 slice as it sometimes takes them a while to try new foods.

Sounds great, thanks! And yeah I though he might have been too How long should you leave the cucumber in for?

MUST PICK UP (and catch the fish yourself) FROM BLENHEIM. Prefer all to go together for ease of dismantling. Can offer 2 large (50L?) barrels with sealed lids for transport. Barrels are 52cm high and 54cm diameter. Might be 3 barrels if I can find the other lid. I have a 280 - 300L tank I am shutting down. It has been running over 22 years now. If someone wants it, they are welcome to it but it needs complete resealing and there are light scratches on the glass, although I suspect if you turned it around the back side may be a lot better. Good for a frog tank or terrarium though. Everything is free except the filter. I would like to see that sold as a fully cycled item, rather than get rid of the fish then have the bacteria in the filter starve. I am embarrassed how bad it looks these days but we were finding it increasingly difficult to do regular maintenance and now Grant has died, I can't manage the filter by myself (back problems). Tank - 122cm wide x 50 x 54cm front to back. Glass is 1cm thick and takes 3 or 4 strong people to lift, unless it is dismantled on site (preferably after it is empty 🙂 ). It has 2 sheets of thinner glass on top that the fluorescents sit on but has about a 10cm gap. Lighting: Single old-style fluorescent tube in even older-style bracket, with timer. Filter: Aqua One Aquis 1200 and must be picked up (especially if full of bacteria etc as it is heavy). $100 (they retail $160 - $200 new) Heating: External heat pad covering tank base with internal thermostat. Fish: 50 - 60 Odessa barbs, 2 or 3 gold ancistrus (1 is a huge male) and about 7 brown ancistrus (a mix of sexes). May be more but I never see them all at once. These fish have never been with any other fish, as nothing has been added to the tank for at least 15 years - all are self populated. Plants: Java moss, Cryptocoryne affinis (I think), Anubias nana. Sorry but the Anubias has a lot of algae. Substrate etc: Brown aquarium gravel and 2 large rimu pices of driftwood. You will probably be given all sorts of other aquatic paraphernalia, including extra filter media (if you want it)

Raw cucumber. They will eat all sorts of veg actually. They are very small so don't upset the bioload too much when young. I found they don't transport well under 3cm so you need them at least that to sell in my opinion. Others may disagree (someone always does 🙂 ) Fella may have been cleaning out the site ready to entice a female into his space.

Sounds interesting. Post pics as you set it up so we can see what you've done please. I'm pleased you realise you are limited to what, and how many, fish you can put in a 65L. Good luck. If you're looking for quality plants, try Cam at thefishroom.co.nz he's in Stoke too so handy for you.

Thanks - I have a 65L tank. I ended up getting a great deal on Trade Me from someone who was leaving the country and needed to offload all his gear, so I have ended up with all kinds of odds and ends: pumps, filters. heaters, test kits, food, fertilizers, a number of smaller tanks etc - so I should be set-up for a while. My plan is to try a "dirted tank" and with a lot of plants in it. Once established, I'd like to look at maybe adding a small school of Harlequin Rasboras and then something like a Honey Gourami

I had one in a cichlid tank back in the 80s. Beautiful not aggressive and bred with my texas

Awesome thank you! Mostly I'm just worried that the tank will get too crowded with all the new little fish in there. What size can you sell them and do you feed the cucumber raw? Your comment is very helpful, makes me less nervous. :) Turns out the male wasn't fanning but I'd like to be prepared for when he is as I'm fairly certain he's getting ready.

As there's nothing else in there, leave them where they are. Once the fry leave their cave they look cute zipping about with their little tails looking like flags. Neither parents eat the fry. Indeed, neither do other fish. No special care is needed and they do not need to be separated from the adults. They love cucumbers. Weight a slice - I use a fishing sinker tied to one or thread a row of slices onto a knitting needle with the sinker tied to the middle, so it sits on the substrate, or leave it floating, and watch them eat it from the inside out until all that's left is the skin. Your biggest problem will be catching the speedy little buggers when you want to sell them 🙂

Hey there! Got a bristlenose male doing what I believe is fanning eggs (saw him at the entrance of this little nook in the driftwood when the female was in there earlier) and I'm pretty sure it would be ideal to have a seperate tank for fry to move into, and potentially so I could separate them for a little while at a time if I start getting too overloaded. I'm a little tight on space so even the tank I'm thinking of buying for this purpose (51W x 30D x 43Hcm, 52L) is a squeeze but I'm pretty sure I can fit it. Ultimately I want the best for my fish so worse case scenario I will sell the female, but I'd rather not if I don't have to. Currently I've got a 70L tank with a 61 x 36cm footprint, well-filtered and with water changes and gravel cleaning every week to week and a half (about 15% water changes) and have no issues with anything. No other tankmates in there other than a couple pond snails. So, any tips on raising the fry? Would the 52L be okay to keep the fry in until I can sell them (or to keep the adults separate if I have far too many fry at once)? Cheers guys

Hello and welcome. depending on tank size, one of the biggest tasks is choosing what sort of tank you are going to have, eg... guppies and other small fish, or a school of tetras, mixed tropical with a couple of feature fish like gourami and a school of tetras etc Planted up with real plants . or totally different water conditions and have a afarican set up.... Have fun and share with us as you go :>)

Cool I'm a breeder based in wellington I have australes and striatium at current ( striatium are a mates but I can sell on their behalf) I may need to get australe numbers up but if your on facebook just on killifish nz Facebook page

Good luck. What sort, and size, aquarium? I am the opposite, having kept fish for over 50 years, I am about to dismantle my last aquarium. All I need to find is someone who wants 50 - 60 Odessa barbs and some ancistrus.

Hi I've long been interested in setting up an aquarium and now finally have some space. I've watched a lot on youtube and done and I spent the xmas holidays getting everything set-up, and am now already to go - just waiting on some plants!

Hi, I am based in Auckland. fundulopanchax australe, clowns and Lyretail are the species I have seen a few times and What I will be interested in.