Jennifer

word was created to describe the event which was likened to a cacophony of smells, sights and sounds as had never been encountered by mankind before. Never had there been a more terrible idea and the community responded by... (P44, never have I read a Mills & Boon or anything resembling them. My story was inspired by a song called the Princess and the Toad written by my dear friend and founder of the singing group the New Christie Minstrils, who I am sure you haven't heard of before. Thanks to him I was able to sing with Burl Ives and a number of other legends around the world, but that is another story...).

who had a story about how he was found by a princess one day. He began by explaining how the princess found him on the road and said: "You're a prince not a toad and I promise you this, I can break your spell with my magic kiss." So she kissed him and she kissed him and she kissed him once more. She kissed him like he'd never been kissed before. He had flies on his breath and warts on his chin bit every time she kissed him, she kissed him again. The toad said "Honey, keep on kissin', it may sound funny but you know I've been missing a lot, gimme gimme everything you got." She said "Toady, something's missing, this is the chintziest metamorphosis, if you're gonna change you better well do it right now." The frog couldn't keep it from her any more, so he stopped her and said...

That would have been awesome.

Any contact details for breeders?

:oops: Sorry Nick. No I don't have a link, but it is really distinctive. Crack open an egg and you will see the tiny white disc on the surface of the yolk. It is about 2-3mm in diameter and it is opaque. When it is fertile, the inside of the disc goes translucent except for the very centre which contains white dot. You can't miss it.

The term embryo refers to an early stage of development compared to foetus which refers to a later stage of development.

Yes, and that 3mm blastodisc is there the sperm enters the egg. The blastodisc is present in all eggs if you look closely enough. It will be solid white if unfertile but when fertilised it will have a white dot in the middle with a transparent ring around it (kind of like a mini bullseye). Once they undergo incubation they quickly transform so that blastodisc turns into blastoderm, a larger circular area that has many blood vessels and that will form the embryo. At any rate, you can try candling the egg to see if veins have formed (cover a torch with a piece of foil and pierce the foil with a pin, then turn the torch on and hold the egg up to it. In very basic terms, no veins = not fertile.

Firstly, elevated kidney enzymes are a serious thing in cats. Often you only see this when 75% of kidney function has been lost. By the time you detect it, it is a case of managing the disease. With careful management, a cat can live at least a couple of very good years. Management includes special diets, medications and often administration of fluids. There are several different types of kidney disease, some will result in excess drinking and urination, and some will not. Often cats with elevated kidney enzymes will have a complete urinalysis done to see how well the kidneys are concentrating urine. If there is any sign of dilute urine, or urinary infection then action is taken to remove toxins from the body (which helps to minimise nausea) and to 'flush out the kidneys' so they don't sustain further damage. Kidney disease is very common, stomach cancer is not so common (intestinal lymphoma is fairly common and is diagnosed by a blood test and often abdominal radiographs). Cats with kidney disease will often be too nauseated to eat but will cry out in hunger. Some will vomit. Their breath often smells bad and their mouth can become ulcerated and very sore. They will lose weight and stop grooming so their fur looks 'spikey.' Prolonged periods of not eating can result in 'hepatic lipidosis' which is fatty liver and this can lead to liver failure. Management includes addressing the fluids imbalance to reduce nausea, administering medication to help the kidneys function and help the stomach to heal (the stomach can become ulcerated as well as the mouth making eating totally unappealing) and force feeding (by stomach tube if necessary). Often they will need antibiotics as well to address urinary infections that commonly occur. What I am trying to say is that quick action can prevent so many problems and give you a lot more time with your cat. If you wanted to give her a chance you seek a second opinion with a vet who might definitively diagnose the problem and act quickly to get her on the right track. Even if she also has lymphoma, she could be managed with steroids and potentially live happily for many more months. Don't be dismayed by this information, kidney disease is not an immediate death sentence and neither is lymphoma. Both can be treated and prolong life very comfortably for some time. Euthanasia of a family pet can be a very hard decision and sometimes it is ok to keep your furry friend comfortable for a while and give yourself and your family more time to get used to the hard decision that may lie ahead. HTH

Oh, I would have loved to go but I will be lecturing all day the day before so I will probably be too tired to drive the next day! :-? If I can find someone to drive me, I might try to come. Otherwise, have fun, it sounds like a blast.

It looks fantastic! I can just smell it too....mmmmm Now I will be craving my favourite part - eating a piece for breakfast the next day, cold from the fridge.

Really. :roll: When you are discussing the 'focal point' and the 'golden rule' you are referring to the view from the front, dead on, as if it is a canvas painting, it is this way that you can easily measure to be within the proper proportions.

I am not sure I get your point Sam. The angle of the photo doesn't matter to me, it is the angle of the rocks that is what we are looking at. In the original setup the rocks slope toward the focal point (path) thus leading the eye down the path which seems to be the objective.

Internationally, chilling is not considered a humane euthanasia method.

To be honest, I kind of preferred the original layout as well. What didn't you like about it?

Mmmmmmm, if only you lived closer so i could come over for a wee munch.... :roll:

*sigh* Isn't ludwigia just great? I love all sorts of it, especially arcuata. I just picked up some Ludwigia glandulosa and it is unbelievably spectacular. Good stuff.

Agreed. Btw, keep this up, I am absolutely loving the process and the care with which you are doing it. :bounce:

Clove oil (eugenol) overdose is very humane, it makes them go unconscious almost immediately and within a minute respiration ceases. The way I do it is put 1ml (about 1/4 teaspoon) of clove oil into 30mls (2 tablespoons) of vodka (because it is more soluble in ethanol than in water). Then I mix it into 1 litre of water and pop the fish in. The fish will go brain dead within a minute or so but I tend to just leave them in there for a while.

Apistos, celestial pearl danios, tinwini danios and hopefully some shell dwelling cichlids. I might get into breeding rainbows again but that would require more tanks. :roll: Will be converting some plants as well, looking forward to that the most actually.

shhh, don't tell anyone. I kinda feel a bit embarrassed actually. :oops: They are just 2 foot breeding tanks on a shelf so you could say they are just one big tank. :lol:

When you go from 10 tanks to 15 in one week. :roll:

Yeah, an overdose of clove oil would be my preferred method actually but most people don't have it on hand when they really need it.

weep

This comes up from time to time. In terms of a humane death, quicker is always better, e.g. a blow to the top of the head or a strategically placed knife. Edit: You beat me to it Ryan. Your method is good too. I personally can't do the physical violence :oops: , give me a lethal injection and I can do it any day. :roll: