Stella

I *think* so.... some meds get bound out by organic matter, not sure about meth blue. I use salt on whitespot now. Cheap, you always have it and I feel is easier to use. You always know exactly how much is in there because it doesn't evaporate or change. But anyway, keep using what you started with

that is shocking! :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

sounds neat, I would like to see a pic! Great that the temp is suitable. Would you stock the pond with natives too? They are good at escaping. ALL of them are. Be careful that they can't get out of the system altogether (like out the other side of the tank).

eeeee.... I still wouldn't risk it myself! An empty four-foot tank is heavy enough without the gravel et al. (that said, how much gravel are you talking about? My rocks and gravel at at least 20% of the volume.) I still maintain better safe than sorry. Better taking your time than having to fork out potnetially hundreds for a new tank, and risking fish lives in the meantime. But, we all have our own ways

Whatever whitespot treatment you use, it is CRUCIAL that you keep treating the tank for a number of days AFTER the last spot falls. The spot falling off is not a sign that it died. It is falling to the ground to grow and release free-swimming infectious 'spots'. It is only the freeswimmers that can be killed. I have cold water tanks so I am not sure what the lifecycle length is in tropical. A week would be pretty certain. Thing is if you stop early the reinfection is usually MUCH worse than the initial infection. Other than that, you are getting good advice above (methylene alone kills whitespot??)

BRILLIANT idea with the natural wetland filter!!! I take it you have accessory filters as well, but the wetland thing should work a treat once it is established!! Me being a total natives purist, you could do a really neat project using just native fish and plants! There are HEAPS of emergent natives plants that would be awesome in the swamp. Bullies are bottom-dwelling fish so you wouldn't see much of them, but Preacher has them in his pond and sees them now and then and I think they have been breeding (get uplands or Cran's, depending on your area, and the fry have a chance of surviving to adulthood). Inanga would be a good visible schooling fish for the main area. One or two banded kokopu might work, but they could be an escape risk. Looks like it is fairly shady from the photo, but you said lots of sun... If it is full sun I would avoid natives unless I was SURE the temps didn't get over 20-22 degrees in summer at the most. VERY IMPRESSED!

Oh you MUST post more frequently! I love imaginative language :bounce: Remember all animals have many more offspring than can possibly grow to adulthood (am up to that page of The Origin of Species at the moment!). Survival of the fittest as well as eggs/baskets and whatnot. They are definitely not a problem in a pond. Mostly people complain about them in tanks as they find them aesthtically displeasing, but in a pond you won't notice them. I love snails, aquatic and terrestrial!

well, it would only be fair and natural!

welll........................the human would have to eat the stage 1 host, usually an aquatic invertebrate. It might be possible, I don't know. I doubt it, but maybe some species can. Evolving to live in a critter the same temp as a cold stream is a bit different to inside a 37.5 degree human....

Live aquatic invertebrates are ideal, especially while they are adjusting to captivity. If you can't find them get some frozen bloodworms. They move around and look like food to the new fish. As a staple diet for adjusted natives I use frozen ox heart. I used to use bloodworms but I found the fish were'nt growing as fast as they chould have been, just not enough nutrient. Be REALLY careful with new fish over this hot summer. Have a thermometer in the tank. The water should be below 20 degrees. Mine are around 22 which is not good, but the tanks and fish are established and get very careful and regular maintenance, so I get away with it. Keep a VERY close eye on them for whitespot especially, or fluffiness (usually columnaris). Treat with 1/2tsp table salt per litre until the fluffiness is gone or in the case of whitespot, for at LEAST two weeks after the last spot as fallen off. I botched up :oops: I had some bullies in quarantine for three weeks. Had precautionary salt in there (same rate) for two weeks. Dropped the fish in the main tank and immediately realised they had whitespot, just the tiny ones that have only become big enough to be visible that day. Now I have to pull the tank apart to get the little sods out before they fall off and become infectious. Not quite sure how I screwed up the precautionary treatment, but I did. Might give it three weeks of treating next time. Kicking self repeatedly. Best of luck with your natives! I am always here to help with any questions

Yeah, that will be Charlie Mitchell, probably through Mahurangi Tech (in Warkworth) What species are you wanting to get? Check the temp of your outside tank. My (indoor) native tanks are sitting around 22 degrees which is NOT good. Under 20 is preferable.

it is pretty awful. Though the thing that always frustrates me is their bush is SUPPOSED to have small regular fires to clear away the kindling so big fires aren't as regular or destructive. But now every little fire is put out so there are masses of kindling everywhere. Small, regular, controlled burnoffs are what is needed. But no, people think stopping small fires and not doing controlled burnoffs is safer and better for the environment :roll: I am NOT making light of it or whatever, death by fire has always terrified me. What I am saying is this is almost totally preventable.

