Goldie

ohhhhhh sorry Liam Welcome to NZ fishroom glad to have you on board.

In NZ we can always get good books from the library that will help too. Do keep us posted on your progress.

I got my present two male bristlenose catfish from the Napier auction - so someone in that club would know who has them. They are beautiful and do such a great job. Sorry you lost yours Ira.

I am not sure if they have exactly what you are looking for. www.hagen.com go to this site then aquatic then to basic aquarium care and there is a section on CO2 in the aquarium. Their CO2 set up works on the injection system. Hagen can be bought through any LFS in New Zealand and if you are fortunate to have trade connections.......................... Also under their basic care guide is an article on plants in the aquarium. I find this a really good site for basic fish keeping.

Great to have you in the pool dave :-) Bristle-nose catfish are just fascinating and I have four in my tank which keep any algae bloom well down. Great to watch too although shy at times.

Welcome to the fishy forum :-) I used guppies when first settingup my tropical tank and needed some cheaper fish to get through the nitrogen cycle. Well they survived with only a small phase of ich which was easily cured. Then I just could not stop them breeding. There are some great books available re genetic testing for finnage and colour which may get you even more hooked. Fascinating fish. Just their life span is short. Welcome again

great to see you come aboard. Welcome welcome welcome

much appreciated. They would just have to work their way through the angels :lol:

Best of luck with the building. Have you seen the sea horses in the Picton Aquarium???

Just reading an answer re catfish darting to the top of the water to get air is normal practice. Now I am wondering is this essential to their well being?? I have three catfish (two bronze corydoras and one peppered catfish in a 80 litre hexagon tank. Of course it is too deep for them to dart to the top - am I harming them. They look good at the moment and have been in the tank since early April this year. They are sharing the tank with a paired angel and their fry.

u r so bad Ira I totally agree with Pegasus. Plse post smaller pics for I can only see half a fish at a time and thus cannot get a full view. Very pretty fish.

Hi there Lurch I also have clown loaches (six of them actually) and until recently two discus with four bristlenose catfish in the one tank - oh yes and some neon tetras. One discus recently died and a contributing cause i suspect was bullying (until dave's post I never suspect the loaches) for during the daytime they all seem to co exist well. How are your discus and loaches getting on??? I also have bumble-bee gobies - they live with an 'earth-eater' cichlid and a siamese algae eater. Again peacefully I have salt in that tanks water whereas the discus tank is fresh water. Do you put salt into your tank water??

Great to have you on board mikec I remember trying to catch the fresh water crays and the cock-o-bullies in the west coast mountain stream when a child. I am now positive that is when the fish loving/keeping virus got me. Welcome again

CONGRATULATIONS cuviceps I wish you all the best in raising them. Please keep posting on how the discus grow. What size are theynow??

ty ira caryl I will surely do and I am doing an extra water change in that tank to be sure the cleanliness factor is best it can be. Thanks again for your support. How can we become so attached to a fish. ..............

sounds quite possible ajboome for the larger discus often had phases of harassing the smaller one. for long periods of time they would swim peacefully together then a short time of chasing would occur. The hexamita diagnosis could have been wrong, very wrong for she only showed signs of nervousness and hiding at back of tank and her fins and outer edges went dark. She had also stopped eating and did not come to me as she usually did to nudge my fingers. That was three days ago. However I came home tonight and believe she is dead. I am not quite believing that even as I type I keep looking hoping for a sign of life. she is vertical with head down. No movement from fins, gills or mouth. Thank you for your advice.

At the moment I am concerned about my discus and have raised the temperature in the hospital tank to 86 - 90 She is listless, not eating, darker around the fins and top of the head. The top fins are slightly ragged and at first I thought she was just being bullied by the other discus (I only have the two) thus the reason i put her in the hospital tank yesterday. This morning is is slightly curved and resting on the bottom at the back of the tank (does not look good). No obvious signs of parasites etc. Today at work I am going to confer with the 'fishy' vet and get some medication. If it was only bullying she should perk up however I now suspect (from reading) Hexamita. Thus a chat to the vet. I so appreciate the fishy forums where I receive so much help. This forum and Community Tank forum are my homes. Any advice would be appreciated. This is the smaller discus of the two I have.

That is some site. ty Pegasus

lol they may all have been at the conference in Blenhiem.

thanks pegasus that is good to know. Now where can I fit an extra tank and are there enuff plugs to handle the exta...................

Well I am so pleased with my two angel parents. They have managed to raise the fry which now vary from the size of a 5cent piece to the size of a 20cent piece. I am amazed at the variety in the growth size. I can spot no deformities in the fry as yet and so will pass them onto who-ever wants some beautiful angels. They are marbelled and golden. From this experience I have learnt to keep my fingers out of the tank and allow the parents to do their job, frequent water changes done gently and how to hatch, strain and feed brine shrimp. Totally amazing watching the eggs being laid, hatching and the development - truely I am priviliged and big thanks to forum, especially Caryl and Pegasus

hi there from Mid Canterbury in the cool cool South Island. Welcome to NZ Fishroom. I have been helped soooooooo much by other members. In fact the angel fry that are in my tank are the result of the help I received The shark really interests me - would you keep us posted of where he/she goes. (I have just finished watchin g the crocodile guy from aussie and all they do for Australian wild-life) I did get to visit the Napier aquarium and was impressed there too. Again good to see you

Well howdy to ya'all from Mid Canterbury. As I sit here depressed and green thinking of you all mixing n mingling I sure hope that it is all going well, so nice to put faces to names I have found. At the moment I am seriously considering divorce so that I never need to take hubby into consideration when making choices. (First time I have ever thought this way LOL) Missing you all heaps - However I can remain in contact through the forum and am thankful to Cees, Caryl and everyone else who made this possible.

they are cute I just stare at them ...........a lot Caryl has seen them and helped show me how to strain and rinse the brine shrimp and then feed it to the fry. We did not take any pics though due to time factor. All is still going well. They swim using most of the tank now. Second lot of brine shrimp is now being hatched.

totally agree with aj some gravel from existing tank, water from same place and if you could a filter that has been sitting in an existing tank for a couple of weeks. Then just a couple of inexpensive fish to test it all. Good luck. How is it all going for yu?