Angel

Hi Morgie do your new fishies sort of look like this? if so, you have inangas. They used to live in a creek at the back of my old house in Glen Eden and I thought they were baby eels or something until I saw them in a pet store. I'd love to know if that's what you have

Wow I didnt expect so many replies The water is always cool - it's out of sunlight.. Havent taken water from the local river - i didnt want to bring any contamenants into the tank Didnt wanna go tropical cuz I know i'll get addicted and the selection at our pet store is shit. I guess if I could get a heater for cheap and discover a way to make them travel happily, then I might consider it.. The other half loves neon tetras and I know he'll want me to get them 'Ooh look they're all pretty and shiney' I swear he was a magpie in another life!!! Thanks peoples for replying, it's much appreciated.. One fish has died while i've been at work.. I'm really upset about it cuz i've been trying everything to keep them happy.. They're eating things like mozzie larvae and flake food.

My Inangas arent very well.. they're all on a lean and I dont know why.. The driftwood is out cuz i'm sick of the water going brown, the water is pure rainwater, everything is clean and lovely and yea.. I'll be setting them free tomorrow in the Kerikeri river I'm quite sad cuz they were a gift and i've grown quite attached to them. But if setting them free will help them (i'd like to imagine they'll live in the wild) then i'm happy. I'll be doing another strip down getting a better filter and then i'll be getting fantails. Its all such complete arse.

Doesnt worry me If it's better for the fish than constant water changes, then i'll go for it.. Edit: I just found a thing for it online in NZ.. $24.95 for a whole bunch of them and a pouch lasts for 3 months.. i dont want a whole bunch, maybe just a couple of pouches.. Does anyone have any they'd be willing to flick off ?

Awesome thanks for that.. I might have to do a partial water change this afternoon sometime cuz it looks REAL dark today Stupid driftwood.

Why does it turn the water brown? I'm sure the fishies wont mind as their native water can be muddy and stuff.. it sorta looks like really diluted tea.. what can I do to stop this from happening?

Thanks Yea I got it from Opononi after a massive storm.. you should have seen the wood that came up onto the beaches.. some of it was MASSIVE pine trees.. they'd been floating in the water for years by the looks as they just looked like little driftwoods, only massive

Anyway heres what the tank looks like now.. I've got a little lamp sitting on the top so i can see my fishies at night

Its so stink cuz I cant buy them up here I have to mission to Auckland to get the buggers..

I'm so bummed.. I accidently killed one of my inanga today with a stray lead weight as I was putting the driftwood into the tank

Do you HAVE to have a uv light for your plants? Or will a bit of sunlight during the day do the trick? I really need to do some more planting, but I cant afford a light at the moment - and my fish dont like it. They hide behind what plants i have when the sun hits the tank. Also, before making the 1.5hour mission to the pet store on Cameron St in Whangarei, can anyone tell me if they have a good selection of plants for cold water? I'm after some smallish ones (my current plants are 6 inches high) and I dont wanna get down there and find out they have a crap selection. Also, would anyone know if they have fresh water mussels Thankies

A couple of my inangas have little fat bellies which are slightly red in colour.. would this mean they are up the duff or a different sex? I can find any info at all on google!

oh oh another Kerikeri person I'm there as well! We should totally get a northland club happening

yup they are indeed

still lot LOTS to do, but this is what it's gonna look like till after new years when I can make a trip to whangarei to the aquarium shop..

Well i've done a complete water change, added sand and they're all laxed out now.. lovely clear water yay! I'm soaking my driftwood now, so that will go in tomorrow and then I can get more plants

Ok, complete newbie question.. how the heck do i make my driftwood stay on the bottom of the tank!!!!!! Its a big bit and it keeps floating

Thanks for that Alan - i've had no escapees last night. The fish are about 10-12cm long.. they're having breakfast at the moment and it's real cute..diving all over the place. I've collected just about enough rain water overnight to replace the water in the tank - it's cloudier than ever. I think what i'll do today is start my aquascaping and get it all done at once so *hopefully* it wont have to be done again!

oh i know, it's silly.. I dont have any filter wool, i have one of those mental green things that you replace the cartridge on.. im on the chat now if you wanna say hi

hey They're called Inanga - grown up whitebait. I have a feeling they're catching a ride on the bubbles from the filter actually.. I'm sitting here watching them swim thru the bubbles.. I knew I should have got a waterfall one instead lol!

Haha yea, I had to go off to work so I didnt get to talk to you. The tank is brand new, but theres no chlorine in the water cuz its bore water, so theres none in it which is a big bonus.. so hopefully the cloudyness will go away.. I posted in the freshwater forum saying that the fish were trying to escape - I found one on the floor when I got home from work a few mins ago, but he's alive thankfully - We cant get Inanga up here, i have to go to Auckland for them.. I've taped up gaps in the glass on the top, so hopefully that will stop the little sods. They're all really agitated at the moment however, they're a schooling fish and they were quite happy when I left for work at 5, and now they're swimming around and hitting the glass and stuff.. I'll see how they go over the next few hours, and if they're still not happy, i'll hoist them out and put them in a bucket with some rainwater.

I just got home from work and one of my fish was on the floor!!!!!!! I put it back in the tank, it was still alive but must have been out of the water for a wee while, and he's not very happy I hope he doesnt die! I dont understand how they're getting out tho? I have a sheet of glass on the top with a small hole for the filter tube to go thru and thats it.. I'm frightened they're all gonna jump out now.. what should I do??? I hope that my little ones that went missing didnt jump out. I havent seen any bodies on the floor, but then my dogs have been in here, so there wouldnt be any trace of them. Oh this is so sad!

Hey everyone I was given the link to these cool as forums this morning and i've just got my confirmation email yay! Anyway about my aquarium. Its a 40L one, and I have some random plant things which i'm chucking out cuz they've got snail eggs all over them and I dont want silly snails. I have 8 Inanga (adult whitebait) and stones and other rubbish. I'm wanting to build it up to be all NZ Native wildlife cuz native stuff is real cool. Does anyone have any suggestions as to other fish I can get which are native and wont eat my Inangas? I notice they eat each other quite happily as yesterday I had 10, but this morning noticed the 2 small ones I had were gone Also, I rinsed all my stones properly yet the water is still all milky and horrible. Ive had fish before and never had this problem. Should I hoist my fish out and start over? Thanks guys I'll take some pics soon - the tank isnt anything exciting yet, although I hope to plant it out with native things, and have sand for a base.. where does one get sand for a tank from by the way? Thanks again