Jennifer

I shopped around quite a bit after the September quake and ended up with Cameron at PetWorld. He gave me a great quote on stainless steel and powder coated stands. In the end, his other offer of the recycled Rimu stands were slightly less expensive and a bit stockier (plus they have good wide ledges that prevent the tanks sliding off) so I went that way but the workmanship on those is excellent.

With those numbers, and the healthier numbers of normals, I would say it is hereditary. Bent spine in many other animals is a genetic trait. I can't say for sure in frogs though. I think you are right to consider culling them, or not breeding from them. The only way to eliminate that trait is to not breed anything even remotely related to it! :nilly:

Firstly, if you don't want to be trimming plants, you might like to have a low tech tank. This would mean little or no nutrients and relatively low lighting. In these tanks, 'algae sponges' like floating Indian fern work absolute wonders for controlling algae. If you are trying to grow plants faster in order to make a more lush planted tank, you are getting into a more complicated system where fertilising is a must. if that is the case, try putting in more of the micronutrients (Flourish comprehensive). many algae problems can quickly be solved by correcting the limiting nutrients and most people underdose micronutrients. If you have tried everything else and you still have algae, add heaps more micros. Dose every other day at between 1ml per 25-50L every other day (1ml per 25L is twice the recommended dose rate). If you are having problems with affording that much Comprehensive, you can buy a bulk aquatic trace mixture. It is still quite expensive but will be about 2/3 the price of Comprehensive. Keep in mind the macronutrients as well, nitrate, phosphate and potassium. If you increase the light, these may need to be added as well. Magnesium can also be added once a week after the 50% water change partly to add some hardness (which the plants appreciate) and partly to supplement magnesium. These are epsom salts. You can add this at a rate of about 1/4 tsp per 100L. In terms of carbon, in that size tank I would advise dosing Excel daily, or every other day at the recommended dose rate until the algae is controlled. Hair algae is not very responsive to Excel, but the Excel will provide a consistent amount of carbon for the plants and they will take off, soon out-competing the algae. For that size tank, the Excel will be quite affordable and will give you excellent results. If you want to still do DIY, go ahead, it will certainly help but in the mean time use Excel until the algae is gone. In terms of the DIY you might want to think about changing your recipe, add less yeast, 1tsp will be fine, that will give you a slower, more sustained release, also, use a 2L bottle or larger so they don't get toxic as quickly and thus will last longer. You could also consider adding a second bottle a week later, that will help ensure the supply is constant, just be sure that you don't kill the fish (you can always pull the CO2 tube out each night if you are worried about large pH fluctuations). It sounds like you are addressing the lighting issues, as I have mentioned in previous posts, controlling the plants' demands for nutrients is easy if light is the limiting factor. When they get established and you have your dosing right, you can very slowly increase the intensity and then eventually the photoperiod.

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/9642231/increased-risk-of-big-quake-for-canterbury/ Ordinarily a 30% chance wouldn't worry me, but they predicted a similar chance of the 6 and we got a 6.3...of course that was on another fault line... :roll: Scientifically these fault lines do have a tendency to under perform and then over perform the modeled predictions which means a 7 could be entirely possible. Seriously, it is a good idea to start quake-proofing if you haven't done so already. Emergency kits with water disinfectants and toileting implements would be helpful. In terms of the fish, battery powered air pumps will work wonders to run sponge filters in the short term which can help to keep water chemistry stable if we have no water supply. Those of us with power can provide heat for keeping fish alive so keep in touch with other fish people in your area. Gather some extra buckets, nets and plastic tubs to house fish if their glass tanks fail. Extra food would be useful - we know what happened to all the stores in the last big one. With all the movement around here, I wouldn't be surprised if things started to shift in other parts of the country. Let's all take note of the warnings and do a little bit to prepare - it can't hurt!

I have tried crypts in all sorts of conditions but find they do much better in low tech setups - yes, they will grow slower but they are much less likely to melt.

Scale babies. :gigl: Thanks for the smile, I needed that.

Even my half full tanks lost water in those ones. :roey: In fact, even my big daphnia tank which is only a third full, had some major sploshing - good thing it lives outside. Had some damage and broken things but all tanks are still standing. Ever so grateful for European bracing and solid wooden stands. These ones seem to be coming from that fault over by Sumner which broke world records for ground acceleration. Up to its same old tricks today...I'm feeling rather drained.

I don't know what I would do without your reminders Mark! :happy2:

Shhh, don't give away my secret and let everyone know I had a coach!

