Aquila

Yeah, most leaves are getting quite big and they are a nice shade of green, but there are some that get all brittle and holey...so i thought i'd add some ferts. I've never had success when growing them in gravel, but i saw lots of aquariums where they were planted right into the sand so i thought i'd give it a go. I don't know if i have the same species as the ones i've researched but it appears to be working so far. Can they really get too much light? I was worried mine wasn't getting enough. So many people have them really high up on wood though! Man this plant thing is complicated Thanks for the advice, I will try adding some wool.

Reminds me of these cool pouched rats that are trained to detect landmines! They are big for a rat, but not big enough to set off the mines (unlike a dog) and they are relatively cheap to train http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... mines.html http://boston.com/news/science/articles ... st_friend/

I guess what people mean is that they've never cycled a tank whereby they measure the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate religiously and/or without fish.

I have planted it in sand (not gravel) and its growing quiet happily there!

Do I just wait it out then?

Apple would sue! Haha! They are very protective of the little image they've worked so hard to create

So I put 1 JMB fert ball (under a peace lily) and 2 API root tabs (under each clump of java fern) about an inch under silica sand and now a few days later and my water is cloudy! It has never been cloudy before so I only assume its b/c of the fert. i added. Is this normal and it will subside naturally when plants absorb the stuff or did i do something wrong here. My tank is 40L and ammonia is 0. There are no dosing instructions for the JBL balls but i only used one...maybe its too much for this sized tank? The API root tabs say to put in 6 (!!!) in a 40 L...thats crazy...i only used 2. I've done a few 50% water changes since this problem arose, but its not really fixing it. Fish look happy but i don't want my plants to die from lack of light. Should i try and remove any remainder of the tabs/ball or just leave things? I miss my crystal clear water Cheers

Oh is see! I didn't realize the name was adjusted! Actually I did my B.Sc. in Canada, so I have no idea if these fish have been brought into NZ. I think they only occur naturally in Florida. I doubt they are here, and if they are, then its likely for research purposes only. I can put you in contact with people in Canada and Japan who have them...

Animates does need to redo their website though. I think its terrible!

I'm also on the side of using 1080 at the moment, however I think air drops should be narrowed to more remote areas and not used anywhere near farmlands. These areas are more readily available to planting baited traps instead. Also, its actually extrememly difficult to manufacture a highly specific poison that only targets one species. 1080 interferes with the citric acid cycle which every MAMMAL (+other animals and insects) uses. It is easiest creating insecticides because they can target multiple metabolic pathways which aren't present in other animals. Someday they will come up with specific genetic poisons that attack on a species level...but even then not everyone will agree on their use. But 'whiners' should put in the hard yards them selves...go to uni, learn about biochemistry, genetics, physiology...and try coming up with the solution yourself before they criticize the scientists that are working hard and trying to come up with the best solution of the problem currently available. It is doing its job irradicating deer, rabbits, rats, and possems, which are ALL pests. To help avoid affects on birds, farm animals and pets, it is the method of delivery that needs to be adjusted. Its one things for people to look at how this poison works and think its barrbaric but just because a kitty cat is cute and fluffy doesn't make a world of difference for the native bird its caught, tortured to death, and then dragged home. We just don't look at it the same way because people like their 'invasive' pets and wouldn't ever think or irradicating them or even thinking of them prowling the neighbourhood as a potentially bad thing.

This killifish sound very similar to Rivulus marmoratus. I took care of a colony of hundreds at my old university for a couple profs who were doing research on them. Really interesting fish! Quite bland in colour and appearance but they are hermaphordites! Plus they can live months out of water in a closed petri dish on some moistened paper towels. Each fish was housed in an individual cup (like a cup you give your pee sample in) and I had to keep track of who its parent was, what line it came from, how many eggs it layed, and how many of those hatched! BIG binder! They ate hatched brine shrimp, lived in brakish water and received weekly 100% water changes that worked in rotation. I even took a few post experimental ones home in a little compunity tank. I miss them a little

The water will be filtered of metals and chlorine but you still have to cycle your tank because not many of those beneficial bacterial actually stay suspended in the water column. I think it will help kick start your cycling BUT you are better off getting some old media from a filter or some old substrate that would have a good colony of bacteria in it. I don't know if Wetpets could provide you with and sponge filters or bio-noodles for your filter though...seems unlikely. I'm not too religious about cycling either. I usually set up a tank, let it run for a week, add some 'Cycle' and water conditioner and salt, and then just start putting some fish in starting with the hardiest ones. If you buy too many at once, that is when you will get those dangerous ammonia spikes due to insuffieciently cycled tank.

