Pauly

I have used clothes pegs before , but found that cutting up drinking straws is alot cheaper , and you can get more surface area , garden hose is also good . If you can get some pumuce , when washed and decontaminated this is also a good alternative.

thanks Ira , Ive been looking around , damn paint is expensive ! I think some undercoat and spray paint from the warehouse followed by some polyurethane will be the ticket Cheers

OH and pegasus I'm not sure Ive got the balls to make a tank that size as a virgin tank maker , but your advice and site is awsome cheers . Pauly

Well it it looks like the debate is still out on glass thickness , but I might just take you up on that Alan , I need to think where to put it all first . Just moved into a 2 story place and I'm not sure the top floor could take the weight . Also got to diy a hood and base for it. Hmmm and I still need a bit of convincing about 6mm glass aswell (better safe than sorry) Dennis , sounds like a good idea about the club ,There are a lot of people in our area into fish . I also spoke to Greg ,Ive had tanks from him in the past (small ones though ) but he has taken his cutting table down and is focusing on his sea horses for now . It will be a shame to see him go , he is allways full of advice and good deals ( cheapest fish store Ive seen ) We will just have to train the new owner up to our liking :lol: Thank guys pauly

thanx guys ,I was told that 10mm thick glass is hard to find at the moment so very expensive if 8 mm is ok and cheaper it might be better . How hard is it to make a tank of that size myself , I have never made a tank before , so it might be better to get it done by a pro . Also any recommended tank makers close buy . Cheers \Pauly

Hello people ,I'm wanting a tank made 120 cm / 50 cm / 50 cm. Ive been told you need thick glass for this and that it is expensive .Could any one tell me where I could get a tank like this ,and at a resonable price (ie. cheep ). Also how much is it likely to cost me ? Any help would be great . Thanx Pauly

Hi everyone, I've just made a light hood for my tank , and need to know what paint I can use . It needs to water proof the mdf and to be non toxic for the fish. Ive been told to use oil based for water proofing the wood but also to use water based ,as oil based is toxic . Oh and the cheeper the better Any advise would be great. thanx pauly

Nice pic's . You have a very nice setup there ,plants and fish all look very healthy and happy .

Yes, I love my hilstream loaches too . I saw some black fire eels and ladder eels at the lfs yesterday not quite cat fish but still bottom dwellers . Have you guys had any experience with these , they look awsome . Pauly.

Thanks for your response guys , All of you are correct in what you say . There are good fish out there , and it is good to keep a speices as true to type as possible , just look at some of the more easily and over bred fish out there (Ie. tigerbarbs , kribs).They are no way has nice as the original wild caught fish. But some of us fish keepers like the challenge and discipline of makeing brighter and more interesting fish . Just look at guppies , fighting fish and the good old goldfish . And if it wasnt for this way of thinking where whould we be without all the wonderful types and forms of cats , dogs and horses . It's just my view , thats all. Thinking this way I look for the best specimen of the type and strain I am wanting to keep ( Lol collect might be a better term ). My problem is that , these ones are the most expensive to obtain (collect) and find , especailly when not many people want them . I hope I didnt sound like I was complaining too much . :-? I only want to know where to get some different and nice veriety discus , here in NZ . Are there any good breeders or wholesalers around ? I do try to get to know the guys at the lfs's and find them all very helpfull . I just dont like their mark up .lol Cheers guys Pauly

Bugger !! I just wrote a whole chapter and then the server kicked me off. Thats exactly what I mean they' re pretty common .But why so exspensive , and why are there only just six or so kinds in the shops ? Maybe if they were cheaper they would be more popular ,and the wholsalers would import better fish and more veriety. Arn't the wholesalers and lfs's shooting themselves in the foot by haveing such high prices . If there were wholesale breeders in NZ they could make a fortune at these prices . (Hmmmm now if only I could find some good quality cheap discus I might have a well paying hobbie . Na I'm dreaming the discus types I like are all overseas) Pauly

Just an update on my ambulia, Damn I've never had to prune my aquarium plants before .All of your advice has worked wonders , my plants are all flowering and sending out runners ,they are literally taking over !! If I had a digicam I would take a pic to show off ,but alas . Thanks again guys . Pauly.

