ryanjury

Cool good work I would be removing him/her and growing him out and trying to put him back to his mum/dad to get more albino's see what colours you can get

Wouldn't mind seeing some more pics I might be interested in some later if they're nice and you do sell any.. Generally if you want to keep the fry from zebras mixing them is like mixing peacocks a big no no.. I have seen 3 males breed with a cobalt female in my tank don't know what the fry were like (the other fish probably loved them) as I take no babies out of that tank. Difficult to tell with hybrids what the fry will look like but you would expect them to differ from both cobalts and afra, only problem with relying on the "grow them out and see" attitude is if you have the ability to hold them long enough to be 100% sure, and also the ability to do the right thing to them if they're dodgy. I would place my bet on the afra male breeding with your cobalts they are known for being quite dominant and aggressive, my big afra male is the boss in my tank not much breeding goes on without his input.

Sweet sounds like a good mix I am growing out around 20 babies from my lot have the 2 extra females and introduced a big male from a different source, probably no point as I would guess most of the dems in NZ come from the same place but you never know having lots of them is the best.. I started to thin out extra males from my original colony and that started to cause problems so think the best thing is just to leave them be. Nice the yellows look pretty clean hard to tell from the photos you have posted, is the male kadango nice and red? Do you have some other zebras (maybe afra?)in there with the cobalts because if you do chances are he will breed with your cobalt females.. I haven't found the dem's aggression to be bad to any other fish but their own kind so I don't think they will disturb any other fishes breeding.

The fish are looking good Yes dems are agro the secret is to get as many as you can afford which is what you did the 6fter would help too, are they still the originals from me or did you introduce more from different sources as well? I can't wait for my dems to grow up and mature my 2 survivors from my original colony are breeding but not very well think the male is too hard on them as they're the biggest dems in there.. Good luck with the sales are you breeding the cobalts and kadango's too?

Generally you want the spraybar and inlet at opposite ends/sides of the tank to promote good flow through the tank it can be good to stick it above or slightly below the surface as others have suggested. But if you are relying on this to keep your fish alive (ie when you turn it off they gasp at the surface) add an airstone too, I used to do it just with a spray bar but had one come unstuck in the middle of the night and woke up to some half dead very unhappy fish. Obviously it is one of those risks that comes with overstocking tanks. End of the day just set it all up and have a play see what works for you and what the fish like if the fish are going round in circles you might have to look at changing where you put it If you stick the outlet too close to your sand it will all get stirred up, same with your intake you don't want to jam it into the sand because it will fill your filter with it generally with fine sand based tanks I put the intake alot higher up the tank.

NZ couriers are only too happy to come out an pickup live fish from us? lol seems they have a different "policy" depending on the driver etc... It is very hard when some people say yes some say no, I have rung them numerous times (to see what they say and see if things differ) and have always been told they accept live fish but wont pay out on deaths. They haven't lost a single package for me and they pickup from my house late afternoon so very happy with their services, it seems bizarre they charge more out of Auckland I used to drop fish off at the Albany depot and got charged the same as down here? I have heard good things about fastways but haven't used their services. I wouldn't send anything I wanted the person to see alive at the other end through nzpost, of the last 4 lots of fish I sent with them 3 got stuck on the wrong truck or lost and delivered late loosing most the fish. I used to have good luck with them but wont take the risk any more, I can fully understand when a mistake happens but 75% of the time is pretty bad odds. I think the main problem was the tickets for overnight/2-3 day delivery are similar and if someone slack is sorting the packages and doesn't care they get stuck in the wrong bin. One of my main complaints with them wasn't that they lost the fish but they could tell me where they were for the 2-3days before they were delivered, the person who purchased the fish had paid good money for tracking but it wasn't there. End of the day it is all a bit hit and miss but I have shipped alot of fish and not had a huge amount of problem make sure you stress it is at their cost/risk bag the fish well and good luck.

