malevolentsparkle

ok then it's not gigantea. how about americana? does that have wide leaves?

hmmm. I see ive started a war here how does 2 harems sound. they get half the tank each. Rams are a must so what else would be good for the other half? I'm not trying to breed them but if they do I want them to be safe. I may set up another tank just so i have more options but it wont be pretty.

Did a bit of research: 2 banned species: Vallisneria gigantea (500 - 2000mm+) and Vallisneria americana (600 - 3000mm+) so mine is big enough to be one of these. of the allowed species only Vallisneria spiralis (200 - 1200mm) get even close enough to the length mine got to, but it is still a bit short. then again is length an identifying feature? probably not, plants grow different hights in different lighting for example. I guess even if it is a banned species i'm not going to be throwing it in a lake or anything.

its definitly not twisted. so could i get into trouble for having it?

wow thats a lot of fish. I might start with the 3 species and go from there. already got lots of plants and I'm on the lookout for more bogwood. I should take a photo of my tank to see what everyone thinks. Also I'm keen to get NZ bred fish i possible. so if anyone is breeding in auckland or close then let me know.

I suspect that I have some in my tank. bought from a reputable store, is it legal? its on the pest list on doc's website: http://www.doc.govt.nz/publications/conservation/threats-and-impacts/weeds/have-you-seen-these-freshwater-weeds/ when i recently trimmed in it was easily over 1.5m long

ah i had one many years back. diddn't do so well, but then i never had much luck with plecos

so im currently thinking: pair of rams pair of dwarf flags pair of Apisto. agassizi plus: 1x whiptail 9x cardinal tetras that sound ok? too many? better to get more than a pair?

mine used to eat anything and everything. but he was a lot bigger

so hows things going?

cool that sounds heaps cooler than angels! a couple more questions. currently im running with proper pH 6.5 with plenty of wood in the tank. Ive also got a box filter with peat in it to soften the water. last time i did a gH test it was about 80ppm. will that be ok or will i need to lower the pH even more?

wow thats a pretty low pH. how would I get it that low? is there any worry about those fish fighting? I would want to get 2 or 3 different species if I can.

I was always planning on putting angels in my south american tank, but ive been thinking lately that given the size of my tank a group of dwarf chichlids might be a better option. I know they can be territorial so which ones would go well together? I really like rams, and apistos look pretty cool but theres so many types and I'm not sure whats available. any advice? lowtech planted south american tank, 155L 900lx30wx45d. pH 6.5, soft water. 25degrees. currently have cardinal tetras and a geophasus juripari. i am willing to get rid of the geophagus as he'll get too big at some point anyway. thanks

ah that one got withdrawn too. wasn't me this time...

wow thats alot of angels...

If he is selling koi, and the worst that happens is that his auction gets withdrawn, i think i did him a favour.

the photo is terrible I can't see any details. I only reported it to trademe. if they aren't koi then he can explain that to trademe.

reported!

oh how do you get mangroove roots? that sounds like what i want

Hay, ive been posting for a while now but i never introduced myself. very rude i know! im 25 and live in avondale, auckland. I keep fish for many years with my brother when i was a teenager - started with small coldwater tank like everyone, then had a 3ft tropical community tank for many years that I upgraded to 4ft. kept a varity of fish - gouramis, dwarf chichlids, loaches, etc. I also tried my hand at brackish, had an archerfish, gobies, puffers had lots of fun with that. When i moved out of home my brother took charge, but by that stage alot of my fish were reaching the end of their lifespan and we were both very busy. so about 5 years later I thought i'd get back into it. I at first wanted to get another brackish tank but i spent a year looking for archerfish and failing so i gave up. Now I have a south american community thats been running for about 6 months and doing great. I'm trying to do things differently than last time, lots more plants and more carefully selected fish. I will at some point try my hand at breeding as well. I have two cats who think the fish are for their entertainment. I have also kept birds (kakarikis (even bred them), love birds) lizards (native geckos, skinks) in the past. but fish are a lot more fun! so yeah thats me.

ah did some looking around: "The Leopard danio, previously known as Danio frankei, is a spotted colour morph of the zebrafish caused by a pigment mutation." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebrafish or a more reputable source: "Brachydanio rerio var. frankei (the spotted or leopard danio) was formally known as B. frankei and thought to be a species in its own right but is now considered a variety of B rerio (Zebra Danio)" - The Ultimate Aquarium; Mary Bailey and Gina Sandford; © 2005 so they are the same species and might cross. that said most fish will prefer to breed with fish that look similar

put some kind of divider in the tank. danios are pretty relaxed about breeding. they can lay eggs and then loop around to eat them before they hit the plants! the more fish in the breeding tank will mean more eggs will get eaten before you realise. plus you probably don't want zebra/gold crossbreeds

you talking different colours or different species?

cool tank but it dosn't scream angels to me. angels really need planted tanks. plus a 'natural' aquascaped tank like that at least needed wild colour forms. He seems to be going for an amazon acid pool, home to apistogrammas corys and tetra, not angels

ah thanks for that. a jewel sounds familiar. they maybe have been one of my brothers purchases