Caryl

All set and ready to go. Hopefully Grant will be home in time to lug them down to the post office for me. 600 or so magazines are heavy!!!

Makes up for the 3 people I know who have died this week :-?

The boy's name Devyn \d(e)-vyn, dev-yn\, also used as girl's name Devyn, is a variant of Devin (Irish, Gaelic) and Devon (English), and the meaning of Devyn is "bard, poet".

Congratulations to you both. I would not have been surprised if you had taken her out to the cow shed and hooked up the rope to the tractor :lol: Devyn is a nice name.

Ah thanks Rob. I was looking under North Shore :roll:

I have now matched the cards to the address labels and am having a break and a cuppa before I start bagging them all 8) Yeah Zev, will have to wait and see what to do for November and see what people think of the different look. I can get the job done through the same company via the Nelson branch but prefer to have a local place I can deal with face to face. There is another place here I can try so will do so.

OK, address labels are being printed and I have 3 boxes of magazines on the table. They do not have the laser gloss of previous magazines (because they are printed differently) but still look good and are nicely trimmed around the edges. Some of you will have glossy versions as we got another 30 members or so after the print job was ordered so I will have to run them off here on the laser. In this issue, have a go at the (mostly) fishy crossword. Read what happened when Matt was asked to rescue a fish Absorb the latest in the plecostomus series and learn about Hypancistrus There are a couple of items about snails See and read about Norman and Sharon diving in Dahab There is a conference report and lots of photos Learn about the Malabar puffer fish Read how Adrienne breeds those gorgeous Betta splendens she has How does Simon collect rainwater for use in his aquariums? See what a great job Tasman did of their week's display at the Richmond Mall (see Waikato's efforts in the November issue) and lots more!! :bounce:

First of all, I apologise for the delay but it is out of my hands. I managed to find a local print shop that could produce the magazines cheaper than I was able to and promised a 5 working day turnaround. The local shop is part of a national chain, Printstop (aka Same Day Print). The local personnel were great and easy to work with. The jobs were all organised, prices confirmed, and sent off on Thursday 29th July. On Monday Aug 2, I was informed the owners had decided it was not economic to continue trading and the shop would close at the end of the week. This had come as a shock to the staff I had been dealing with and they looked like this This was OK as the magazines would be back before then (5 day turnaround remember?). The membership cards arrived (faster to print) and looked great! By late Friday, and closing day, there was still no sign of the magazines but the staff assured me they were being done. Turns out the printer held off printing until the cheque cleared (in case the local owners' cheque bounced) then it appears they missed the courier! :evil: I have just had a call from the local, now unemployed staff person, to say they have arrived and she is on her way to personally deliver them to my door :bounce: A big thanks to Liz who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to keep me informed, as much as she was able, on what was happening and where the magazines were up to in the production and delivery - even after she no longer had a job. I don't know how long it will take me to ready them for post as I have to make sure addresses match the cards! Stay tuned and I will give you an idea of what you will find in this issue later on...

Craig and Sue bred these back in 1999 (the same year Trademe was founded actually). At the time they were members of the North Shore Aquarium Society - which no longer exists. Many did not believe them at the time as breeding these fish had not been known in the aquarium (in NZ anyway) and these two were also new to fish keeping. They were not too keen on letting people see the fish and fry either. Arrangements would be made then cancelled etc (from memory, I might be wrong) so some suggested it was a scam. They were apparently selling them but I do not know where, or who bought them. They finally managed to produce some photos as proof (pre fancy digital days remember) but, to my knowledge, they were not officially registered and I can't find them listed in the records as such either. They stopped breeding fish soon after and I do not know what happened to them. They are listed in the 98/99 Year Book but for that year only so were FNZAS members for a very short time.

Way way back in ye olde days, when I was sitting exams, we had 2 exams per day for up to a week - depending on how many subjects we were sitting. I do not feel too sorry for uni students these days as they claim to be poor and hard done by. They seem to spend all their time drinking (so obviously have enough money for some things) and doing stupid stunts. I assume there are some who do actually study but I guess they are not newsworthy :roll:

No new fish seem to be affected at this stage. One of the ones I photographed is on its last legs (or fins) and I fished out 2 more bodies but they were well decomposing so, apart from that one I know is heading for that big pond in the sky, the others appear to be back to normal and back at the bottom where they belong. No new deaths for 2 days and no fish at the surface. We have also had 2 days of -2C so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. :-?

Hi and welcome

Big female leopardfish perhaps? :lol:

Nothing wrong with 7.4. Better to have a stable pH slightly out of the preferred range than to add products to alter it, creating pH swings that are detrimental to the fish.