Here's a thread a little down the page that explains it a bit.. viewtopic.php?f=13&t=37182

Thanks everyone were pretty happy Although didn't realise how much more work another one would be.. Paige has been a little cranky not used to not being the centre of attention but has given her brother and cuddle and kiss and got upset when he cried so I am sure she will get used to it. Should mention he will be called Noah, was born at 4.47pm yesterday and weighted in at 4.060kg (just under 9lbs) Anyway thanks for the congrats, wok there are no plans to register the breeding or even go for a re-breed in the future.

LOL Thanks guys glad he is finally here, better late than never I say (but don't tell an overdue wife that...). Things are fine with mum and baby only in hospital for 2 hours after the birth all happily at home trying to find some sleep between him and the toddler (not working) lol.

Don't post NZpost they have lost too many fish/put them on the wrong truck and delayed them 2-3days with us.. NZcouriers is great prices Jim R quoted are correct, you can drop at the depot or just call the 0800 number on there website and arrange a pick up from your house and pay cash very easy

Good work Cam good luck raising them Weaker ones should struggle and not grow as well as the others, it is your choice to cull them or not

What type of cichlids did you want to try? Your tank is pretty small for most cichlids, I would say it is only suitable for a pair of dwarf cichlids (kribs, flags, apisto's, rams etc) or maybe a compatible pair of jullies or brichardi if you could find one.. No shellies in NZ as dixon said

I would like the others use a filter to me it is just not worth the risk. BUT around 10 years ago when I first got into fish I went on a tank crawl to Napier and met a guy who had a tank with fish in it and no filter, the tank was wall to wall plants and had fish in in apparently but couldn't see them for all the plants, think he said the tank had been going for no problems with only regular water changes.

Yeah changes in water temp and also cold air (I used glad wrap around the top of the tank when I did fighters years ago) can affect the labyrinth development.. I would say you have done all you can to get them growing fast good luck

I don't know what the growth rate should be, but sounds like you are giving them the best food for getting good growth, how often are you changing the water?

Yep like the one that I had then, don't submerge it past that line.. It is easy to stick it straight up and down and not worry about it just watch it during water changes etc that you don't expose the heater element and then have it explode when you add more water. I had a look for mine and I think that is what I did to it lol also from memory it was pretty cheap/nasty and had temp swings so nothing too sensitive in the tank.

I don't know if it would happen, to me if someone sees fish for sale on here or in a shop they will go and do their own research on the net so all the info is already out there there is no point in doing the research and reposting it all here.. If it helps (and it is by no means a reflection of what is actually in NZ) here is the list of allowed fish. http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/imports/ ... ic.all.htm

I think i have one heater that has that line on it, a masterpet one or something like that from memory.. Guess its just the design you will just have to stick it straight up and somewhere with water flow and keep an eye on the water level when you do water changes. I think as alanmin said it depends on price manufacturers wont put the time/effort/money into making sure it is fully submersible if their product doesn't sell for enough to justify it.. However it does sound like some sort of consumer guarantee's type thing if it does get wet and give you an electric shock because it is designed to be used around water.. Probably also an "easy out" for any returns when the heater is full of water..

Yeah there are heaps of articles.. Males are skinny females are fat when fed up well, easiest to tell first thing in the morning before you feed them. Breed them in pure rain water with peat in a fully blacked out tank the eggs are photo sensitive, there are various methods for protecting the eggs google is your friend You want to seperate the sexes to condition them i can't remember the exact ratios that do best think a couple of females to a male, you don't want too many in their otherwise the ones that aren't breeding will eat the eggs. I don't think getting them to breed is the hard part raising the babies is being photo sensitive and very small and sensitive when first hatched. I think people generally say that neons are the same to breed as cardinals so most suggest just doing them because they are more expensive and alot more impressive in a school, not that a thousand or so neons wouldn't be a great display. Tips in there might help viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36497 http://www.fnzas.org.nz/index.php?PG=cardinal Good luck one day I want to get and try and breed some cardinals/rummy noses lol just have to get serious about it and actually do it

If you don't want babies you will buy 2 and get a pair.. If you want babies you will buy 10 and get all males or all females.. If you get them from someone who can sex them (or research it on here how to sex them) then 2 females might be alright, but they may still pair off and lay infertile eggs and be a bit agro your other fish should handle it though and the eggs wont last long.

