Joze

funny that, I have been trialling some stimubait products (for an angling magazine), supposed to be pheromones in pellets spray oil etc. I did try it on mine with the oil just floated on the surface to see the reaction, well it worked. Thing is, maybe it might entice your fish to eat a little of the bait enhancer mixed with food.

the question is, does it ice over or ice solid? If it ices solid then your pond needs to be a minimum of 4ft deep so the fish can shelter. Dont break the ice as the percussive shock can do some serious damage.

got some the soze of your little finger nail if you want some.

I looked at that stuff, it has molybdenum and copper in it, dont these two elements counteract each other? There is only one place in NZ that has a natural shortage of molybdenum and thats Waiuku. Everywhere else its in overabundance.

lol thats my place large fish repository, which if we get moved go to Mystics.

I cut mine into strips and then free flow it, keeps the pollution level down and not waste bits floating around.

you dont get out much do you Shae? *grin*

nz rockfish?

I think it all depends on your water supply, from what I have heard Palmerston North water isnt very fish friendly. For my own water changes I do a 50% change on the main tank which is about 500-600 litres. I use the garden hose and just stick it in. If I used any of the snake oil potions on the market to treat the water I would be looking at an extremely expensive water change. The fish dont sulk and the oscars love to swim up and grab the hose. A good indicator with mine about the tank getting cold is lethargic fish, if they start sitting on the bottom its time to turn off the hose and top it up the next day. I try not to add hot water as its something of a logistical nightmare, connecting the hose to the hotwater tap in the laundry running it downstairs and into the tank. One day when I win lotto (thats if I remember to buy a ticket)I will have the basement converted into a real fishroom with its own hot and cold water supply and drainage. For now the pool pump and vaccum and the hose suffice.

doxycycline is a broad spectrum tetracycline in a slow release form. GP looked at me like I was an alien when I asked for some 10mg slow release tabs for my fish. Looking perkier already. I did find a website in NZ which could be of use if utilised www.vetservice.co.nz My days of ringing the vet surgery and requesting meds to be dropped off are over I'm afraid. Now to educate the GP.... Its a disadvantage moving to a new region, I can no longer go into the vets mobile dispensary and grab what I need. Funny thing is most supervisary and prescription only drugs are cheaper from the vets.

one of my oscars came down with what looked like fin rot and dying scales all over overnight a few days ago, one of the scales has dropped off and now has a ruddy great ulcer in place. No other fish in the tank are sick and he has been removed to a tank on his own. He hasnt lost his colour and behaviour is the same. I am tempted to stick 100mg of doxycycline or 250mg clorotir down his throat. Any ideas on how to treat this? The usual salt and melafix hasnt helped at all. I have debrided the necrotic tissue and there appears to be no sign of any fungal infection. Turns out the dosage rate for fish is 0005mg per gram weight for doxycycline. Anyone got a set of gold scales?

I would be wary about any metal used in a tank, considering the risk of electrolysis.

lol sorry none left recipe: * 1 cup Milk * 1tb or thereabouts active dry yeast * 1/3 cup sugar PLUS * 1 teaspoon sugar * 1/4 cup Warm water * 4 tablespoons Butter -- melted * 1 1/2 teaspoon Salt * 2 1/2 cups cups all-purpose flour (more as needed) * -----FILLING----- * 4 tablespoons Butter -- at room temperature * 1/2 cup Brown sugar * 1 tablespoon Ground cinnamon * -----POWDERED SUGAR GLAZE----- * 1/2 cup icing sugar * 4 tablespoons Margarine -- melted * 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract In a large bowl, stir the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar into the warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the cooled milk, melted butter salt and sugar 1 cup of flour. Beat this with a spoon or an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually stir in 1 1/2 cups more flour, keeping the dough smooth. If the dough is still moist, stir in more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to make a soft dough. Cover with a dry cloth and let rise in a warm place until the dough doubles in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down and divide in half. Fill and bake the rolls: Grease and flour two large baking sheets. On a lightly oiled board, with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out and stretch one piece of dough to make a 12-by-8- inch rectangle. Spread half the soft butter over the top of the dough. Sprinkle with half the brown sugar and cinnamon. Beginning on a long side, roll up tightly. Repeat with the remaining dough, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut the dough into 2-inch slices and place on the baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Glaze the rolls: In a small bowl beat all the glaze ingredients until creamy and smooth. Coat the rolls with the glaze immediately after taking them out of the oven. Allow the rolls to cool on a wire rack. sounds like a pain in the rear but its not, pretty simple and quick to make.

bringing along some cinnamon rolls I need testers as the usual testers just hoover anything I cook.

next meeting tomorrow night right? Just organising whats happening tomorrow night. Have another meeting on as well, other half will go in proxy to the other if club night is on.

LMAO Agoh you dont live in my area then,the council turned the flash flood alarm off because people may have mistaken it for a tsunami warning, and guess what, there was a large flash flood. 99% of people in our area dont even know what the civil emergency radio station is, and the council gives no information whatsoever as to which one it is. Only reason I find out there is a civil emergency is through a friend who is a paramedic. There will always be hysterical morons but there are a lot of practical sensible people around who are treated like infants by the authorities. How the hell do you expect people to be prepared if the basic alert system fails and there is no education or information? I know of one council which has a poison gas evacuation policy, the mill has a corresponding one, but if you dont work at the mill you know nothing about it. There is no such thing as too much information when it comes to civil emergency, unfortunately the population is treated as though they are idiots.

Mass hysteria Brian, it may happen no one really knows, but some people spend their days worrying about it, annoys the hell out of me too. Question is has anyone told them the earth is bombarded by asteroids and meteors everyday?

my larger fish go down and stay down before an earthquake. Its well known that marine fish will do the same, ask any of the divers here.

have a slide viewer like a jewellers thingy...cant remember the bloody name, which might do the trick for viewing.

what about those gorgeous marble rocks and boulders that are on the beach in coromandel?

Jo1 just left, she had forgotten about it, but we sat and watched it. Brilliant show.

did you scratch it?

I have given up and use cat biscuits for dry food. At one point it was costing me somewhere round 100 a fortnight.

for the sake of being pedantic. Only poultry fertilised eggs are allowed IF they are certified with a certificate of health, however live poultry cannot be imported. I checked on this while trying to persuade a friend to let me have some hackle chicks. Since there are 4 owners worldwide of premium genetic hackle chickens I have a better chance of hell freezing over first.

stuck some boulders in there tonight, I now know why one of the oscars looks like he has been through a waste disposal, the pair were cleaning it while I was trying to place it in the tank. It went something like feeding a cat, shove them out of the way with one hand put the rock down with the other. It was a bit of comedy session with a severum floating on its side with only an eye poking out. Nope, it wasnt sick just eyeballing the upper outside world. The pearl gouramis in the same tank are schooling and coming for air as a pack, every now and then one would get brave and go and see what the oscars were up to. I find it amazing that there are pearl gouramis in the tank...the same number I stuck in there. Looks pretty cool with a variety of different fish of different sizes in all levels. Strictly speaking some of the species shouldnt be anywhere near each other but I guess the tank is big enough and the larger fish placid enough to get away with it. Still room for a few more fish, Think I might get some angels in there as I am too slack with water parameters for discus. Empty it with the pool pump, fill with the hose. A 50% hose siphon takes on average 3 hours so the pump works well.