BikBok

good news We looked after the bird Friday and Saturday and most of today and then decided to take another walk along the golf course in the hopes of finding it's siblings/parents. Now that we know what it was and what the parents look like and what they sound like we just followed the "gaak gaak" sound until we found some. My Daughter got as close as she could and put in a hollowed leafy area and then retreated to watch what would happen. The baby started chirping and a bird came over and sat down beside it, then another came , then flew away and came back again (hopefully with food). So we quietly left and hopefully the little chick will make it after all!

My golden female guppy was pregnant for ages before she gave birth.. I reckon at LEAST 6-7 weeks. She was so huge I was seriously worried for her! Then when she did birth they didn't come out easily... some had their tails hanging out for a while before they came out.. they seemed bigger than my other guppys babies. Anyway she gave birth to only 15 babies but is still really big a week later, I'm sure I can see more in there.

stinky junk mail makes me sneeze .

lol I have a parrot breeder friend in the USA and she used to add apple puree to her baby chicks handrearing recipe. As an aside.. she had a kakariki pair amongst her many birds...gosh .. here in NZ we have to permit, in the staes you can buy them freely ... OUR native birds!

my cockatiel loves shredding those breeders celect pellets (kitty litter) which is made from recycled newspapers.. though they do put it through high pressure steam treatment to remove msot of the inks etc.

No not cat biscuits, pouches and canned stuff like whiskas and dine. The dine is all fish based and has very little additives so I'm wondering if the fish based catfood will be OK seeign as they are aqauatic birds?

about parent birds rejecting chicks.. last summer my cat bought in a whiteeye . We handled it to put it in a box for a while till it was calm and then had a look for injurys. By this time it was dusk .. Next morning we put it in a birdcage outside and the mama bird heard it and came.. it was a fledgling. SO we opened the birdcage and watched from inside. Slowly the mama bird led it bit by bit out of the cage, onto the fence , onto lower branches , then higher till it flew a decent distance to (being half a backyard )... the golf course! We live a balls throw (hit) from the golfcouse. Have also reunited starlings with the parents and they didn't reject either.

hey do you think bloodworms would be ok? I've got plenty of those in the freezer. btw .. it's so cute! it runs along with it's little `chicken' wings out. I've had to make do with some watered down catfood tonight until I can get something better sorted tomorrow. It's pooping and everything so here's hoping it will still be cheeping in the morning.

I am regretting that it was me they bought ti home to! and that my daughters friend didn't leave it be like my daughter urged her too. But they were worried about the cats too. The fenceline along the golfcourse is known as "the Cat Highway" to locals. Agghh but what can I do when two girls bring home a bird that can't just be abandoned! I've raised baby sparrows before from featherless chicks but this is something quite new to me.

thanks... that's good advice. I will do my best!

yes .. it already has been demonstrating his lungs... but what the heck do i feed it? Catfood? I'm not feeding it my guppy fry lol. The girls have walked the golf course looing for others and/or parents but can't find them.

My daughter and her friend were walking along the golf course and found it on the grass. There are quite a few cats that patrol along the golf course (it's in a residential area) so they picked it up and brought it home. There are ponds near us but this bird does not have webbed feet, it does have quite long toes. What is it and how do I care for it?

that was my point Charlie.. there were a few posts before mine presuming it was kids.. I hadn't heard any updates so was asking the question.. was it kids? because that's the way people were talking. I wasn't making that assumption at all but thought perhaps I had missed something. Perhaps you should have read a few of the posts before mien instead of picking mine out! I asked the question ... i didn't make the presumption. and I agree... I don't like fingers pointed at anyone without substantiation... regardless as to what's the norm.

I haven't caught up with any updates.. was it kids /teens that did this?

that is so upsetting. I just don't undertsand why.. why would someone do that ! :-(

never heard of them - what are they? I'm needign a new cellphone so should find out I suppose.

What about those bottles of bacteria you buy . how do they survive without aeration? (or food for that matter?) whilst still sitting in the botttles. In the last several months I have started 3 small tanks.. I used TLC on two of them, which helped the cycle I believe and on the other I used JBL Filter Start and this was the only tank never to show ammonia..and still hasn't. I put a BN in the day after I added the bacteria. in 3 days it went from zero ammonia to trace nitrates so obviously the cycle process took place so the bacteria must have been good. Have never had ammonia or even nitrite readings from that tank.

good question ,I've been thinking about this too... what to do in case of a power failure.

nothing wrong with smaller tanks! It gives those of us with space constraints a chance to enjoy the hobby too.. so that has to be a good thing! I get the impression sometimes that if we have smaller tanks , we get looked at as "novice" or not true aquarists lol. Well I am a novice because of my short history but I reckon I've learned a lot already. Just a shame I can't fit a bigger tank anywhere in my home.

hi Phoenix44 were you talking about my photo? It was posted for sam to look at the driftwood size.. sorry to get sidetracked! umm about the heater... the AQ one hood seems to have a space just right to hang the heater so I presumed it was the right place to put it.. plus another LFS owner urged me not to put it right under the water.. hsi actual words were" despite what other people say about these being fully submersible don't listen to them , or you'll shorten the life of your heater because the rubbers will perish and water will get in eventually" he was talking about aquaone heaters. The strange thing is... I have two other tanks where the heater is much lower in the water with only the tip of it at the water line , yet that tank in the photo has the most stable temperature and is set lower than the others to achieve the same temperature .. go figure! (same size heaters too) The mountain cave ornament.. yeah i know it's fake, came with the tank but I like it and the fishies love it.. there are cave entrances all around it and they all swim in and out and one of the Kuhlis have made it their home while the female betta rests in there at night. haha so I'm not a purist .. but i think it looks OK !

cute. My daughter and I name all our fish too. Glad to hear your tank is all good now.

sorry, how rude of me! Welcome to the forum fishlover! Would love to see pics of your tanks . Rebecca

Sam do you know of any LFS that sell smooth driftwood? I've only been able to find dry wrapped rough wood that flakes off for a while when it';s first in the tank. I much prefer the smoother wood which won't splinter into the soft looking bellies of a BN. I got a lovely piece sent up from a pet store in the BOP but was looking for something closer to home, and small. emphasise small. most the pieces I've seen are too big for what i want. Something about this size or smaller: (that piece is a corner V shape)

you can always pull the plug and make them practice without the amp lol.. I've done that! But he also has an acoustic classical which he tends to use more at home.. (lovely sound) the electric gets used more at school where he must be doing something right going by his report.. he got merits and excellence for performance, and technique, musicianship . yay! (proud mum here)

my son would dearly love a Les Paul but is saving for an Epiphone (owned by Gibson who make the Les Paul) who make a jolly good copy with a nice sound too.