whetu

Agreed.

I was referring to the people who are complaining that smoking is not now allowed in workplaces and in restaurants. I think it is wonderful that we can now go to work/dinner/fly in a plane/ ride in a bus without being exposed to other people's smoke, but it seems there are plenty of people here who think the law should never have been changed.

I choose to ride a motorbike as my sole form of transportation. I ride it every day in rain or shine, around town or long distance. I, too, am aware of the risks I am taking. I have had friends die as a result of motorbike crashes, and I have been hit by a car (while I was stopped at a stop sign) resulting in fractured ribs, concussion and a damaged eye. I do not try to dictate to other people whether they smoke or not. That is their choice. They know the risks and choose to accept them. However I resent other people exposing me to their unwanted smoke in the places where I work or socialise. Yes, I could stay home. I could choose to turn down any job in a workplace where other people smoke and I hope all the people who would allow smoking in work-places would pay my unemployment benefit without complaint. I could also choose to never go to a restaurant or bar in case there are smokers there. I don't expect other people to get on the back of my bike and I don't ride into crowds of people - I make my own choices about risks, and I don't put other people at risk as a result. So why should I let other people choose whether I get exposed to their smoke?

A bit more detail in case any of this makes a difference to other people's treatment techniques: * I used the dose as recommended on the bottle - the recommended initial and daily doses. * I used a syringe to squirt the dose as close as I could to the new little BBA tufts on the rocks and wood. * I treated for five days and the BBA seemed to be reducing. Then I went away for three days and when I came back it was gone. * The tank has a lot of fast-growing stem plants, good light, good filtration and low fish stocks. I dose regularly with half the recommended dose of Leaf Zone general fertiliser. This is the same tank, with the same fish, same filters and same lights as I have had for a long time - so it's the same tank the BBA originally got established in about 18 months ago. The only thing that changed was my use of Flourish Excel at the first sign of BBA. Hopefully the BBA will either stay gone, or if I have small outbreaks I will be vigilant enough to catch them and treat them early!

Results! After using the recommended dose of Flourish Excel for a few days (squirted directly onto the algae) I then went away for a three-day weekend. I was worried that the BBA would get established while I was gone - but when I came back it had all disappeared from the area I was treating! There is now another small area starting on a nearby rock, so I am going to give it the same treatment. Thanks everybody for your help! It really worked!

Barrie, I hope you don't think I'm advocating being dishonest with a landlord about pets. When I'm filling in a tenancy application and the form says "List any pets you have" and I put "Fish" I am being very honest. I was just pointing out that they probably read that as "a fish" rather than "some fish." It's not my intention to deceive them, and if they asked me for more details I would happily supply them. As for the scooter/motorbike thing, I'm simply avoiding the automatic bias some people have against motorbike riders. I would rather they met me and judged me for who I am rather than assume that I am a dirty/noisy/hairy motorbike rider. My bike is only 250cc and the main reason I got a bike instead of a scooter is because the larger wheel diameter of a bike makes it safer on rough surfaces (e.g. roadworks). So really I'm just a scooter rider who became more safety-conscious!

If I'm at home when a power cut strikes, it won't be too bad. I can chuck blankets over the tank to keep the water warm, and if the blackout lasts a long time I can heat water on the gas stove to top up the tank. We also have a fireplace so we would be using that to warm the room, so hopefully the tank temp wouldn't drop too fast. The tank is not very heavily stocked so even if the filters crash (in a biological sense) I will just clean them out and start again. I have a small stock of "Cycle" (the commercially available cycling product) for just such an eventuality. When I moved my tank from my old house to my new one at the beginning of May, I completely sterilised EVERYTHING (including gravel, tank walls & filter media) to try to beat BBA. Of course the tank had to re-cycle with all the fish in there, but the ammonia and nitrite spikes were barely detectable on my test kits. If there was a power cut this time, there would be a certain amount of good greeblies living in the gravel and plants, so I won't be too worried about getting the filters re-established. If a major power cut happened while I was away from home I would be concerned about the tank temp dropping if I wasn't there to keep an eye on it. I have no plan about what to do in that case. Anyone have a solution to that?

Heh, that marble bottom tank actually looks quite pretty!

Oh you just reminded me about the 'old days' when you could choose to sit in the smoking or non-smoking section of a plane. Crazy stuff! Did they really think the smoke was going to stay in one part of the cabin?! Flying used to be a nightmare and I would get off a plane feeling physically sick after breathing toxic fumes all the way. The same with smoking or non-smoking sections in a restaurant. If the people at the neighbouring table finished their meal before you, they would all light up and ruin the rest of your meal! Ah yes, those were the good old days where I would go to a bar, then as soon as I came in the door at home I would strip off, throw all my clothes in the washing machine and have a shower and wash my hair to get the smell out. If I was wearing a coat, I would hang it out on the back porch to air rather than bring it inside. Thank goodness those days are over.

I'm glad smoking is banned in shops, offices, bars and restaurants. I don't think it is up to an employer to decide whether their employees should be exposed to second-hand smoke. We should all be free to go to work (including those who work in bars) and not be forced to breathe in other people's smoke. Pregnant women should also be able to go to work and not breathe in substances that are known to be poisonous to their baby. As for the argument that it's the nanny state controlling us - actually to me it's the opposite. It's about people being given more choices and more control over whether they are exposed to cigarette fumes or not.

I always make sure I tell any prospective landlord that I have pet fish. It's quite good how the plural of "fish" is still "fish" - I think most of them assume I have a single goldfish in a small bowl! I also tell them I ride a "scooter." That is my code word for a motorbike. Well... two wheels and an engine... what's the difference really? I did have one landlord specifically amend the lease agreement from "no pets" to "one small fish tank allowed." I think he may have been familiar with MTS :-?

