Caryl

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

It will be good to see you again Alan. Check the MAC Shop Crawl thread for details.

My oldest would be a bristlenose who must be at least 10. A Dunedin member has several clown loaches in their late 20's, if not older.

OK all. Here is what is planned so far.... We hope to leave Blenheim about 6.30am so will reach Navarre sometime between 10am and 11am. We will bring a picnic lunch and lounge about at his place while we eat. Anyone who wishes to join us there please PM or email Navarre for his address. From here we will visit spoon (same deal with him for his address, unless he wishes to post it in the forum) then on to Redwood Aquatics. I think it best if we then continue over to Organism (don't worry John we are a small group so will fit in the shop!) and decide where to go from there, depending on time. Possibly Tower Junction or Critter Kingdom? I need to study a ChCh map I think to work out where these places are in relation to each other and Donna's place! We will be meeting at DonnaM's place, 18 Penrith Ave, Somerfield at 6pm for a BYO BBQ. We will have to decide which shops, and which order, we visit on Sunday after finding out where we got to on Saturday but eventually hope to see Redwoods, Organism, Critter Kingdom, Bubble N Squeak, Petworld and the Animates. Anyone missed? If anyone has some suggestions in the most economical way to see as many as possible from Belfast, round The Groynes, then ending up at Donna's at 6pm then suggest away please! My mobile is 021 158 6634 so you can text at any time to see where we are and where we are heading at any time. ALL WELCOME to participate for all or any part of the weekend. :bounce:

:lol:

Why don't you all go and bid on it where he has it for sale?

Not just any buns though!!!

We start at Navarre's place sometime between 10 and 11am (depending on how quickly we travel)

Cool! We'll be there! :lol: Just gotta confirm a BBQ start time with DonnaM

He doesn't actually train them. He merely leaves the dead, dried up, bodies of previous jumpers lying in front of the tank where the others can see them and hopefully learn from their mistakes