Aquila

Oooh, I'm glad this thread popped up again! Such beautiful looking fish Vincent!!! I CAN'T WAIT to get mine from you next month :bounce:

Ah ok, well I got TetraColour tropical granuales from them...it was the closest thing i could find. Also yellow container with red lid. Now...to just get them to eat it

Thanks for all the input guys! Phoenix, where can I get the Tetra colourbits? Is the brand Prestige? Animates doesn't carry it here in Welly Would Hutt Pets? spoon, will look for the freeze dried daphnia...haven't seen it so far, where do you buy yours from? Luke, I'll be setting up a Daphnia culture shortly We'll see how it goes! Where can I get whiteworms?

Yay! Another Wellingtonian Welcome, hope you will enjoy your visits!

Where can one source a 18K Powerglo? What brand is it? Cheers!

Yeah, definitely buying off a breeder! And not just because of the price! They will have a better stock which has been de-wormed and I can contact them if I need any help too! I like the look of any of the ones that have lots of blue, or something like the checkerboard. Just wondering about the blue ice because i've heard they are really expensive... Love the red/blue turqs but so far not available at breeders for some reason. I don't really know how to tell whether something is a real snakeskin or a real blue diamond...just know what looks good to my eye so they can have a muddy lineage as long as they are fat and healthy and have a nice shape body-wise.

Thanks! I'm so happy as well yeah, not sure what they'd look like either...plus the guy doesn't want to sell them separately from the tank. I do like the other pair a lot. Maybe I can ask for another picture of what they look like when they are lighter if he re-lists. I am still tossing it up between getting a group of 4 young ones, and just getting a pair and raising up a few of the babies. Don't really have the facilities to make this a big money-making operation. Just wanted to have a go at keep as many babies alive as possible. I'd need to give most of the babies away at an early age. Looking into what the breeders have available at the moment. What do ~50cm ice blues and blue snakeskins run for typically?

Lol, how much do some of those fancy plecos cost again? Yeah, this type of purchase isn't one i'm planning to do often. Its really a gift for finishing my masters and landing a job at Doc Plus if you think of it as only being 2-3 weeks rent...then its not really that bad. But I do think they may be a bit over priced and I'm terrified of killing them!

Hi guys, what do you think this pair values at? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =265311879 I have contacted the gentleman but at this stage he does not want to sell the fish separately. I am still considering buy the package and then selling the aquarium off, but how much do you think the fishies are worth? How about these? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =264211080 This auction expired recently but they may be listed again. Cheers, Milena

I'm so glad you asked this question because I was recently thinking about investing in a pair....but didn't know how much room a batch of fry would need to grow out in until they were salable. My tank is probably not large enough to comfortably fit more than 3-4 discus so I was wondering if I got a pair would they be able to be kept with relative success in a community tank if say the other fish where just some quiet glass cats, couple BNS, cories, and danios. Would the pair be constantly trying to lay eggs and raise fry and getting stressed with the other fish? Or would they just sorta do their own thing...and I could raise 1 batch at a time as I had room and just let nature take its course with the eggs layed in between? I think you should go for it AMY! You've kept them so healthy and lovely its only the next exciting step in keeping them! Goodluck, hope the pair doesn't go crazy on you!

Panthers and leopards are the same thing in the animal kingdom....wierd

I did He/she was clueless about it. If its cheap enough I was thinking of just boiling/baking it. I'm a poor grad student

Sounds good Does this look like Dalton's propagating sand to you? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =264904930

Well I'm thinking of switching my substrate from white gravel to a really thin layer of Dalton's aquatic mix with a thick layer of Dalstons propagating sand on top of that. Since I don't really want to disturb the aquatix mix, how do i clean the sand properly? The tank will have lots of plants so I'm not talking about heavy siphoning...but do i need to mix it a bit (like silica sand) so that gas bubbles don't get trapped underneath? Will my cories or loaches likely dig into the sand enough to disturb the aquatic mix? Is it easy to siphon dirt off the top of the sand without it all coming up like silica sand? Can I get by without using the aquatix and still have lush plants growing in just the sand? Finally, does anyone have pics of what the propagating sand looks like in their tanks? I haven't decided whether i'll like the colour or if i want to hold off for something darker and slightly coarser or maybe something like white pool filter sand. Appreciate the input. Cheers!

