SHARK

Evening all. My pair of Bristlenoses have breed......7/8/07, im a happy man....lol, i have managed to catch about a dozen of them & have put them in a breeding net, tricky little buggers i tell ya. So was wondering how fast they grow. I have a 1500 x 600 x 600 tank, just under 600 liters. I have put them in with some Albino Corys i have also breed & they seem to be fine. Feeding twice daily with fine flake & shrimp pellets plus algae chips. Any idea on how long before setting them free into my main tank. Cheers SHARK

Yes i do, they are in there own tank with Red Ramshorns & Baby Platties, they are wet to look at, just no babies.

Cheers for that, have had a look at the website. I have some eggs that have been on the glass for about 35 days now & still nothing, was wondering whether they would be infertile. Any ideas anyone. Shark

Hello to all. I have just had my Apple Snails lay clusters of eggs on the top class of there tank & was wondering how long the take to develope & hatch. Cheers the SHARK

Well some interesting stories. I think some people on this site no alot & some no nothing, thats why i like this site..........lol........i have been breeding different types of fish, cold & tropical for 25 years & still have lots to learn. Also breed Turtles, Red Eared Sliders & Blue heelers/dogs. Have done some of my own looking around & asking a few questions. And this is what i have found out, for anyone that is interested. They dont need to come out of the water to breath, they can live very happily with out leaving the water, they have a long tube that comes to the surface that they take air in through, but thats not to say they dont come out of the water to breath aswell. From what i gather they need to pair up to breed, cant do it by them selves. They lay there eggs out of the water so the fish or other critters dont eat them, when the hatch they drop into the water. They also like to go walk about, the chap i spoke to has had them for 30 years & sometimes he finds them all over his garage floor in the morning, they like to get around. They are part of the Apple Snail family & can grow very large, not as big as the yellow Apple Snail, but big, tennis ball size, so looking forward to that. They can devastate a planted tank in days, so not much good if ya like a planted tank, wont last long with these suckers. They can live for up to 25 to 30 years if they are in the right environment, they also need calcium to stop there shells from going soft or pitting out, just like Turtles, same sort of thing. If you feed them heaps they grow very fast. Thanks to those people who had something to add. Cheers SHARK.

I have 4 big brown Mystery Snails & they have started to try & leave the water, would this be something to do with breeding, with the water warming up. I have them in cold water with my goldfish fry, they clean up all the left over food & waste. The water temp is about 20 - 22 so was wodering why ??????? Any ideas would be great. Thanks the SHARK

Afternno all. Im trying to find out any info on keeping freshwater Shrimp/coldwater. There seems to be only one type in NZ, but limited info. Any help would be great. Cheers SHARK.

Good evening to all. I have just set up a tank for growing plants up, plus have some Red Ramshorn snails to keep things tidy, i have read that the PH cant go to acidic or it will corrode the shells which in turn will kill them. So if i put some small bits of dead coral in my filter for the water to pass by, do you think this would help. coral is a type of limestone.......YES/NO Thanks SHARK

Afternoon everyone. Just one question. How long do platties live for ? The reason i ask is i have had some for about a year & found one floating, dead, did an exam on it , it was full of babies, but they looked like they were rooten. Anybody help Regards SHARK

GOOD EVENING TO EVERYBODY. I was given some Platties a couple of weeks back & they have dropped there babies & was wondering how long they take to grow. They are about 5-6mm long. Do they grow fast ? They are in my 500lt tank inside fine mesh fish holders so they dont get eaten by my other fish. Also was wondering how many males i need i my tank to fertilize 8 females. Any ideas would be great. Cheers SHARK.

Thank you all so very much for your helpfull info, have placed a cave in my tank 550liter & are feeding them on algae wafers plus zuccinis & peas. They just love them. Will just wait & see. Thanks again for all your help. Cheers SHARK

Wow, so cool. How old are they ?? Will they breed with a normal B/N ?? And how do i get some.......lol. SHARK

Unfortunately is spawning some fish die, the females get battered by the males, they hit there bellies, trying to get the eggs to release so the can fertilize them with there milt. I have had to take a couple of female Calico's out late last year, they where so exhausted, siting on the bottom, while the males are trying to bash them. Like the others have said, keep an eye on her, if you have a good natural ballance in your pond or tank your fish will heal in no time, very hardy Goldfish are. The Shark

Bummer, something to work on i feel. Thanks. SHARK

Sorry to here about your fish. Regards Shark

AFTERNOON EVERYONE. Does anyone no of any Goldfish Clubs in Auckland, or Breeders Clubs. Cheers THE SHARK.

Located in Auckland. I breed Veiltail Comets, Red Cap Fans, Calico Fans & Tancho Comets. Tancho Comets are a little like a Red Cap but have dark red stiped patterns on there body. Not orange, dark red, the rest of there body is white or silver. Out of all the goldfish, they are my favourite, look like warriors. Very much like a Koi Carp. Which we are not aloud to keep, which sucks, only two contries in the world dont want them, us & Aus, crazy. Dont get me started on that. Dont see this breed around much anymore, ive had the strain for years. And i only breed for myself. Feel free to ask. Cheers The SHARK

Hello there. I have a ghost, he is in my 500liter tank, had him for 3 years now, got him when he was 100mm long, he is now 350mm long. He lives with my b/n, plecos, barbs, silver dollars, silver sharks, moonlight gouramies, plus some other stuff. He comes out all the time, hes a real character. They told me when i got him he would eat my smaller fish, this is not the case, maybe when he gets bigger, say like 500mm, but no probs yet. He will eat enything, flake, fish pellets, worms, blood worms, even eats peas. He shares his home with my 4 clown loaches. I was told the are very shy, but this guy is allways doing something. Really cool fish. Maybe try putting a clear class or plastick tube in your tank, he will think he is hiding, but you can still see him. I think these fish are part blind. Hope that has been helpfull. The SHARK.

Its very easy to tell there sexes early in spring, males get white pimples on there gill plates & along the top of there peck fins, i find my female get alot fatter, plus they blush around the head more that the males. I breed Red Caps, Comets, Calico Fans, plus Tancho Comets. The males will start to chase the females, sometimes up to 3 to 4 weeks before spawning. You can look under the fish, by its anal fin, but even the experts have troble sexing them that way when they are young. Hope that has helped. THE SHARK.

Good morning. I am glad to say things are looking better, fish are more active & seem to be getting rid of there slimey coat. Thanks for all your help. Cheers the SHARK

Forgot to ask at what age do they breed, plus how big do they get. Cheers THE SHARK

Just wanted to say thanks for that, the info, plus photos are great. Will try a few things to see if i can get them to do the wild thing. Thanks again. THE SHARK.

Thanks for that, sounds very easy, but no it wont be, i have a very busy tank. Will just see how things go, they have a cave to go in but my Black Ghost fish likes to hang out in there, should be interesting. Thanks again. THE SHARK.

HELLO THERE. I WAS WONDERING IF ANYBODY HAD SOME ADVISE ON BREEDING THESE FISH. HAVE A PAIR, MALE, FEMALE. THEY ARE ABOUT 2 YEARS OLD. FEMALE IS TWICE THE SIZE OF THE MALE. SHE SEEMS TO MOVE HIM ALONG ALL THE TIME. NOT VERY TOLERANT OF HIM. CHEERS THE SHARK

Good afternoon. I have two Red Eared Sliders, they live with Guppies & Platties, these fish breed so fast that if you lose a few, who cares, well you no what i mean. Tried Goldfish, but got snotted very quickly, to slow to get away from those snappers. Tadpoles dont do much better. Hope this has helped. THE SHARK