northland chic

Now I want an oscar to live with my 2 Bala sharks and 3 silver dollars in the 100cmx50cmx50cm tank filtered by a fluval 403. My partner is not too keen on that idea though. I would also like 1-2 discus for my 3ft tetra tank. I just want more and more!!!!!!!!! Does anyone else have any ideas on what I could keep with the bala sharks and silver dollars? Maybe some other kinds of sharks?

Well, I was first bitten when I was about 8 I think. My mum took me to Fins, Fangs & Feathers in Greerton, Tauranga. And I saw some little tropical salt water sharks(someone tell me if this would be what I saw I was only little but am quite sure but have never seen anymore so it could have been a bala shark or something else), I absolutely loved them and wanted one. So for my next birthday my dad got me one of those little bowls with the coloured top and bottom pieces and two little fat goldfish (one black moor and one comet) I named them Bully and Bulgy. After a while Bully (the black moor) got swim bladder disease and had to live in a salad bowl for the rest of his life. So my dad got me two horrible bronze comets (probably cause they were cheap knowing my dad). One of those and Bulgy eventually passed away and our nice neighbours gave us a little ten litre tank. So i got more friends for the bronze comet left (named Bully #2). We went away one day and left a neighbour looking after our five goldfish, came home and the smallest one was dead so we got another, sure enough it was dead the next morning too. So we put it down to too many fish. Another one eventually died but horrible bronze comet Bully #2 lived on. Then we went away and my sister who was at home looking after the fish broke her ankle and went to stay with my dad. We came home from holiday cleaned the tank and there was now only 2 fish (Bully #2 still there). So that was fine for a few months, then my step father went away and left our fish without being fed, came home to only horrible bronze comet (Bully #2) left. She stayed with my dad for a while with no weed, snails or tank mates because she would eat everything. Then I went down to visit, saw she was way tooo big for her tiny tank and bought my fish two foot tank. Took it home set it up and got her 7 seven friends. Then we were given another 2 foot tank and got more goldfish. Then we decided to get some axolotls which we put in our little tank but eventually got them a 2 foot tank and another friend. I eventually lost all those goldfish through not realising that our water from a plastic water tank had no oxygen in it. Which was sad for me especially since by then I had my bronze comet (Bully #2) for about 8 years. Then my mother in law brought a 4 foot tank for the axolotls we had given her so I swapped her two 2 fts for the 4 ft for my goldfish. Then I got a 100cm tank for my partner for his birthday cause he wanted to try saltwater. Eventually the axolotls ended up in the 100cm with all our goldfish in the 4 ft and some spare tanks. Then my partner decided he wanted his 100cm back to try saltwater and so I bought a 3ft tank for the axolotls. They kept cutting their lips on the glass supports in the bottom so they were moved back to the 100cm, the saltwater dream didnt last long. So I used the 3ft for goldfish with a light we had acquired buying all these tanks. Had a bad algae problem so I took them out into another tank with no light. Then we started tropicals in that 3 ft tank (Nov 2002). Since we have started tropicals we have nearly turned all our tanks into tropicals plus bought a new tank and the poor old goldfish have been thrown outside in the pond. About a year and a hlf ago I had 11 axolotls living in tanks and troughs outside, have just recently sold my last four becasue I have lost interest in them with all the tropicals and breeding them. We also bought 2 more tanks through trade me. Every week I do to town I look at the LFS which doesn't help the bug at all! Now after a year and 3 months with tropicals we have a 3ft, 4ft, 1ft, 100cm, a display tank and a tiny tank all with tropicals. I'm also just looking for a filter and heater and going to make another 3ft tropical. Then I have 3 2ft tanks spare. So more room for more fish!!!! But my partner gets grumpy because he works catching fish and then I spend all the money on fish! I have definately been bitten by the fish bug. I have also got at least 3 other people keeping fish as well and have hooked the fourth person. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I have: 3 bristlenose (1f, 2m) & 5 juveniles 3 bronze corys (1f, 1m) & 1 juvenile 6 peppered corys 1 albino cory 2 Juli corys 1 pleco I would love to buy some whiptails off you Rob, if thats sweet. Will hopefully be going to Hamilton in the next month or two so maybe I could pick some up then. Will talk to you more about it closer to time. Thats if you have any left by then.

I don't know what they are but whenever I clean my axolotls corner filter (charcoal & wool kind) I always find quite a few white worms. They don't seem to cause harm and the fish don't really eat them.

My goldfish that I have had for a couple of years have names. My axolotls also have names. At one stage I had about 30 goldfish and they all had names, in 1 tank all the names started with B and the other tank was a big mixture. But over time I have gotten more fish and only buy tropicals now. Our biggest Bala shark is called Bala. But everyone else is just called their names eg: platy, guppy, silver dollar, angel and the various tetras.

Fighters had babies last week. We saw them swimming, alot seemed to be dead not swimming just falling to the floor. He kept picking them up and putting them in his nest. They have probably been swimming for about 2-3 days. Not very good swimmers at all no direction just going anywhere. But now I can't find any. Would he eat them? How quick can they breed again?

Have been away on holiday for a week. While I was away they had eggs again and my biggest baby goldfish ate them. I was watching the tank and saw another tiny little baby about 2-3mm long, he was happily searching around for food. When the same big goldfish come up and ate him! So now he has moved to a new home. But the original little baby is still swimming around, hes about a cm long maybe a little bigger. When I feed brineshrimp I hatch them in a bowl (one of those common ones with the coloured top and bottom pieces) with an airstone. Have been getting my best hatch results ever. I siphon them out through a piece of cloth and a tea strainer. Then tip them into fresh water before feeding. I went away about a month now out fishing (my partner is a commercial fisherman) and left his mother in charge of my fish. I don't think she did anything but now they are so scared. They hide all day under an ornament and get the biggest fright when anyone goes to the tank.

