Stella

I don't know anything about the optical qualities of glass..... but I do most of my photos with the camera right up against the glass. Partly to get close enough to my fish, partly to avoid issues with reflection from the flash. I suspect non-reflective glass would actually be worse. One thing I have been wanting to try over summer is a tip I was told by a freshwater photographer friend: Put the camera in a click clack container and submerge it in a stream! Apparently the click clack plastic is very good optically, and your camera is safe from the water. He does some very awesome shots with the camera half-in/half out of the water, so it shows both levels. Looks very fancy and like it would involve an expensive waterproof camera, but just involves kitchenware! Not exactly what you were asking though...

Others will have advice regarding cleaning up the scratches etc, but my main way of getting even the roughest tank looking nice is to 'frame' it with black electrical tape. (you can even get 2" wide stuff that looks great on big tanks) The silicone is what lets old tanks down the most, and once it is covered up the whole tank looks a lot neater, even with all the scratches.

Perhaps they went on a summer holiday? How bizarre! My sympathies as I know you are so proud of your pond. Could be interesting watching the fry coming through without any big fish to eat them...

Damn, that sucks

Not katipo sorry. Introduced South African spider, I think. Also found on beaches where katipo are, but sadly are much more common. When you see a katipo it just looks SO katipo-like that it kinda takes you aback... Hard to describe. This is a female katipo I found on Moana Roa/Scott's Ferry beach, coastal of Bulls: Try rolling logs on the beach and look for little 'nests' of web, usually with tiny sticks and sand attached. They belong to the larger females. They do bite but very rarely, usually requires provokation. Most recorded cases were when the spider was inside an item of clothing which was then put on...

Livingart, no you don't get bullies in schools, although HaNs says he has seen them schooling when he was snorkeling in Lake Taupo. I don't disbelieve him, but reserve judgment awaiting further evidence... They are very interactive with each other though, constantly 'changing places' with each other and having small chasing games. Neat to watch.

hehehe fat fish I would hazard a guess that is is possibly a girl filling with eggs....! my Cran's all look like that at the moment. The main giveaway for me is the enlarged genital papilla (the sticky-outy bit in front of the anal fin). Usually this is fairly small (but still visible) but when they are gravid it gets quite a lot larger. ALso after spawning it can be quite swollen (stretched? ) The males also have this, but it is thinner and pointier. Here is a photo of a tiny upland so full of eggs I thought she a) would pop, and b) resembled a guppy! http://picasaweb.google.com/nznativefis ... 8303789554 Also the swelling is lower down the abdomen. I would expect a little higher up if it was all food. .....of course you may have just seen it eat all the blood worms and get fat instantly.... :oops:

Good idea Firefish. What are the fees like?

Navarre: Good point about the tubs not being strong enough to carry full. Will bucket everything to them. Supasi: Most people would opt to be miles out of town when a person is moving, rather than offer to drive an hour in order to help them move! :lol: Henward: I suggest you never, ever move, ever again! Need to start getting tanks spruced up so I will transfer the least muck over to cloud up the water when I refill them...

Most fish should be ok for that length of time without feeding. It is probably much safer go that length without feeding than that length with feeding by a stranger and no waterchanges... I had a friend feed mine while I was away for a week, but he is a fishy person and was keen to help. I filled up an icecube tray with individual 'meals' so he would know how much to feed. Worked well. I am sure the fish would have been fine otherwise, but would have given me some Evil stares when I got back (somewhat akin to this: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :lol: What is a pyramid feeder? Not heard of that before.

Wow, thanks for the offer! But coming from Wanganui seems a little extreme... you don't have to have a reason to come visit me and my fish! I will probably be moving the tanks on Tuesday the 6th of January. I have one strong fishy person helping me Just calculated it is 0.3km closer to my favourite pub :roll: :lol:

hehehe according to wises.co.nz, 1.3km, 3mins driving time, two corners (excluding the driveways) Yes I think moving one at a time sounds safest. And it would be terrible if I mixed the rocks for each tank up Am wondering about the mudfish.... they are in a 90x30cm tank, 6mm glass sides, 10mm glass base. The substrate is a good 10cm of peat and leaves. This makes it VERY hard to catch the fish as it all stirs up and turns the water into a thick soup. Being mudfish they can cope with being out of the water. I am now contemplating siphoning out almost all the water (excavating one corner so I can drain as much as possible) then carry the tank complete with peat, leaves and fish. As long as I add water within a month or two they should be fine.... :lol: Any comments/ideas on this?