Hehe, exactly! I think we've all figured out that: Tauranga animates = useless Wellington animates = one if not both REALLY good Christchurch = somewhat bad? I guess the thing to do is inspire the big boss to do a regional review of each store and maybe that Tauranga lady will have to buckle down and open some fish books and hire some staff that know what fish are! Its the branch manager's fault...and nothing is going to change unless they change.

Well those are just measures for E.coli (aka. poo) and its below the alert level anyways. Not a prob, you can easily clean the sand of that. I don't know about chemical pollutants and oil though. I don't imagine you wouldn't be able to clean it relatively well by rinsing and kneading the sand with your hands....I mean some rocks are porous but I really don't know how it works with sand and metals/chemicals in the water. Anything biological can be baked away in an oven! I find cleaning the sand relatively easy, i either just siphon with a tube or use one of those gravel vac at an angle. You just have to be careful if you are using a tube to stay just above or you'll suck it up. The thing I notice is that you actually see the debris a lot more because it doesn't have anywhere to disappear into easily. It all pretty much sits on top so I find myself doing more frequent but smaller cleans. I also run my hand through the sand AFTER i vacuum it in case anything it trapped in there. I think the sand is gentler on my plant roots though...and my kuhli loaches LOVE it! They dig their little heads into it in search of food and i think its nicer for them to site on then some gravels.

Yeah, just go there...you just got someone that didn't know what they are talking about. I got mine in May. I know the guy also used another name for it which i can't remember, but he knew that it was also called silica sand. They have 2 buildings at the Hutt Rd location, one for the showroom and the other for the warehouse. If you go to the warehouse desk and describe what kind of sand that you want, someone there will point you in the right direction. They have their sands/gravels all along the back row...hard to explain. The back wall that is closest to the road outside...and the silica sand is in about the middle. Here is a link to my old forum post to show you how the sand looks like: viewtopic.php?f=29&t=38727 And here is a link to when I was researching Silica sand and driftwood myself: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=38515 I think Wellington beaches are relatively clean (other then right in the harbour) compared to come places in Auckland, but they will have lots of tiny shell fragments that you can't necessarily remove. But that could be a good thing if you are wanting a more alkaline tank! I'm not sure how you'd check...maybe NIWA or Doc has some reports on it.

Beach sand is not ok unless you want to risk pollutants or want pH to go up (crushed shells). I bought my light (almost white) silica sand from Placemakers. The one in Lyall Bay doesn't stock it, but the one on Old Hutt Rd. (just past Animates) does. They sell it in big bags for $30 bux but if you don't need that much, you may luck out and just get what you need and pay per kg. It looks great in the aquarium and is very fine.

Welcome Craig!

Great work! I'm very envious because I wish I was done my thesis so I could also relax and celebrate like you!!! What an accomplishment!!! Woot!

This is a really useful and quick volume calculator that allows you to input the dimensions (in any units) and spits out the volume (in any units)! No more guestimation http://www.ookingdom.com/metric/dim-to-capacity

I don't disagree with you in theory...but people living outside Auckland don't really have the luxury of going to HFF...unless they want to spend $20 just for shipping each time. And here in Wellington, Animates Kaiwharawhara actually does have knowledgeable and friendly staff (most of them). I've paid attention to how they treat newbie fish hobbyists who are buying their first aquarium. They stear them away from certain fish either because they are not going to able to provide them with the proper habitat or their are incompatible with the other fish they already have...even if this means losing money on a sale. That I respect a lot from a pet store. Since I don't have a car, I can't regularly travel out to the other surrounding pet shops so I am pleased to have at least a fairly decent option close to me. Unlike the Animalz in Mirimar that wouldn't know a fishes' butt from its elbow. I may try to buy my fish off of breeders/FNZAS members and my supplies off TradeMe in order to save some money and also potentially get better quality stock but I still support the store when getting some things. I say if you think the staff is behaving inappropriately or just isn't knowledgeable, its best to raise this issue with the manager. You can also suggest to them that you'd really like to see more of certain types of fish in. I know they are a franchise, but I have had them offer to order specific fish in for me several times in the past.

Yeah, I also find Les really helpful! He should get on this forum! There is also another girl that's quite good although I don't know her name. She's friendly and all the other staff always go ask her the Qs....hehe

Great...now I'm crying too! Thanks for sharing Twinkles. I wish there were more pet owners like you out there

Maybe a small school of Glass catfish?

You should have your tank some what off the ground anyway otherwise you'll have to empty it with a container instead of just siphoning it out...and with it on the ground, forget about ever being able to clean the substrate.

I have some: Solid orange ones (Not sure what they are called but I think they are branch off the flamingos) Red-tailed tux Solid light blue neon (proper name?) Neon tux Tiger-tails and some fry with possible snakeskin in them