A lot of American stores sell fish in containers this size. Recently a British company got in trouble from the RSPCA for selling ipods with fish inside them. A pub in New Zealand a few years ago was offering some kind of fancy cocktail where they dropped a live fish in it so the customer could swallow the fish live. I don't wonder why racism exists. But I do get annoyed when people try to justify it.

How is Splosh today? Sorry I can't offer any help - just sympathy.

Sorry to hear about your danio. Yeah it's sad when that happens. I recently got 3 little gold barbs to add to my community tank (already had 4 gold barbs and a bunch of other fish). We went away for the weekend, got home last night and there seem to be only two of the three new gold barbs in the tank. I suspect one of them has jumped, but can't see it anywhere. May be down the back of the tank stand but of course I'm not going to move the stand to look. Yes, we get attached to our tiny wet pets and mourn their passing, no matter how little they are.

Well I'm convinced! Looks like it's off to the shop for some poly. BTW: brrrr for week two overnight! I hope you had a hot water bottle handy!

Yes. Edmond's all-purpose active yeast from the baking section of the supermarket. Cheap, easy and Sure to Rise!

JBL balls will deliver nutrients to a plant's roots, so it is a fert that is especially useful for plants that are heavy root-feeders. pmdd and other liquid fertilisers deliver nutrients into the water column so they are especially useful for plants that like to get their nutrients that way. Root ferts and liquid ferts often deliver a different range of nutrients, so ideally you would use both, in a combination that suits your particular plants, your type of substrate, your CO2 levels and (especially) your lighting. It's a complex formula and you will really only find what works for you by patient experimenting. That's part of the fun of a planted tank!

[Of course you would prepare your bottle well in advance of making your yeast mix, or the mix would start reacting and the CO2 would be wasted while you're waiting for your bottle to be ready!] Like most fish-keepers who have been trying to grow great plants over the years, I have experimented with DIY CO2. Interesting, fun, cheap but also unpredictable CO2 levels, and needs to be regularly maintained (fresh yeast mix always needed). By all means give it a whirl and see what you think. Maybe have two yeast bottles on the go, so when one is finished you can put in a fresh mix, then freshen up the other one a few days later. Keep the bottles warm (but not too hot) to keep the yeast alive. It's tempting to put them on top of the tank to keep them warm but make sure the yeast NEVER bubbles over or syphons into your tank. Chaos will result! Keep an eye on the pH of the tank and have fun with your experiment.

Glad you heated the tank - I was going to say that even plants that can tolerate cold water will melt if you move them from cold water into your tropical tank - which kind of defeats the purpose of giving them a head-start in the cold water. Also as supasi said, some plants don't like being moved once they have got established, so you might find there is a recovery period needed if you are transplanting them into another tank. If moving plants with a well established root system, make sure you trim the roots cleanly rather than just ripping them out of the substrate, and also trim the leaves at the same time. Heavy root-feeders will not be able to support the nutrient requirements of their leaves if the roots are disrupted too much, so you can help them by reducing the leaf burden. Stem plants that feed from the water column are much less bothered by transplanting, but remember they will go back to their old habits unless you improve the conditions in your main tank.

Oh dear... a fish geek who's also an electronics geek. Where will the gadgetry stop?! Have fun with your project - I'm looking forward to the updates.

That sounds like fun! Better make sure she only jumps when you want her to though - one day she might jump out when you're not looking! Uh-oh! In psychology class at university we taught pigeons to do tricks (it's actually not as much fun as it sounds - my pigeon had been in this class before so he already knew the tricks - I think he was smarter than me... maybe he should have sat the exam for me... :roll: ) Anyway back on topic... the idea is to break a complex task down into smaller parts, and reward the animal for doing something that brings it closer and closer to what you want it to do. For example, you want your fish to jump and ring a bell in your hand. You start by holding some food in your hand under the water, until the fish eats out of your hand. Once you have it doing that consistently, you bring your hand just out of the water to feed it. As it achieves each stage, you hold the food higher and higher out of the water until you have achieved the desired height. Maintain this stage for a while until you are sure your fish will consistently jump when your hand is there. Then one day you hold your hand as if you have food, but you have no food. The fish still jumps and touches your hand. Next time you do it again with food. You vary it so the fish never knows whether you have food or not, but it's worth jumping just in case! You maintain this stage for a while (so you are sure the fish will always jump and touch your hand, food or not). Then one day you have a small bell in your hand. When the fish jumps, it knocks the bell and rings it. Then do it again with food instead of the bell. Vary the routine so the fish never knows if you have food or the bell. Don't ever stop with the food completely, but you can gradually reduce the frequency so the fish might only get food every third or fourth jump. You will soon find out what your fish's tolerance level is! If any one of these steps doesn't work, then go back to the previous step for a while to make sure the fish will always do what you want it to. Then try again. Disclaimer: I have only ever done this with pigeons, not fish. But fish are way smarter than pigeons so it should still work!

It's not exciting here, too. I hope it stays that way! It's raining and dark outside and there has been some thunder and lightening - they are predicting hail later and a lot more electrical storm stuff. We're going away for the weekend and I'm scared the power might go off at home while we're away. What would my poor fishies do then? Hooray for "not exciting" - long may it continue!

Oh poor little fishie She certainly isn't looking in good shape.

Lezen that's a gorgeous tank! You must have been heart broken that you had to leave it behind (it wouldn't fit in your hand luggage?) Are you setting up a new tank in your new home? I would love to see another one looking as fantastic as that. Oh by the way, welcome to NZ and welcome to the forums

How about leave one of the stick things sticking out of the water to flower, and submerge two of them to grow new baby plants. Best of both worlds!