alanmin4304

I was up at 3.45am and usually am. Another member has just dropped in on the way to work. What is your excuse for being in Oman?

I have put plastic lids on my tanks and found that acrylic is more heat sensitive and bows. This is OK if the lid can be reversed but have used polycarbonate on most. Don't know about acrylic tanks.

You can get additives to put in your petrol that looks after it. I put it in the chainsaw if I am not using it for a while.

Also make sure it is a Q tank and not a source of infection to your new fish. You need a bare tank with heaters and filters (preferably no filter) that can be stripped and sterilized between occupants or you are defeating the purpose.

Barrie, you will never get to heaven now.

wendtii red, balansae and petchii.

If you bred in that tank would you have other tanks to rear the fry? Might be a good excuse to get more tanks.

Unless a retailer can obtain good quality fish from you when they want them you will not be in the same class as a wholesaler that can supply them what they want when they want it. If you breed a type of fish once you will not get a good price because you are a bigger risk than a wholesaler that has to carry stock to be able to supply what retailers want. You can sell privately and get more and when the shops find out they will not buy from you. Welcome to the real world. As importing costs go up---and I am sure they will, locally bred fish should become more atractive to the shops but you will need to obtain a reputation to get top dollar. You basically have to provide better fish at a better price when they want them to take the market from their present wholesaler---not easy from your back yard.

They are a beautiful fish particularly when in breeding colours and getting ready to tear everthing else in the tank to bits. I wish you luck getting rid of them. I bred them only the once and was supplying a wholesaler with many retail outlets. El Stropo.

Most shops I have sold to mark up 150 -- 200% and I don't have a problem with that. If I did I wouldn't sell them. The importer is probably marking up the same % if they are still in business. With the crazy costs being added to importing at the moment you can expect the prices to rise even higher. Go to the sallies if you want charity.

When plants become scarce, particularly red ones, it is because they are not easy to grow.

I have scared the hell out of the government by buying a bike. Now they will get less tax and I will get more excersise (when it stops snowing)

With 500mm high and only 75mm long you will only get 600mm tubes to fit and I have a tank 600mm x 600mm with 3 x 600mm growlux tubes that is growing baby sword plants well but it only has 400mm of water in it. If you think about it---my 1200mm tank with 2 x 1200mm tubes has the same light over the plants as a 600mm tank with 2 x 600mm tubes. You will need 2 or 3 tubes and then adjust the time they are on by the results. I would use one grolux and one cool white or two growlux and one cool white, others would swear by daylight (6500k) You pays your money and takes your pick.

It does need good light.

I believe so, it was around over 30 years ago.

It would be a bit like scaling and gutting whitebait, only an ossie,ossie ossie would do that.

There are plants which may be imported but not many people prepared to import them. It has always surprised me the few people who are interested in plants. Most people wish to go down the pet shop and buy plants that have been grown emersed. many of which will be difficult to convert to submersed growth and from shops that have no knowledge of what they are selling other than the price. As my friend who supplies many shops says. "If that is what the punters want--that is what they get." There are three people in Christchurch I know of who have imported plants in the past and none do now.

Manu Samoa for ever---go cuzzies

I have never heard of a rugby team called manu. Is that maori?

Most aquarium plants will flower but only when grown emersed or the flower stems are allowed to emerge from the water. Some do flower under water but the usually don't last long. I have posted pictures of various flowers but they have been grown emersed. Barclaya longifolia will flower under water and sometimes produce seeds.

Who's a woos then? I understand killi is Dutch for "small pond" not English for "I will bite your finger off." Any Netherlanders out there?

I will swap you a signed copy of the book for a moa. There is a rusty one down the back yard.

If you leave the stem emersed it will still produce plants as well as flowers (often quicker). When the plants have developed you can submerse it to get the plants to develop roots, then when developed enough you can carefully remove the plants from the stem by leavering them gently back towards the mother plant.

It will develop flowers at each node and then plants as well.

They will, but probably not while they are being overfed.