Rob

My white clouds have survived happily outside (here in Hamilton) for a couple of years now, no problems with the cold.

I'm a bit late putting up the message - but the Waikato Aquarium Soc meeting is tonight (Sunday 3 Oct). We have Gavin Reynolds from DOC as a guest speaker talking about pest fish in NZ. Also there is the tank crawl on Saturday 16th October.

Blue Peacock??? :-? Who said anything about Blue Peacock? Yes, the fish are Copadichromis borleyi 'red fin' or Kadango

The Kadango peacocks were mine - males with metallic blue head and rusty orange body with blue spangles?

To the best of my knowledge these little African butterfly/diamond cichlids (Anomalochromis thomasi) aren't available in NZ at the moment and haven't been imported for a number of years.

Admittedly I didn't enquire about the water parameters - I did take the time to let my fish aclimatise to the new water chemistry though (ie add a cupful, wait, add another cupful etc).

The only fish to die over the weekend was my dwarf chain loach - and this wasn't from stress - it did a Houdini over night and was found on the floor the next morning - like Alan my fish didn't have their own water (ie water from their home tank), some had been in bags 9 hours before they were released into their show tank - no problems.

I believe the Redheads Nick has are the synspilums not the geos.

It's not so much feeding off the manure as the nutrient in the manure causing an algal/infusorial bloom which the daphnia then feed on.

26C may be too low a temp, the information I have about spawning them is that the temperature needs to be closer to 28. My pair hoe into mealworms (have to be carful placing them on the water surface so that they get held up by the water tension), also wax moths - both the larvae and the moths themselves.

Alan's meaning that the reason for the culture not doing well any more is that it's old. Cultures can only keep going for a certain amount of time regardless of how much yeast you put in or misting it with water. Lack of food or water are the two other possible reason for a culture not producing (if fixing these still doesn't get your culture pumping then it's time to start a new culture).

Hi Cat - I consider Planetcatfish to be one the best sources of info on catfish on the net so whatever info they have should be fine. For the snowball if they've got it as Baryancistrus sp. (the sp. just meaning that they're not sure of the exact species - often for plecos this is because the scientists have given it a species name yet) then I would also include the L number for it.

The term basic also gets used to mean alkaline - it's not implying simple or ordinary. For that size and style of tank I personally would be considering either some type of synodontis, a couple of hoplos or perhaps chocolate stripe cats (though these often very nocturnal).

The time I sent them I just used a small zip lock bag and sent that in an envelope - I wasn't really send an actual culture just enough for the person at the other end to seed a culture with.

What do you mean by cleaner - algae eater or just general scavenger? Also what size tank and other inhabitants so we can give a suitable recommendation.

Got to agree with Caryl in that I don't consider any of the options fit. Yes they are true species - the same species as every other guppy. Some people may loose their money on them because of the 'cold water' mis-label - if the sales person mentioned that they really meant an unheated tank in a nice warm house then people would have a better idea.

@ livebearer_breeder Information about the fish show can be found here Only FNZAS members can enter fish but any type of fish can be entered.

Hi Cat, if we're talking Leopard fish, the cold water livebearer then it's name is Phalloceros caudimaculatus. For the Angelicus cat - if we're talking black with white spots, shaped like a feather-fin syno then it's Synodontis angelicus. For the Snowball I assume it's some type of pleco, the one most commonly called this name is Hypancistrus sp. L102 (have a look here)

Another thing considered by MAF is the possibility of introducing diseases - it's a little hard to know what the reasoning is until either Kim digs up some more info or we send a letter to MAF for an explanation.

I think we should wait until Kim has contacted Kongs so we can get a better picture and then send a letter to MAF to ask them to clarify and explain the reasoning (if there is any).

Gee, am I please that I picked up 10 packs on the weekend - time for rationing until I know what's happening - guess that means that only the tank with the elephant noses will be getting any. I had a look through the import standard for fish food and can see why MAF may have a problem. The way the standard is written a product made of insect larvae doesn't fall into one of the convenient groupings. I have no idea why it's only become a problem now. They contain non-viable organisms - if it was a product based on marine fish just being frozen at -18 C for 18 hours prior to import would mean it could be bought in without a certificate. And to cap it all off we have live blood worms in NZ anyway. You'll have to keep us informed Kim - hopefully it's something the importers can sort out but the Federation could always lend it's weight as well.

Often for Africans it's recommended to stock quite heavily (this way no one gets a chance to set up it's own territory for long). As far as the best way to introduce new ones - re-arrange the rock work just before you add them - this way what territories currently exist will be broken up - means that the new ones have a chance to intergrate without intruding on someone elses territory.

Just my two cents worth - I like the look of the rounded corners on these one piece units but: - how well do our flat algae scraper magnets work on them? - if you have the misfortune of breaking the front (or side glass) I assume it costs about the same amount to replace the glass as it does to buy a brand new tank Also having talked with people who have this style tank (not necessarily exactly the same brand as on trademe though) they did like the whole intergrated thing but said that sometimes the power head is too strong and sucked up smaller fish (so they ended up putting on a course sponge pre-filter) and also if the filter media became clogged it was a tendancy to overflow out the power cord notches at the back (ie onto the floor).

I know I'd be quite happy getting a good looking plec like that for that sort of money - did they only have the one? (it's OK - I'm not in the running to snap up any others they have - totally different island) - just thought if you could get another two of them then better odds of having a pair and since these style of plec don't get huge breeding them is more feasible.

Well I've had a rummage through the CD and have come to the conclusion that Caryl's mystery rainbow fish is a form of Melanotaenia splendida australis (as Midas has suggested in the other thread). Reading through the description it emphasises the extreme variability of this type of rainbow but does say that the zig-zagging blackish lines on the lower sides are a trademark of this species/sub-species.