Joze

I bought a new shaft a few weeks ago $21 but that was the local rip off artist. As for the primer those things are right ***** to put on and dropping the cup into hot water to soften just wrecks them.

These bins cost me $60 each, the only thing is you need to fill them while in the vehicle. You are welcome to borrow them. Otherwise I use 20 litre pool chemical buckets (yes they are clean and neutral). I am in the chatroom permanently btw, just say something otherwise I wont pick you up.

I have these 150 litre bins I got from payless plastics. They have clip down lids and are very handy for shifting fish. Although they are not completely water tight, they are stable and a towel between the bin and the lid works very well.

Even though one day I plan to breed I would rather start of with very average discus, I dont know whether my lazy methods of fish keeping are even compatible (dont have problems with anything else). There is no way I can afford to pay $200 per fish for something I may kill. I agree with these guys. Average breeds average, so I would not even contemplate breeding average fish. Not that my breeding efforts with anything get me far.

the kids across the road at the station feed the eels. They really are a sight to see.

that I use in a tank with "heater movers" It works a treat and is wedged between rocks rather than on the glass. Only thing is that they are not the best for small tanks because of the separate thermostat. I do like being able to see whether it is on or not by the panel on the wall though.

could you grab a couple for me as well, dont care about the age just female paradise. I have 5 males so desperate they are collecting snails and placing them in the nest. This particular nest has been going for 6 months

first thing John Do not throw away the ss bottles you exchange them for a refill. If you already are, my thoughts are with you and your wallet. Now....sitting there this morning I realised something. In camping supply shops they sell a multitude of converters and adapters for gas equipment etc. Because of my engineering skills I am more likely to go to animates and by an injector with all the whizz bangs than mess around with it myself. In other words I really suck at making things.

Last time I made one kids kept fiddling with it so I gave up for a while. What I did was drill a hole in the cap of a soft drink bottle .5 mm smaller than the hosing and forced silicon hose through it. Kept an air tight seal without the need for gluing or siliconing.

The complain about addresses no yearbook forthcoming etc really gets up my nose. As someone who is secretary of a different type of club, it was foisted on me to do the newsletter. Everyone wants it no one wants to contribute, they moan when it is late, they moan about the format and the content, they moan when there are no local reports, they even moan about the address labels. Yet when it comes down to it I get no phone calls email or handwritten notes in the post with a contribution. I have to write the whole damn thing myself. This year is the last year I will do it (Secretary and Editor), I refuse do do it in the future unless there is a major change in attitude.

let me know when you are down I have a some yellows I want to enhance, by then I should have some nice blues/metalics coming through.

I just took a heap of photos of my community tank. No flash, darkened room camera hard against the glass. My upside down cat threw a major fit, he took off down the tank and whacked himself at the other end, the tank sounded as if someone had hit it with a golf ball. The betta thought this was pretty cool and started showing off (I have never seen a betta play like a dolphin before). The kribs went into hiding, so did the bristle nose cats and the paradise fish occasionally stayed still enough to get a fuzzy picture. The gouramis were courting, sadly everytime I moved the light over them they went to a darker spot. So if anyone wants to see them I have some fuzzy closeups and tails and not a bad full photo. Put a pic of the whole tank on my profile, yup needs a top up but water is scarce here at the moment.

Are they a local supplier? If so I wouldnt mind having a look for an outdoor watergarden.

I have learnt to shut up he doesnt understand all these tanks around our house especially the green ones with nothing in them

I have a story that will either make you laugh or cry. We are currently in Hamilton at the In laws. Now FIL complains about his solitary goldfish having ich AGAIN. I suggest that he gets a good medication from the vet (kept that pretty vague as I have never been troubled by it) and that he clean everything in the tank in a mild solution of bleach while leaving this scarred goldfish "soaking in it". I suggested that he remove the charcoal filter altogether, and use noodles in the filter and replace the media in one go when treating the tank. Nope he knows everything, the charcoal filter actually helps the fish and the reason (GOD I LOVE THIS ONE), the reason the fish gets ich is "because the weather in Hamilton is hot and humid". I gave up trying to explain to him as my FIL always knows best and no one knows anything except him. He is that bad he decided to clean my infusoria tank one day and nothing I could say or do would stop him. Wel I give the goldfish 6 months tops, the poor thing is scarred from previous infections and seems to relapse about once a week.

on that note. Finding good stock can sometimes be an issue. Talk to fishy people not fish shops as they generally get their stock from the same place and the fish for sale are usually in the feeder not breeder category. You will know good breeders when you see them.

