David R

How does one go about this? I am picking the vet has never heard of Hexamitiasis and is not used to diagnosing/treating fish.......

Can we get it here, for the treatment of fish with HITH disease?

Actually G. altifrons. Good thread, I really have to learn how to take decent photos of mine! Here's a full-tank pic for now, breeding pair of Uaru amphiacanthoides + 3 Acarichthys heckelii. Also have Satanoperca leucosticta (or Geophagus jurupari as its usually incorrectly identified as here) G. altifrons, and Gymnogeophagus balzanii.

****!!! I just got back from the beach and realised I completely forgot that this was happening this week! I've had a day off for a job interview and then doing overtime for work because its xmas and just totally forgot! :oops:

I think they could look pretty cool as they get bigger, will be iteresting to see how they look in about 12 months!

until it rusts... 12mm MDF is a definite no, even for a small tank.

Had? What happened to it?

They're the best thing to use for transporting the water, anything bigger is too heavy. Although when you're dealing with big fish you don't have a choice, last time I moved I had three 1/2-3/4 full 60L bins with a 14" ornate, 18" fire eel and a 10" (but tall) siamese tiger, they were bloody heavy!

Sounds like an unusual mix with the ram in there. 10 days with no food should be fine for a healthy fish, IMO that is much less risky than relying on clueless friends or dodgy automatic feeders. Less food = less waste so you don't run the risk of your water going bad.

They don't look much different from the commons at a small size, I hope the colour improves with age.

How far have you got to drive? The big plastic tub thing is a good idea, keep the fish happy and filters running while you move the tank. IMO it would be good [if the drive isnt too far) to move them one at a time so you're not so stressed. Make sure you've got more than enough buckets and plastic containers for moving the water, and a heap of towels just in case...

I'd agree with him, my green seems to get bigger every time I look at it! No pics of the jar??

They're big, really big! Would take your finger off without even trying. Amazing creatures!! Oh, and just to break your heart, the auckland zoo are freezing eggs produced by their leopard tortoises because the other "containment facilities" can't/won't/don't take them. Seems like an awful waste when they could be selling young for a couple of grand each and putting the money towards the upkeep of the reptiles...

Cool pics, the red is colouring up nicely, and it sure has stacked on the beef with your monster diet!!

Nope, not allowed, tried years ago, its a shame cos they're a cool fish!

Trust you to get a carnivorous pleco!! :lol: Should look awesome when it gets a bit of size on it, I nearly bought one but was worried it would develop a taste for my bichir.

They're cool eh, hope you're not getting it to eat the algae in your planted tank tho...

So I take it that means that the monochloramine (or any chloramine?) will not evaporate? :-?

Does the same continue to happen in reverse, or does it stop at monochloramine? So skip the chemistry lesson and tell me, am I wasting my time by letting the water sit with an air stone for any length of time? Should I just let it warm up (with out the airstone) and put it in the tank?

They roughly shaved the spines off with a machete...

I most certainly will, once I find out I will be seeking submissions from enthusiasts, experts, and people like Ti Point and the Auckland Zoo (who we are getting friendly with through work by supplying prickly pear cactus for their tortoises to eat, I'll see if I can post a pic of my boss hand-feeding one of the big Galapagos, I'm hopefully going in with him some time soon).

Poly only absorbs small lumps and bumps, like a screw-head sticking up a few mm from the ply or a rough weld on a steel stand if you don't use any wood. It doesn't compress enough to absorb a gradual change like an uneven stand like mine was, if it did then it would gradually compress flat with the weight of the aquarium. If you want to use cinder blocks then it would be easy to build a nice level benchtop using 4x2 and ply for the tank to sit on, that would be much safer than just ply/customwood on top of the blocks.

Or perhaps they just hated chemistry and preferred biology... :lol: So, if I leave the water sitting in the barrel with an airstone running for a couple of days the chlorine will evaporate, but there will be other harmful chemicals left?

There certainly is, but a lot of it is "containment" meaning only zoos can keep them. I am trying to find out who the person is at MAF I should speak to to make a submission to get the status of Leopard Tortoises changed, if they don't hurry up I'll be writing to Rodney Hide, the Minister of Bureaucratic Reduction, to tell him how stupid the laws are as he said he wants to spend his xmas reading suggestions from the public where the BS and red tape can and should be cut. Get your letters ready reptile fans!! :lol:

Is it ply or chipboard? It looks pretty thick, and chipboard will be more rigid than ply. The gap doesn't look very big either, so it probably won't be a problem. But on an 8' tank you're going to need a heck of a lot of cinder blocks to keep the gaps that narrow. Also, if you can see it sagging you have a big problem! Glass does not sag at all, so the sag may be less than 1mm but it would be enough to stop the ply spreading the load. Try wiggle the polystyrene in the middle of the gap between the blocks and see if there's any less weight on it than directly above the blocks. There shouldn't be if the tank is evenly supported, and given that you've had it set up like that for a long time now then I'm guessing there won't be!