Foxglove

Yay, sounds like a great adventure. Lucky to get all the different species, too! I look forward to the photos. Well done! Next time I will make more effort to get there. :roll:

Refreshingly ginger! :lol: :lol: :lol:

I just tried some kamokamo (my garden is producing lots with the big dry!) and my bristlenoses turned their noses up at it. Not nearly as popular as cucumber or courgette! Strange when it is almost the same species as courgette. Ah well, more for me. :lol:

Hey there - sorry but I'm out now. Lack of money and have to spend weekend time doing committee stuff. But today I spotted an interesting big fish in a local bush creek - about 9 inches long (22cm). I'll go back and check it out tomorrow. see if it's trout or galaxid...

The tank's doing well... I've rearranged the larger piece of pumice, and enlarged one cave in it so the syno has a nice cave - which he likes! :bounce: Nice to get it right! :bounce: I will be adding more pumice in a couple of weeks, as well as some new fish. I'm waiting till after I talk at the next KMAC meeting about carving/sinking pumice. The demasoni are still too small to add, but only cos the smallest is very slow growing - the biggest ones are fine. I'm guessing I have to add them at once, or they'd fight. Still waiting on a light too, so I can take better photos.

Hiya, one yellow didn't make it - I found it with no eyes (yuk!) and nibbled. The rest are thriving - much bigger. Though they are shy whenever I'm near the tank. Maybe that will change with some bigger fish in - the peacocks etc. And also with some lighting so they can't see out so easily. :lol:

I don't think it is only about the money - DoC has as part of it's mission the responsibility for Recreation, so they must appease recreational users as much as save native species. For DoC this means the headaches of balancing trout fishing vs natives, deer hunting vs natives, mountain biking and 4wd vs native reserves... I think it is better to support DoC in the work they do, and lobby for better work in the areas we care about - as the recreational groups are pretty powerful lobbyists too!

:oops:

Sorry to hear about your accident Sounds very painful - I know from similar experience and now have developed very fast foot reflexes if I drop anything at the kitchen bench :oops: :oops: :lol: Hope you heal well.

Hiya, welcome! :bounce: :bounce: You've got a great mix of fish for relaxing viewing! Too right it can be costly to set up, but after that it is a very cheap hobby - unless you "have to" buy new things - like tanks and fish! :lol: Cheers, Hellen

The revised locations sound amazing! I used to help with the Waitohu Stream wetland (north side of Otaki beach) and we had a fish list from the regional council - around twenty species known to be there. Not sure what's there now, but it has been cleaned up heaps and the wetland was fenced off. After enjoying seeing inanga and bullies in a stream recently, I'd be interested in the Easter trip. :bounce:

Pumice needs to be boiled for a while ( 15-30 minutes) then plunged into ice-cold water. I added baking soda to the hot water to help with the air expulsion.

I think you could make a separate area for the sand, as long as there is a rock or wood clearly limiting the spread. Do you have sand on the lake shore there? If so you could get a small amount from there. What corys do you have?

You can buy builders sand from building supply shops. There is also plasterers sand, which is finer. The bags are all in fairly large amounts though, so if you know someone with a sandpit... I recommend Daltons Propagating sand or Daltons washed sand (lighter in colour). Daltons is found at some Warehouse stores also some garden centres and hardware shops - in the garden section. Propagating sand isn't as fine as the others but the corys like it. :lol: All sand needs to be washed until the water runs clear. I found using a shallow round dish (a dishwashing plastic dish) easier to use than a bucket, which it's too tempting to put too much in at once. If you put just a dish of sand in it may get redistributed into the gravel.

Do try here first, as there are people who know heaps and are happy to help out. :lol: Also, there is http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/index.php in the discussion forum there is a section for identifying cichlids.

Thanks. I'll add my P. demasoni once they are big enough to cope with the syno - he has a huge mouth! :lol: After that I hope to add a few male peacocks. I am going to set up another tank ( :oops: :roll: ) for some brichardi and julies...

My new 280l tank is up and running - with one featherfin syno and twelve electric yellows (small and cute). The tank is only 90cm long, but 50 wide by 66 tall, bow-front. I don't have lights on it, so good photos are hard to take - very arty anyway! :lol: The larger holed rocks are limestone I got from Chaz, the pumice is on the top left and right. The front rock is petrified wood.

Hiya, I've used pumice in my tank after seeing yours - I got some bigger bits which were hard to fit into the pot, but look great. I added baking soda to the boiling water, and then plunged them into icy water, and they have sunk well. I used a small circular rasp to carve out some holes - the pumice came with pot-plant holes which are great starter caves! :lol: Thanks for the inspiration.

Got mine today! Great issue! Yay for the Ed. Even the fish tanks couldn't compete tonight! :lol:

The fish at Hutt Pets that are in with the electric yellows are Melanochromis auratus, not Julidochromis. I made the same mistake when I first saw them. :oops:

Looks great! A simple rock pile done well = fantastic! Nelson has settled well and healed up too. He has come out more since the electric yellows went into the tank yesterday. (and none of them disappeared overnight! :lol: )

Hi, Can you please supply either a botanic (Latin) name or a pic, so we can tell what plant exactly you are after. Onion weed as found in the garden is very easy to get...

Actually the omnivorous tadpole species ( eg golden bells, and greens) have lots of very tiny teeth in their lips, made of keratin. Weird, but true. Some other species also have a beak. The amazing thing is how they have to metamorph their whole mouth into a much bigger frog mouth.

Well I got some tadpoles today from a local Wellington spot, - also Golden Bell frogs (which are from Australia) and some of them have only one eye too! It actually looks like a mutation, as the skin seems to be complete over the eye area, rather than injury. I do know from experience that all GB tadpoles will eat each other wholly or partially if they get the chance - just like fish, if it fits in the mouth, it could be food! :lol:

Hiya, tufa is only slightly lighter than limestone - mostly because of the amount of hollows in it. You can drill holes in limestone if it is soft enough - make sure you wear eye/ear protection though. Pumice can look great - and can also be carved to suit. I have more limestone if you want it, including smaller pieces.