jn

You must be relieved. Good work.. keep us posted

Wow! The after hours vet? That's so good to know! I'm sure alot of folks will thank you for posting that. Good luck with the treatment!

Of course! I'm such an idiot. Thanks Ira! :oops:

That sounds about right. I was suggesting that we run it sitting in a bin as a test - pumping water from another source and mark the water level in the bin to make 100% sure it's not drawing any from there. I mean I suppose the hose fitting could leak or come undone and the pump would then run dry... but as we wouldn't be running it unattended (wow.. imagine of the pond could vacuum itself!) I don't think it would be too risky

Bought one of these some time ago and was hoping to use it to make up a pond vacuum (basically we have a vacuum head and we've rigged up a pre-filter for the pump to ensure it doesn't get any solids or really dirty water. The pump is designed to be used inline but it says in the booklet that it must be run submerged? Anyone ever run one without submerging it? It looks like a sealed unit so the only reason I can come up with for submerging it would be so it doesn't heat up? If I really need to submerge it I can just sit it in a bin of water while I vacuum but if there's no good reason for it then it would be more convenient not too. Any opinions? (it's a Laguna 4) We'd probably only be running it an hour at a time.

Oh yeah.. I would never have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself.. maybe they ate some minnows that were already dead.. also they're much more crawded in those tanks so maybe the minnows coulnd't get away

The goldfish will eat the WCMM if they can Your fantails will be slow though so maybe not too much risk.. but I didn't believe it myself till I was at animates one day...there was a tank of relatively young goldfish.. and some WCMM's.. and I saw 2 goldfish in there that had minnows halfway down their throats! (the minnows were dead obviously but I don't know which came first!!)

Tell us more about your pond. 30,000L?!! Wow! Is it earth/clay type pond or something man made? Is everything in there smooth? Any idea what the pH is?

I agree. In the near future I hope to move the rounder females to their own tank to drop their fry and then remove the females back to the bigger tank to let the fry grow on in the smaller tank.

Oh good Glad to hear you found it! Hopefully they'll breed in your mother's tank! Ed's not exactly trim .. but I do think those aqua one tanks magnify the fish quite a bit. Maybe the glass is a bit thicker (??) or it's because the front is slightly rounded. Anyway he's doing fine and has calmed down to normal goldfish activity levels. Maybe it's the cooler temp in my tank? Anyway.. I'll update you again before I plan on putting him in the pond to make sure you're still happy for him to go there I think he'll love it. He's such an active little fish I think he's going to love racing around in there.

Fair enough. Won't chance it then. I don't want to keep the tank any warmer as I dont' think it would really suit the other occupants. Shame Maybe i'll discover another suitable candidate someday.

Why would that be the case? The water circulates constantly..I'm not sure how it would make a difference. Can someone explain the reasoning?

Thanks Caper. Unfortunately we don't live there yet :-? We own it but but are still living on a 'hobby farm' (usually called a 'lifestyle block' here... aka 'a life sentence block' given the amout of work it comes with!! ). The tenants are long term ones though and are absoultely fantastic with the pond and the fish are very well cared for (as per our very specific instructions!!) Edward will be safe and happy there I'm sure I can't help but drool everytime I go there. I love that pond and wish I had one like it where we are now!! Never mind. all in good time We have toooooooooooo many other animals to live in the city yet and aren't prepared to give that up yet.

Caryl would cherry barbs be ok at 18-20? Their 'profile' on various websites indicate they like it a bit warmer than some of the other barbs. I wouldn't want to stress them. I think they would add a nice splash of colour with my wcmm and leopardfish (who are getting some borneo suckers for company hence the specified temperature range)

Dimebag.. we did all say to be sure to rule out water quality issues first

Mine came from an army surplus store years ago! But I've seen them around.. maybe on trademe? Mine are about 15-20cm long at a guess. I still have to reach in but they're helpful even in catching very small ones. Everytime I see one I grab it. I figure if I keep at it I'll get there eventually I've seen them on US websites with tools for aquascaping but I'll poke around later tonight and see if I can spot some for sale somewhere here. Dunno if a chemist would have some (for fiddling with wound dressings etc.)? They're really handy for other things too like planting and pulling off dead leaves etc (ps: mine have a wide'ish blunt end.. not like the ones for pulling splinters!)

