David R

I think what repto means is that its impossible to make a diagnosis over the internet. Ring up the lynfield vet, although I doubt they'll make a diagnosis with out seeing the animal either. If you're worried go get it checked out, if you're not then watch for signs of trouble like blood in feces...

Wow. I guess there aren't too many others interested in new world cichlids...

Thats a bit of a contradiction given that a lot of the info you will find when searching for fish/reptile info is actually peoples personal experience...

Do they brumate over winter like P. vitticeps? If so then wouldn't it be easier just to bring them indoors for the winter then put them back out when they wake up?

The cheapest way to heat it would be to make sure its well insulated. Is it inside or outside? 120L isn't much of a pond is it?

Watch out that loach doesn't eat him!!!!!!!!!!!

Is anyone breeding them, are they likely to be more available in the future? If/when we can set up a larger outdoor enclosure I'd like to look at keeping a group of these guys, as I've heard they're a bit more tolerant of out climate (as adults) and can be kept outdoors year-round. What sorta price do they go for?

Scleropages jardini was described by Müller and Schlegel in 1844 (source) and has never been classified under the genus Osteoglossum. If it has ever been called Osteoglossum jardini it is a name made up by devious importers/exporters to smuggle prohibited fish into the country.

How sure are you? I believe there would have been some imported pre-mid 90's when the border restrictions were tightened (strangled), as I have seen at least one large specimen offered for sale before the most recent lot came in. Yes, although I'm not sure about the last part of that sentence (ie; let). I'm the words of Sergent Shultz, I KNOW NOTHING!!!! :lol:

Here's hoping!! At this stage I'm just trying to find out what the official process is, then I might need to try to get as many submissions/opinions as possible.

You could buy an animal ticket on an airNZ flight and pick it up from the airport. IIRC thats how evil_elmo got his red aro from auckland to christchurch, just as they would with a cat or a dog. Fairly pricey tho...

lol! The zoo is great for that kinda stuff, I overheard two mothers with youngish kids saying something like "yeah its been a great day, its been one big biology lesson" :lol: MAF have actually got in touch with me, but the Senior Advisor is away til today, so I might get a reply by the end of the week.

Might be alright in Mt Eden, but Mt Wellington is a different story! I'm certainly not willing to risk mine outside despite having a fairly sheltered, well hidden and fully fenced back yard. I know for a fact we've had people in there trying to break in in the past 12 months, and I think even with a padlock a lizard would be an easy target. Hopefully next year we'll be able to buy a house, fence the back yard, get a big dog and then build a few outdoor cages. For now he'll have to make do with time outside after work and on weekends...

They never started bringing them in, it was a one-off thing that will probably never happen again... Lynnie they're great fish, I had a black aro years ago and always regretted selling it, so glad I've got a green now, its growing like mad!

Spotlight have a few different products that can be used for mechanical filtration. When I went there a while ago they were outof stock of the filter-wool-like stuff but I got some thin stuff instead, its a lot finer and works well as a secondary filter under the wool.

LFS stuff seems to have had a big price rise recently, the girl at Hollywood said they were as shocked as I was. I guess I'll be using the spotlight stuff from now on...

Its only a 60L tank, so I've got enough for 3 threatments, and I'm sure they would be happy to give me more.

How many times should I dose it? I only got 5 400mg tablets.

And are caterpillars safe to feed? My garden is full of them, from the white cabbage butterflys I think.

Vet was only too happy to prescribe it, said its pretty harmless, and that I would know more than him so he trusted me. Got 5 400mg tablets, do I just dissolve them and add to the water?

I disagree. I think supporting a tank 8' long would have less room for error than supporting 4 2' tanks. In fact I've seen it at an old LFS, where the 24x15x15" tanks were placed in twos on 4' spans of 4x2 between the uprights, and the timber had sagged so much the top of the tanks were touching and there was about an 8-10mm gap at the bottom!! I doubt if you'd get away with that kind of unevenness over an 8' long sheet of glass. But then again I didn't write it all in capitals so I could be wrong. Anyway, I didn't ask what the difference is, I asked what the largest tank your home-made stands are supporting. I apologise if I have misinterpreted your posts as coming across as arrogant, I frequently deal with "older people" in both my hobbies and my work who have an attitude something like 'I'm old and have been doing this for years therefore I know all there is to be known and sure as hell ain't going to learn anything from someone under the age of 50' and subsequently have little tolerance for them. Peace.

Sheesh, thats like an insurer ringing the car dealer to ask if they should write off a car... :lol: I'm taking teh cat to the vet tonight so I'll try then.

I was basing my comments on your statement, forgive me for not knowing off the top of my head what is in your fishroom. Just for interest sake, what is the single largest tank on one of your home-made stands? 2000kg from a heap of small tanks is a different kettle of fish to >1200kg from a single large tank. Still, it does not change the fact that Henward, or most people in fact, do not have the access to the right equipmen or the basic knowledge to be confident enough to make their own steel stands. I am by no means afraid of a bit of DIY, I have built many timber stands for large tanks, but wouldn't even entertain the idea of building a steel one given that I have zero knowledge of welding steel, or anything related to it. Good on you for having the ability to do it yourself, but don't expect other people to rush out and try it simply because you wrote a brief step by step account of how you did it yourself. *edit* and whats with the after every post? Are we supposed to worship you for choosing to bestow a smidgen of your vast knowledge upon us mere mortals?

We've recently built a small outdoor enclosure for out beardie and he seems to love it on a sunny day. Is there much point in putting them out on an overcast day? Will the natural sunlight still give them more exposure to UV when its diffused through the clouds?

That is good to know, but as Henward manages a food outlet and probably doesn't have access to the necessary equipment I doubt he'll be undertaking such a major DIY project any time soon. Not to mention both the tanks he needs stands for hold many times more water than the combined tanks on your rack.