Caryl

I doubt the addition of that many small fish into a tank that size would be a problem. It is possible it was injured when being caught.

There is nothing to spray over the fenceline and the fence is solid iron so I doubt spray would get through that, then the thick row of hebes and into the pond but will check on Monday. They have never sprayed before so doubt they are doing so now. Not age as none of them are anywhere near old age. We haven't had any temperature changes that would affect such a large body of water. I started feeding them last week and wondered if the fish food had gone off but more would be affected if that was the case. I have thrown out the old food as a precaution although it looked and smelled like the new food.

The above was taken looking down on the fish. The patch that looks a bit like a skull is just reflection. It is in a plastic container sitting on a stainless steel draining bit of the bench. This is from the front.

The past two days have had the death of one very large and one medium sized goldfish each day and today I have another small - medium about to expire. I have seen no sign of them spawning yet and do not usually until November, so it is not exhausted females. There is not a mark on them. Full colour, no redness, rapid breathing, bloating, fin rot or swim bladder problem. They just curl slightly and die. These photos show the smallest. It is still alive, breathing normally. If startled it can swim away then just goes back to hanging curled on its side. Pond appears as usual. Fresh water runs into it continually via a ballcock. Filter and waterfall running well. No garden spraying that I know of done by neighbours (besides, I would expect more deaths if that was the case). We back on to a reserve and nothing is done over there except the occasional mowing. I would attach photo but it keeps telling me I am only allowed 215.04kb despite the pic only being 79kb. Trying a Photobucket link instead.

What are these mobile devices called tablets and Ipads? Us oldies do not require autocorrect as we were taught to spell correctly in the first place

Just trying to look at the site on my phone. First time I have used internet on phone. Why do people prefer to do this rather than use a computer? It is small & fiddly!

We ARE on Facebook. Many may not have bothered switching to the new site and logging in again as required. Also, lovely weather and time to be in the garden so daylight saving has them enjoying the sunshine.

I have used it. Can't remember anything bad happening (or especially good either) but I have been senile longer than you I believe it is supposed to be good as I have vague memories of people being pleased when it was introduced to NZ a few (probably a lot) years ago. My fish certainly ate it happily.

Haul it out and add to the compost. If you get rid of it all at once you will probably end up with a major crash in the pond with it going green as the nutrient balance will be upset by such a sudden change. Just trim it as you would any plant.

I have 5 or 6 large poly boxes (would fit a couple of 6 packs in each of them I guess) and 7 x 6 pack size poly boxes if anyone wants them. All have lids. Free to a good home but if you want them sent to you, you pay the freight. We will be in Christchurch this weekend so anyone there can pick them up from Belfast.

I am sure all specialised shops have trouble finding knowledgeable staff, especially on the low wages they can afford to offer and in such a small town too. I would be contacting the owner (hopefully one of the women involved was not an owner) and explaining, nicely, what had happened and your concern the staff had not been trained in the correct procedure for catching fish. I would suggest too they get a book describing the basic needs of most fish sold there so they can look up information regarding individual requirements. If the reaction you get is not satisfactory then I would shop elsewhere.

It is a great hobby to have when you have children to help (or hinder as is sometimes the case, especially with over-zealous feeding) see it develop and get involved in the setting up, aquascaping, choosing the inhabitants and on-going maintenance.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/72546174/first-sighting-of-glowing-sea-turtle

Hi and welcome. I am sure you will find other cichlid lovers here!

Long term filtration in a 65L tank, you will find the under gravel filter will work very well. If you want live plants you will need a substrate at least 5cm deep over the filter plate though.

At the top of the page you will see a link to Local Clubs. Click on that to find details for the Hawkes Bay Aquarium Society. I am sure members there will be very helpful and I recommend you join their club. Note that 65L is small so you will be very limited in species and numbers of fish you will be able to keep in there.

Welcome. If you add your location, there may be someone willing to sell you unwanted equipment. We also have the buy sell and exchange section in these forums. Someone might have a filter to offer and can also provide cycled media. I have a soft spot for under gravel filters and like them on tanks up to 2ft.

I would agree with Ira - the more the merrier. Dave's cell phone number is listed above so message him but as most are staying at the Oasis Motel I would suggest it to be a good starting place (just be there early enough before they have left!). The swamp is on the main road so if you just drive along until you see a row of cars and muddy people wading through hot pools I am sure you will be in the right place

http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/71815561/waikato-womans-tropical-fish-save-family-home-from-fire

Keeping stretching to a minimum certainly helps but is not enough. You can run a wet finger over it gently and it will remove some of the cracking. I am sure there is a trick to it that the professionals know. William's mother had no trouble cutting it in half. William was more upset that there were no candles on it! His mum removed 4 hairs, put the candles in, then removed the candles and put the hair back

I would like to know how to stop it cracking, especially on curves!

Tasman Bay Herbs started experimenting with aquaponics using grass carp in 2010. I don't know whether it has been successful from the fish side but the vegetables and herbs were selling well. He was going to liaise with chefs to find recipes for the carp. http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/lifestyle-entertainment/3397569/Fish-used-to-grow-veges

Just checking to see if I can do this using drag and drop. This is a pic of the birthday cake I made, as requested, for my 4 year old neighbour.

I have moss, C affinis and tons of red rotala. Red rotala is so easy to grow I reckon you could plant it upsidedown and it would still grow! You can lie a strand longwise along the gravel, anchoring it with rocks or whatever, and it will grow up shoots all along the length. It will cost you whatever the postage is. Overnight tracked will probably be somewhere between $10 - $18 between islands I imagine.