alanmin4304

This is a different plant to the one previously posted, this plant flowered under growlux lights inside. It grows to a different form to the previous plant. However this is still an Echinodorus. When this was given to me in the submersed form, it looked very similar to Sagittaria microfolia and I appologise to the donor!!

Luwdigia arcuata (Needle leaf ludwigia) flower. Wouldnt flower in the glass house, however has flowered inside, while under growlux lights. Have also figured out how to convert to submersed growth, after many failures.

The problem is that my killies are that spoilt they only eat live food and even eat decap brine shrimp reluctantly.

V. gigantea is not hard to pick because it is bloody gigantic. I used to sell it to the shops before it got made a noxious weed and it would arrive cut back to over 2 metres in length and the leaves were 25-40mm wide. I think V. americana can be as long but is no where near as wide in the leaf. As I understand it spiralis has a straight leaf and spiralling flower stem as stated. I think the plants in NZ are female and propagate vegetatively but I understand there is also a male plant.

You can treat with quinine or mepacrine and it will not worry the plants. Prescription meds though.

Ring your Regioal Council. They can tell you if they have any restrictions which are spacific to your local area. The problem is sometimes their knowledge of aquatic plants is not too good so they would need to be clear on what type of Val they are talking about.

I was happy selling to a wholesaler for less because I didn't have to sell to 125 fish shops. As I said earlier it is a numbers game.

Not many plants will do well with low light.

It takes quite some time to establish a good reputation with shops and you have to be prepared to stand by your product to make it worth the shops while to buy from you. I used to sell plant to most of the shops in town and would put out a price list and deliver plants every monday. It is no good just expecting shops to buy when you have them available as they want a regular, reliable supplier.

I used to breed 50000 fish a year and the only way to get rid of them was to sell to a wholesaler with 125 retail outlets. It becomes a numbers game. It doesen't cost much more to raise 1000 fish than it does to raise 100. You have to let the person you are selling to make a profit as that is what they are there for. I was getting 50-80cents for angels, 50cents for cories and $1-$2 for killies (but only a limited market). You have to always have more than they want or they go somewhere else. You also cannot be selling at the back door if you want a shop to buy. Good luck---it can be a lot of fun. I had 8 pairs of angels breeding all the time plus mainly 5-6 varieties of killies, corries, fighters, gouramies and a few live bearers. I have to admit that it was in the days when we got our own live tubifex and it cost $20 to send an import box to Auckland by air. It is a bit different now.

What is the active ingredient in blue circle white spot cure?

If it has been grown submersed and you put it half in/ half out of water it will probably die. You need to get emersed growth then get it to take root and then plant it if you want it emersed. Alternanthera is not the easiest plant to change either way.

Because most plants you buy have been grown emersed they go through a rest period while converting to submersed growth and this is ideal conditions for algae to take hold. You will be able to keep the new growth and throw out the old (with the algae) when established.

I have kept baby flounder in salt and freshwater so they should do brackish if aclimatised slowly.

It is the new bud. When grown in natural light emersed the top of the leaves is more green and there are usually little flowers at the base of each leaf. It looks as though this may have been grown submersed in which case you will have to allow it to grow up out of the water to get emersed growth as the structure of the leaf changes when submersed for a while. That particular plant looks OK.

Are they coated with brown algae?

I assume you are talking about Alternanthera rubra. It is best as a pot plant and never will be an aquatic. Its first cousin Alternanthera reineckii roseafolia (sold often as red hygro) will grow submersed with reasonable light

Feather and fur have never had much in the way of fish when I have been there. I would suggest Redwood aquatics and pet world if you can fit them in. They are both open on Saturdy and Sunday.

I think Organism posted that they are closed on Tuesday and Sunday.

It sounds as though your tank is overstocked. Aeration ruffles the surface of the water and increases the surface area for more efficient exchange of dissolved gasses. If the fish are gasping they are short of oxygen and aeration will increase the amount available.

In the good old days I got my first wingless fruit fly (they actually only have very short wings) from the local university where they are used to study genetics. A student may be able to help.

Don,t forget that shell is calcium carbonate that reacts with the hydrogen ions (acid conditions) but also will put calcium into solution and raise the hardness.

I have seen plants grown very successfully with different types of light. For many years I have used a combination of growlux and soft white with small incandescents with success. I now use daylight (6500k). Like stated previously it depends on many factors so don't be afraid to experiment and see what works for you. You don't have to have metal halides, CO2 and all the additives sold in the shops to grow plants successfully.

The design floor load of a domestic dwelling is equivalent to a tank 200mm high with the weight evenly distributed over the floor so any aquarium (other than a goldfish bowl) is a compromise. The main thing is to evenly distribute the load onto the floor. I have two aquariums on a stand where the weight of water would be 5 times the design load of the floor in a house 70 years old with a wooden floor and they haven't gone thrugh the floor yet.

Did you get your shares in the Auckland harbour bridge while you were there?