BigBossPants

They are from lake Tarawera... Any idea what species are found there? I suspect that daddy is either a Cran's or Upland, he has quite a blunt face and a yellowish stripe on top of his first dorsal fin and the base of his pectoral fin. His face has some broken squiggly markings on it, kind of an orangey colour. The other two look like common's to me, I will try to load pics if I can. The eggs are tiny, they look like less than 1mm and are a pale colour. Can different species interbreed? How soon after hatching would they head to sea if they indeed need to do this? And at what pace should the salt be increased? I have never bred any kind of fish and would really like the babies to survive. Would it be best to wait until they hatch before moving them to a nursery tank or should I take the rock out just prior to hatching? I suspect newly hatched fry would be a tasty treat for the other fish in the tank, any idea if the dad will eat them too?

Woo hoo! I have 3 common bullies (I think) in a 55l tank, they are about 7cm long. The largest one turned totally black 2 days ago and has been guarding its cave very strongly. Today I lifted its rock to do a water change and it was covered with eggs!! Do I need to do anything special to make Mrs Bully happy, or will she do everything she should? Should I remove the other two bullies or the eggs or will they grow up ok in the same tank? Filtration is an aqua one CF500, water changes are 50% weekly, diet is a frozen puree of heart, liver, fish, kidney, vegetables and garlic.

I'm also in Mt Maunganui. I found that over summer cooling was an issue, I had a large fan over the tank, an airstone and spray bar for extra surface agitation, and was putting 1-2L ice cubes in twice a day. This kept my 60L tank under 20*C... A fair bit of fluffing around, but it seemed to do the trick. Not sure if a larger tank will be easier or harder to cool. Jas uses a chiller for his natives, perhaps he has some pointers? You could come along to the local fish club meetings

Hi, good idea with the water trough. I don't really have access to one but will keep it in mind for next time I have had success so far with silicone for the gaps and coating the rest with bitumen paint. Both barrels are holding rainwater out in the garden, seem watertight so far. Time will tell if they stay this way though!

Hey, if anyone is looking for a flat in Tauranga I have 2 rooms available in bellevue. Rent is 110pw plus expenses. Pm if interested

Cheers for all the suggestions, Ill look into those options. Someone has also suggested tar paint, has anyone had experience with this?

I think its coming in through the cracks in the wood, the poly comes all the way to the top and over the side to keep rain out. Does fiberglass have to 'cure' before fish can go in?

I have 3 half wine barrels which I have converted into a pond/water feature. I have lined them with polythene but water is leeching in through the wood and sitting between that and the lining, causing it to rot a little. I want to line them with something which will adhere directly to the wood so this doesnt happen... I have been recommended fiberglass and a spray on silicone type thing. Would these be safe or is there a better alternative? The barrels do not hold water without a lining. There are 2 fish and an axy in the pond

I think I just had a mini stroke! Chocolate gouramis came into the store today and Im taking 4 home tonight! So excited! Anyone had them with platies? My planted 50L has 4 females and a bunch of babies, 2 bristlenoses and a tiny flying fox. Will I need to get rid of any to keep the chocies happy?

Sounds good mystic Ill let you know what happens. Would be cool to see how belial has grown

Cheers Ill keep that in mind

Just putting feelers out, Im flying to wellington to visit a friend who lives in lower hutt. May not be able to stay with them so if anyone wants to make a little money from a house guest... Im a 23yo female, clean, tidy and respectful.

Oops I had no idea! Out they come then, Im sure I have some vodka somewhere...

I think they are all common bullies but not 100% on the biggest of the three. I also have a bunch of mosquito fish in the tank, and the lone shrimp

Wow thanks for that stella really helpful! I dont know how high the temp gets during the day but its usually 20 or 22 when I get home, drops to 19ish after ice. Will those kind of fluctuations be stressing the fish? Also, what kind of food do they do best with? Ive been giving them pieces of frozen axy food and some of my tropical mix (flakes, colour bits, shrimp pellets and novorift) but they dont seem fussed about either

My bullies have whitespot Im treating them with a product from goodings lab, apparently its still under development. Been treating them for 9 days, label says to treat for 10-14. Most of the time the temperature stays at 20 or less. Is there a treatment that wont stain the silicone which is safe and effective? I also have shrimps... Or had, I found 2 dead today so only one left now that I can see. One had turned pink, does this mean the tank got quite hot? I have a fan on it 24hrs, a filter and airstone and put ice in morning and night. It gets no sun and my room is well ventilated. Help!

