alanmin4304

I stopped growing the marble sword because with good light it can grow a metre out of the water before throwing a runner so like cordifolius (a first cousin I would guess) all you see in the tank is the stalks.

I had about 8 varieties 30 years ago and many are no longer here and I can't even remember the names. Some are interesting because of the way they breed etc. There is a limited market because they fade out and hide in strong light and when people stop selling them people stop breeding them. I think that is the reason why many have disapeared. I worked hard to get some of the shops to set up a tank just for killies but you tend to be pushing it up hill. I wish you all the best anyway. I am having some success with the ones I got from you. You need to think comercially if we are going to get them out there and get people keen on having them and breeding them. We do it because we love them but the market mainly wants pretty fish to look at in a community tank.

There are many types of killies and many of them were around 30 years ago, but it seems to me that the only ones that survive are the atractive highly coloured ones that are "comercial". Most killies like to hide, don't like strong light and are good at jumping out of tanks and this puts a lot of shops off them. The Nothos are pretty good at getting velvet as well.

But only on the female

They will often flower under water (depending on what type you have) They will grow plants more readily if you weigh them down so they are under the water but near the surface so they get maximum light. Leave the plantlets on the runner till they have half dozen good leaves and roots then gently prize the bigger ones off and others will often grow. They take a while to re establish when seperated so the more they are developed the better.

Very carefully and with great patience. Breaking them into shortish chains will make them easier to plant. You realy need to let them spread.

If it turns to custard I have some growing emersed in a glass house so it is used to the heat. You can have enough to get started for the cost of fastpost ($4.30) Pm me if you want some. It is hard to plant so you are probably best to plant a bit and let it spread. It needs strong light.

The pH scale is logarithmic so the difference between 7 and 7.2 is very small (you would be chasing shadows)

I think when they are imported they come in fom Europe or the USA. Because of the limited market here and the fact that they are not normally carried by the regular exporters (so can't just be chucked in with a shipment) there are bound to be high costs. It would be nice to have some of the rarer species but who is prepared to pay? Alan NZKA56

You may have been reading about Onion plant (Crinium thainum) That is the problem with common names.

The "belly" on a female (between the pectoral and anal fins) tends to be horizontal and on males at 45 degrees. Female has the big egg laying tube and lays the eggs. The males realy only get the bump on the forehead when old. Best thing is to trust them-- they know.

I have a friend with a large pond full of goldfish and they become very active when there is a high pressure system in the weather. Don't ask me how the fish know what the atmospheric pressure is when they are under water.

Generally the higher the temperature the more active they will be and the shorter their life span. Try and keep them at the temperature they prefer rather than feeding them speed.

There used to be a list of permitted and prohibited aquatic plants the same as for fish

Thanks. I realize they need to be quarantined but was just curious as to what was permitted

Does anyone know how to find a list of the aquatic plants approved to be imported?

They would still be using lead flashings on galv steel roofing would't they?

Their latin name is toxic.

Do you have a daughter 6ft 4 with brown eyes and roman sandals? Can't be you then.

You may be right on all counts. My point was that these are bog plants that have evolved to suit that situation. These plants have been doing very well under the supervision of Mrs Nature rather than the relatively short time we have been trying to work out what is actually happening. If we realy new all the answers to what is happening in nature we would be God's mother in law.

Might pay to do any work on the plants when the water level is down while doing water changes.

I use a heat lamp with babies Because they are in the garage with no windows but the adults only have a well drained area where they can sit in the sun and dry out properly. I agree with the previous advice. It should come right if given good conditions now.

That is the theory but I have my doubts. The plants we grow have developed in locations without undergravel heaters and have developed to thrive in whatever conditions are naturally there without it. Most aquarium plants are bog plants and there is not a lot of water circulatin in the bottom of a bog and it also tends to be anaerobic. I think sometimes we think science is better than Mrs Nature. She is a clever lady and has been getting it right for a lot longer than we have. I have one tank heated with a heat pad and two without and all about the same size and I don't see any real difference.

I understand SAE'S are more effective with algae when young and clown loaches with snails when older.

Although I live in an area with unchlorinated artesian water and I have never used dechlorinators it is possible to get a chlorine spike because the Councils are required to sanitize the water mains (with chlorine) when doing repairs on the mains. How concientious they are or how well they flush the mains is hard to know, but it is a requirement.