Mel1708

These are my favourite pics of our turtles: Baby Noah Noah and Ally This was our desktop for a while:

Hi there, I faced this dilemma about six months ago. We got Joey our Lutino cockatiel in November 07, he is handraised and basically thinks he is a small human. We thought he might like a friend so we got another cockatiel but he hated this other cockatiel and would hiss at him if it came near. Eventually we returned the second cockatiel as it was pretty miserable being constantly rejected. Then we got a budgie, they lived together for around three months and got along really well but the budgie started to pull the cockatiels feathers when it was grooming him (he is a cheeky little fella). So we seperated the two birds and they live next door to each other in seperate cages very happily and are the best of friends. Now the budgie can talk to the cockatiel and keep him company but not hurt or tease him. They are a really funny pair because the budgie copies every cockatiel noise and calls to Joey from the other end of the house. We often tell Joey off for being a 'noisy boy' when its actually the budgie (Alvin). I think if you do want to get him any kind of bird friend you will need a spare cage ready in case they don't get along for any reason. HTH Mel

I love crumpet toast but don't like real crumpets while my mum is the opposite! They're really not that simillar the toast is much lighter and doesn't have the rubbery skin on it! Mel

I like the second cake it looks really good! But both cakes are impressive to someone like me who has trouble making any cake! :lol:

Hi there, I love taking pics of fighters they are so photogenic! Here are a couple of my past and present fighters: Big Red - delta tail male Siam and Rose' - a blue VT male and cambodian red female My blue/mustard gas Plakat who I have just bred from, fry are around 2 weeks old Pearl - a yellow female with a delta type tail (bred from her once unsuccessfully but she was definitely a female not a plakat) Mel

Hi there, Are you keeping the turtle inside? If so does he have a reptile light and a heat source? I use a spot lamp with a 60 watt spotlight for the heat to dry the turtle's shell out when he wants to sunbathe and a reptile light covers the whole tank. The spotlight is cheap and effective my turtles shells are really healthy (they are Reeves though). If the pitts are not open wounds, then a lady I met with around seven or so Red ears told me that a fortnightly wipe down of their shells with Algae rid keeps them in nice condition and I think prevents any kind of fungus/rot (if the lighting conditions are met). I made up my own concoction of a couple of tea tree drops in some vegetable oil which I apply to their shells occasionly. I'm not an expert but these things work for me HTH Mel

Hi there, I am looking for someone to clip my birds wings in the Auckland area. I don't want to take them to the local pet store as they did not do a good job on my friends bird and I'm not brave enough to do it myself. Is there anyone experienced on here that I could pay to do it? Potentially it would be a cockateil, a budgie and my friends Indian ringneck. Thanks, Mel PS. I wasn't sure where to put this but seeing as its not fish related I put it in the off-topic.

Hi there, I think this is called an 'orange dalmation' colour type: http://bettysplendens.com/articles/page.imp?articleid=1757 I've seen a couple of them in the Auckland LFS in the past year but they're not that common (I think could be wrong). HTH Mel

Are you saying the "Venezuala" guppies in the shops are Endlers? I had no idea but now that I think about it they were quite alot different to the wild type guppies - much more vibrant! There were quite a few of them in the shops up here about 2 or 3 months ago. Mel

Matt and I (Mel) at Lonestar! Me and Rusty(my mini ginger friend)

Hi Michelle, I have just recently acquired some discus after carefully choosing them. The first discus' I bought from an LFS and in my excitement (and inexperience) did not notice that one had a short gill plate and another a kink in its tail/spine which made it swim slightly wonky. I had four other discus who were perfect, maybe one was slightly oval instead of circular. The moral of my story is be very observant and don't be tempted by the low price. My criteria now for discus is they should display normal behaviour (no flashing, heavy breathing, lethargy etc maybe even ask to see them being fed to check their appetites), I examine them carefully for any faults (ie. short gills, bent tails or strangely shaped - oval etc.), I go for the medium to large size (6-7cm +) as I find less problems with them adapting to new tanks and I like to check that they have good colour or that you can see where/how the pattern/colour will develop. I have used this criteria and now have a new set of Discus that I am happy with. The ones on TradeMe look ok to me but I would strongly advise you to see them before you commit to buying them and observe their behavious carefully. I think the Marlborough and Sunset have nice colour they are maybe a little oval shaped for my liking but that could be the camera angle. The blue Turq has quite a nice shape but I would want to see if he coloured up at all in person (he might be stressed in the photo). As long as the Discus is healthy you should feel confident in buying it, the colour and shape etc. is down to personal opinion and what you find appealing. Good Luck! HTH Mel

