Jennifer

Those are glass catfish. They prefer to be in schools (6 or more) and are peaceful as far as I know, but I have never had them so I can't say for sure. I think they should be fine for your tank. Zebra danios are a nice fish and will occupy a different area of the tank so you could keep them and be ok - they also are quite active and that will give your other tank inhabitants more confidence. However, zebra danios are very hardy so if they are unhealthy, it might pay to check into why that is the case before you add any more fish. They might just be a bad batch but even so it would be risky to potentially sicken your new fish with a disease or make them ill with water conditions that are also making the danios unwell. Oh, btw, it would be better to do your water tests before the water change so you can truly see what water parameters the fish are living in before you dilute it with fresh water. Good luck.

Maybe I should send you some water. My cardinals spawn all the time in ordinary untreated Christchurch tapwater!

Did you use an air pump outside Caryl?

Toxins or high temperature? Some species of Daphnia are sensative to temps over 30 degrees so if the weather is hot that might be the culprit. Also, they are very, very sensitive to toxins and heavy metals in the water.

:lol:

LOL no, you have excellent aquascaping skills 8) The red jungle is amazing by any account. :lol: 8) Edit: I wasn't being facetious about your aquascaping skills either.

I see that Fruju is selling one of these on the Private Trade and Exchange forum here. Not sure if it is still avaialble but the link is here: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=43942 If it has already been sold you could always post a WTB (wanted to buy) query there to see if someone else is interested in selling theirs. Good luck!

It's a very convincing argument. Give people the financial incentive to breed these birds and there will be more of them in the country. Just as simple as that. How successful would an average farmer be at successfully raising Kiwi chicks? Who knows - and who is willing to take the risk of giving him a pair to start with?

:roll: I guess it takes all kinds.... :-?

That looks awesome, great cage, perches, perch placement and great photo of him enjoying his nice food. Excellent! Making me want a bird again.... :roll:

As far as I know, truly raw nuts are somewhat hard to come by. I suspect these would be just unroasted and unsalted... Someone correct me if I am wrong. :roll:

+1

Ahh, small town life.

8) When you first introduce Pepper to the food, try placing it in a food cup that is near a perch where he likes to hang out. This will make it more visible and more likely he will investigate it. Start out with a smaller amount (no need wasting it if he doesn't yet know it's food) and sprinkle it with some seed so he begins to associate the new offerings as edible. Introduce pellets the same way. Over about two weeks just put less and less seed in the cage until there is none. After that, only offer seed once or twice a week. One other thing, kidney beans are brilliant but they are unique among most beans in that they need to be cooked very well or they are toxic. I got got this offline: From: http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/healthydiet/n ... es/pulses/ I think the soaking just reduces the cooking time, so you might be able to just cook them longer instead of soaking them, but I am not sure on that...

+1 Can we say 'psychotic obsession?' :roll:

Hi PeggySue, welcome to the forums. It would be good for you to introduce yourself in the Welcome forum. Also, it might also be beneficial for you to add your location in your profile (top right of the window) so people can provide local advice. I am sure you will find many answers here.

Studies show that macrolide antobiotics like erythromycin and azithromycin can sometimes deplete poluations of both Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter within your biological filter so you may see an ammonia spike until the populations re-establish a couple of weeks after treatment. Also, when the cyanobacteria die off they contribute organic nitrogen back into the tank, thus supplying more nutrients for other algae so best to remove any traces of it as you go along. HTH

With your diligence, he just might live 30 years!

It will melt some plants though.... :roll:

LOL No, don't ever feed grit to parrots. Their sharp beak is perfectly adequate for grinding up food. Grit can cause impactions in the proventriculus - not good at all. You should add a cuttle bone to the cage, although with a complete diet, Pepper may not eat it.

No. Shredded paper is not ideal for a few reasons: 1. you cannot observe the dropppings (a daily must) 2. it is so messy you are unlikely to change it daily leading to rotting food and deadly mold 3. shredded bedding can be very dusty, not good for avian respiration. What I used to do for my house parrots is take a newspaper and open it up, then trace the cage tray so that I had a stack of papers that fit in there perfectly. Each evening I would just pull up the top layer of paper and debris and place the food cups in the dishwasher. Easy peasy! Aim to clean the cage once a month, at least by rinsing it with hot water as this will remove any dust and caked on food. Also, if your cage has a floor grate, just remove it. It is too difficult to keep clean and with daily paper changes there is no problem with the bird accessing food from the floor.

A half cup is approximately a day's worth of food.

Some parrots (like Amazons) are very, very prone to obesity but small conures generally are not. If you feed as I have explained in the other thread you are very unlikely to have obesity problems in any species though. It is a great idea to sprout your own seeds. There are a couple of reasons for this: 1. sprouts from the supermarket often have bacteria that can make birds sick, I have seen this in the wards many, many times. 2. seed that sprouts is fresh living seed - if your seed doesn't sprout, it is dead and is nutritionally void. Just rinse the seed in a dilute bleach solution and place a layer of the seed on a wet paper towel it in a container (a large jar on its side is good). Place a lid on the jar and place it in a warm partly sunny place. In two or three days the seeds will be sprouting and very nutrititious. Finches love this, especially when breeding.

Any kind of dried beans are just fine. This may seem a bit fiddly but you will soon get the hang of it. Also, you may enjoy feeding him part of your daily meals instead. Yes, he will eat up to a half cup. You may want to build up to it slowly as he may not realise the mix is food - try sprinkling seed on it so he begins to associate it as good to eat. After a while, he will be waiting eagerly for the fresh food over anything else!