Caryl

I am shocked there do not seem to be people managing to keep fish longer than a few years! There should be a lot more 8 yr+ fishes out there.

Still no change but at least he isn't worse! I don't think we will bring him to Chch as his balance isn't too good and I think it would be too stressful for him to keep steady in the moving vehicle. At the moment he isn't flying much as he is having trouble landing He will go to his grandparents who will look after him and give him his meds (dad helped with the first dose).

...and we wouldn't have had the foggiest idea what it was we had mist :lol: :roll:

I doubt the average chain store assistant has heard of the FNZAS so a T shirt would not make a difference We used to have them actually but demand dropped off.

Oooh look, a pic! A very nice one too. 8)

What pic? :-? Must be lost in the mist

Fish are well thanks Christian but budgie is sick We have no trouble selling decoders. Sell a lot to people in camper vans and house buses too. Europeans like to be able to see programmes from over there too.

He is still alive this morning so the stress can't have been too bad for him. Yes Jennifer he perked up the vets like nothing was wrong but it didn't last long! Because he is usually such an active bird, and talkative, I noticed quite quickly when he started going downhill. It was actually the way he was holding his wings that made me suspect something more was wrong. Before that I thought he was just not coping so well with the heat I think we actually miss havinbg him chewing up the books and throwing computer screws and pens off the desks! :roll:

I am sorry to say we have to remove spoon from our itinerary as he is no longer able to give us a grand tour

Probably no-one as they all go and play with the torrents and stuff :lol:

If he is still sick (and not dead) I think we will have to bring him with us as I would hate to leave him home sick all by himself and he will still be being medicated. Your offer of help may just be what we need and we will take you up on it! :lol: He knows when something is sneaking up on him be it hand or cloth. We tried both tonight and finally caught him in a 2 pronged attack - while he was dodging the net coming up behind dad grabbed him from the front 8)

If the containers are not fish friendly, why would they be OK for water?

I am another who hates having shop staff approach me (often several times in a short space of time at one particular chain store, not in Auckland) asking how I am and if I need help. If I want someone I prefer to go and find them, or attract their attention, not have to be chatty every 5 minutes to perky staff member asking me how my day has been and interrupting my chain of thought :-?

I'm not actually sure he will get well. I am hoping to make his last days more comfortable though Since Grant is not yet home from work, and won't be until well after Bud's bedtime, I asked my dad to come over to help as he used to breed them and has experience handling budgies. What a performance! First, I tried to offer the end of the syringe for him to nibble, which he did but not enough to get the meds into him. He then refused to go near it and kept taking off whenever we were about to pick him up. I did not want to try and catch him while he was in his cage as that is his safe place and he doesn't like hands in there. We finally managed to catch him and dad held him while I pinched his beak open and got the meds in. He was not a happy chappy for a while and is now sitting on top of his cage so exhausted from trying to get away from me ever since that he has fallen asleep. On a good note, he pooped on my shoulder. I was starting to think he was constipated but have proof he isn't :lol: Only 9 days of this to go :roll:

Light wholesale places like Cory's or mastertrade etc. Probably have them at Mitre 10, Placemakers and such too

If you are able to move the tank with the gravel left in it (don't forget they can be very heavy and stress the glass if you try and do this with a larger tank) then leave just enough water to cover the gravel and leave the loaches in it. Slide it onto a thick board rather than lift up the tank itself. I cycled a filter on my tank then my son drove with it to Christchurch (a journey of 3.30 - 4hrs) and then set it up on his new tank so your filter will be fine if you keep the media wet. Rather than bag the fish, why don't you just put them in the 20L containers? I have no idea what temps you have been experiencing in Auckland but at this time of year for that short period of time I would not bother with heat pads.

Are you bringing some to the BBQ then? :lol: I do not know why anyone would want to rescue rats, they are vermin and give me the creeps To each his own 8)

Thanks for that suggestion. I am worried that holding him like that will kill him due to stress! The syringe doesn't have the needle on it, just a thin tube. The vet did not want to inject such a small bird either as she thought it would stress him too much. If he is going to die anyway perhaps going quickly from the stress is preferable to slowly drowning with fluid on his little lungs

He hangs (or his cage does) from a bungee in the corner of the living room so is warm and away from drafts. Although he loved the ride to the vet this morning top down in the MX5 :lol:

I will try Googling first thanks Jennifer. Whatever I get needs to be short and suitable for 40L. I know Eheims have a good name but don't want to pay that much. I was looking at the small $26 models available here and there (can't remember the brand offhand)

I think we would get a similar rating...for instance... "Some members are very helpful and quick to offer good advice. 8) Don't take any notice of the young guy who posts on Wednesdays though as he doesn't know as much as he thinks he does! I took his advice and wiped out all my guppies! There are several members who only post negative remarks or object to, or refute, what someone else has posted. Their way is the only way and everyone else has no idea what they are talking about :roll: A lot depends on what time you are in there. Evenings are best as you can get a good range of answers but don't bother going in early morning as you will likely be ignored for some time, no matter if you have posted a question :-? " :lol: :lol: :lol: PS. No reference was made to any particular member here, it was all hypothetical!!!

If the lights are just to see, why not use an eco bulb on a long lead and cover it with a bit off plastic offcut from guttering. You can get bits of it free from building sites or guttering installers. You can buy end caps if you want it to be fancy but will have to cut a small gap in one for the cord to go through Here is a fancy version...

Once you cut back on the feeding the planaria numbers will drop as well. They are harmless but look unsightly. I found not all fish will eat them. Don't make the gravel too sparkly if you have live plants in there as they need something to feed on!

bdspider, that is the route I had in mind. How long we spend in each place depends on how many fish they have at the time. We want to see Animates too as we want to compare all. I am also on the lookout for a small internal canister filter (like a Shark) so if anyone knows of any on special somewhere... Remember our members have other animals besides fish so are happy to look at dry goods and other stuff for pets in general so Animates can be good in that respect. We do not have a selection up here (just a garden centre) so appreciate being able to see what is available and can be seen on the shelves. On Sunday we can do the others on the list then backtrack to anywhere that had something someone wanted the day before

I had to take Bud to the vet today. She said he is one sick budgie Here is what he used to look like... and here he is today... We suspect pneumonia or some sort of chest infection. You can actually hear him rasp as he breathes and he has been sneezing (not just saying "Achoo! either!!). He can't sit comfortably as his breathing is restricted. He also appears to be rather full in the vent area but seems to be pooing as normal and he is eating and drinking fine. He is also having trouble sitting on his perch at times and spends some time on the floor resting. He has stopped talking, or making any noise at all for that matter, and sleeps most of the time. The vet has given me a 1ml syringe full of antibiotic I need to try and get into him. Any suggestions? I need to get 1 marked segment into him each day for 10 days. I know the total is 1 ml but I don't know what 1/10th of that is called :roll: It seems like a lot of liquid! I can't hold him and squirt it in as he hates being touched. I will try to hold it so he nibbles on it like a baby bird would when its mother was feeding it. He likes carrot but that won't absorb the liquid. I could soak a sultana in it but I doubt he would eat a whole sultana. If I can't get him to take it off the syringe I will put it in a bottle cap and see if he will voluntarily drink it that way. The vet said to try not to dilute it. Interestingly enough, she had never heard of the testicular cancer theory in regards to his changed cere but also said she had not come across one whose cere had changed so dramatically. She did point out you could see the blue up his nostrils though :lol: If anyone has any suggestions on how to get the medicine into him I would be grateful