Scuba Sam

Hi there, Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. He is now successfully relocated into his new larger home. The dark helped, and some gentle persuasion. He can stay where he is for the rest of his life I hope. Cheers, Sam

Hi there, thanks for your suggestions. I hadn't really thought about transporting the ornament but it is a possibility - ten minute car trip and the ornament is bigger than the bucket but I can make it work. With the eggs thing - there are no mature females in the tank, just his small daughters - they are about four centimetres long - is this possible? I also wondered if bristlenoses were nocturnal - is it possible he will come out at night? At the moment he is wedged down the narrow tube on the inside of the ornament. Cheers, Sam

Hi guys, I have a fully grown male bristlenose who has decided he doesn't want to move tanks. He is wedged inside the stump of an ornament, inside a "branch". Any ideas on how to get him to come out so I can change tanks? At the moment the ornament is in a bucket so if he comes out by himself then he won't disappear back into the tank. He is not stuck, just knows he doesn't want to come out. I take it pulling him by the tail is not a good idea!! Cheers, Sam

Hi cichlid experts - there is an auction on trade me at the moment for two Oscars 10 cm long and their two foot tank - is this as bad as I think it is? If so perhaps someone can make comment to the trader? I don't know much about Oscars other than they are cute, but this seems wrong. I have put the link down (- hope this is allowed Mods...) Cheers, Sam http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 973691.htm

Hi there, what other fish do you have in the tank? Do you have any bullying or fin-nipping species? Good luck with sorting it out...

I am new to bristlenoses, having used algae eaters before and plecostamuses, but would recommend bristlenoses. Algae eaters seem to stop eating algae as they get older, and will chase other fish. And pleco's get huge - one of mine grew to more than twelve inches. My largest bristlenose is a mature male, my others are his children. My Dad bristlenose is about ten centremetres long, and I believe this is full size. Others on this forum would be able to tell you if that is too big for your set up. I'm not familiar enough with bristlenose's requirements yet. They are very cool fish though - yellow tips to fins and the bristles have to be seen to be believed. Cheers, Sam

Hi there, I have one of my tanks in sunlight for several hours of each day. It got quite covered in algae, despite algae eaters (not very good eaters of algae), but I put in three juvenile bristlenoses and in about ten days it was hard to see any algae at all. Might be an option if you end up shifting the tank. Hope things are warming up down there today... Cheers, Sam

I had a pleco years ago and when I stopped keeping tropicals, he went into my sister's gold fish tank. Cold water, in Auckland. He lived for years happily, and grew to a foot long. Cheers, Sam

In with my golden sev I have: Blue gouramis, Feather fin synodontis, pleco, corydoras, silver dollar (??), and have had guppies and platies in the past. My golden sev is really gentle and doesn't bother anyone apart from occasionally chasing his best mate the silver dollar.

I had two kuhlis, then found one dead in the filter (waterfall type). How did it get there? Swim up the stream? I saw a reference to kuhlis in the filter in this thread. Cheers, Sam

This costs $33 with postage included, unless you are a RNZFB member in which case it is cheaper

These liquid level indicators are available from the Foundation for the Blind. This link is through to their website - check out at the bottom of the page. And thanks for the idea Stella!! Cheers, Sam http://www.rnzfb.org.nz/newsandevents/p ... -gift-idea

Hey that's a good idea thanks Afrikan - I haven't done this before but will try... http://www.hagen.com/uk/aquatic/product ... 3720030101

Hi there, I have just seen this tank on a British Website - a corner tank. This is my dream tank for my business - I have a corner in the waiting room waiting for this tank!! Is it available in NZ? Any idea how much? Thanks, Sam

Hi there, my wagtail platy has popped out two babies, but she looks quite pregnant still. She may have had more but eaten them. Do they drop all their babies over 24 hours like my guppies do, or might she drop some more two or three days later? She is a bit sick of the trap. No sign of any stillbirths. Cheers, Sam

Hi there, I have been using the forum for a while now, and didn't realise I was being rude by not introducing myself formally. And I was a bit shy. :oops: Sorry about that. But now that I've met some of you, and talked to others, I am feeling brave!! So here goes... I am in Whangarei, and got back into tropical fish in July 2006 after about ten years out of it. I kept livebearers last time, and this time have a broader range of interests fish wise. I am trying to breed angel fish - I love these guys. I have received lots of amazing help from this forum so far - thanks. Tanks - five at the moment, and my friends think I am obsessed. Fish - livebearers again, angels, a featherfin synodontis, a golden severum, a large silver dollar, some gouramis, and lots of bottom fish - I love cory's, and have albino, and a wild born spotted one. I hope to get some sterbai soon. I have BN, algae eaters, and a pleco. What a hotch potch. Outside of fish keeping I love diving, fishing, and I play and coach sport. I look forward to talking and meeting with more fishkeepers in future, specially if we get this local club off the ground. Cheers, Sam

I have some blue live bearers, not sure if they are platies or mollies as they were given to me in a mixed batch of mollies, swords and platies, but they have a black mickey mouse face shape on the tail - can anyone tell me what they are please? Cheers, Sam

Hi there, I feed my large golden Severum on "Cichlid Sticks" - which are JBL brand I think. He initally didn't eat much in the first few weeks, but a drop in pH, and getting used to a new Mum made the difference. I feed a variety of other things, but that is what he races for. I understand that they are almost vegetarian, and their digestive tract doesn't cope that well with meat, especially red meat. Others on here will correct me if I am wrong. They are supposed to uproot plants in the aquarium, but mine leaves them alone. Cheers, Sam

Hi Skippy, I have pm'ed you with a few more details. I would be interested, and if a venue on the north side of town would help we could use my place in Kensington perhaps. I can think of another Northlander or two so I will see who else I can round up. Sam

I bought a "feeding ring" that works well - it has a sucker to attach it to the side of the tank, and is square shaped. There is nowhere for food to get trapped. Paid about five dollars for it, and it was Aqua One brand. Good luck!!

I see puffer fish diving from time to time. I dive round Northland/Gt Barrier. They are really beautiful in the water, and do grow quite big. They are shy, and if approached, they do the big puff thing. One of my dive buddies liked to hold them like a rugby ball and pretend he was running in the back line. He has grown out of that now with a bit of peer pressure from his two female dive buddies. I caught one on a line about three weeks ago, and it seemed to be full of water. It swam away when released. I imagine they must be the same as the one you found as I have only seen one species round here. Cheers, Sam

My angels have been laying every 13-14 days, hatching in two days, and free swimming after about another five. Hope that is a help. I understand that you don't have to feed them when they are first hatched but can wait til they are free-swimming as they are "eating" their egg-sacks til then.

Congrats on your first spawn. The thing sticking out of the female is her ovipositor - she uses that to lay her eggs. The male organ is way smaller and thinner. I used to get stressed by the way the female ovipositor looks but they recover fine in my experience. Leave the eggs, they will eat the white ones, and if you are lucky they won't eat any of the ok ones, and you will have some babies soon. Good luck!

Thanks - that seems to be the consensus from other people I have asked. He certainly looks happy and healthy swimming around. Without getting into a big debate about breeding strategies, is it likely his offspring will have the same defect? Thanks, Sam