Gutted I am sorry to hear that It sounds like you did everything that you could to save him.

No intention of making it personal just the views you have and the things you say would lead to problems. I can just see you doing what you believe to be the right thing going through the suppliers lists.. One day buying a Aulonocara stuartgranti (peacock) and then waiting months for another supplier to bring another "unrelated" one in with the same name and buying it, completely unaware there are many many fish called Aulonocara stuartgranti may varients many of which differ immensely. And there is every possibility that the Aulonocara stuartgranti you have brought aren't even that and could be another hybrid species or different species altogether. Check here for a full list http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/c ... .php?cat=3, technically (and probably by all your books) you have done a great thing, but you have just created a hybrid and not done either of the lines any favours. These are the things you have to consider before you bag anyone and say they are doing the wrong thing for inbreeding. Dogs are a problem also especially here I think the proper breeders do some sort of attitude screening, check bloodlines and should go hip checks etc.. But yeah I agree (and dog breeders will hate me for this) our mongrel dogs so far have been hardy as and seem alot more intelligent that friends "pure bred dogs". Of course some dogs are naturally stupid some smart and some breeders differ so this is not scientific at all. Dave + amy do a search on trademe for red severum photo is the beauty, another of my pet hates I have yet to show up and buy a fish that actually looks like a photo someone has pinched off the net

Yep inbreeding occurs naturally and needs to keep happening so we can keep the species that we have. I have stated that I will happily introduce new blood if it can be guaranteed to me that the fish I am selecting to breed into my strain are the same with most fish this is very hard as lots of species vary with location so you have different variants within a species. Yes they are the same species but breeding between them should be discouraged. You are saying to keep the mutants and if any are produce you are doing something wrong? I would say these mutants occur in the wild and don't survive, because the munted fins or whatever is deformed in them would made them easier prey. Yes alot of mutations are good (albino's different colours etc) and do occur within populations separated by various things but these aren't physical deforming ones. I feel that mother nature did a brilliant job of creating us species of fish and we should preserve them as close as we can, who knows when exports or imports may stop in NZ we don't want to have to carry on with a bunch of crosses. I am glad you are not into africans any more if you cannot understand the above I would hate to think what you would do and cross in order to not inbreed. Regarding the original post, it appears that he has crossed 2 different coloured severums. This would be ok if (and I know he has) he has searched high and low for the right male and not found one so in order to preserve the species he has done a cross. What I don't agree with is how he is advertising them (as full red headed severums with an awesome internet photo) and then in the small text writing random stuff about the cross he has done. Personally I feel he would be more correct and honest to sell them as a red head x gold severum, or keep them going until he has established a nice line for sale, at the size they are he really has no idea what they will do as they mature, as someone pointed out the bottom line is making $$'s..

Awesome discus lyndyloo I am glad you got them

Very bold statement I hope you never buy an electric yellow (they originate from a very small number of original wild caught fish) or basically any imported fish because I can pretty much guarantee most imported fish are inbred and originate from the same blood lines.. Alot of the time I think you can do the whole 6 fish from different places and very often end up with related fish because with a small country like NZ with a limited number of importers it is going to happen. Inbreeding isn't ideal but is the only way some fish lines can be kept pure and as long as you are doing it right and removing any deformities or stopping it for other options if you get large numbers of deformities it is fine. I would rather keep inbreeding the lines that I do have than introduce new blood from a potentially dodgy source and put all the selective breeding that has been done to waste. If our fish were imported with proper strains/locational varients (as they are in the states etc) then it would be alot easier to breed with unrelated fish and not end up with worse fish than what you started with. It is very easy to sit here and say inbreeding is bad and I wont buy any inbred fish (can pretty much guarantee the blue rams you always talk about and the bolivian rams you are selling are inbred). Most of the fancy aquarium fish are line bred (fancy word for inbreeding) to produce certain traits.