jn

I'm laughing Alan.. Yup.. not surprised the idea is not any sort of new innovation.. it's all marketing isn't it? But I suppose giving the increasing trend towards hydroponics and soilless growing it take on a new twist I should have specified.. I'd be looking at an outdoor system, so most likely coldwater, maybe something the size of a small swimming pool. It would also have to be freshwater since the water pumped away from the fish would go straight onto crops. I read yesterday that farming trout was illegal, I remembered about Koura but didn't know if you were allowed to grow them for eating. Anyone know where I could find regulations? (Oh.. and jayci - I was hoping for fish that taste good!! Umm.. goldfish and tetra pie... NOT!)

Ok Don't think I'm mad.. but I was just reading a magazine that was talking about something they called aquaponics....basically hydroponic beds to grow whatever you fancy (fruit/vegies/herbs/ flowers or houseplants)... fed by an aquaculture system. So it's basically a closed system, you feed the fish, the fish wastes feed the plants, the plants (and the gravel beds they're grown in) act as filters for the water. Not rocket science really.. no different to what happens when we grow plants in our tanks anyway.. except these folks were farming edible fish (it was an Aussie magazine, they were rearing perch and yabbies!) Does anyone know what fish you're allowed to 'grow' for your own consumption? I live in a rural area.. I've got room to try stuff like this .. The soil is very dry here,we're also water conscious so like the idea of the water recirculating and not just getting sucked up by the wind as soon as stuff is watered (and of course edible crops for us!) So what fresh water eating fish can you have at home? (Preferably types that could be encouraged to breed!! And no I don't want to eat goldfish thanks!)

Bigger leaved one looks a little like ludwigia to me. (Repens?) I've seen it look like that in my pond.

If I spent an hour changing water every night my other half would go crazy....back and forth with buckets and the sound of running the taps.. all the 'ooops' comments when the bucket overflows or you fill up up to the top and then spill it as you're carrying it (cause you're trying to save yourself an extra trip later) or if you manage to get it there still full you spill it as you lift it up to tip it in...ooops again... he reckons its like chinese water torture! (OK.. sorry Sl.Blue Dalmation.. back to your discus)

Dude.. you really need to invest the $20'odd and buy one of those python thingies that you can hook up to your sink. 15m of hos is no big deal I think the clear stuff is like $3/m...garden hose type stuff is even cheaper I think.. think of the time it would save you. you could use the python thing to siphon out a window if there's one handy there and then just let 'er fill! How much actual time do you spend doing water changes? You must live and breathe buckets 16 hours a day!!!

Doesn't Caryl have a huge tank with no co2?

Are these the ones that were on TM lately? I rememebr thinking they looked like really nice fish!

http://www.pets-warehouse.com/Fishmed2.htm I found this page.. don't know if its old or new or outdated or accurate but it looks good at a glance:)

But you didn't realise they were cardinals till you got home right? And you couldn't take them back cause it would have been stressful for the fish.

:-? :lol: Thanks for sharing the 'gossip'

You said tank cycled for 3 weeks prior with an established filter but you've had the betta for 2 weeks? Does that mean you took an established filter and ran it on an fishless tank for a few weeks? (When did you add the bristlenose?) If so, then the bacteria on the filter would have died since there was no fish waste for it to live on and your tank would have started cycling when you added fish. Or have a completely misunderstood?

Did you have your water lilies last season? Mine start off with small dark leaves but they do grow in more and turn pretty green as they mature

I thought so to.. but one reference I found said that it was bad for these fish.. the writer said they used acriflavine instead. Anyway apparently it's bad for fry too and I'm sure my treatment wont be finished before anything hatched if it was going to. Never mind I remember what I did anyway so perhaps I can trigger another spawn someday and be ready for it.. I did a big'is water change....almost 50% water temp dropped by about 5-6degs then I had the lights out for almost 24 hours (cause I think the meds are affected by light so wanted maximum effectiveness in the first 24 hours plus they sometimes go a bit whacky with meds in there so had the extra benefit of keeping them calm). Within about 20 min of turning the lights on the next morning the fish were at it!

