Matthew

what Caryl forgot to say (and prob due to humility) is that the aquatic world is a fantastic publication with a heap of info in it that is relevant to us kiwis. well worth paying $15 for (if you join Caryl's club) Caryl you do a fantastic job of that magazine.

i have only seen a Tetra colour enhancing food, although I can't say I look overly hard at the flake foods. IMO live food is the best colour enhancer

its always the way someone complains about their filter then mine plays up. My 304's flow rate has decreased now

discus, and soon some mbunas

four fry now. just another six to go

O. K i have at least two e. annulatus fry in the tank. However all the adult fish have died. Can someone enlighten me please? I would have though that if the fish were happy enough to breed, then they would be happy enough to live. Any ideas?

as a member of an auckland fish keepers club (green bay) and a fellow westie I will briefly describe what we do. A normal night consists of getting together and discussing our fish - new additions, any troubles etc. Followed off with a cup of coffee. Any relevant issues are also discussed, and you can gain ideas and support from fellow club members. Twice a year we have a tank crawl where we get the opportunity to visit other peoples fishy friends. Occasionally we watch a video from the federation video library. Occasionally guest speakers Often we give away plant. Always I enjoy myself, and would think that others do to

3 zonancistrus pulcher (brazilian butterfly pleco) 8 ottocinclus affinis 6 Rineloricaria sp. (whiptail cats) 3 corydoras panda 1 corydoras paleautus (great grandma my last surviving peppered cat) 12 ancistrus bristlenose And I think thats it. for now

Does anyone have any recommendations for culture medium for fruit flies? Thanks

welcome. Convincing wifes that there is a great need to convert the garage into a fish room is quite a difficult task, so good luck to you. I am always amazed at how often i feel as though I know people on this website when I have never met them before, there definitely is a communal sense in this fish forum.

There is a medication for the treatment of swim bladder disease, but it is not overly effective. Sorry can't remember the name but if you need it I can look it up. As it is, swim bladder disease is very infrequently seen but the fish does present with an inability to maintain it's appropriate level in the water column

didn't lose the car, and I don't watch shortland st. The water was monitored for temperature, and at that time the temp was such that the fish could be kept in the outdoor pond. however this was shortlived as something got them.

does takashi amano use hair grass or riccia? I thought he used riccia, and that is reasonably hard to find in auckland fish shops. hair grass is plentiful, around $4 for a bunch, and if your lfs doesn't have any in they can easily order it. If it is riccia you are after I have some, but unfortunately it is infected with duckweed. PM me with your details if you are interested.

be very careful doing this. I once had a nice pair of pearl gouramis, that one day up and disappeared from my pond outdoors. Still don't know where they are to this day, and I haven't recieved any photos from foreign places. maybe i should have stuck with gnomes

I have had glass crack when intense lighting is applied for a period of time

last i heard diatom filters aren't being imported into nz, which is annoying because i need a filter bag.

too late, i am already planning more tanks for more killies. my wife doesn't support the idea of us sleeping on the couch, but it would give me an extra room for killies if she did :lol:

woohoo they arrived today. I was at the LFS even before they had opened the box (talk about keen). unfortunately only six arrived (20 ordered) so I had to hope that I had a mix of male and female. as it happens i ended up with 2 males and 4 females, which was exactly what i was after. what would people advise to feed the killies as there main staple diet. I have a variety of live foods, but those of you with experience may prefer one type over another. Please advise. thanks

personally i don't name fish, but my wife does. It makes it difficult to know what fish she is talking about unless i succumb to recognising the fish by their given names.

I did put "(or vice versa)" in the male kills female section. I thought that would cover it.

never saw any eggs, and never had much luck with them breeding in a heated aquarium either. My best results were when I put them in a half wine barrel outside. currently I have fry ranging from 10mm to newly born. they get no particular attention either.

sorry forgot to say good luck with breeding them

I found them a piece of cake to breed. two things to watch for [b]1) that the male doesn't kill the female. Initially i seperated the female and male by placing her into a smaller tank inside the breeding tank. When the male had built a nest and she had a series of vertical bands showing i allowed them to get intimate. Although you need to watch that the male does not kill the female (or on occasion vice versa) so if his chasing is too excessive place her back into the small tank and allow them to meet the following day. there will be aggressive mating rituals (chasing, fin nipping, etc) so allow for these. the actual breeding is amazing to watch, such an aggressive mating and then just a calm peaceful "hugging" when the eggs are released. Remove mum after breeding and dad will care for eggs, when fry are free swimming remove dad and feed fry green water or a liquid food, followed by brine shrimp nauplii or micro worms after another week. 2) that the temperature of the air above the water is close to the temp of the water. This allows for the labyrinth to form. If the temp is not equalish your fry will die within the month. They will present with little red dots on there foreheads where the labyrinth would normally be. I'm not 100% sure but i am guessing that they haemmorhage and bleed into the labyrinth site.

when I purchased my culture it contained earthworms. They have stayed in with the whiteworms ever since and have not been a problem. I too would suggest the use of a piece of glass over the top of the culture.

i was always taught that you can't overfeed fish, but you can overfeed aquariums. if there is no waste from each of the feedings, apart from the obvious oscar eating habits, and you keep your water changes up i see no limit to the amount of feedings. obviously budget plays a part, so base your decision on what is best for the both of you, if five feedings doesn't hurt your pocket then go for it.