I figured out what the problem was, I got the scientific name wrong (duh!). I meant to use Iriatherina werneri, which isn't yet in the program

Warning: Red Rainbowfish is not recommended for your tank - it may eventually outgrow your tank space, potentially reaching up to 4 inches. Warning: Red Rainbowfish requires a tank with more height. Warning: At least 5 x Red Rainbowfish are recommended in a group. Warning: Flying Fox is not recommended for your tank - it may eventually outgrow your tank space, potentially reaching up to 5 inches. Warning: Flying Fox requires a tank with more height. Note: Bristlenose Pleco needs driftwood. Warning: Bristlenose Pleco is not recommended for your tank - it may eventually outgrow your tank space, potentially reaching up to 4 inches. Suggestion: Minimum recommend male to female ratio for Platy is 1:2 (M:F). You will less likely to experience problem if you get even more females. Recommended temperature range: 24 - 24 C. [Display in Farenheit] Recommended pH range: 7 - 7.8. Recommended hardness range: 9 - 15 dH. Warning: You NEED to add more aquarium filtration capacity!!! Your aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 53%. [What's this?] Recommended water change schedule: 79% per week. (You might want to split this water change schedule to two separate 54% per week) Your aquarium stocking level is 163%. [Generate Image] [What's this?] You should consider a larger tank for this combination. Red Rainbowfish = Threadfin Rainbowfish?? Glossolepis incisus... I thought these only grew to under 2 inches? I thought my tank was way understocked... Might need a rethink lol

I just got an itty bitty axie (bout 6cm) and just wanted to know if there's anything special I need to do for it... He/She is in a 2ft tank with an air-driven sponge filter and a sand substrate. I'm feeding it a mouth full of the frozen hothouse axolotl food or a shrimp pellet daily or every 2nd day, and am doing weekly 1/3 water changes. Is this suitable for a growing axie? Do they need any special diet or water parameters while they are growing? Will the sponge filter be suitable long term or should I invest in something more substantial?

Ah I see, like a pompom I saw something on TM called 'live food replacement diet' which comes in 100-200 micron sizes. Would this be suitable to feed fry or does it need to be even smaller? Or live?

I decided to go with the threadfins I got a pair today. Got to get the LFS to order me some moss and then we'll be away! Would you recommend a m:f ratio or 1:2 or 1:3? Or are pairs ok? Do they have to be a certain size before they'll breed? My girl is pretty tiny at the moment. Where does one find green water and infusoria?

I'm thinking about getting a breeding pair/group of some kind of small rainbowfish. I have a 45L planted tank with an Aquis CF500, currently housing 3 small Bristlenose Catfish and 1 small Flying Fox. Species I'm interested in are the Threadfin Rainbow (Iriatherina werneri), Signifer Rainbow (Pseudomugil signifer), Celebes Rainbow (Telmatherina ladigesi), Dwarf rainbow (Melanotaenia praecox), Gertrudes Blue-Eye (Pseudomugil gertrudae). Which of these species would be most suited to this size tank, and what is involved with breeding it? Hard/soft water? Plant species? Male/female ratio?

Lol their email is [email protected] if u want to get in touch. They will ship for a reasonable price. Ask for Sharn

Yep, animal antics has the nanacaras in stock.

I have a 2 ft planted tank in which I would like to keep one species of dwarf cichlid. The ones I am interested in are: nannacara anomala, kribensis, bolivian butterfly, yellow cheek dwarf, apistogramma agassizii and Cockatoo dwarf. Which of these would be most suited to a tank this size? (Approx 60L) And wont destroy the plants... What kind of sex ratio do I need for successful breeding?