bdspider

There's a display of them at the Chch Botanical Gardens.

I'm glad you posted btw, cos I was just thinking about them the other day. And I couldn't remember what they were called & was thinking 'horseshoe crabs' but then those are marine. And then I was wondering if I'd dreamed the memory. They were very cool. The pond we'd catch them in was in the middle of a paddock, no connection to any water ways and got to nearly-dry each summer. So they must have been quite hardy, maybe they burrowed into mud? But how did they get to a man-made pond to begin with? But now the pond gets completely bone dry, so even the frogs are gone

Used to catch them on my grandparents mid-Canty farm ponds. They haven't been there for years though.

After the earthquake, I started covering my tanks with blankets and towels to help hold the heat in. You could also use any spare polystyrene. Luckily power was back on within 5 hours.

It's ok as long as they get at least half an hours swim-around in the bath or a paddling pool each day.

Saw lemons today for only $3.90 each. North Islanders have it tough :lol:

Don't know, never heard about it.

Orana Park, Southern Encounter Aquarium and Willowbank all have reptile displays. Orana's is probably the better of the 3, it has lots of different natives and a few exotics (well, a blue tongue and a tortoise) + they just got some new tuatara, they do a talk about them and I think you get to touch/hold them if you're lucky.

I bags bringing garlic bread!

If you're raising from young, you might end up with roosters by accident. I don't know how early you can sex a chick :-? The ones we had were ex-battery, $10 each & a year old. They laid an egg a day til winter when it when down drastically and we had to buy eggs anyway, so overall they weren't that economical... But they make cool pets for toddlers, I mean, you saw how tame ours were.

When I went maybe 5 years back, I think the reptiles were in the aquarium too. Does that mean they're gone too? Maybe I won't bother going there if my 2 fave things are gone... [edit] I just had a flashback.... I remember feeling really stressed last time I went there, at every exhibit that involved glass, there would be kids (and sometimes adults) banging on it as hard as they could while their parents stood around going "duuuuuur'. And in the kidzone bit, with the frog enclosure... It had netting as a side and a kid was banging on it. I tried a nice way to get the kid to behave and said "if you stand still, you'll see that little froggie catch the fly!" The kid smirked, smashed his fist on the netting and sent the frog flying. Makes me really angry when people don't respect animals. Think I will definitely not go back there this trip. Way too frustrating.

5pm. I'm working that day, so may be late. Should be there by 6 at latest though.

When: This weekend, Saturday 2nd October Time: 5pm Where: Donna's house (please pm Donna or I for the exact address) As usual, please bring a plate of food to share. New members and guests are welcome. If anyone wants to bring snacks for the turtles, like spare plants or deformed fry, it would be most appreciated : :bounce:

More photos. Can't wait to get more fish. It looks very bare, especially 'cos the angels are the only ones who aren't hiding most of the time. They others seem to be getting used to it, seeing a bit more of the barbs. Sooky la-las.

Ugh, we went through so much hassle and phonecalls trying to find Daltons. I don't think anywhere in Christchurch has it anymore. So, went with South Hort (A local place, near Rolleston) Propagating Sand, same thing basically.

Thanks for your kind comments y'all I love the look of sand, but I'm also a gravel vacuum addict. Need to kick that habit and not stress if there's a bit of detritus sitting on the sand.... But that's why I'm keen to get eartheaters to help with cleaning. Or maybe a school of corys. What are other potential sandcleaners? I got a tiny bit of anubias at my first TT meet, shortly after I setup my first tank, back in '07. It's done well.

I was feeling really bored with my 4ft, so spend the weekend redoing it with sand + cooler layout (Thanks to my bf guess I don't really have the knack for doing layouts myself) + new plants & lightbulbs (thanks again bf) Before (back in July): After: Current fish: 3 Angelfish 9 Odessa Barbs 5 Dwarf Chain Loaches 2 Hoplo Catfish 2 Bristlenoses Thinking of / wanting to get sometime: Geophagus or Eartheaters (not sure how I feel about the possible uprooting of plants) More chain loaches Syno of some sort Eel of some sort? Kuhli loaches? Feedback and stocking suggestions welcome

I've been playing a game called Doodle God on Kongregate and loving it, you can get it as an app. but it's not free. On the iPod I've been playing Pocket Frogs. It's so fun and relaxing and involves collecting and breeding and categorising the frogs. I love it. If anyone else gets it, let me know, so we can trade and gift frogs.

If Jen doesn't want a re-try at her house, Donna has volunteered hers. Or anyone newer members keen to show off tanks we haven't seen before?

I think Ira meant the big gap between the broken ends, not the gap between the radius & ulna. I'm guessing they can't shove it together tightly in case they mess up the alignment?

Mmmmmm, chocolate icecream.

He probably would have appreciated bits of fish (like whole frozen prawns) and insects a bit more. I'm amazed he actually ate algae wafers??? Did you actually see him eating? Perhaps he was undernourished?

Thanks Barry, I will keep in touch when we have more idea of what dates. I'm not really a huge seafood catcher, as I don't really know how to prepare it very well. My main aim in diving is just looking and taking photos.

If I don't get to dive, I could settle for snorkelling. I just looooove seeing what's under the waves. Not sure if I'll get a chance to visit clubs or all the people I'd like though. Yes, butterfly creek is another must, and the reptile park.

I'm wanting to do a upper North Island road trip in late Nov/early Dec. Hopefully will have about 2 weeks of unstructured exploring, definitely wanting to go up through Northland, visit Auckland, Hamilton, Coromandel, BoP, Tauranga, Rotorua, Hawkes Bay, Napier and thereabouts. Keen to know what's cool to do, especially sights that aren't in travel guides and don't have brochures at the iSites. I love going to zoos/reserves/bird parks/farm parks/wildlife rescues (as long as they're not too scummy and run down). Will surely go to Auckland and Hamilton Zoos, Kelly Tarltons, Living Art's and Napier Aquarium. What else do you North Islanders recommend? Edit: Oh and also I scuba dive and would love to do some, but gear is too heavy to bring... Might bring my wetsuit, if it's worth it. If you dive & know where I can borrow/hire gear & wanna do a swim with me, let me know :)