ally07

Cerebral

Guinness

Almanac

You know it's time to put him on a diet when the lid starts to crack! :lol:

I can't ID the fish, but it looks to me like it's a very very pale jewel haha! Surely a tank like that wouldn't have cost $1000 to build??! If it did, I'm pretty sure he got severely ripped off!

I really would not worry about the pH level, 6.0 is perfectly acceptable for most fish. That's why if you read up on fish profiles, they rarely write strictly 7.0, it's usually 6.0-7.0. Some types of cichlids require hard water pH 8.0-9.0, but even they won't die if the pH is 7.0 - they won't be as comfortable as they'd like to be, but it's not fatal. You only encounter problems if you put a fish in significantly harder/ softer water than it needs to be, eg putting a bristlenose in pH 9.0 is not recommended. I actually prefer my water at around pH 6.0 with tannins in the water because tannins help some fish feel like they're in their natural habitat and most plecos need to rasp on driftwood as part of a healthy diet. In addition, waste build up sends the pH upwards, so by maintaining a slightly lower pH, you give the fish more pH buffer in the event you don't get a chance to do a water change that week. If the pH tends to gravitate towards 6.0 because of driftwood or tap water, I would say that there's nothing to worry about unless you have fish which require harder water - trying to meddle with the pH to bring it up to 7.0 might do more harm because you're subjecting the fish to a pH see-saw. Hope this helps!

Truth

What makes you think that they'll get eaten? The father usually does a pretty good job of defending his nest..

Negative

Would that be from the asthma or your daredevil driving skills? :lol:

I hate to say this, but if the situation is absolutely dire, just get into a car and drive the person to the A&E. The speed/ efficiency of NZ's ambulance service is pretty shocking (appreciative though we are!).. When I did my first aid course the instructor told us (he has decades of experience with St Johns) that it will take a MINIMUM OF 20 MINUTES for an ambulance to get to you - even in an Auckland suburb. So, think about this: if someone at work drops to the ground with a heartattack, you will have to perform CPR for at least 20 minutes before the ambulance can get to the person. Next time take the car, at least the police will give you an escort if you're caught going at 120kph in the suburbs.. Anything is better than waiting 20 minutes.

Sorry for your loss.. I'm not sure if you should really be adding pH up to be honest.. pH 6 is perfectly fine (actually preferred) for bristlenoses, so it's highly unlikely that the low pH killed it. Adding chemicals which alter pH is rarely good for the fish. The less chemicals you add to the water, the better IMO. Don't get too worried over one fish dying if the others look fine and your water tests check out alright. If you get over-zealous with the water changes thinking that bad water killed the fish, you might cause a bacteria crash in your tank and THEN you've got problems! If you must do a big water change, do 10-20% everyday over a few days instead of 60-70% change on one day. You never know, the bristlenose might have had an internal parasite or been stressed/ attacked by the other fish or any number of reasons so don't CSI it haha.. PS The fish is snow white because it's dead, no reason for it. I've had dead bristlenoses before as well, all turned white. I suppose it might be the same as us when we become worm food.. :sick:

Yessssssssssss :happy1:

First off, I agree that the key chains are pretty heinous but let's be fair with the arguments here. Sure, the Chinese have a really bad rep with animals but I think a lot of that stems from their history and culture. Due to their long tradition of eating whatever's available because of their poverty, to them animals are not "pets" - they are food or "toys" at best. I don't think it's fair to just razz the Chinese for this when one could just as easily point fingers at the French for foie gras. It's sad to say, but I think at the end of the day it's about the monetary value people place on the animals. Farmers raise their animals for the slaughterhouse and nobody bats an eyelid. Sure, the conditions are better (mostly) but it's only because the cow will only fetch a good return if it's healthy - the end result is still death for the animal. In the case of the Chinese key chains, the goldfish there probably cost them about 2c each because they are mass-bred, thus when the value of the animal drops, the level of care/ concern drops as well - you don't see them putting baby arowanas inside the key chains! Like I've said, I don't condone what the Chinese are doing, I think it's disgusting, but I think it's just a small part of the human condition in which profit overrules basic animal rights. Don't mourn the fish, mourn the death of human empathy. ...on the plus-side, the goldfish aren't doomed to suffer like Paris Hilton's chihuahuas! &c:ry

Barney Stinson

Can't go wrong with rocks and driftwood.. Easy to make caves and looks like a river bottom as well..

Nose

lettuce

Straw.. *JUST KIDDING!* Flies

Strawberries! :happy1:

Foolish

lol, well, considering the amount of movement the heart undergoes, you'd think it would be the most "tenderised".. Just my hypothesis! :roll:

Do it. I bought my first about 2 years ago and I've already upgraded since then. If you like accessories then the world of lenses will make you !drool:. The difference in quality is definitely worth the price but it really makes you a photo snob haha.. I can't stand half the photos I see on Facebook because they're taken with crappy compacts and they're often really blurry/ noisy (or maybe my friends are just really shocking photographers haha!) ..I think my camera expenditure might actually come close to my fish expenditure! :facepalm:

Wisdom

Pardon my ignorance, but I'm not quite sure I understand the point of the technique, haha! Is it that the low-light, long-exposure creates the shadowy background effect?