acara

I will be coming home for a couple of weeks in July,and was wondering is there anywhere 'fishy' to visit in the Coromandel,Tauranga area?I was in the garden centre on Chapel St a few years back,but wasnt a keeper then,so dont know how good it was.I recall the Petshop on Wharf St(?)in the '80s,is it still there?Will be spending a few days around Tauranga,a trip to Rotorua,and maybe a couple in Gisborne. My folks moved to Coromandel to run a motel type business last year,and speaking to Dad on the phone,he is keen to set up a display tank in the reception area.Can anyone suggest somewhere handy to buy something in the 4-6ft range?For ease of use for him,a complete package like a Juwel Rio400 would be ideal. I will only be there for 2wks,so will have to start it,and talk him through the rest of cycling,etc,over the phone and online.Alternatively,and probably easier,I could bring some Organic Aqua,set the tank up one day,stock it the next.He can then just go back to the 'normal' non-organic way as the set-up kit wears off. Will have 4 days in Kuala Lumpur on way,shame I cant pick up some fish there. Thanks Dave

They are stunning tanks,so much time and work put into them. I have the good fortune to know Peter Kirwan,number 15,a member of our club,and a very knowledgeable and helpful gent.

Over here we have several types of insulation board,which are sort of a compressed foam,with a foil lining.The main one is Kingspan,which comes in several forms and thicknesses,it is dearer than polystyrene,but is many times more efficient for a thinner sheet.The one I will line my shed with is the K18,it has plasterboard attached to it,with a foil backing for water/damp proofing.There are other cheaper brands.As a cost comparison,it is 56euro a sheet,standard plasterboard is 9euro. You must have something similar there?

The torpedo barb prices are mad,but the rest are pretty cheap compared to what we pay in Ireland!! Have done one fish buying trip over on the ferry,3 of us bought back 293 fish.Planning another one for the opening of the fish shed this summer.A lot of us buy our dry goods online from over there,for example,can get a FX5 shipped here for about 190 euro,my LFS has them for 495e!! When I started out again 3years ago,I was conned into 25 euro each for 3 C.sterbai,won't happen again!!!

Melafix is merely 1% tea tree oil and 99% distilled water. You could probably make it up relatively cheaply.

The fat ones the female,the male is slimmer.Often they are triggered into spawning by being moved around,and of course with a big water change.A couple of years back on a fish buying trip to England,I got a pair of C.oiapoquensis at an auction,on the long trip home,we stopped at a lads house to look at a group of L46 he was selling and as the corys had been bagged for an estimated 24hrs,we opened them up to rebag,the smell nearly knocked us over.20hrs later I got them home,and the next day had eggs.How they survived,never mind spawned,was amazing.I've had spawnings in similar circumstances too. We didnt get that group of L46 by the way,they weren't great.

Have a look at the Colomesus asellus from Sth America,a true fw puffer,unlike a lot of the Asian species. Temp around 24-26 generally.

Sorry,didnt explain that very well,meant they're from the wild.There would be some tank bred,but not near the amount of wc. They dont seem to travel that well at all,a lot of folk lose a few when buying a group,then others dont lose any.Do you guys have the same experince with them in NZ?

This is where they're all from

Wow Caryl,you've really seen a lot of my favourite country!They're great photos,and bring back a lot of memories.You were lucky at the Italian Chapel,when I was there,there was coachloads of folk,hard to get good photos.I like the pics of the ruins of Ardvreck Castle,I was taking my fiance there a few years back,the rental broke down and we flew past it in a towtruck! Thanks for sharing. Dave

Hi Caryl,just before you get to Inverness,there is a retail park on your left with a cinema,etc.Theres a pet shop in there,that was(well when I lived there)well stocked with reptiles and fish.They also had chipmunks,which were cool. Im as jealous as hell,I lived south of Inverness for a couple of years or so,and then a year in Inverness,really miss it. Are you coming to Dublin?If so,contact me and I will show you the shops,or anything else you want to see.My closest LFS always has weather loaches! Dave

Make the most of the sunny weather,heres a pic in my back garden looking towards the shed,and one of my pond,just after I walked 2 miles from the train in a blizzard.

