alanmin4304

Testing imported fish for diseases is not new, they have been doing it for a long time. Charging for it is newer but I am sure all those that believe in "user pays" would be happy to pay as they are the ones using.

I think it may be a bit warm for whistlers around Auckland---they prefer the cooler temperatures down south.

I know about inspection costs---I had 7 inspections in the first 6 weeks of quarantine.

Unfortunately the country is run by accountants and you and I voted for them. Everthing is judged by money. You are a success if you make lots of money and your hobby is worthwhile if it doesn't cost the ratepayer or taxpayer money. Does the Government subsidise golf, getting blotto in the weekends or other hobbies?

I see goldfish are on the proposed approved list but as high risk. Considering when I imported them they had to be quarantined for 4 years,and then they were banned, I can't see them making it easy or even financially viable.

That must be a big tank as the plants were not very small. Will look good when they grow to full size--especially the uraguayensis.

How can one establish that a fish does not have or is carrying a disease without testing. This even applies to humans--the medical labs are pretty busy.

There has been talk of allowing goldfish to be imported again since they were banned but I have not seen it happen yet. Don't hold your breath.

There have been a number of people down here that have contracted piscene TB from imported fish and it is not a pleasant disease. Piscene TB was identified in goldfish that I imported (probably one of the last shipments into NZ) Aeromonus bacteria are frequently isolated from imported fish and is one of the diseases that had goldfish in such a poor state when I imported them. It was the same bacteria that caused an outbreak of hospitalised people after swimming in a badly maintained spa pool at one of the pubs down here. Pople were not happy that the bacteria was causing rot to set in to their armpits and groin. There have been shipments down here held up after diseases were identified and one recent one almost resulted in the whole shipment being destoyed. Quarantine of imported fish is esential if we are to avoid nasties being introduced and it costs so please get used to it.

They are entitled to test fish and they are entitled to recover their costs. That is part of the cost of importing. At least marines are only 3 weeks rather than 6 weeks (which can be extended if problems are found). Serious diseases have been found in imported fish in the past and recently. This is why goldfish imports were stopped. Guppies, mollies and koi have been proven to establish and reproduce in NZ. People will not be greatful for cheap fish if they can contract TB from them.

It seems to me that the whole import thing is geared to the protection of the fishing hobby in NZ rather than the fish keeping or native fish protection hobbies. Everthing is geared to economics and the accountants are running the place so the fish keeper has no clout while people can quote how much the country makes from fishing. The big worry seems to be the intoduction of diseases that could kill trout and salmon. Natives and exotics don't count.

Teach your dwarf gouramis karate and they will be OK.

Having an approved list ties in with the phylosophy of banning any new organisms. There probably is a non published banned list and these would be best left from any application.

That is how my 2 storey 4 footer is built and it worked well during the recent shakes. The steel stands I have seen that failed have had legs rather than the ring around the bottom (which stabilises and helps distribute the weight).

The thing that has always irked me is that heaps of paperwork has to be completed with many copies and most copies go to Maf so why do they not have a record of all the fish that have been legally imported into NZ?

I would advise using sodium thiosulphate and buying it in bulk if you want to treat a lot of water.

To remove bacteria you would need a 20 then 10 then 1 micron filter and the carbon will remove the chlorine until maximum absorption then dump the lot back in. Will not do the job.

Adding O2 will only alter the pH as much as the CO2 has altered it in the other direction. In other words it will remove the pH decrease caused by the added CO2 and return it to where it was, it will not make it more alkaline as such.

Which stuff?

I am not trying to rubbish the proposal, only to point out that there will be considerable criteria to be met.

I doubt it would have a great effect but water has a greater affinity for O2 than CO2 so high oxygen will drive off CO2 and drop the pH. Airation can be used to remove iron from drinking water if it is held in the ferrous (soluble) state by high CO2 as the removal of the CO2 will convert the iron to ferric (insoluble) and it can be settled out.

I don't think bred stock or wild caught stock would be any different in terms of the criteria to be met. A very small geographical area where they can survive means they can survive and breed in the wild in NZ (ie mollies). Maf will not tell you what viable means. It will either be defined in the relevent legislation or be the oxford dictionary meaning.

There are a number of fish that Maf look at sideways now because they can survive and possibly breed in our natural environment (particularly in the North) Think of the discussions on this site about fish that should be tropical that are sold as cold water fish in the shops and the number of fish that can be kept outside unheated in the summer. In my view it would actually be quite difficult to prove all the things listed in the requirements by reef. This would particularly apply to livebearers, catfish and barbs amongst the many, and may yet be banned by Maf rather than added to. There is a member here who has recently submitted a PhD on some of the diseases carried by some reptiles in NZ. What do we know about these fish on your wish lists and who do we have that can make a convincing scientific arguement agains the "experts" at or available to Maf?

He can't help it Barrie, he is a Westy. A real westy, from the real west coast.

Unless the normal is split I would expect the chicks to all be normal looking splits.