Aquila

To be honest, they do look a bit skinny (slightly concave stomach). Problem is, he accepted the state of the fish when we went through with the transaction at your doorstep. I would have personally backed out of the trade once I saw the fish in person ONLY because I've had a pretty bad experience with some electric blue rams which i got from the LFS wasting away slowly (I learned my lesson). I managed to save 1 of the three i bought but the other 2 were not responding to any of the treatments i tried (prazi, metro, garlic, etc)...but again I didn't not blame the LFS, i was more disappointed with the supplier. I have since bought 2 more rams from the latest stock that came through because they looked amazing! A marked improvement from the previous batches and i took my chances with them. I even got a pair which have already spawned...and are putting on weight rather than losing it. But anyways, as you stated...within 2 weeks there are too many variables that could explain their death. You had them for a long time with no problems, while they deteriorated rapidly in his care.

Exactly, you are protected as a private seller under those rights. He was happy with the fish and took them from you. Once they leave your door they are no longer your responsibility, even if they died the next day. He could have shaken/dropped the bag as far as you know. More likely, he placed the fish in a tank that was newly set up with no biological filter and the ammonia fluctuated over those 2 weeks. -

I would put the fish in quarantine first of all to prevent it geting bullied or passing on whatever it may have. Make sure the water is well aerated and put the temp just a bit higher up. The water change was good, do another 50% when setting up the temporary tank. A picture would help with diagnosis but it sounds like it might be a bacterial infection if the fins are going orange. Does it look like blood streaks? Do you have furan-2 on hand? Unfortunately it may be too late for this little guy at this stage...

Not as creepy as this though! ALSO tubifex worms...

Do they look like this?

One day it'll actually be lupus.

Call every animal shelter in the area. Even if you think it may be too far away, call anyways. My budgie flew away last year and ended up 9km away within a few hours! Luckily some lovely people found him, brought him in, and called their local shelter to report a found bird. Goodluck!

Haha...that's awesome

I wouldn't buy discus from a petstore as the first choice...you can get them cheaper and healthier directly from breeders. There are several really good ones based in Auckland. It depends on individual compatibility but you can keep as little as 2, but 6 is recommended as an ideal in case their is some aggression. How big is your tank? I would say that most places in nz have tap water close to pH 7 and would be fine without any discus buffer. As long as you can keep the pH stable, that is the important thing.

Don't have a recipe, but my bf bought me some pretty awesome ones from NewWorld

I don't get it.... What am i suppose to be seeing?

I got both pairs from animates in kaiwharawhara because they looked exceptionally healthy and good

THEN>>> I went upstairs to the other tank to see if just maybe my electric blue rams have finally spawned and I found a HUGE patch of them on the rock!!! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: I couldn't get any good pics of the parents with the eggs because they laid at the back of a rock under some java moss and the tank lights are somewhat subdued with tannins in the water. But I did manage to take a few pics a couple nights before when I thought the female looked particularly swollen with eggs The eggs are now safe in a separate tank but unfortunately i've had to mix them in with the other GB ram eggs so hopefully it will be possible to tell the young apart once they start getting some colour (if I can get it that far).

This is their 3rd spawn since I bought them. They paired off right from the start and it wasn't long since the female filled with eggs. The first batch was laid on gravel and then kinda abandoned so i scooped up as many of the eggs as i could, and then I accidentally killed the remaining wrigglers that hatched. The 2nd batch lasted longer with them but when the male stated munching, I removed the rest...managed to get a good hatch rate from the 20 saved eggs, but only 5 made it past the wriggler stage (still currently alive and eating decap and micro worms). This 3rd batch were well guarded and the male was doing better at 'cleaning' the eggs but i want to try and raise the lot to get a head start so i will let them have the next one

Who needs Easter eggs when you can get a 2 spawns of fish eggs!?!? I noticed last night that my GB ram pair were preparing the rock so I got out my camera and grabbed some cute shots! The first one is of the wrigglers that I got from the 1st batch! Here is the link to the vid I took as well

You are safe from from the tank water getting into the bottle, but you are not safe if the co2 mix over-froths and siphons into the tank.

Yup, he is smaller but definitely holds his own! I saw Inky displaying to him (shaking her tail and fins)...not sure if it was aggressive or excited but all are getting along at the moment.

Here is the new addition, a Blue Turquoise courtesy of phoenix A VERY big thanks to Tania and Scottie for bringing him/her all the way from Palmy for me!

Aww Maybe they just got frightened by the net?

Thanks everyone! Phoenix, your blue Turq is now in the tank!!!!!!!! He/she is beautiful!!!!!!! And brave Will post pics as soon as I can!

I also killed my mimosa as a young child... I have seen them in the ground cover of Guatamalan jungles as well

Thanks! That means a lot coming from you and your planted tank expertise! Someone has been nibbling on my Hormani sword though :evil: ...and I suspect its the bigger SAE...or maybe the clown loach. As if either of them aren't getting enough food!

Thanks phoenix I've managed to keep most of the plants alive! Yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of white butterflies but I do like when they have a bit of patterning and colour on their fins and i just couldn't resist this one with its patch!

I love the leopard's colours but haven't yet managed to get a pic when he/she doesn't darken up as much. Normally there is much less brown...but at least the stress lines are disappearing! What should I name him/her? And the babies! Sooo cute! They are more brave then the adults