Will try the water changes, I had forgotten I added more babies before I left a week ago. So will try one each day and see how it goes. Thanks

I come home from holiday to find my baby guppies have their tails clamped. So tight that at the end they are pointed. They seem to be swimming funny too. None of the other baby fish in their seem to be affected (swordtails&platys). Have just put some Wunder white spot cure in there at the moment.

Yip, it had little whiskers and everything. He's about 3mm long and has some black spots. But I love him! Haven't seen him again since. Looks like she is going to have eggs again soon.

Was looking in the tank today and found one little baby. Can't see anymore but there is alot of stones. But ohhhhh it is so cute!

I think your right Rob. Noticed that they school with the Red Ballys, don't pay any attention to the Silver Tips. I have a feeling they are worth a bit more if they are red ballys. Does anyone know about them or keep them?

At my Lfs they have recently had red bally tetras. Now they have something with silver tips on the fins, the same sort of colour as a red bally tetra but a little bigger. The owner said they came in as Silver Tip Tetras but have a reddish belly and sort of greeny body. I am going to get some $3.50each I think he said. But wondering if anyone actually knows what they are? The red on them is not bright. Have been looking on the net but there is not even alot of information on the Red Bally Tetra. Help would be great, Thanks!

I got given a guppy the other day.When I got her home and put her in the tank I noticed she had a thing hanging from her bum.That was white and about 3mm long and about 1mm thick. I set up a spare tank and decided to seperate her. On the move the white thing fell off. Then I look now and theres another one almost looks like a baby that didn't form and is white. Big at one end the tail hanging out of the fish.

I bought 2 bronze corydoras from the pet shop in Kerikeri about 2 years ago, they were selling them as tropicals that live in coldwater. They have lived with my goldfish since then and have survived some low temperatures I would think, at the moment their tank is 20degrees C. I moved them in with my baby goldfish to help clean up left over food. I noticed one had been getting quite fat and one staying quite slim. I look this morning and saw her and him swimming together and sort of harassing each other. A few hours later I noticed her swimming around with eggs between her fins so far she has laid about 80-100 and still going. How long will the eggs take to hatch? What do I feed them? I'm so excited! If anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

My lfs in Kaitaia has them but are really expensive at $19. Heard they are alright for community tanks but don't want to risk it.

I bought the liquid fry food about a month ago and it was a little more than $12 (could just be my lfs) but if you get the new one its for both egglayers and livebearers. I had some guppy babies born last night, I only know because I had been waiting for her to drop. Congrats and enjoy!

Used to use them but find them to hard to sink and you cannot clean the algae off the leaves. Now only use real plants, looks alot better.

I find that earthworms can live for quite a while as long as the water is aerated. If they do die I just siphon them out. I have had them live for more than a day or two quite alot.

We moved into our house about 3 years ago, at that stage I just had goldfish and axolotls. We had a brand new plastic water tank. My fish got moved down here from our parents house just above ours, they have a concrete water tank. One day I cleaned my goldfish and they all started gasping at the top or sitting on the bottom gasping. I sadly lost my goldfish I had had for about 8-10 years from this. Funny enough one goldfish out of them all survived and the only thing I ever did different to him was put him in a really strong salt bath. It took me a long time to realise that it was my water tank and alot of fish. I finally realised when I had axolotls in it and they were trying to get out. Now if I am going to fully clean a tank and put fish in it straight away I get all my water from our parents house. If I am only refilling a little bit after a vacuum its fine. I figured out in the end it was probably really strong toxins coming from the tank and not much oxygen in the water.

I have never seen a fire eel, but we have a normal eel. I know they are probably totally different but our eel is really fussy too. We tried evrything when we first got him cheese, bread, bloodworms, live fish and sheep heart. The only thing Eli eats is earth worms, in his prime in summer he can eat about 10 a day and he is only a foot long. As for the plants we gave Eli fake ones and they are always floating. I went to my friend Nick's house in Ahipara the other day and he had plants in his axolotl tank in little jars don't know how well it works though.

All fungused Have to try again next time.

Woke up this morning to find about 40% of the angel eggs fungused. Got baby goldfish though.

Yesterday afternoon I noticed my pair spawning again, this time on the actual pump. I only had the pair and a male bristlenose catfish in there because I took the other angel out last time they spawned and never got around to putting anyone back in there. Was thinking about putting in the blue gourami hes quite big and could withstand a beating I would think whereas the other angel that was in there was getting tatty fins. Anyway I was going to leave the eggs in there but then I saw the male bristlenose trying to eat them and the angels beating him up. But the funny thing was he turned around and started having a go at them. So I have put them in a 2ft tank with an undergravel filter and airstone. I have tried to use corner filters (the ones with charcoal and wool) before for baby fish and they have got sucked in. What a great week it has been. Silver tips spawned for the second time since I had them. Danios and goldfish spawned on Saturday and now angels on Monday. Next time I will have to be prepared and get another tank ready for silver tips.

Congrats! I noticed little babies come out from under the log in my 4 ft on the 27th of September, from what I have read they would have been between a week or 2 old. I noticed my female and male both under the log on the evening of the 27th October. I saw their second lot of babies on the 5th November. Mine only have about 10 at a time. My female is only about 5cm long, I thought she was too small to breed. So far I have found the babies to be quite hardy, changing them into another tank when they were about a month old. I took the babies out because I had read that it they would be more inclined to breed again. Hope you have a great time with your babies they are so cute and tiny. Such a joy at watch!