lmsmith

How many do you have? They're usually most active at dawn and dusk, and at night. If you have lots of places for them to hide, they usually feel more comfortable, and come out more.

I know what you mean about seeing the fish stuff themselves, and most can't eat so much they explode anyway. I love seeing my cichlids eat heaps, yesterday there was a big of an accident with overfeeding and I let them go at it. They ate so much it was hanging out of their mouths, and then sat still for the rest of the day. In saying that, they're not going to get fed for the rest of the week now, so I say sometimes doesn't hurt them.

I need lots and lots of ramshorn or pond snails - anyone have any tips on breeding them? I've got them in a small BB tank, with a bit of a current, and lots and lots of food. They seem pretty slow to get going. If anyone has any they want to get rid of, let me know because I'd love some.

that'd be fine for guppies but you'd quickly need a bigger tank. If you had about 4 tanks that size it'd be perfect for straining gups.

I think people feel a lot worse about leaving dogs alone than the dogs feel. Sometimes we like to spend time alone, and dogs do too. Dogs can sleep up to 16hrs a day. I agree that dogs in a smaller space have less problems. As long as they have something to look at, and some water and some toys, they'll be fine. Lots of people think that dogs that are left alone are much more receptive to learning as well. The exceptions of course are dogs that haven't been trained to be alone, so they tend to destroy things and bark like crazy

A recession isn't caused by debt. A recession is caused by people loosing faith in the economy and the strength of the dollar, and not spending. Sure, debt is a contributing factor, but if you look at the US where the recession is hitting the hardest, they have a lot less debt than the average NZlander, but also a lot less faith in the current economy. Stopping imports won't help, if you stop imports, people have even less faith in the dollar. Also, companies importing still pay tax (companies tax, GST, import tax), so we're not necessarily losing out by importing. In the case of a real recession, they usually end by war, which prompts the government to inject cash into the system by increasing minimum wages, decreasing tax or giving cash bundles, not by putting a quota on importation. 80% of the New Zealand business market is made up of small businesses (under 50 staff), many of which are service oriented. Because we can't get back into the mass production of goods market, we need to use our strengths and export meat, dairy and encourage the tourism market. This will create jobs, and New Zealanders will start spending again. Education about the dangers of debt need to be initiated by the Government in schools at a young age. 5 yr olds need to be taught how to save, and in college, kids should be taught the benefits and risks of HPs, renting appliances and houses, how to apply for loans and the dangers of credit cards. We're never going to do any better unless we have an education scheme. Kiwisaver shows that even a huge incentive won't encourage everyone to save.

I'm not sure if there are any fish vets in auckland, you're best asking people who live up that way. If he does die, make sure you take him out of the tank straight away, because the other fish can contract the worms too (although nematodes aren't as common in other types of fish). Maybe take him out, treat the tank. Ideally, you want to keep him separate just in case it infects your other fish. You say it looks like a worm coiled inside him, usually it's a group of 4-12 of them, and they grow bigger and bigger. They can move around under the skin, so don't be surprised if they shift underneath or even to the other side of him. I guess the moral of the story is to worm all wild caught fish, and quarantine them for at least 4- 6 weeks

The government is trying to inject cash into the economy to stop/turn around the recession. In real terms, unemployment has gone up to 7% in the last 2 years (the national target is 8%) and the amount that people owe hasn't gone up in the last year. There was no recession, people were just holding on to their liquid assets, rather than spending. When they don't spend, they cause people to lose their jobs, causing a recession. What we need is people to start having faith in the economy, and having liquid assets that they can spend, which will kick start the economy. The best way for the government to do that is to give loans, which will start spending.

When feeding, you shouldn't cut the shellfish etc up for him, the point is that he takes some effort biting at it so it helps wear down his teeth. Fig 8 puffers come from the southeast coast of asia, so although they are sold in freshwater, most people have found they do best when their water conditions are brackish (1.005- 1.008sg). So, I'm voting for parasite now. Puffers sometimes get a worm infestation called a nematode. They are worms that get under their skin into their organs, and in their gills. You can treat them, but you have no way of getting the worm out, and they usually rot inside them, which eventually poisions them and they die. You can treat them with Flubenol. Some people have tried operating, and some have even been successful. Basically, if you don't remove them or kill them, they'll keep doing damage to his organs, and he'll eventually die. That's probably not what you wanted to hear

GBAs google or other search engine

He's overeaten. Puffers don't have ribs, so they have massive problems with eating too much and not being able to digest it properly. Don't feed him for 2 - 3 days, and if it doesn't go down, let us know. It could be internal parasites, puffers are almost all wildcaught so often have bugs, and interestingly enough, sometimes get fat, not skinny with some internal parasites. You said he's swimming properly, so it's not a delation problem, if it was, he'd constantly float. You need to feed him snails daily, or something else crunchy to grind down his teeth, or they'll grow too much and he won't be able to eat.

I thought they looked a lot like guppies too. Did this person not catch on that their baby goldfish never grew up??? I take it they're around the size of a guppy? EDIT

I've been looking at them, but I don't know where do get the emulators and games from so I'm not sure it would be so good...

Does anyone have a Nintendo DS? I'm getting one and would like to know any good games for it.

A small spotted puffer? Is it a green spotted puffer? They really need salt! The only other spotted puffer is completly FW, but we don't get them in NZ anymore, and if we did they'd probably be upwards of $500ea, not something you get on a whim!! Phoenix, if you still need to get rid of the gsp, I'll take him for $20. Can't take the figure 8 sorry, but I know of someone who was getting some so maybe they could?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=196987952 That's weird, I copied and pasted...try that. EDIT: ok, I see, I must have missed off the last digit.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=19698795 Does anyone know anything about these? I've never seen them or heard of them before

Thanks. They're all swimming around and seem to be doing well on decaps and flake. I'm impressed the others aren't eating them, to be honest.

Training fish takes a really long time, but lots of people think it's worth it. It's basically what you're saying, associate an action to food. Let us know how you go, I'd be interested to hear your results.

I thought they were malfunctioning, so I unplugged them, and just haven't plugged them back in. You're right, having them unplugged isn't making any difference.

Lol, that's a pretty good way to get fish! They're awesome little things, I've got 2 and I love them. If you have any qs, let me know. They don't have to go full marine, and not until they are over 3/4 grown. I'd get him out of the tank with the ram too, he might get hungry (and they have big teeth). Expect to see small round holes in your plants. He's just trying them out. If you decide to get rid of him, let me know. How much was he, btw?

I came home on Monday and my 8 tanks were all sitting between 32 - 36deg. I don't know how the fish didn't cook, but I guess over filtration and crazy surface agitation helped. All my heaters are unplugged (at first I thought I had a heater malfunction, but then I realised that it's pretty unlikely on 8 tanks :oops: ), and I've put all the canister filters into insulated boxes with ice packs. The water temp in the filters is 20, so the bacteria will be ok, and it does an amazing job at keeping the temp stable. It only took about an hour to bring the temps down to 27. Not sure if it's just a fluke, but while it works, I'll stick with it. And keep the curtains closed!

Well, you really are a tame lot if you don't have horrible, horrible work stories that have scarred you for life!

I finally got offered a job today after applying for about 50 over the last 3 months. I will be demonstrating products in supermarkets. The pay is alright, and it's only part time, so I'm reasonably happy about it. I'm sure the actual work sucks, but I'm hoping I won't have to deal with horrible people because I'm giving them stuff for free. Now, we've all had horror stories at our jobs, and I wanna hear them all! Be as detailed as you can without getting into trouble!

There was a thread about it that I saw a week or so ago. FW section maybe? EDIT: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=35162