A vet site says (in part); When fish are infected with this pathogen, the following signs can be observed: Skin. There will be necrotic lesions on the skin, which often are white/gray colored with an edging of red. These will quickly transform (in a day or two) into ulcers with have an orange/yellow color, caused by the bacteria decaying the underlying tissue. They certainly have ulcer-like lesions on one or two (I photographed) but not the rest Gills. Similar effects very typically occur on the gills, but may for the average hobbyist be somewhat harder to observe at least in the early stages. The progression of these ulcers, causes the fish to have great trouble with its respiration, and thus can quickly lead to fatalities. If the gills are examined, excessive amounts of mucous, are to be expected. I am only an average hobbyist so perhaps that is the problem but I can see nothing wrong with the gills, even using a magnifying glass. The fish are not having trouble breathing that I can see, nor are they breathing rapidly, and there doesn't appear to be excessive mucous. Behavior. The fish will become very listless and lethargic, often hanging at the surface, trying to breath there, although on occasion, the fish will rest on the bottom of the tank. Reluctance to feed is very typical and the fish will become anorexic. Respiration is often rapid, as the fish fights to overcome the damage done by the infection to its gills. The fish are definitely lethargic and hanging at the surface but they are under it, not gasping or breathing at the surface. It is winter so they are lethargic anyway. They are not being fed as it is too cold. Respiration is not rapid Body. In some cases, the lips of the fish, will become swollen and macerated, and a milky slime like film can be observed with the naked eye on parts of the body. Apart from the one fish with the infection on its mouth, all the others look fine. No milky slime anywhere Fins. Large milky patches can be seen quite easily on the fins of the fish, and this is usually an indication that the disease has progressed to a degree that cure will become much more difficult. One typical sign is the appearance of a "saddle" shaped lesion usually around the area of the dorsal fin, and this occurs so often, that the name "saddle back disease" is often used in aquaculture to describe this infection. No large, milky patches anywhere or saddleback lesions Water. Temperature is often elevated beyond what is normal, or the fish have been exposed to a sudden rise in temperature. Furthermore, the quality of the water, is a vital component, in getting this disease under control. Excessive detritus and less than ideal filtration, will ensure the spread of the infection. Hard water seems to make the spread of the bacteria easier than soft. It is winter, the water temperature is only 9C so not elevated! Only slightly alkaline too.

I have a half black female here (by accident) and she just dropped fry. 8)

I thought you said you had a poly box you could use? Try asking at Drs' surgeries or blood labs for a start. I have a garage full of them but am too far away to be of use to you. :roll:

Double bag the fish (that is, add fish and water to bag - 1/4 water to 3/4 air - then put that bag inside another bag). If you have the space in the poly box I would bag each angel separately too, one per bag. Do not feed them for 12hrs or so before they go (if you have the time frame to allow for this) as less eating = less waste. Put the bag in the poly box and scrunch up newspaper around it to keep it firmly in place. Bubble wrap works too if you have it but newspaper is fine and has excellent insulating properties. There were people on here that were selling heat packs. You can buy them at sports goods stores too but I do not know the heat range of those. I have never used heat packs so can't advise. Tape down poly box lid. Put big arrows, this side up, and FRAGILE on the box. Which courier company varies from area to area as some will not take live animals. Send overnight and find out what the latest time is to drop them off at the depot so they are not sitting there all day for no reason.

No, he knew what I meant but it was the doodackies that got him confused :roll:

I am loathe to use any sort of medication unless I know what it is that is wrong :-? The fish seem to hang at the surface, like they were sunbathing. Do not appear distressed and, apart from those shown, do not have any marks or sores on them. They are not actually gasping at the surface or doing anything else abnormal. I might set up the paddling pool and attach a spare Fluval or Jebo and the UV light. I can put it near the verandah so keep the filters dry under there. I am concerned that the filter inlet and outlet are close together in the pond so not sure how long it would take for all the water to be fed through the UV. The fish tend to hang out at the end opposite to the filter so I do not think will get the full benefit, quickly, in the main pond. Not sure how to drain 10,624L of water considering how water logged the ground is already! Luckily, we are in what used to be the old river course so it will actually drain away. A hose through to the reserve next door is probably the best option.

When I was measuring for curtains, I would tell Grant it was 2 meters, 3 inches and a couple of doodackies long. :roll:

Thanks for that jn. I still have no idea what it is and two of the above fish were dead this morning. Well one was, the other was so far gone it got whacked. I have looked through a number of disease sites. Not sure how to salt a pond in the right dose. It is approx 8.3m x 3.2m and varies in depth but probably averages out about 40cm so holds around 10,624 litres of water (give or take a bit). Besides, every time I have tried to treat a goldfish with salt it has promptly died :roll: It might mean emptying the pond, putting the fish in a smaller pond to treat, then re-filling the big one. Didn't think to check the pH but it has not crashed. It is about 7.2 - 7.4. This is a lot lower than it was (as some exposed concrete meant it was a very dark blue originally on the colour chart) but it would have dropped slowly enough not to bother the fish I am sure.

I haven't considered anything in particular but looking at images of columnaris it doesn't seem to match my fish :-? Whatever it is, I hope the UV fixes it! After the problems with the tropical tank this is the last thing I need

Not sure what is going on but I have fished out 8 bodies so far and many others looking lethargic. Hard to tell though as it is winter and usually I don't see the fish over winter at all as they stay on the bottom under the deck until the weather warms. This winter has been so wet and mild they do not seem to have hibernated as usual and I wonder if the 'warmer' temperatures have caused the problem. Water temp is still 9C! Usually it is closer to 2C and freezes over for a few weeks. This year it has only frozen over 2 days :-? They appear to have some sort of growth on their tails. Not quite what I expect fin rot to look like. No rotting ends, not red streaks. Some also have sores on their body. One has a major growth on its nose. It looks hard but when I tried to pick it off (thinking it might just be a secondary fungal growth over a wound) it would not come off and felt jelly-like. The sores on the side may look a little fluffy but, on close inspection, are not. They too, and the growths on the tails, feel jelly-like. Grant has just gone off to purchase suitable hose to attach the UV filter to the pump and see if that helps. Any other suggestions as to what it might be?

Hard to tell without knowing if the redness and bloating was present before the fish died or a result of floating dead for a few hours before you saw it. Unless you have a good microscope and know how to disect a fish (and then understand what you are looking at) it will probably remain a random, unexplained death :-?