A wonderful time was had at conference this year. Huge thanks to Jim and Fiona for organising the events and for taking such good care of me. Thanks also to Vicki, Mark and Matt for helping Jim and Fiona to make it all a big success. Special thanks to Paul for making the scrumptious birthday cake (and for being my personal cheerleader as I demonstrated my skill at the pool table) and to Diane for the lovely handmade magnets and effort to make it a special day. Thanks to all for the support and for bringing such inspired ideas to the table. This year promises to be a real highpoint as we work on many projects to improve the FNZAS and the fishkeeping hobby in NZ. We all look forward to joining the energetic Waikato club next year!

I am too tired to post much but enjoy this video of P44, Neon, livingart, Anthony_Law and kids crossing for some serious rock pooling.

I am pleased to be able to share election results from this year’s FNZAS AGM: Patron: Grant Simpson (Grant) Vice Patrons: Gael Eastwood & Jo Goodin President: Jennifer Hamlin (Jennifer) Vice Presidents: Norman Evans (Poecilid) & Ryan Jury (ryanjury) Secretary: Diane Wilkie (Zev) Treasurer: Adrienne Dodge (Adrienne) Executive Committee Members: Simon Check (Supasi), Alan Minnery (Alanmin4304), Warren Stilwell (Warren) Editor: Caryl Simpson (Caryl) Librarian: Grant Simpson Breeding Coordinator: Paul Young (Wok) The following sub committees were also appointed: Fish Committee (incl Judges & Standards): Darren Stevens (Flatfish) (chair), Ryan Jury, Adrienne Dodge, Blair Culling (Navarre), Sarah Giblin (Neon), David Rummery (David R), Jennifer Hamlin (show committee chair), Warren Stilwell (show committee vice chair). Plant Committee: Simon Check (Supasi) (chair), Alan Minnery (vice chair); Shannon Lawton (Tom_Shannon); Aakash Sarin (Phoenix44); Reece Addison (Kiwiplymouth). Website Committee: Diane Wilkie (chair and site administrator), Caryl Simpson (forum moderator), John Jamieson, Warren Stilwell. Finance advisory panel: Norman Evans; Warren Holm (fishplants), Aakash Sarin, Warren Stilwell. Revenue Committee: Shannon Lawton, Matt Riedel (Nymox), Jim Sytema (Jim Sy), Aakash Sarin (finance advisory), Diane Wilkie (web advisory), Caryl Simpson (magazine advisory). Editorial Committee: Caryl Simpson (chair), Jennifer Hamlin, Matt Riedel, Darren Stevens, Adrienne Dodge, Diane Wilkie, Norman Evans This year Jane Hewson, our treasurer of nine years, stepped down. Jane's impact was significant and we will miss her beautifully organised records but we are sure she will enjoy more family time now. In her absence, we couldn't be more delighted to welcome Adrienne into the role. A big welcome to all the new additions this year and a welcome back to some old hands. We all appreciate your time and willingness to serve and your interest in improving the fishkeeping hobby in New Zealand. To those who are continuing on again this year, and to those who we have lost this year, my heartfelt thanks go out to you for so generously giving of your time toward the community's greater good. Jennifer

I personally would just add it once a week. If you notice the leaves are a bit yellow, try adding it more often. No need adding more if you don't need to!

The local nursery sells 'river sand' it is very nice, and super cheap, about $4 for 20L I think.

You're doing fine. As your photoperiod increases you will see pearling but no need to rush that. If you are getting holes in new leaves now, that is a problem so get it sorted before you do anything more. Holes are often signs of manganese deficiency so an increase of Comprehensive or a similar trace liquid or substrate supplement will help that. Remember, the whole goal was to get rid of the algae and get some good plant growth, both of which are happening now!

Hey! No fair trying to jinx us all just because you want some roller coaster fun...

Such nice healthy plants Sophia! It is great to see you have overcome the algae and have such green thumbs....

Pfft, steal my idea why don'tcha! :smln: That's pretty plush algae KP, looks nice! :sml2: Just what I was after.

:happy1:

Look out! Crazy fish lady! :gigl: Shall we start planning the fishroom for the new house? :happy2:

They shouldn't come from the microworms. More likely they rode in on a plant or contaminated water. They won't generally go away if you scrape them off the glass, but that may help keep the population in check. In large populations they aren't good for most small fish. If all else fails, you can rescue the remaining fry, strip the tank and add a 1:20 bleach solution for 30 seconds to kill them off. Afterward, rinse well, etc. before putting the fry back.

Did someone have too many alien mushrooms for breakfast today? Hmmmm? :gigl:

Ah, right. Anyway, I see those when I go running out at the wetlands. The big ones do this strange exploding/imploding thing when you touch them. Very weird.

Illeodictyon gracile Stinkhorn fungus. No idea if they are edible.

Hi guys! Welcome to the forum, glad you could join us. The Christchurch club is super casual, a friendly group of fishy people. You are most welcome to come along to visit and eat some nice nibbles. See our details here: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/?p=403