paul_r

Thanks very much for that, i have found the exact location. Will be heading down there in 2 weeks if all goes to plan. Cheers for the info. Any special tactics for catching them, im not sure of the name of them but would the "butterfly" nets be okay, or would something a bit more complex be required?

I think i saw a post on here with a pic, they looked pretty neat for wild fish. Ive just had a look on google and found where tokaanu is, would you be able to give me directions to get to the place where the mollies are?

Does anyone know any places in NZ where tropical fish have been released and there are populations? I am curious as myself and a group of friends that are all into fish are looking for something different to do one weekend, have been on many fishing trips such as for snapper/trout etc and now that we all have fish tank(s) was wondering if we could catch any of the smaller varieties to put in our tanks. We are not after any NZ native species, wouldnt want to destroy their populations any more. Have heard there are mollies down the bottom of lake Taupo somewhere, have also heard rumours of fish in a small area of water at the back of awakeri hot pools. However i am not sure how true that is. Can anyone confirm of any fish anywhere that are able to be caught? (am not in any way saying releasing pet fish into NZ waterways is a good idea, we are just after a bit of fun one weekend)

Almost every fish in the tank was having a go at her, even my usually peaceful pleco, even neons and a few of the killis, is floating on top of tank in a pak n save salad container with a small ammount of java moss and some food. Hopfully all goes to plan, am chacking on her evry now and then, cant see any babies, is possible she is eating them

It seems as though she may be having problems, looks like she is semi paralysed, some times her tail flicks at almost right angles as if it isnt doing what she wants it to, is this normal?

Was just having dinner and i noticed one of the female guppies that i got a couple of days ago was hovering above a certain stone in the tank, out is popping little babies. However also in the tank are a number of killis and other guppies. How can i stop them getting eaten?, some might say they are only guppies, but they are the second fish that im going to have born in my tanks. (first being a platy) Could i put in a container in hot water cupboard with oxygen stone. I do not have a breeding net, or a spare tank. There are a few plants in the tank and a little bit of java moss. But that is where most of my hungry killis live Any suggestions would be great Paul Any suggestions would be great.

oh no way, i only just saw them on trade me 10 mins ago and now want some . What was the price of courier? Im very interested in some, as i used to have a comet when i was younger with white body and a red head, he was my favourite for years until i moved out of home. I am moving my killies into seperate breeding tanks so will have more room in my community tank so the koi swordtails are prime candidate to take the killis place

I am looking at getting some more fish for my tanks and besides more killis im after some fish with the White body, red head coloration. I know there are a few cold water varieties however im after tropicals, there are some neat looking koi swordtails on trademe at the moment but due to the price of courier it is out of the question (at the moment) Am just wanting any info so i can plan what fish i can get and eventually purchase. Thanks

To save making an extractor fan and ducting to bring hot air from top back down to bottom would it be easier to have no cuts in levels and having 1 or 2 lights per level with 1 thermostat at each level?

have posted new topic under D.I.Y for my idea i have for storage device to breed killis, please check it out and add any comments. *sorry im not sure if im allowed to advertise other posts*

sorry i have no idea what to call this I have been thinking for days now on a way that i could store and breed killis without taking up too much room, be reasonably energy efficient and cheap to build. I am renting so cannot build a fish room, even if my funds would allow it, and cannot use a wardrobe. So i came up with an idea to modify a book shelf. Pic was done in Word using draw and clipart and is definatly not to scale, just a general picture of what i have in mind. Not accurate at all but you will get the jist of how it works (also sorry for poor quality, the forum doesnt seem to like my picture i created in word, seems hard to read the words): Im looking at useing a bookshelf, not too tall or wide, but approx 300-400mm deep, and useing polystyrene (cant spell) to insulate top, bottom, sides and back, which i will paint/spraypaint black, from what i have learnt killis like dark environments. Wil use x ammount of light bulbs hooked up to a thermostat to maintain correct breeding temperatures not sure on how many would be required. I have got a number or air pumps which will provide air (hopefully enough)for a sponge filter in each tank, am unsure how many tanks i will be able to fit until i find a suitable bookshelf. For the front will have 2 cabinet doors on hinges to open horizontally... like bathroom cupboards etc, mainly glass (basically like windows) to allow ease of viewing, if windows loose too much heat may make up some curtains hahahahahaha Any suggestions/comments/ideas much appreciated as i am still in early drafting stages. And i do have basic tools - jigsaw, drill etc and know how to use them so i am looking at doing all the work myself, except maybe building tanks, but i will give it a go. Cheers, Paul

Sure feel free to pop round any time, i havnt got much to start with, wel not compared to some, but gotta start somewhere i guess. Am slowly working on acquiring more tanks/fish etc. Im working on a design for a killi storage cabinet right now, will post up pic as soon as it is done

besides my 2 community tanks i have got 3 tanks (at the moment) all around the 450x250x250 size, these tanks seem sufficent size for raising fry. I am buying 2 more heaters on thursday which will mean i have 3 tanks all ready to go specifically for killis....to start with Im also looking at getting started on my killi tank storage cupboard that i mentioned building earlier. Have got no idea what to call it yet but im working on it. I will post some drawings once i get some drafts drawn up and see if anyone has any ideas for improvements. 1 tank has guppies in it at the moment and will be ready for killis in the weekend (thanks heaps alan for the guppies) lost 8 notho korthauses due to suspected poisoning in the tank/stones i got from a friend. After a good clean with salt seems to be fine now, the guppies have been fine for 4 days now. I also get results back in a day or 2 for the accounting paper i finished 2 weeks ago at polytech. That counts as a good enough reason to buy more killis Thanks everybody for the advice and offers to lend me equipment. This site has helped me out so much

okay thats great, i should be able to fit quite a few tanks in the "storage device" ,im thinking along the lines of a modified book case with polystyrene lining for the back, sides, top and bottom and attaching some sort of cupboard doors to the front with glass to keep heat in and also allow natural light in. With some of those lights attached to a thermostat like you have. Still in early planning stages though, will draw up some sort of a diagram once i put a bit more thought into it

