Stella

THe price of a root canal and crown depend very much on which tooth it is (more roots = more time = more $) what sort of crown it is (cerec, gold, porcelain, procelain-fused-to-metal (PFM), PFM post crown) and what general state things are in. It *isn't* as easy as ringing around and asking for the price of a root filling and a crown. Seriously, dental people get soooooooooooo sick of those pricing calls - they comprise about 50% of the phone calls and are unanswerable. The price does depend on location (big cities = more $) Price does not really reflect quality. Go with a dentist you feel comfortable with. If it is a back tooth, I recommend gold crowns. They wear the same as your natural teeth. Porcelain crowns are much harder and can cause more wear on your natural teeth opposing it. Also porcelain crowns can chip etc, gold crowns will never chip. Since it is at the back it doesn't look as dated and ugly as gold in front teeth, I think they actually look nicer at the back than porcelain. If the dentist recommends root filling, then definitely get it root filled. Getting it extracted is cheaper but gaps are annoying, ugly and as expensive to fill as retaining the tooth would have been in the first place. Following a root filling you definitely do want to get a crown. The tooth may feel fine but it has been seriously structurally damaged and is likely to crack apart later unsalvagably, wasting your money of getting it root filled in the first place. Damnit, I quite being a dental assistant 1.5 years ago and I can still talk forever about teeth!

scrub. put. Greeblies are overdemonised. Every tank has greeblies of some sort, mostly unintentional. They all have little jobs to do, mostly processing algae and other wastes, which is useful. You are highly unlikely to move any bad greeblies in, like parasites. I guess hydra could be bad in a fry tank, and if the stream is in poor condition definitely scrubbing the algae off is a good idea.

Hi Acara, I talked to you a while ago on the NANFA site about NZ natives. I am the one writing the book on keeping them. (it isn't out yet sorry) Have you got hold of any books by R.M. McDowall? Especially his big 1990 one (they all have very similar titles). It is out of print but still available secondhand, and you can get a good condition one for ~$30NZD. Invaluable to anyone interested in NZ natives. Gives lots of background into the biology. I understand he is revising it at some point, as a lot of new species have been found, but the new species are very geographically restricted and will not be available overseas. What got you interested in our fish? (most of our species can not be bred for export due to their lifecycle which involves spending three months at sea. Some don't do this and can be raised in freshwater. So expect that most fish that go overseas would be wild-caught, and pretty much all species are on the decline here)

wow, interesting point! And there have certainly been cases in the past of simply destroying areas of bush or whatever that housed animal or plants that may have got in the way of a resource consent. And once it is gone it is gone, so no consent problems....

Regarding Phoenix's post about why he supports mining: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/3657416 ... -geologist "Talk of mining pulling New Zealand from the economic doldrums was premature, he said. "Mining is a long-term industry, it's not a quick fix. Getting a mine started can take 10 years, especially if it's on conservation land. It's unlikely we would have any mines other than coal or gold starting up in the next 10 years. The other commodities that get talked about in other parts of the conservation estate, I think it's more like 50 or 100 years."

you can do a quick submission through the Forest & Bird page: http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/mining-quick-submission It is about as onerous as signing a petition (name, address, email address) You can also alter the submission however you like to express what you want to say.

you can use ponga to great effect in aquaria. I use it as a background in my native tanks - a nice frond across the back - gives good texture and holds its structure even after months in the water and thoroughly browned off. Put it in green and it will stay that way for a month or so, gradually browning off. I think they would last for a year or more if it wasn't for me damaging it when I am doing maintenance. If she owns a native plant nursery (go her!) she could be looking at native fish

we are getting xrays all the time from the sun. airport xrays would have digital sensors which means they are really really low dose. I can't remember the details, but I think one old-style xray is similar to one extra day's worth of xray radiation. And when you think about how many days you will live, that is pretty negligible. The reason medical staff flee when xraying you is because they would get a lifetime's worth in a year otherwise. (HIGHLY GENERALISED)

Old eftpos cards are no good, the sharp edge gets too worn down. Unused club cards etc are ideal. Even a nice new one will get mangled by pushing it near the stones. I have done through so many! A supply of used gift voucher cards would be wonderful... (Barrie, it is SO handy hearing your professional glass advice! )

Mentioning that you are a 50kg woman stuck in the middle of an argument by men twice your size suggests you were feeling physically unsafe. GET THE HELL OUT. Or get the cause of this out. Your safety is the priority, then comes issues of court, fines, imprisonment, loss of firearms/licenses/jobs, evictions etc etc....

Are you wanting to do a fast-flow tank for river fish or something like that? For native fast-water fish I recommend this: Tank volume in litres x 30 (or more) = the MINIMUM litres per hour you want your pumps to do. For a large tank I would suggest having this spread across several pumps to spread the water current better. My old riffle tank was 220 litres and I have two 3500 pumps (total of 7000lph). It was fabulous! I am sure the fish could have coped with more.

well, *Inanga* go downstream to spawn... They move to tidal zones of estuaries and spawn in the grasses that get inundated in teh very high autumn tides. The eggs are left behind when the tide goes down. Two-four weeks later when the big tides come back the eggs get stimulated to hatch. The fry spend around three months in seawater then come in as 'whitebait'. (meanwhile the inanga adults died after spawning) The others species (koaro, and banded, shortjaw and giant kokopu) do not migrate downstream. Instead in the autumn floods they move to the edges of the floodwaters and spawn there, again leaving the eggs to hatch above the normal waterline. The fry are carried downstream by the following floodwaters. The adults of these species can live at least one decade and probably at least two or more for some of the larger ones. It is amazing when you think of these climbing fish - and some have been found up 60m waterfalls - such a long way for a 5cm fish to climb. But then think og the fry of that fish... they have to be washed over the waterfall on their way out to sea!! It is highly dubious that they return to the river they were spawned in. Charles Mitchell believes this but I think it is pretty unlikely that they have any homing instinct based on the week or two that they might have been in freshwater. However recent genetic analysis is showing that most whitebait are returning to the same stream, but probably becasue they do not venture far beyond the river mouths, rather than deliberately seeking where they were spawned.