today was the hottest day on record for Paraparaumu at the most exposed point at the airport the temperature was 30deg C. which means the garden thermometer was reading correctly in the garden at 40C . It was so hot that the kids opened the curtains in the room where the axolotyls where and they were lightly poached. I went in there to check on them and both were belly up. Checked the water temperature and it was 36C. Pretty freaky considering the water is usually around 16-18 C constant. I have to say I am not all that sorry to see them go though, I have never been a great fan of them and I inherited them under protest from a primary school years ago the kids went to, they got sick of them and thrust them on to me.

this will create a ruckus but...........contrary to popular belief, eels dont eat trout and trout dont eat the majority of native species (although smelt and crustacians are a part of their diet). FYI did you know that New Zealand once had a native salmonoid species. There was a native grayling in NZ but it was wiped out in the 1860's-1870's before trout were introduced. Mainly wiped out because it was regarded as a food source and maori who had been harvesting this species for generations starting harvesting for sale to settlers. Many of the NZ native species are wetland and small stream dwellers, loss of these areas have decimated the population.

In the process of designing ours, and will set it up to be able to be pumped out by pool pump. Many years ago I used to use an old fine net curtain, water goes through sludge stays in the net.

while on the subject of vets.......... I struck a clueless one. My dog got sick, usual viral infection, lowered blood pressure, temp, allevated heartbeat, lethargic, not eating etc. Took her down to the closest vet as she was very sick with sudden onset, told the vet what the symptoms were, mentioned her blood pressure was down as well. Without a lie the vet said "how do you know that, you arent supposed to know that". Then tried to tell me that the dog needed a series of blood tests at $130 each. Oh yeah and accused me of starving the dog (fussy red setter off her food). No mention of a course of antibiotics first. I walked out then and refuse to pay the bill. Went to our usual vet, told him what was happening and I was treated as a human being, not some moron with a pussy. I discovered a few more things about our vet (we are pretty new to the area), he is willing to admit when he doesnt know, will ask questions and regards treatment as a combined plan of action. I have worked with a large number of vets over the years, and on animals valued in the hundreds of thousands to millions mark. I dont need some moron vet treating me as if I am stupid, she also tried to blind me with science and didnt get the hint when I talked "shop" at her.

I have the hole dug now figuring out the cheapest way of filtration. This is what I have come up with so far.......weir and sand filter system similar to swimming pool, marley box spouting with top and bottom inflow to basket weir for large debris catchement. Rest goes through filter with 1/2 filter sand (2 bags @ $17 each )1/2 gravel mixture. I will be piping this 15 metres to pool pump shed and use the electrics there, as it is already set up with sump, electrics etc. My biggest query is the actual size of the water pump 1/4 hp? 1/16 hp? Some sort of diffusion apparatus for water pressure? I am also getting ambitious as I plan to keep livebearers in it with a solar water heating system for wintering. The swimming pool 2 metres from the pond sight averages 25C over summer without heating, covering or a dark surface, so summer temp and windchill isnt a problem. OK guys throw your ideas and "scotsman" theories at me on this one. I have a site picture if anyone wants it.

I wouldnt mind some either, as inclusion to the graduating guppy program I have going. I am also going to get adventurous and put in livebearer pond outside. Got a spot where I can keep the water temp 16+ even in winter.

I have been thinking about the concertina type poly for under the house anyway, di I A. Just continue with the poly in the wall that has to be built ?OR B. Use expensive insulating wool in the wall? I am thinking about leaving the chest freezer in there as a working space and external heat source. Not only that I would have to find a new home for it. Vibration from the freezer isnt a problem and I have it sitting on a proper pc technician's anti-static mat. Since this truely is a long term project (mainly planning and explaining tank purchases), I want to do it properly. On this note why is it that cheap tanks only seem to be selling in Auckland grr.

because it will need a bit of building work (1 wall to be built) and lining, I am seriously thinking about unscrewing the gib from the wall and filling with high quality insulation. The room itself is a half built kitchen to make downstairs a self contained flat. The previous owners put in an old bench, gibbed and then abandoned the project. Plumbing is not in but can be installed very easily. Power is also into the room. It will be a fair amount of work, but I may as well do it properly the first time around. The fllor also has drainage which is a bonus and the bore well and pump are under the stairs.

because it will need a bit of building work (1 wall to be built) and lining, I am seriously thinking about unscrewing the gib from the wall and filling with high quality insulation. The room itself is a half built kitchen to make downstairs a self contained flat. The previous owners put in an old bench, gibbed and then abandoned the project. Plumbing is not in but can be installed very easily. Power is also into the room. It will be a fair amount of work, but I may as well do it properly the first time around. The fllor also has drainage which is a bonus and the bore well and pump are under the stairs.