You really do have it sweet there,I dive a bit here and the scallops are massive,and plentiful enough too,but theres a 'no take' policy on all shellfish.No spearfishing either.The UK allows some scallop taking,but not here. But then you don't have streams of whisky :lol: :lol:

I have various rifles and shotguns,back home in NZ,but living in Ireland,it is a bit harder to get a permit,and the land to use them is harder again to get(no public land here).A couple of mates here have permits,1 for deer,but I havn't been out with him.Another has .22 and shotgun permit,and permits for a 9mm and a .22 pistol.Unlike NZ,the permit for pistols here is "to own,carry and use",so we have them on the hip when up in the hills.In theory you can take it anywhere,anytime,but for obvious reasons,a bit of cop-on is needed!Great fun though. I was extremely lucky living in the Scottish Highlands to be friendly with some game-keepers,so got to do a lot of deer stalking,which others had to pay several hundred pounds per day to do. I miss the hunting available back home,but hope to get back at some stage.

It looks to be one of the Hoplosternum species,but I know very little about them. Dave

We are lucky here that we can shop around a bit.A 75 minute drive from home and we are in Northern Ireland,and pay UK prices for our groceries and booze,the selection is far better than the Republic,and the prices are 31% cheaper(in the latest study).The petrol,however,is much cheaper in the Republic(although catching up in the last couple of mths),so those in the North drive over the border and top up in the Republic. Shopping online in the UK is also cheaper than buying in our local LFS's.I recently flew over to visit and our bags weighed 18kg going over,45 coming back.1 order cost me 175euro,if I bought it here,it would be 450euro. Dave

I am a Kiwi living in Ireland after a stint in the UK.I'm a non-smoker.I worked in a bar in Scotland for several years and hated waking up in the morning after a shift,my eyes would be dry and sore,a direct result of the smoke.I think Ireland was one of the 1st to bring in the ban,and I was delighted,I wouldn't begrudge anybody a cigarette,but it has been so much more enjoyable going to the pub since it came in.I was often in UK pubs after the ban came in here,and was nearly gagging with the smoke,had to go out for fresh air. Just my 2 cents worth. Dave

They are legal here in Ireland,and a lot of 'hard' men :roll: think its 'deadly' to get them,they soon give up on them,as they are actually quite a boring fish to keep.My LFS has a really nice group in an amazing set up at the moment,it looks awesome,but the fish spend most of their time doing nothing.Plenty of other choices out there with much more character. Dave

Currently, Laetacara dorsigera Laetacara sp 'buckelkopf' (love 'em) Laetacara curviceps sajicas festivums multies (Lamprologus multifasciatus)

I had a small mole just above my right knee.I left NZ and settled in the highest village in the Scottish Highlands.After 2yrs of not too much sun I went off to Turkey for 2wks on an ANZAC tour of Gallipoli,etc.Lots of sun and heat(and a lot more very cheap booze).About 2-3wks after getting back to the Heilans the mole started getting itchy for the 1st time ever,so I went to see the doc.He removed it and gave me 2 stitches,sending it off to the lab.2wks later I went for the results. I never did live down the fact,and 8yrs later they are still giving me heaps,for being the only person known to have had a midge bite surgically removed... :oops: :oops: :oops:

If left in a community tank,the eggs will be eaten,if any survive,the fry will certainly be eaten.In my experience,guupys prefer harder water than corys,and dont survive long in any of my tanks that contain bogwood.However,as in most aspects of fish keeping,nothing is set in stone,what works for some,dosnt for others. I think a problem you may encounter is fungus.I use Indian Almond leaves/Katappa/Terminalia catappa leaves in with my eggs to combat the fungus.Meth blue is used by a lot of people,but can be very strong and likely to kill off your filter,I would only use a half dose,and be careful.Also alder cones can be used as a more natural anti-fungal treatment. Have a look at this,its an article about the latest corys I've spawned,but will apply to most corys. http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworl ... cle_id=237 What corys are they?Different species require different temps.

My friends and I are using these,a great alternative to brine shrimp,no messing about with saltwater.Very simple to use.Fish are showing great colours too.The small capsules are dear if you dont buy in bulk,but the bigger packs are quite economical. http://cgi.ebay.ie/Freshwater-artemia-b ... dZViewItem http://www.bluebetta.com/bluestore/inde ... d94be18559

I have a small L134,he's an absolutely stunning fish,but as soon as theres movement in the room he dissappears.A shame,as like I said, he's a stunner.

Looks like Glyptoperichthys joselimaianus (L001) to me. http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/sp ... ies_id=177

I am a big fan of the Aqualogs,have several(5 more on way in post ).One thing I will say though,is that their identification can be wrong at times,I remember seeing a pic of a plec in 1 book named as a such-n-such,exactly the same pic on an Aqualog poster with a totally different name.(and the name wasn't officialy changed).That said though,they are very nice to have,and as FuglyDragon warned,they tempt you big time! I have got them from both these sites http://www.animalbook.de/shop/ http://www.seame.com/int/ Not sure what post to NZ would be like though.