That would be great shadowfax. Purplecatfish recently had a chat with a vet.. for $500 you can buy 5L of adtape which is effectively liquid prazi... but I think technically (based on some old 'recollections' on a 'lifestylers' site I visit from time to time I think even the vets are no longer allowed to purchase large quantities and resell in smaller lots) and who wants to spend $500 up front? Very few of us (I would be crazy enough to perhaps.. someday if I got desperate enough!!) but there's a real gap in the market here. Also prazi is still really expensive to the point where its just about cheaper to start over and hope you get clean fish! Even a malachite green/formalin mix would be a start.. both of those are currently available singly... but someone needs to combine them in some recognised concentrations to have as a treatment option for stuff like flukes (again this is a combination that's readily available overseas) and wouldn't require any special imports.

I dont know if epsom salt has the same effect as regular salt on plants? and some plants may well be able to handle the amount of salt that you'd use to dose with anyway... I dont know from any personal experience. I've usually dosed salt in a plastic quarantine type bin (epsom salts too for that matter.. but usually cause I've been taking a sick fish out of a pond and needing to put it somewhere anyway. I just mention it might be a risk cause I believe that's what I've read and would hate to have someone come up with a whole bunch of dead plants cause nobody mentioned it might affect them The plants are almost more expensive than fish sometimes!

That's great So you found the secret to keeping the fry happy then.. wanna share it? I'm sure mine have dropped some cause at least one of them was round and now is not so round so I suspect they made a nice lunch for someone! (I posted a pic on the tank they're in on the coldwater thread about Edward Elric) It's pretty bare and now has very hungry jordanellas in there which will eat anything that gets in their way!! I really have to get some floating plant but I keep thinking they'll just blow around in the tanks?

You don't have a lfs... well I hate to say it but that could be why you've never had to treat for disease in 20 years Everything would be a carefully considered adddition I dare say.. and by carefully considered I mean gets at least a few hours consideration on the drive home Do you use a Qt tank or have you been lucky? Seriously though....is there anyway the association can lobby for better access to some basic fish meds? Prazi is a well recognised medication (it's even mentioned in the Merck's Vet manual online). Surely we should be able to buy it in liquid form in suitable fish-sized containers?

15+ leopardfish??? Have they had a population explosion??!! How many fry have you got now?

Always remove carbon for treatment with meds (dunno about salt?) Also unsure about salt with the white spot cure. Probably be fine but don't take my word for it (try google!) Sorry I can't help with that! Caryl - Do you know of what treatments your LFS might have for flukes? I really find it hard to believe that nobody has many suggestions on that front and I'm dying to know how fishkeepers have been getting by? Brooklands say they can't import fluketabs anymore? What else are poeple using?

Longer than if they have toxic build up of ammonia and nitrite. You be best to get a water test asap or do a water change rather than waiting 3 days. (mind you your water is probably now blue from the white spot treatment right?) I've been treating for flukes with Praziquantel. I have supplied a bundle to some folks but I don't have any left (look up drontal,droncit,prazi) (Guys.. surely someone out there has found another source of prazi or has some other treatment to recommend for flukes??!) I don't know if the white spot cure will kill flukes. You may as well leave the minnow out. Salt is cheap and really might help. Dissolve the right amount completely in some water and then pour it into his tank very slowly.. watch that he doesn't start losing his balance and if so then but him back in some fresh water. If you don't have plants in your main tank you could salt that too except I don't know if borneo suckers will handle salt.

Could be water quality.. do some tests. Honestly though sounds like flukes to me but be sure to rule out ammonia and nitrite first. White spot you would be able to see...if you can't se spots then that's probably not it. Affecting the gills makes it more likely to be flukes I think (they can get other parasites that live on the skin too though). The following is a goldfish page although parasites are not fussy abuot which fish they decide to live on! Use the search page for some disease info! http://www.goldfishconnection.com/artic ... arentId=10 I would dose your little quarantine tank with salt as it is effective against some parasites and if nothing else will hopefully clear some of them and will possibly make the minnow more comfortable until you can figure out exactly how to treat the lot of them (they'll all be affected if its a parasite) http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/art ... edications

I have a very special snail eater.. it's called Stainless-steelus Tweezerus the very long type !! and whenever it spots a snail it reaches across and grabs it, . squishes it and that's the end of that. Seriously though... do snail traps work? I see them for sale on trade me.. says they can get in and can't get out. Sounds good to me! I mean once all your snails are gone and if yuo're careful they csholdn't come back again if you treat new plants etc...