Did you use a co2 drop checker to see what the concentration was? Some of my plants pearled and that was before I ever added co2...

I wouldn't use an airstone...all your bubbles will just float to the surface. Stick the hose into the INLET of your filter so that the bubble hit the impeller before traveling through the sponge and out. If you can't get it into the intake siphon (based on the filter design) then buy a step ladder of diffuser off trademe for <$20. They are both about 80% efficient. You can also construct your own diffuser chamber that can be attached to the outtake syphon of the filter as seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xELv1lMjTw ...but that might be too complicated for the first go. As far as the recipe goes, here is a good site that explains how you can modify the ratios after you get the basic mix down to help improve productivity...Basically, there are options of changing the amount of yeast or sugar, upgrading to brewers yeast (which can handle higher concentrations of alcohol) and adding some baking soda and some vitamins. http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/sh ... p?t=152401 And remember....if you place the bottle underneath the aquarium, you will need a check valve so that the water from the tank does not siphon into it!

Is it possible that the water parameters were fluctuating?

Well this one has WAY more plants than the cichild tank...so they probably didn't want to make it to deep or they'd near more lights!!

Hahaha, very cute See, now both those lights look like they could be halogen...in which case the lamp in the first auction would be perfect! It even has a base! Lol. Wasn't supasi creating a little eco cube like that? I do actually have 10 of those let up in my windowsills with some rocks and a floating candle....I could convert all of them into extreme nanos!!

Thanks for your help Well I can't really use a clip on cause the glass it too delicate and i'm trying to go for a more stream lined elegant look. None of the really nice lamps i seem to be coming across take CFLs but are all halogen. The general consensus is that halogen bulbs just don't come in the right spectrum for plant growth right? Even when the water is shallow as in a bowl and the light is close? (will double check spectrums tomorrow and call lightbulbman.co.nz). I would probably buy those lamps from the 2nd auction if they didn't need a plug adapter...most of the time you aren't suppose to leave those kinds of things plugged in consistently and they tend to experience weird power surges...will check what the power is in Dubai though. The bulb i have in the desk lamp right now is really nice and low above the water (because i sorta hung it sideways off the fish tank beside the bowl) and it has a energy saver bulb that is 14W and 6400K...so i guess its doing a pretty good job. Time will tell with the plants. Too bad i can't get my hands on one of those asian MH lights that amano uses for his nano tanks!

Hi guys, I currently have a fish bowl that i'm trying to grow some plants in. I'm using one of those standard black desklamps that you see everywhere but i wanted to find something nicer to use for display. I believe that halogen lights are not in the right spectrum for plants and are pretty inefficient but i like the look of this light so i thought i'd double check... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =263731421 I also think this one is kinda cool. I'm assuming it'd work better... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =264339081 Cheers, Milena

I thinks its admirable that you are trying to save them. Hopefully they will turn right and start to thrive in your care. Do you think some shelter/plastic plants would help them get better more quickly?

Well the plants are looking great

You shut your african tank down? What happened? What did I miss?

I can't help you with the discus but I had blackbeard algae show up a few months ago. I did a bit of dosing with flourish excel, but i squirted it directly on large patches to burn them off instead of trying to dose the whole water. That way, the concentration of it in the water was very low and i didn't waste the excel... (you may need to let the discus heal though before adding any to the water after the waterchange). I also got a Siamese Algae Eater (ofter sold as blackline flying fox at the lfs) and keeps all the little bits in check. They are really the BEST algae eaters...he constantly and meticulously cleans the tank of all types of algae! Just make sure you don't by the 'false siamese algae eater'...google the differences to be sure. Goodluck!