I have signed up for a new flat! Very exciting, am utterly sick of the tenants upstairs here, and the new place has (amongst many other excellent features) a small backyard so I can grow wrigglers for my fishies! Now, I have done the whole move-house-plus-fishtank before, so I know the process. I was wondering what tips people have for moving several large tanks (two 4ft, one 3ft, one 2ft) I looked through the archives and most were on moving little tanks, though there was an excellent tip of getting a couple of 100lt tubs from the Wharehouse, setting it up at the new house and putting hte fish and filter in that, that way you have a bit more leeway in time to get the tank properly sorted before the fish go in. Seemed very sensible! I have also allowed a couple of days crossover between the new and old flats, so I can move my furniture one day and tanks the next, and another day to spare. Any other tips that really worked for you that wouldn't immediately come to mind? Or what about what really didn't work.... like a friend of mine who was moving the tank at 11pm after a hard day's moving and dropped it on the driveway....

hmmmmm, I have deliberated on this long and hard, and I have come to the conclusion that it is a..... bully! Dunno, nothing significantly identifying there. They are ways of telling, but it would require fish anaesthesia and making yourself blind counting fin rays. Pretty cute though, and good photos for such a tiny fish! Cameras can have issue focusing on semi-transparent bodies.... Could be interesting raising it up and finding out what it is. I went to the Kahuterawa stream yesterday, didn't do any fishing or anything, but the shallows were just crawling with non-diadromous bully fry. Very cute. (I think my latest nest of eggs either got eaten or hatched overnight and sucked into the filter... oh well... :oops: )

always buy a chiller that can more than handle your tank volume. It would be really struggling if the tank was the same as or near to the upper limit of the 'recommended' range. Could be a good buy.

http://www.niwa.cri.nz/rc/freshwater/fi ... fishfinder very handy. Each species entry has a map showing where they have been found.

it depends on the individual fish, and the species. Tiny redfins can be possible to tell, because the stripes on the face can be fairly clear when the fish is small. You can sometimes tell it is a redfin while still in the water. Some small uplands can be easy enough, if the spotting is distinct. Bluegills have quite a different shape so I guess it would be possible (I haven't seen many) Commons, giants, Cran's, some uplands and some redfins would be impossible at that size. A lot of the 'diagnosis' of species is based on location. Like with Ianab's bullies, they were from the Patea river behind the dam, which rules out all strictly diadromous fish (redfins, bluegills, giants), leaving Cran's, uplands and commons. A check of the distribution map tells that all three are present in that area, then you look closer at features.... .... and find in this case they look pretty damned indistinguishable...! :oops:

Pleased to hear they have settled in so well! Bullies do indeed rock for being so active and *interactive* with each other (as opposed to just swimming around idly). I still am not sure what type you have. I lean towards Cran's, maybe common, definitely not upland.

I had a basic, chunky and rather tall stand build for a four foot tank of timber, materials cost being $90

How long have you had your inanga in captivity? They do take a while to settle in properly. Certainly Romeo spent a lot of time not even seeing his! Inanga are big eaters, they will eat till their stomachs are enormous and whiteworms etc come out their gills! (literally, and yes it is truly gross).

I think eating from your fingers requires two things: 1 - patience 2 - they need to really really want the food you have Also once one fish goes for it, the others will, it is all rather learned. I find inanga (and other natives) eat flake and other commercial foods only if they *really* have to, and it can take a while to train them onto it. All of my fish get finely cut ox heart as their staple diet. It is very nutritious and much easier to fill them up with (especially the kokopu, damned stomachs with fins!) and the big plus is they absolutely love it. I even had a mudfish feeding out of my fingers within a week of coming into captivity! Shrimp sound good too, but I haven't tried it. I have also had galaxiids stealing peas off the koura. Inanga seem to go nuts for them, and the kokopu used to, but now they are bigger (and actually able to eat one whole) they are not interested. Bullies couldn't care less about peas, and I imagine mudfish, eels and torrentfish would be the same. All native fish eat aquatic invertebrates as their complete diet. Vegies are not required. Thus they need a food that is high in protein and everything else that bugs are full of.... Most commercial foods have a high cereal or vegetable content.

well yes, that is very very true.....

awwwww! what is it splinted with?

amazing just how malleable babies head's are! I contemplated being a hygienist a while ago, then realised the thing I found the most stomach churning was really dirty teeth (give me blood and gore and bone drills any day!). And anyway, it would still be 'just a job'. I want to do something I am really passionate about, this time native fish. So I am now signed up to do study next year in ecology at massey, and have just had it confirmed that I am doing a study over summer (paid) figuring out a bucket design that will allow whitebait to self-sort into species (oh dear god why did I agree to this??) (my problem is I find many many things really fascinating...)

I am thinking of moving house. This is usually such an expensive process and I want to see if I can cut the price down a whole lot (am still unemployed). I am with Telecom and Meridian. Both of them will charge me if I move and stay with them. However competitors will sign me up for free. (there might be a disconnection fee, not sure yet) Anyone got any tips on the possibilities of weaseling out of paying so much?