Next week there will be a two day 'community workshop' introducing people to our native fish and some of the issues they have to contend with, with sections aimed at adults and school children. It is on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 of April, should be a really interesting couple of days, both for people who know a bit about native fish and those who are yet to explore our waterways. http://www.landcare.org.nz/regional-foc ... -workshop/ Unfortunately I can't go

oh, oops, I assumed it was for another tank. Phoenix is right.

Hi there, I recommend you do a whole lot of background reading in the natives forum, it is a pretty good resource these days on how to keep various species and what the requirements are. I know that sounds like work and a bit of a cop out on my behalf, but you will learn so much more that way. Also this site will give you some good basic species overview information, and invaluable distribution maps: http://www.niwa.co.nz/our-science/fresh ... fishfinder Hehehe you seem to have spotted the three main charismatic species! Galaxias argenteus (giant kokopu) and Gobiomorphus huttoni (redfin bully) can be found together in slower water, but neither really lives with Cheimarrichys fosteri (torrentfish) as they like mad-fast water. I highly recommend bullies to anyone interested in natives. There is a bit of variety of species (though they can be hard to tell apart initially). They are are easily found, easy to care for and adjust to captivity, and have awesome stroppy little personalities and are very active. They will spawn readily in aquaria but only non-diadromous ones can be raised in aquaria as the juveniles don't go to sea. Hope that helps! Natives rock :bounce: (though I am probably biased )

I would avoid much flow at all. In the wild they are often found in plants, possibly to keep hem safe from predators (ie everything) as well as not be swept away. Nymox, do you really mean native shrimp was fish fry?! Wow When I had mine they didn't need any supplementary feeding. The algae and biofilms seemed to be all they needed.

Really really serious lids. I mean TAPE IT DOWN. They are amazing escape artists. As the others have said: fine gravel, lots of cover and hiding places. She probably won't see them moving unless she keeps them long enough for them to become accustomed to her. I always found it hard to get them feeding. If she wants to keep them for only a few days I wouldn't bother trying. Other than that, live invertebrates are good. Meat is also good but spoils and fouls the water much faster. Even if only keeping them for a few days, I would recommend doing partial waterchanges. Nope, not a hope of sexing them. She can tell the species though. Longfin: when the body is bent tightly, the skin on the inside of the bend is loose and folds into obvious wrinkles Shortfin: when bent the skin does not wrinkle so much, it is more attached to the muscle underneath. (this sounds vague until you have seen one of each!) HUGE "GOOD ON HER" for rescuing them!!!! Completely awesome :bounce: Now have a read about and sign the Forest & Bird petition to save the longfin eel: http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/saving- ... e-longfins

Trout are fairly good at excluding various native fish, and the region is probably not great for much native diversity.... You will find this site useful: http://www.niwa.co.nz/our-science/fresh ... fishfinder gives a bit of info about each species, plus a distribution map, so you can narrow down what species are likely to be in your area. You are more likely to see natives anywhere at night, they are nocturnal. My favourite spotlighting place has virtually nothing during the day, but an interesting variety at night. Shrimp are algae eaters... but their tummies are minute! (oh another thing, certain places you might run the risk of collecting illegally as in some lakes/catchments in Rotorua and Taupo areas the native fish belong to specific iwi, permits can be obtained, talk to DOC)

very pale blue tinted glass? You will need to avoid having wood or leaves in the tank as they will colour the water brown (which personally I love and generally keep everything pretty spotless, which is quite intensive as there are no native algae-eaters. What native species are in these areas? I imagine it would be pretty species-poor.

Hi there, Grab a good torch and a friend and start checking out local streams. You best bets are where the water is shallow and fairly calm on the surface. If you get any side-on photos I can often identify them and tell you the tricks of how to identify them yourself. There are lots of past threads on how to find, catch, adjust and keep natives. Get reading This forum has turned into a very useful archive for native fish information. Chances are there will be someone in your area that is willing to take you out hunting - it gets addictive! :bounce: I highly recommend bullies for people new to natives. There is a bit of variety, they are pretty hardy, not on the threatened list and they have really really neat behaviours.

oh wow, that is horrible! Feeling very sorry for all involved

ah, very good points...

I definitely agree with that!! Most aquarium problems are water problems (poor maintenance, not understanding cycling or filtration) Followed by other management problems (not quarantining, inappropriate species for tank) I imagine the main time when food would be a problem is feeding herbivorous food to a carnivore and vice versa. my fish get ox heart as their main diet. Whiteworms and mealworms when I have functional cultures. Other critters when I find them

oooh neat! Leave her shell in there and she will eat most of it over the next week. Shedding can be a risky time - they can get stuck and die, or as you suspect, get attacked while soft. Moving him is possibly a good idea but otherwise, leave her to her own thing.

well done! they are really good. The tail-on one is a pretty neat angle! (Accidental I don't doubt, but what a shot!)