So was the switch off or was everything powered on properly and it just wasn't running? I believe a cat could probably put enough weight on a switch if if was laying flat and a cat couidl stand right on it. (We have one cat that channel surfs alot! I know those remotes are easier to switch that physical switches but I'm sure he could do those too....his nickname is PSI - 'pounds per square inch' cause of the amount or pressure he can put on you from his bony little feet!

Thanks Zev I found that page last night too.. it certainly the best info out there. I'll try to take some pics when my 'blue' is gone from the water. They really are awesome little fish actually, quite the characters. I'm pretty sure the fish were juveniles when I bought them so yes it may well be that I do have a male given that the spot on his body is now much less defined than the others. What throws me though is that every source mentions the females vivid spot on the dorsal fin and it's really 'barely there' on all 3 of mine. The one who was behaving like a male is biggest. Which is consistent for males of the breed however the others may still be growing. I'll be pleased if I do have a male as I was considering buying one anyway, but its certianly odd to suddenly think that a breed which is reputedly so easy to sex has got me fooled!! :oops: I'm trying to recall if only one was doing the chasing now! Maybe I have 2 males and one female... one of the 3 is considerably smaller. Hmmm... Never mind. It was fun to watch if nothing else! My partner thought I was going mad....I was in the other room and I was shouting at the 'action' like a crazed fan at a rugby match! :lol: :bounce: I dont' expect antthing to hatch though with the meds in the water, apparenttly meth blue has negative effects on their eggs and I don't have enough cover anyway.. suspect most eggs would have been eaten although I couldn't see any

Thanks anyway Barrie I hesitated to post in this section anyway.. seems like J. Floridae is really not like your typical killie. I wonder what is it that classifies them as killies anyway? Maybe I should have popped this in the breeding section.. I'm so convinced I have 3 females...I even got my partner to look at them (he couldn't care less about my fish and never pays them any attention so it really was a fresh set of eyes!) I asked if he saw any difference between the spots on their dorsal fins and he really didn't see a difference either. I am very perplexed to say the least!

Just to be clearer.. they weren't only chasing, they were pairing up in the plants.

HI all, I thought I had 3 females but my jordanellas seem to be spawning. Can anyone tell me if it's the male that generally does the 'chasing'? When I got them they all had spots at the rear of their dorsal fin. I think the spot has faded on one of them but it's a bit hard to confirm cause they're zooming all around my tank. They all have the black spot on their bodies but the one that seems to be doing the most chasing has alot less definition around that spot. Their dorsal fins really all look fairly similar to me. Doesn't help that my tank is now blue due to some meds I added cause one of them had white spots on its tail and a few on its body. Can the females get confused and exhibit spawning behaviour amongst themselves? All 3 of them seem pretty involved!! I did a BIG water change yesterday when I saw spots and everyone seems pretty frisky today despite a full dose of wunder tonic!

<*cough*>dying a<*sputter*>slow death on<*cough*>my dial-up. connection<...........*flatline*> (beautiful fish though!)

Nice job You must be very pleased!

Do killies make good tankmates for those fish? I though killies could be nippy or aggressive? (I've never had killies so hopefully someone will know!)

And your plants aren't adversely affected? (that would be great news)

Hi there, If you're new to keeping fish this can be a bit of a trick question When your tank is brand new and has only just been set up you should only have a couple of fish in there to start off! Please post back if this is a new setup and tell us how many fish (and what types/sizes) are in there already You need to know about cycling (ammonia/nitrite/nitrate) if you don't already. Adding too many fish straight off in a brand new tank can result in them dying. If this is a well established tank then just ignore me completely

You didn't say how big your tank is.

I think there might be some confusion between Drontal and Droncit. Drontal is the pink tablet.....and has all kinds of other ingredients, in addition to different sized/type of tablets. Not tested on fish but the only type of prazi that's easy to find here. Droncit is praziquantel ONLY and by all accounts shouldn't be stressful for fish, it's referred to on lots of fish health websites by name and praziquantel seems to be a well recognised as the safest, gentlest remedy for flukes available. Whether of not you need it is a different issue . My supply just dried up down here. Will have to call back in a week or so to see if they've ordered any more.