Could anyone help me out. I have owned killies for just over a month now and since day 1 i have been hooked on them and fasinated (cant spell) with their colors, behaviour etc as im sure most/all of you can relate to. I want to start breeding as im very interested in the killies and want to learn more. Since i am renting i cant build a fish room, and i dont think the landlord would be too happy with me using a wardrobe for breeding fish however i have a few ideas on how to make some sort of device to store a couple of tanks in and keep them heated etc - will post up pics and journal once i get started. Could anyone recomend a minimum tank size for breeding killies, i dont want to be overcrowding tanks, and for the time being will only be having 1 or 2 breeding trios per tank of the species: australe golds, australe chocs, striatum, nothobranchious Korthause yellows ......For the time being. Will be no doubt get into more species as time goes by Thanks in advance Paul

Just woke up this morning and found the last 2 females upside down at bottom of tank I think what i may do is take everything out of the tank, remove the stones and replace all the water then put some guppies in and see what happens. Still feel sorry for using fish as an experiment to see whether they will die or not, but i guess that is the only way.

Just woke up this morning to find my last 2 females upside down at the bottom of the tank. Ive never bothered with cycling a tank before, i didnt even know what it was until about 2 weeks ago. Just thought that since i had some nice killis id try do everything properly to have them breed succesfully. Since i do still want to use this tank for breeding nothos would anyone recomend any steps i should take before putting in any more fish?

That could very well be a possibility, as i can remember a couple months ago we sanded and painted my friends car in the same garage, also over the years who knows what else may have settled in with the dust. And although i put tank in the bath and scrubbed many times i may have missed spots. Also the stones were just soaked in boiling water, could still have toxins. Is there anything i could do such as tests to find out if anything is actually wrong with the water? My 2 remaining females seem to be doing fine, and im not going to let a few deaths stop me from enjoying my fish and having a go at breeding. I just want to avoid (if possible) buying more fish and having them die on me

the tank is quite a few years old, i bought it from a friend approx 2 weeks ago. had been sitting in his garage for a couple of years collecting dust. I quarter fill tank with boiling water to rinse stones and wipe sides of tank, did so about 5 times before use. My two remaining females are still alive so it is very strange

Yes it is a very strange thing to happen, i have absolutely no idea what was wrong, and i have nothing to test the ammonia, my 2 remaining females seem to be doing OKAY, mainly hiding in the java fern and between the rocks in tank. however im keeping a close eye on them to see if anything abnormal is happening. One thing that i have noticed is that the water is a little cloudy, was perfectly clear when i took it from the community tank they used to live in. I believe that they would be dead by now if something was up, as the first 6 died within 8 hours of being put in tank. Could possibly be due to stress of moving. went from heavily planted community tank at 25 degrees with very little light to the breeding tank with a little bit of duckweed and java fern floating on top. Any suggestions on what i should do before putting more fish in the tank, i am not going to let a few deaths stop me from breeding my first killis.

Ah thanks for that. Cycling is all new to me and have never done it before, in the past had just cleaned out the tank and put in all new tap water, had never lost a fish doing that. Its one big learning process i guess, although after having tropicals for 2 years and only loosing one fish then loosing 6 in 12 hours is a bad experience. Im going to be setting up some more tanks in the future so will use some guppies to help the process along. Will also get some more of those box filters set up in my other tanks so they are ready to go when i get more tanks.

to be honest im not sure of the exact name, i will try best to explain it. It is an internal filter, has some cotton at the bottom and carbon filter at the top, has hose from air pump going through bottom to cause the water to circulate and be filtered.

sure thing. 1) bought tank off a friend with stones in it. soaked in boiling water then rinsed, done this maybe 5 times. 2) Filled tank with 50% tap water and 50% from the killis old tank, set heater at 22 degrees, also added in some stones, plants and snails from old tank. Had carbon filter going since i put water in tank (which was brand new). 3) Done about 8l water change every night from tap. 4) just before putting the killis in new tank i took out 95% of water from their new tank, was only enough left to cover the stones. Then filled the tank with water from the killis old community tank, which all fish (including all my killis) have lived in fine with no losses for approx 4 months. Waited until temperature was at 22 degrees. 5) Put the nothos in bag, floated for approx 30 mins, then let go May have done a few things wrong as ive never cycled a new tank before, have just tried to follow what others have posted as i wanted to be careful with the killis since i am going to have a go at breeding them.

I set up a 30l tank specifically for breeding nothobranchius korthausae yellows. Had it cycling for a week doing water changes, then done 95% water change useing water from their old tank. I set temperature at 22degrees, chacked ph. It was all fine. Woke up in the morning to find 5 dead and one dying...died 5 mins later. He seemed to be swimming okay, then loosing balance and going upside down, tail end of body seemed to be sinking, then back to swimming okay, then loosing balance etc again Ive got no idea what went wrong, has anyone experienced this with killis, or any other species. I now need to get some more nothos so i can breed, but dont want the same thing happening again. Paul

hehe nope i have got nothing i could substitute at the moment, i dont think cotton or that poly prop stuff would be any good , im in no rush to get everything together, will be a while until i get a breeding tank setup for my australe golds. Just had a nasty suprise when i woke up this morning to find that 5 of my 8 notho's were dead in their new breeding tank. Will get round that problem first