I probably wouldn't trust an EXPERIENCED FISH KEEPER to do anything on a tank of mine unsupervised without giving them written instructions! Everyone has different ideas on what to do, and different ideas on how to do it. Sorry for your loss. You would think this bio teacher would start paying attention and doing some reading of their own by now, so many losses over time! :roll:

According to Bob McDowall ('NZ Freshwater Fishes: A Natural History and Guide'): Gordian worms are probably common in NZ but rarely seen. Most are found encysted in the digestive tract and fewer in other organs. Initial host is possibly an aquatic insect. One upland bully was examined with an estimated 10,000..........! (you ever seen the average size of a bully?!) It is suggested this fish may have eaten the eggs directly. Common in common river galaxias (sth island species) What else did you find on your fish hunt?

Good one! I have tried everything for cleaning glass. The magnetic cleaner and spongy thing scratched the glass to bits with collected grit eventually :evil: My weapon of choice is an eftpos card or similar. The edge removed even the tough green dot algae and NO risk of it picking up grit. Over time the edge gets a little beaten up (pushing down into rocks) so it needs to be replaced with a new one periodically.

Weird. Caryl's idea sounds logical. Good on you for getting SPCA ones! I love their system of making you pay for the neutering and booking an appt before you take the cat home. Very sensible. People who don't get their animals fixed should be made to put down the unhomeables at the SPCA :evil:

In that case it ISN'T ideas for a new tank. Are you are just after landscaping ideas?? What are the fish you have for the tank?

I enjoy doing that sort of aquarium. Very satisfying to put together a believable natural habitat (as much as one can in a glass box)

yeah, I think gordian worm too. My dad told me that he saw what looked like a piece of black string at least a foot long swimming through the water. I did a massive google spree and settled on them. Never seen one myself, very cool (and agreed, disturbing).

Mostly negatives from me... Lots of panes of glass get in the way of seeing the fish. Some angles you will see the same fish twice. Small surface area but usually tall, so you can't keep as many fish safely at you would think for the volume. I wouldn't go near them personally. What about triangular tanks that actually fit into a corner without wasting space and without lots of panes?

yeah, I love forums! Great way for sucking up your time and putting off your To Do list, even your Must Do Right Now Or The World Will Explode list... :roll: My only other one at the moment in NANFA (which always makes me think NAMBLA!) North American Native Fish Association http://forum.nanfa.org/index.php?s=14dd ... ca&act=idx Looking forward to see where others live!

my native fish videos ( http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=nzn ... iew=videos ) have on average received 60-160 views. One has 714 views. Then one has 5574 views! Bizarre! It is a fairly short (just over a minute) collection of three clips of two people using electrofishing gear in a river..... not overly ground-breaking!

Planaria are cute apparently you can get ENORMOUS ones overseas! ...I have odd tastes... :oops:

Really? I would never do that.... except to move a tank from one side of the desk to the other.....! OK, apart from tanks smaller than two-foot that have no gravel in them. I guess it is what level of risk you are willing to take. A 2ft tank is VERY EASY to dismantle and move. A broken 2ft tank is very difficult to set up again... Also water is more violently sloshy in a longer container. And if the water is low it is more likely to damage the fish. I moved a 25lt tank with only 5lt water in it (with no gravel and one 1.5cm fish). It sloshed really badly, no matter how carefully I walked! If it was a full 25 lt bucket with lid it would have been much less violent for the poor wee fishy. Next time I would just catch the fish, put it in a jar, drain the water and move it empty. I wonder if a canister filter would be better moved drained of water... not dry, but with lots of air around. The bacteria need the water movement or they will starve of oxygen. If they are wet but not submerged, they are surely able to get more oxygen and not die as soon?

Caryl, you have WEIRD fish! Though my mudfish are allowing waterboatmen to die of old age in their tank :roll: On topic, I always defrost frozen foods in a fine tea strainer before feeding. No point in putting all that nutrient water into the tank to feed the algae!