livingart

awesome pics, awesome tank, love the colour variation in the plants

we have a plaster centre here in tauranga, they sell polystyrene and resins for the outside of buildings. told them what i was trying to do and they put me onto some great products that were safe in the tank

congratulations, the buzz you get from setting a tank up and then watching the inhabitants does not diminish

Yes have seen some of our holding females feeding, thought they were taking in food for the young seemed to swirl it around inside their mouths

sorry, I don't know a Viv or Terry to take their pictures:D .

they come through with different markings on them, most not pretty the white stay mainly white though

have you met Gannet?

used to breed half beaks but kids came along and took up the fishroom (bedroom) space

speak for yourself repto i have trained a long haired guinea pig to sit on my head well actually shaved his stomach and use double sided tape to stop him sl;iding off the shiny surface

keen to help on a species or two do you have a template made up or previous submission to work off?

do you 'pet' it though?

you're right rebecca they spend most of their time hiding and are just big slugs. tend to dig into the dirt a lot, harder to feed too. well that is too find things to eat that live in a dark moist environment long enough for them to catch. larval axy's are more interesting read a thesis done on axy regeneration of limbs that found regeneration was good when they were young but as they got older was harder to grow new limbs, morphed ones did not regrow limbs. they also fed a bucket of LSD to an elephant to see what effect it had on it, poor thing went crazy and had to be shot, all in the name of science, well some ones idea of research anyway

maybe this will explain why it is hard to morph the axys

in their home range, the water table dries up in the summer season, this allows water high in mineral content to enter the pools they live in. this naturally causes changes in the axy's so they can leave water that can become poisonous to live in. the axy's that are kept as pets are derived from animals used in experimentation, it is easier to keep a lot of axolotls in a water environment. So axy's that were more inclined to stay in the larval stage were used for breeding, thus the axy's in the NZ pet trade are harder to morph to a salamander. Morphed Axolotl are probably an unwanted organism as the habitat they require is the same as our endangered native frogs who don't need any more competion or another predator harassing them. blue my info comes from as a youngster we morphed a few axys, but a google on axolotl metamorphosis will turn up some good university studies on this subject in the states

can you define genetic modification you have stated?

young axies morphing through minerals in their water or induction of th***** last a long time, but a few can be lost in the process morphing adults can produce a high death rate and very shortened life expectancy morphed axys are an unwanted organism

oooh yummy chocolate rainbow fish

was on an article on largest reptiles sighted in nz i found on the web have loooked again but can't find it, so may have been fake :oops:

alligators are in nz saltwater crocs have been sighted off the northern tip of nz have seen a man eating crocodile in one of those wild food restaurants

body language can be hard to read in fish, no facial expressions gill flaring, mouth gaping, holding fins out can be obvious the swimming position in the tank can be more subtle fish swimming towards each other and how close they get before turning can be little signs of impending agression usually an outright attack is presaged by posturing and vying for the best swimming space, or hidey hole observation and experience will help in your judgements of seeing trouble before it starts i have 2 aros together, it takes them about a month to confront each other then they have to be divided for about 2 weeks the its back to swimming together need to acquire a 3rd fish to breakup the one on one confrontation resident fish will all be taken out and tank rearranged, then new fish introduced then existing fish this will create a new territory for all fish to settle into if that doesn't work it is into the big pond and bring on the Pacu's, more aros and some knives

there are not too many people around with tanks or pockets big enough to house some of the larger fish as adults and once youve got a few well the house is full, no more room for the youngsters being imported and then sold without new owners being told how big they grow and how big a tank will be needed in the future.......... i wonder how many last long enough to be adults? good to see someone attempting to keep them, buying a big tank and asking for peoples feedback on housing ideas

frogs will hibernate during winter, pond may need shade to stop it going green through summer months water movement may stop it stagnating or mosqito's using it as a breeding ground i am trying leopard fish and white clouds in a pond with tadpoles at the moment to see if they can cohabit, also to eat any mosquito larvae and give some life in the pond while tadpoles have morphed maybe someone else has tried this before and can comment from experience

i have dealt with large and agressive predators for almost 40 years, fish and animals and there are exceptions to the norm, it is all dependant on personalities of the animals/fish involved, oh and the people there are ways of diverting agression but no one way is the standard or the perfect answer these are goood rules to follow sometimes these big fish if owners can't find a home will be destroyed it is always worth taking a chance on homing them but make sure there is a backup or they can be seperated

now he's tipsy

dunking bird well done Ira