I think a pair of swordtails would be good - really easy livebearer to keep and usually hardier then platues and guppies. Kuhli loaches would be good for the kids to watch also and unusual? Plus a GBA or two would be interesting and pretty to look at. Wish I had a fish tank in my classroom when I was a kid - Lucky! Mel

Hi adodge, I had a simillar thing happen, I had a divided tank, male on one side, female on other. I let them breed on the males side of tank then popped female back onto her side once they had finished. There were alot of eggs and the male let some fall onto the floor where they then blew under the didvider. The female blew a tiny little nest and proceeded to pick the eggs up and put them in her nest (the male was tending his nest on the other side too), they eventually hatched and she managed to keep them alive for a day or two but her bubbles kept popping and eventually her small batch all died (around 12 fry I think). It was really sad to watch though because she kept picking up the dead fry and blowing them into the nest. The problem was that she didn't have the 'special ingredient' in her saliva that makes the bubbles robust enough for a nest like a male fighter does (at least thats what I figured). Interestingly enough when the pair was spawning she would help the male pick up the eggs and I thought she was eating them but she was actually putting them in his nest. She was a real oddball but fascinating to watch! Hope your female can raise some fry it would be really interesting to see if the female offspring had the same behaviuoral traits? Mel

Yea Mincie they were from Rebecca - hope they're still going good - was that one of them in the picture? I've just got back into newts again just got some Japs. Mite look for some Chinese again let me know if they breed Mel

We just made the trip down in November to see the National aquarium. We thought it was awesome too! Loved the albino eel and the huge massive eels in the tank opposite the lizards. Thought the sea turtle and sea horses were cool too. We were really impressed with the tuatara and the kiwis, I've never seen them as closely or clearly as at that aquarium. Would really reccomend it to childeren and adults. I thought it was quite cheap also for the standard of the experience. Mel

Hi there, Welcome to the forums1 I think your black murky water might be due to the carbon in your undergravel filter, did you rinse it well before you added it? If not then I think that will be the cause. I would not use oxygen weed it just goes rotten and wrecks the tank water. If you are cutting down on your feeding then I think the water will clear up also. What are you feeding them? If it is pellets then it can help to soak them in some water before feeding them to the goldfish. If the fish are bloated at the moment try feeding them some shelled peas, hopefully that will clear the bloating/constipation. The whitespots will need treatment from the pet shop, I'm no expert but I think a bit of salt could help be rid of them also but before you do anything I would reccomend searching the forums for whitespot first, there is alot of information on it. To have nine goldfish comfortably inside would require a large tank, I haven't done the calculations but i think something like a 3-4 foot would be around what size you need. Hope that helps, Mel

I just went to the Napier Aquarium for the first time and saw the albino eel they had - he was awesome! Mel

That is a lovely picture, it is nice to put a face to the name! I only got to know Alan recently but I found him to be a very kind, generous and witty man. My condolences to all his many friends and family, he will be greatly missed.

I find loaches really hard to catch too fast and tricky! Kuhli loaches are the worst!

She is probably just ripe with eggs especially if your female betta is kept with a male betta. She won't be pregnant because these fish have an external fertilisation process. They have a really fascinating courtship process you can google it and see videos on the net. Mel

Oh No! That sucks! I once thought that one of my Chinese newts had escaped so I searched the tank and my room for him but I couldn't find him and went to bed feeling quite sad. When I woke up in the morning he was sitting on his rock - I've never figured out where he hid that time! Are newts poisonous though? Just a thought? If your cat is still healthy then maybe the newts are still hiding in your room? Good luck and I will keep an eye out for some more newts for you! Mel

I would grade the bettas by size and then raise them in seperate groups otherwise the smallest ones will not grow very fast and may become stunted. Some of my smallest betta fry died because the larger ones actually attacked them and/or tried to eat them (it was a very aggressive spawn!). If the hunchback is a spinal deformity then they won't grow out of it so I would cull them otherwise I'm not sure what that would be? Mel

A couple of my fish are not on the list, Pitbull plecs - Patroclinus Jumbo (sp?), Blotch Fin Aspidoras - Aspidoras Pauciradiatus, Orange Cory - Corydoras Venezualanus and I can't find the Galaxy Rasbora/Celestial Pearl Danio? :-? Mel

Bettas can seem like they are different colurs depending on the light almost like a holograph?! I had a green female who could look a pinkish/red colour depending on how she had angled her body in the light. But I do think their colours brighten when they are excited? If you put two next to each other you will notice the colours get brighter or darker as they flare. I had a little blue betta who was so excited every time I came near the glass, would follow my finger etc. Very cute! Mel

I shake mine a little when I first set it up so that the contents mix otherwise they just sit there till they start to break down. Also I would check that the lid is on properly as I have trouble putting it on as it crossthreads or doesn't seal properly. Did you use warm water when you first set it up? Mel