jn

Taking some old water is more about just letting them adjust to a new temp/ph a little more gradually then dropping them into a totally new environment. If I half fill some buckets with old water I can slowly add new water to that and let them adjust before putting them in a new 'home'. I'll grab some of the large potted pond plants for some nitrifying bacteria. I have a filter in there but I dont think I'll be able to conveniently operate a pump on a temporary setup at home so i think some of the plants will have to do. I'll settle for a paddling pond if I have to but have my eye on something deeper (some of the fish are probably 7 years old and quite big). I have 6 cats and am also not likely to be able to easily shade the pool, so dont want them being 'hooked' or 'cooked'.

Damn. Bad news, building is red-stickered not so much because of its own state, but due to there being some potentially-unstable buildings that are too close for comfort. The possible good (OH!! Big AFTERSHOCK!) news is that our body corp secretary got to go along with the inspectors who were doing the assessment, and when we asked him if there was any water left in the pond he said he though there was. Not 100% sure, but I dare say if it was completely empty that probably would have been obvious, so with a bit of luck they might still be ok (mind you we did have a good lot of rain yesterday so it could have been rainwater that hadn't drained awsay yet!). Hmm.. I think I've just taken the gloss off what I though might have been a bit of good luck.. Guess it'll be at least another week before I know. Still feeling very thankful that this is the worst of what's worrying me! Time to source a big enough temporary pond. I've wanted to have one anyway (for example would have been useful for a case of whitespot I had to treat a short while back) so there's no time like the present. ps: when I do collect them, I'll take them away in as much of their existing water as possible and acclimatise them gradually as usual. With a bit of luck I'll get something soon and fill it, dechlorinate it and let it sit at ambient temps for a few days, so the water might be as closer in temp to their current situation.

Thanks everyone. That's extremely helpful. So i have a couple days to source some stuff in the hopes that i have some fish to re-home. Will post an update once I know if they're ok!

Hi all, Have a property in the CBD which was evacuated the day after the quake. Had some liquefaction and the tenants said the pond was leaking when they left. Don't know from where, bottom or sides (its concrete and the courtyard is a mess apparently). Anyway.. point is if there is any water left and fish are still alive I will need to work out somewhere to hold them. How do I safely dechlorinate a larger quantity of water? I know this is a coldwater/pond type topic but being chlorine related I thought it would apply here as well and have a better chance of being seen. I've very fond of those fish and I sure hope they made it through. We're in zone 3, so not accessible till at least middle of the week :tears:

Ok, sounds like it should be ok. It's just a temporary tank for a couple juvenile goldfish for now. I'll keep an eye on the parameters and I'm likely to be doing frequent enough wc's. I have to say.. I quite like the effect The gravel isn't rounded, it's all fine,small flattish bits, slightly irregular sizes with a few lumps here and there. Looks pretty cool. Also found a cool stone that is shaped just like a ship . Wish I'd had a bag or container in Kingston.. what a treasure trove out there. The gravel is stunning, smooth and round and beautiful colours.. and the driftwood was making me drooool! I'd highly recommend the short drive out there from queenstown if you're after any additions to your tanks.

Hi all, had a trip down to queenstown recently and brought back a bit of fine gravel from lake Wakitipu. Was just wondering is its likely to affect my pH? Anybody know? I think that's all schist down there.

Hi there, I need a kilo of carbon for a pond in Christchurch. If anyone has a favourite supplier I'd be happy to receive any suggestions. (Have put a WTB ad in the private trade and exchange in case someone has some of their own they want to sell. There are no local listings on trade me at the mo'.)

Until you have an earthquake

We had sheep for a while, went out one morning and found one with its leg tangled and twisted in between some fencing wires. We got him free but it bled like mad and I had to stand there applying pressure while we got some more supplies out. He stood perfectly still for me and we definitely had his trust from that day forward. So glad to hear the Kaka is being looked after (and that its on pain meds!) Fingers crossed for a good result. Please keep us posted.

I suspects lots of people lost their dignity.. :oops: due to standing in doorways or otuside with less on than they might have ever intended!! I lost my nerve for a couple days But I've got that back again now! I'm one of those people who are feeling too lucky and I'm waiting for it to catch up with me somehow

If you can understand about water quality you can help make your life easier and better for the fish. Make sure your boss lets you buy a test kit and use it on a regular basis, it will be a good guide for how much and how often your water changes should be. Do post a picture of that bowl. It sounds nice and big but it'll help people get a better idea of what you're in for. To make it more interesing for the fish maybe you can find some long fine twisty pieces of driftwood and make an arrangement in there. Give them something to poke at and swim around. Maybe add some plants that like low light to help use up some nutrients (Java moss comes to mind, and ludwigia repens) and THEN you might see that you probably could hide filter somewhere behind it I've seen hollow resin 'trunk' ornaments at animatates that are designed to cover the type of filters that sit in a tank! I'll see if I can find a link somewhere. If the fish are unhealthy the tank will be a failure and IMHO.. nothing grabs your attention like tank of unthriving goldfish placed in view of everyone! You can get canister filters like this below that don't actually sit in the tank (bowl), and could be easily disguised next to it (behing a potted plant or under a little table or in a cabinet). http://www.petmart.co.nz/cart_product22 ... ory_ID=251 Best of luck and keep us posted.

That was a really nasty one wasn't it.. amazing how much difference there is between a 4.2 and 4.4. I'd be glad to stop being reminded though! (My poor cats are so freaked out too!)

It never ceases to amaze me that animals KNOW when they're being helped. Just awesome that they're so clever. Hope it recovers soon (and good on you!)

Well, the plants use up the nutrients but there's still a layer of sludge and gunk (leaves etc) down there that gets ugly and smelly and does build up over time, even with heaps of plants (I do run a filter, but it just can't suck EVERYTHING up!)

How to you get the layer of stuff that settles on the bottom?