Caryl

I would be happy to do so if I also had permission to publish it in the Aquarium World magazine (with pics) :bounce:

My mother got upset when we were at Wharf Aquatics in the UK. They had a stack of crickets, all madly chirrupping away. It was very noisy! When she realised they were being sold as food she said no wonder they were complaining so loudly :lol:

Excellent!

But that describes Auckland most days doesn't it? :lol: It is -1C here at the moment. I think we are supposed to go down to -3 tonight. Should be a gorgeous day tomorrow though.

I have controlled myself and am down to ONE TANK 8) A 280L community.

Remember? After 16 years???? Errr no. I know she used luncheon, baby cereal, cat food, porridge and bread.

Nice cats :lol:

How did you find out the Snickers bars have shrunk? (Perhaps it was the hail, they have contracted in the cold :roll: )

Fish are very useful as subjects for Science Fair projects aren't they? Judges particularly like stuff that has had to be done over a longer period of time My daughter did one on which food white worms preferred. My son did one on lighting but I can't remember what exactly. He then did another on whether plant fertilisers made the plants grow faster. He kept a diary on that for over 3 months and impressed the judges. He won money for that one if I remember correctly (or maybe Kelly won it with the white worms. It was many years ago now!) Will you be setting up the display with the actual fish or just diagrams and photos?

I know it is winter so snow reports are to be expected but the weather here in Blenheim has been odd today! I walked in to town this morning and it was not too cold and a lovely sunny day. When I walked back again (after being the supermarket about 10 minutes) it was starting to rain. As I continued back home (it is a 4km walk so takes about 35 minutes) it started to hail on me. Luckily it was small stuff so didn't hurt much. By the time I reached my house it wasn't raining or hailing (and hadn't been at this end of town). The afternoon has been bright and sunny again but reports are that Wellington now has the stormy weather they had further south. Must have missed us as usual, apart from the short episode of hail :-? Have those of you in storm affected areas thought ahead to what to do for your tanks in the event of a power cut?

Goin' good supasi!

Before I move this to the correct area, would you tell me what a Hippruis is please? I cannot find anything under that spelling, or anything similar.

Yes you can siphon a planted tank. Try not to disturb the plant roots though. I siphon all the open areas thoroughly, stirring up the gravel as much as possible, then just lightly hold the siphon over the plants, gently pressing down as far as possible without damaging the leaves. How far this is depends on the type of plant. It is always better to only lightly siphon around the plants anyway as they feed on the muck that gathers around the base of each one.

You heard him - you have to stop breathing as well :lol:

You will need more than your lunch money (unless you have big lunches) as they have a LOT to choose from! We stopped in on our way home from conference. My eye caught some fish I think RD (the owner) said were blue Dempseys. Gorgeous fish but they would kill most of the other inhabitants in my tank so they had to stay where they were

Thanks Olly. It is good to see someone seriously considering the well being of a fish and its needs before buying it. Well done

I found these replies most interesting as I wasn't aware a betta would find a bottom dwelling fish a threat. I have never kept bettas so don't know too much about them but I thought they only attacked other bettas, or fish that were a similar shape. :-?

They couldn't remove it from the tank though and are not expected to. UGFs drag it under and that is where the good bacteria grow. I have used UGFs for many years and never had a problem with one. I only use them in small tanks though as I don't think they are efficient enough for larger ones.

Cool photos! 8)

I think it was just a case of the lack cleaning maintenance. You should not need an undergravel filter. It is when it smells really rotten you need worry, and big stinky bubbles come up when you shove the siphon into the substrate. Depth of gravel can make a difference too. Deep stuff can get 'dead' patches which stink when disturbed and are toxic.

There's only one of her now! :lol: Welcome. You aren't the first to buy a stunted or otherwise imperfect fish because you felt sorry for it :-?

Orana Park, Willowbank Wildlife Centre and Redwood Aquatics are all near each other The aquarium place is in the Square Hagley Park has a children's play area. You could sit while he exercised (and is free) a ride up the gondola the museum has some good bits like the Victorian street (and is free)

You should be able to buy it from landscaping places. I have several lying about the yard :-? Not sure what it would cost to post 8)

Do you belong to the local fish club? They had some marine members. Ask Denise at The Pet Warehouse as she is a club member and would know who you could contact.

Mine actually runs closer to 22C - 24C