Joe

Hi guys, My mum (who knows nothing about anything to do with aquariums) actually thinks I should get the Fluval, because that's what I use in my 150L tank and I have had really good experience with it. Hi A-Town, Are you refering to all Fluvals, or just one type? I've never had an electric shock from mine, and the Fluval M-Series (which is what I'm using in my 150L) is made from some sort of high-quality glass that greatly reduces the risk of shattering. And sorry, I can't watch that youtube link you posted. Stuff on youtube takes nearly an hour to load on our computer (we still have dial-up ). I also found out that a 200watt Jager is almost double the size of a 200watt Fluval So I'm wanting to go for a Fluval now :lol: Plus the M-Series has a 3 year guarantee, and the petshop here sells them, so if something went wrong with it it would be far easier to return it than if I got a Jager from Animates. I'd then have the problem of having to go to the trouble to send it to Christchurch, so I probably wouldn't bother :lol:

Do the mirror Fluvals get moisture? I find it hard to tell with mine, because I can't really see inside it due to the reflective casing :lol:

People are too lazy these days in petshops and can't be bothered to do some research and find out if the scientific names have been changed/updated. Danio sp. "Patheri" is now Danio aesculapii.

Cool thanks guys. Right, I'll probably get a Jager then since they're on special at Animates, plus they're good (I'm only going by what people say, I've never actually used one before). So one isn't better than the other (e.g. Fluval is better than Jager?)

Hi everyone, So - what's better out of the two? I'm looking at getting a 150-200watt heater for a new breeding tank that I'm going to set up to breed Sundadanio axelrodi (this means putting my other tank projects on hold again :roll: ). The shop here sells the new mirror Fluvals, and they're just over $100. I use a 200watt one in my 150L tank, and I've found it to be very accurate. Animates is having a really good special on Jagers at the moment - they're down from $70 to $50 or something like that. Thanks in advance, Joe

OK I know it's not a fish (it's a plant), but I would love to see Blyxa japonica become availible. Also it would be nice if we could get some Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba', and dwarf hairgrass and Riccia sp. Dwarf. It would be nice if more Apistos could be imported. There are tonnes on that list! Why aren't any of those different species imported? Sundadanio axelrodi 'Blue' should be regularly imported. I think it would be nice if we could have tropical shrimp species too.

Where did you get them from, and how much were they? Does anyone know if they're still in the country? I have decided to put my other projects on hold to set up a specieal breeding tank for them to breed them in large numbers because I am determined to keep them in the country. Because who knows when the next shipment will be?

Could you please post a link to that page?

What are those little turquoise and red fish? Are they by any chance Sundadanio axelrodi?

I live in Blenheim, so I can go to Christchurch and get more when I'm ready. Sometimes the petshop here has some.

I got some from Organism in Christchurch, but sadly it died. I'm not sure where you could get it in Auckland.

No I don't know Kerry Fraser. In fact, I have no idea who those other people are that you metioned either! :lol: I race with the Blenheim Pigeon Racing Club.

Jones are an old New Zealand breed. I have found them quite hard to source, because most people breed stuff like Van Reets, Busschaerts and those sorts of fancy imports. The Jones are a type of Janssen bred in NZ for a long time, so they are able to cope exceptionally well with rough weather and I've found them much better than the other breeds. My dad and I recently got some McMillans, another old NZ breed. I've never kept these before, so it will be interesting to see how well they race. I have also found Jones x Staf Van Reet birds to be quite good too.

Yeah it's quite amazing. And what's better about them, is that they don't need a huge aviary, a loft suits them fine, because they can be let out to fly around the neighbourhood at their own free will and will come back for food later on. I have a beautiful Jones Janssen hen (called Dusky), and she is a fantastic pet! She used to find her way inside the house through open windows, and would scratch on the door if she wanted to come in! She has a mate now, so she stays with him in the loft and doesn't come inside the house anymore (plus mum wouldn't allow it to continue any longer, because she got sick of the poos!). She is very tame, and likes sitting on my shoulder when I'm in the loft. The reson she probably wanted to come inside is because there was a ferret attack at the time (this was about 2 years ago), and she was the only pigeon left. I've got over 40 now. Just goes to show that not all pigeons are dumb, pesky birds like most people say.

Could you post some pics of your Wild Kribs please?

Awesome! I've got to get me some Double Reds!

Wow what a beautiful male He looks almost like an A. agassizii 'Super Red'.

Wow you have an incredible tank

Good point. Let's keep them in swimming pools from now on :lol:

Hi everyone, I just went to look at my tank and noticed some stupid snails eating the leaves of the lovely sword plant I just got off phoenix44. The snails have been in my tank for quite a while, and have never been a problem up until now. They are those really small ones that look quite flat. I really need a plant-friendly solution to exterminate the little buggers. I don't want anything that: a. involves anything that will alter the water quality significantly b. involves buying extra fish e.g. loaches c. costs too much I was told you can place a piece of lettuce on the bottom of the tank, and the snails will gather overnight to feed and can be removed the following day. If they are feeding on my plants, how well would this work? Would they just ignore the lettuce and continue to eat my sword plants? Joe

Cool thanks for telling me. Hopefully I might end up with something at least half as cool as yours - if I could make it that far, I'd be very pleased Just wondered, do you use any substrate fertilizer (e.g. JBL AquaBasis Plus) underneath your main substrate, or root balls or something, or just liquid fertilizer?

I know, but I feel it is much nicer that they are able to fly around whenever they want. I know that your birds were let out for a very long time, and they were happy. But I've talked to lots of other people before (kids at school etc.) that have caged parrots, and some don't get let out every day, or if they do it is only for an hour or sometimes not even that. So as long as you are extremely committed to letting it out every day, for a legnthly peroid of time, then a cage is OK, but I feel it is much less hassle keeping them in an aviary. It's like fish; you can keep some larger fish in smaller tanks, even though a bigger tank is a better option, and the fish will OK, as long as you keep on top of the water quality, which = lots water changes, minimal feeding, more work, and it is really easier to get a bigger tank. So do you sort of have an idea of what I mean? Maybe finches might be a better option as opposed to parrots - you can have a rather large cage, or a small aviary, which will suit them fine since they are such a small bird. If you make the cage yourself it costs less than the stuff in petshops, plus you can build it to your own needs. I know you can't interact with finches like you can with parrots, but they are still a very cool little bird.

Either keep a bird in an aviary (a decent-sized one too) or don't keep one at all.

Wow that is looking great I love the Rotala rotundifolia!