Foxglove

I leave my females in the tank to spit naturally - mostly cos there's no way I could catch them! :lol: :roll: But the tank has lots of rockwork as well as huge val plants that float to cover the surface. The fry hide up top, as well as any dems that need to get away/recover. Just looked in and saw another female holding - her throat sags down as though she's got a mouthful of pebbles. :lol:

I've just got caudimaculatus corys. Great fish. I first got two, and have more to add. I have a small group of panda corys as well. 8) As for your misfits - With 9 albinos, that's a group. The peppered trio is also a group - so you really only have the lone sterbai! :lol: You could get more of those, then leave the caudimac. for someone else. :bounce: Both fish are on the lists, so turn up reasonably often.

EEk, sorry for not answering sooner! :oops: May meeting is this Wednesday, the 13th. All welcome! 7pm for 7.30 start, at Maidstone IDEA centre, Goodshed Road, Upper Hutt. cheers, Hellen

Cool, thanks! I've cleared out my jungle tank, but there's enough plants (val, crypts, anubias) that will spread and grow to refill most of the back and side, and some great wood hideouts. :lol:

I've got a small community tank ( 180l, 3foot) with corys and harlequins. I've added four ember tetras, and will add another four or so later. I'm wondering if I can safely add a pair of dwarf flag cichlids? What do you think?

Hiya, have you seen: http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/ ?? Great site. :bounce:

Hiya, I've used Wellington sand (from Eastbourne, Owhiro Bay and Hutt River) as well as builder's sand, fine sand and Dalton's Propagating sand (all from hardware stores; Bunnings, Warehouse or Mitre 10) in various tanks. I just rinsed out the sand with a hose, (in a pan like gold-panning) to get rid of the dirt, dust and debris. The bought sand contains virtually no shells, so the pH will be better for Rams.

Yeah my other tanks settle quickly. Never add Dalton's Aquatic mix unless you plan on never changing the tank, ever! :lol: The very fine sand in the mix clouds the tank and then settles everywhere, which is really annoying. Takes about two hours to settle, but then you have to siphon the dust off. If I had the whole day tomorrow I'd change the gravel over completely, but I only have a couple of hours spare so i'll chuck other sand over the top. I also have plenty more plants now spare - I didn't use half what I had, so if you want more, they're here. I've got some crypts, more java fern and moss, val, ambulia and ...others :roll: if you're patient ( hah!? :lol: ) you could come out to the next Upper Hutt club night ( bring Jared too!) and get the plants then... I'll also have a selection of soaked driftwood.

Yeah I meant the candle pot with light in it. The light is great, but the pot doesn't work for me with the rest of the tank. again I say this is just my opinion :lol: It is up to you - if you like it, great! :bounce: It does take time for an aquascape to settle and grow in. And keep trimming the stem plants so you can get more bushy plants. Hmm, I'm still waiting for my tank to settle - just shifted the harlequins back in. The corys will wait till tomorrow now. I still have to remove more gravel/aquatic mix that is clouding the tank. :evil:

I like the tank - the val looks great (that's the tall straight plant you've got at the centre back). IM(ns)HO The light looks a bit odd with the completely natural look. I guess you need to decide whether you want a natural look or contrived - both look good but usually not mixed. Yeah I know I recommended the candle shade but it was really a flippant comment. :oops: :lol:

Heya Dylan, Welcome to the forum!!:bounce: ...a lot of the tetras look great as a school - however, they don't usually school unless they're chased or scared. I like neons, glowlights and rummy-nose tetras, as well as conchu blue and ember tetras... all available locally! :bounce: You really will need a four-foot tank soon. :lol: then you can have a really big school as well as lots of kuhlis. cheers, Hellen

Yeah my gbas also get a bit pinkish at times. I've seen the pink behind the head as well as the nose. I've also seen the guts swell a bit - but then I've usually just fed them! :lol: :oops: My response would be that it probably is something they're nibbling on - maybe too rich or with red colour agents (like Colourbits), rather than poisonous. You could give less food or bland stuff like peas and courgette if you're worried. :bounce:

I've sold Africans on TM to people not in FNZAS/ clubs. and hopefully now these people will be members here... :lol: I always offer the fish here first. 8)

:bounce: :bounce: Hi and Welcome!! Upper Hutt Club meets on the second Wednesday each month. Details in club section. :lol: ...three weeks till you get your "somewhat big tank" ! Sounds great - what size is that then? :lol: :bounce: What fish will you get? and Aquascaping? It's so much fun planning...

Yeah, I did three years with ITC, which is very similiar. Great! It gave me all the confidence to do public speaking, as well as all the things Jenna wrote and learnt about correct meeting procedures, minute-taking etc ... been great for all the other clubs I've belonged to since. :lol: Seriously, it all depends on the group you get - some groups are more hidebound, others really fun. I met some neat people and made some good friends. I absolutely loved the impromptu 2 minute speeches where you only had the time it took to get to the front to think how you were going to speak on whichever topic you drew. 8) :bounce: :bounce: Go for it!!!

Please tell me that the light supper after this meeting won't be the samples of fish food? :lol: yummy.

I'm pretty sure that's Steadota the South African interloper. It is common around NZ and although usually is shiny black, it can have this reddish form - maybe it is a seasonal colour change, dunno. :roll: If you want perfect id you can send the spider to Phil Servid at Te Papa, Welly, and he will let you know exactly what it is.

Mincie your spider may be a redback - we do have them in NZ, mostly in port towns, eg Welly, Napier, Auckland, Tauranga. Sometimes the colour is more red than the total black, and those other markings appear. You can find a pic of a red female on wikipedia, if you scroll through the listing. Unlike the rare and dry-loving katipo, redbacks like buildings and sheds. I once found one on a garbage sack, as I was putting it outside.

I remember from the AW article on the Aquarium Bus that they used semi-inflated plastic bags in the tanks to keep the water from sloshing round when driving. The water level had to be lowered of course. Could be a good tip for the mudfish at least. Good luck! :bounce: yay for being closer to the pub! Less stagger time... :lol:

I've got a small school of dwarf neon rainbowfish, (some of which are growing very slowly) :lol: I also have a pair of Madagascar Rainbowfish (Bedotia sp) which have completely dominated my community tank. I hope to breed them sometime soon, but not in that tank.

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: Yay! Can't wait. See youall there... :lol:

:bounce: Looking good Cam! Great pics - even if you think the fish were hiding. :lol: And your plants are looking really healthy and lush. Hooray for beating the algae! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

Hi, you can start a tank cycling with just one or two fish - but usually fish prefer to be in lager groups, say four to six. Pick a fish you like - eg platy, danio or corydoras catfish. That way they can stay in the tank once you've cycled. I started with platys because I didn't like the faster swimming danios. But I love corys, and for an angelfish tank, they fit in it very well. Especially the easy types, eg peppered, albino or bronze cory. Good luck and have fun! :bounce:

There are photos of all the fish - just give the photographers time! :lol: They were the ones that were at the show all day, every day.

...and congratulations to the winners! :lol: