Joe

Time for another floofie update :happy2: :happy1: I cannot believe it - they're now 21 days old Every time I open the box to get them out to be handled they make a noise like an old rusty wind-up toy :lol: But they are still very cute I also had a little dove hatch the other day This morning I managed to get some pics of the new Chaffinches :bounce: Female: Male:

I got it changed to Joe. Pretty obvious isn't it? BTW, great work with the fish. I can't believe you have little wrigglers already! I'll have to buy some off you when you sell them.

What happened to what fish?

Wow that's quite cool! But I still prefer Queen Arabs and Dekeyseria brachyura L168 8)

Thanks guys I understand it a bit more, so its not as bad as I thought it was

cere

Wow that looks cool! Good work

Yeah they'll all mix fine. I think that is a better choice than Khulis, Cockatoos and pencilfish, because those all have similar colours. Whereas now you have a mix of fish with different colours and they are all compatible. I would also add two female fighters for your male. I still think you should get Apistos Steel Blues and agassizii 'Double Red' should be quite easy to track down at the moment, so I recommend a pair of one of those two.

espei (Trigonostigma espei, Slim Harlequin)

I'm not being picky I just don't like the idea of line breeding. And it sounds icky too :lol: Imagine having kids with your cousin or sister :lol: Can someone please explain to me everthing about line breeding so I know more about it? I've only been keeping fish for two or three years so I know next to nothing about all this breeding/genetics stuff, and my opinions are based on what I have seen/read in the time I have been keeping fish I've only ever bred three species of fish in my life.

usually

The last one of course! The game is called 'last two letters', so it's pretty obvious, because caudalis comes after Alestopetersius, and the last two letters are i and s :lol:

You can if you want. A lot of people on the overseas forums have had good results from them. They are very expensive though. I wouldn't worry about the Khulis. The UG heaters have a low wattage, so the Khulis will be fine

I remember seeing a pair for sale early last year in Christchurch. I think they were at Animates or Petworld or something. So there may still be some out there somewhere floating around... hopefully. Just out of interest, what species of Apistos do we have in NZ where there are a few different bloodlines around? I know there are quite a few Apisto. agassizii 'Double Red'. Any others? Also, are Apisto. hongsloi in the same situation as the eunotus? If not I really want a pair of unrelated hongsloi for breeding.

Nice work Simon :bounce: :happy2: !drool: :happy1: Just a thought though, are there any other unrelated fish in NZ anywhere that can be mated with the fry from this pair? I'm not really a huge fan of line breeding. Look how it's turned out with discus - they need very precise care and high temperatures because their immune systems have been weakened from generations of fish being bred with their own parents, siblings and cousins. I would not like to see this happen with Apistos, especially with the few that we have in NZ.

Alestopetersius caudalis (Hemigammopetersius caudalis. Both these names are valid)

Do we have Cabomba piauhyensis and furcata in NZ?

Google Mayaca fluviatilis. All images are of green plants, not red. Same with Mayaca sellowiana. Rotala wallichii are red though, but it looks similar to the Mayaca species. BTW, can we get Mayaca sellowiana in NZ? It's a nice plant and I wouldn't mind some.

tangerine

OMG you found some Anubias afzelli I heard somewhere that it is very hard to come by in NZ. It's now in good hands too There are two types of Mayaca common in aquariums: M. fluviatilis and M. sellowiana. Both of there plants are green, and M. sellowiana has longer, wispy leaves that give it a fluffy appearence. I'm not sure if they're currently in NZ. There are a few more species, and I think there is a red Mayaca (not sure though), but in NZ red pine is always Rotala wallichii or similar types of Rotala. Mayaca fluviatilis - Green Pine Mayaca sellowiana - Green Pine Rotala wallichii - Red Pine

As soon as you find it PM me :bounce: I'd love to know exactly what's in NZ. There is a local breeder who breeds exotic finches. He has Gouldians, Red-cheeked Cordons, Cuban Finches, Cherry Finches and Red-billed Fire Finches and one or two others.

Wow that is fantastic Jennifer :happy2: :happy1: :love: !drool: :bounce: It looks very much like a Dutch tank Well done I still really love that substrate I decided to ditch the idea of the Burnt Sienna stuff and I have all of my plants in pots with sphagnum peat moss and JBL root balls. Can you please update us on all the plants you currently have in there? :bounce: Joe

weta

Yesterday I had a talk with the lady who sold me the pair of Turks and she said that because they are very good parents they should be fine with me handling the floofies every day. So I held each one in the evening yesterday for a couple of minutes per bird so they get used to being handled.

new