I_am_Elmo

I have a little 27L tank which regularly gets to 27-29 degrees, I have to do 18L water changes just to keep the temp down, I hace convicts and a borneo sucker, neither of which seem to mind for aq little while

That's true, 8500 plus costs is hardly much of a deterant.

55 year old Charles Yip Mou Lam was convicted in Auckland District Court yesterday for attempting to illegally import 700kg of tropical and sub-tropical coral into New Zealand. The consignment represents New Zealand's biggest single seizure of illegally imported coral to date. Lam was fined $8,500 and ordered to pay costs totalling $1,880 for one charge of “trading in (by importing) specimens of a threatened speciesâ€, namely, stony corals, under the Trade in Endangered Species Act 1989. Officers from the Wildlife Enforcement Group (WEG) – a joint agency initiative comprising of personnel from Customs, the Department of Conservation and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry – investigated the matter after the coral was discovered during a NZ Customs Service inspection of a shipping container which had arrived from China. Twenty large polystyrene cartons, each containing various large pieces of coral and six nylon sacks, each containing a large quantity of crushed coral, were seized by the officers. The coral was identified as the species Scleractinia. The defendant, Mr Lam, stated that he wanted to build a fish pond in his back yard, and asked his friend in China to buy the things he needed to build the pond. Colin Hitchcock, Senior Investigator, WEG, said “The coral was also found to be hosting some 627 "hitchhiker" organisms, attributed to 95 species. Such marine organisms have the potential to greatly damage New Zealand’s marine life and environment. The marine organisms could have entered New Zealand’s waterways if the fish pond or aquarium had been flushed.†The coral was hard or stony reef building coral, and was sourced from the central to western Pacific. The importation of stony coral is regulated by The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). “Stony coral is a living organism, and as such, it shouldn’t be imported into New Zealand without appropriate CITES importation and quarantine measures being undertaken,†said Mr Hitchcock. “Not all coral is CITES protected – most imported into New Zealand is by holiday makers and there is a personal exemption for this. Other corals are legally imported by the aquarium and pet fish industry.â€

I've got two in my tank (450L), they are with jewels and firemouths and have no problems with them. They dig lot's, and deep. They look like they dig for a reason but it;s lost on me. They are easy enough to keep and make sure they can get food as mine don't come to the surface to feed and can miss out sometimes. The get nice colour too

If I put whitebait in a pond, obviously they will grow into bigger fish, do they need the saltwater migration for them to breed or would they happily breed in a pond?

Ha, I'm off til the 20th so will give it a read. thanks

Hey, does anyone know if there is a NZ stocker of Euroreef skimmers? I like the look of the no clearance collection cup. What sort of price are they and are they any good as a skimmer?

Gambusia can be cold or warm water and I'm pretty sure they can even handle salt. They are very very hardy, that's why they take hold of waterways so savagely

As with everyone else, love the discus shot. Something I've not ye mastered is quality macro photos. One day......

In my completely amatuer opinion, I guess it'd never hurt to let them know in case they don't know about it but it seems just about every waterway in Auckland is infested and is probably a bit of a losing battle. But I could be wrong (and probably am)

phew, at the moment they are clean, it looks as though the have been shredded, like torn down the grain so here's hoping......

I've got a pair of convicts which are protecting their fry (as expected) and as a result, my pleco has taken some minor damage to his fins. I've moved my convicts and babies into another tank, are the pleco's fins likely to heal or are they damaged for good? (or bad as the case may be)

Well as I expected, the Jewels are laying a whole bunch of eggs after eating the first 20-30. Best photo I could get http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa13 ... 020138.jpg And I'm not far off a prison warden.

Well no more babies. The day they were due to hatch, they disappeared I assume they were eaten (that seems to be the way with the first batch). What's funny is now my jewel cichlids look like the are prepping a piece of wood to lay eggs, so maybe a battle royale brewing. I'll probably keep a few more jewels, they're a bit prettier.

Oh? ell, I'll let it go for this time, I have a spare 3ft tank so I could put them in there. Then I may take two males (or females) to keep. Stink, I thought this would be fun.

So what should I do now?

So I've just finished my upgrade from 150L to 450L and looked a little empty so I bought a pair of convicts for a bit of fun in my tank. Two days later I have a bunch of eggs under one of the decorations. Something must be going right (I think??)

Would it make a difference that the firemouths are both babies and the discus would be bigger than them when they are introduced or is it just a plain no-go?

I was wondering, is it a bad idea to put discus in a tank with other fish? I have 2 baby geophagus, a Bosemani Rainbowfish 2 baby firemouths and a pleco. Is it a bad idea to put 4-5 discus in there? It's a 450L 4x2x2 tank? Any ideas?

I have two firemouth's, I don't know what sex they are. I was wondering if they get fat like this due to over feeding (no other fish are fat like this), or pregnant or just bloating?? Any help http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa13 ... rofile.jpg

Is there any advantages or disadvantages of having either feeder shrimp or copepods in the display tank as a live food for the fish to feed when they're hungry? And also, what is good and where would one find these?

I know this must be a very old and boring topic by now, but I'm looking for some specifics. Firstly, protien skimmers - how good are red sea berlin skimmers, has anyone heard of All Seas Marine skimmers and what are the differences between these and say Deltec or Euroreef. Secondly, is there any way (or cheap way) of getting live rock? I've been in contact with MAF with no luck (not even hints or loop holes) Thirdly, are there any good (and easy) schematics for a 3ft sump/refugium I could plagarise? Lastly, I know, does the direction of powerheads (or similar equipment) matter? Is there any specific setup for how these should be directed? Thanks for any help

Thanks, I'll keep an eye out. I hope you're all right, it wouild explain why the male has not been eating. I'll keep you posted.

I thought, although they are both quite young and there are no actual eggs yet? I guess she could be about to lay eggs. As long as it's not sick I guess...

I've got two geophagus surinamensis which are normally quite playful (chasing, lip wrestling) but now one seems to just be hiding and not letting anything near him? The other will very rarely approach. Any ideas?