Hey people , Just a point of interest , where do we in NZ find nice discus .Most of the lfs's have colourless stunted fish , nothing that resembles the discus that we see in books or on other web sites .Sure there are people out there with nice healthy discus but what about veriety .Do the wholesale importers not see a demand for discus , or am I looking in all the wrong places .Also why are they so damn expensive, they are not the hardest aquarium fish to breed ,and if so why are there so many different strains all over the world , but only a few expensive verietys here . Please help me find the " king of aquarium fishes " all I can find are pawns . Pauly. PS. check out simplydiscus.com to see what we are missing out on.

Hey pardon my ignorance but , can some one please explain this ro/di stuff too me . Cheers , Paul .

:lol: Yea thanks , just did, ugly buggars ar'nt they :roll: mind you alot a people think that fancy goldfish are ugly. Beauty, is as they say in the eye of the beholder after all. i still think there ugly though , :lol: Pauly

hey all , What exactly is a flowerhorn , I have no idea what they look like. do you have the scientific name or even a web site ? Cheers Pauly

I'm going to try it tomorrow ,sounds like lots of boys will be boys fun, cheers Andrew Pauly Ps. this fertilzer subject has been very interesting , Ill put all this info to use.

thanks guys. I added 2 blackline fox's, and a britslenose to help with alge, and the flourish exell has worked too. The plants all seem a bit more vibrant and the ambuila is starting to sprout again , and the alge is dieing off even the black stuff ,its going yellowish and then dieing off. The tank now has 60 watts of light and already things are looking up. :lol: I'll let u know if I have any more probs with the ambulia ,just got to what for it to back again ,cheers for you help guys. pauly.

thanks for that I have put another light in the tank and also added some fertilizer ,florish excel . I also trimed the bad parts off the plant. I hope all this helps, as it is such a nice plant to have in the tank.thanks for your replie.

hello all to you all again. I need your help ,my ambulia wont grow, it gets covered in alge, the small leaves either fall off ,or are eaten from the bottom up ,it is as if it is dissintergrating .The ph is about 6.8 the temp is 27 degrees ,it is in a plant substate and near the middle of the tank . My other plants seem to be fine apart frm the alge on them. Do I need to fertilize or do I need more light ?.It is a 120 L tank 55cm deep and I have 2 20 watt biolux lights . Any advice would be appreciated . I have read almost all your posts in this section and I am ditermined to have a healthy and well planted aquarium.

Great looking background Kerry ,Ive been wanting to do the same too one of my tanks ,but its just a story of getting around to it. :oops: Ive got a few questions for you Kerry, Where did you source the polystyrine and the sand ? Also can I use any kind of silicone ? ,if not where do i find the correct one ? Looking forward too seeing your tank when it is occupied and in its full glory.

Thankyou all for your advice and replies. I have been doing some study and it seems good filtration , regular ph checks and water changes , are very important. I hope I can manage these , as I can be very lazy at times :oops: . I got the discus from, pets 'n things down at Brookfield in Tauranga . Greg down there has been very help full ,and I recommend his store. I am 1 week in now and things are all going well ,infact I am seriously thinking about getting a bigger tank, for more fun (apart from more maintinence ) :-? . Again thankyou all for your help and incouragement . ps . YES Angel 2 ,from what I've read as long as you have a very good filter and maintain ph a water change every two weeks will do .

Hello fellow fish people, its great to see I'm not alone in this fish keeping thing. I have had fish for about 10 years , but never really tried with the flashier types of fish .(the more expensive one's to be truthful ) Two days ago I got my first Discus, 2 ,1 and a half " blue somthing or others ,and 1 , 1 " pigeon . I have them in a quiet community tank of about 130 liters or so, and any info on growing them up fast would be welcome. I hope to correspond with you all, and also read all the forums you have . Also were do gold fish fanciers get the really nice fish found in books and not the pet shops ? bye for now Pauly

Hello , I'm new to this site and very intrigued and excited . I have been interested in fish for 10 years but never really got right into them . Nor have I really had much luck [':-?'] . Anyway , I would be much appreciative if there was a breeder , near Tauranga who would mind showing me through their little fish farm : As I am thinking about breeding discus , or may be something a little easier to begin with . Any correspondence would be very welcome. Thank you , Pauly. [':wink:']