Caryl

Good: Still only work one day a week (well, paid work that is) Don't owe anyone anything (no mortgage either) Haven't killed husband (but it has been a close thing a couple of times) Saved heaps cos I bike and work so fuel prices didn't affect me much Booked overseas trip for next year and arranging to meet some UK members of another fish forum Helped mum lose 20kg and get fit so she can go on our trip with us Enjoyed doing the Silver Fern Classic Car Rally around the South Island Enjoyed many trips out and about with the MX5 club Bad: father almost died due to perforated gall bladder and resulting septicaemia (on the mend now) Having trouble with early menopause (which is why Grant almost got killed :lol: ) Might need glasses in the next 12 months

I am sure there are very few dumb things some of us haven't done in our time fish keeping :roll: :lol: Having thought about it though, I can't think of anything I have done that fits the category (not to do with fish keeping anyway) - yet

May make it worse. Cyano seems to take off when the tank gets out of balance. What has changed in that one tank I don't know but something has and it is to the cyano's liking I got mine when I added some plants that had a little of it on them and it took off really fast. After trying the blackout and other natural methodes I finally used erythromycin and it got rid of it very quickly, and it hasn't returned since. I have a bit of spare erythromycin if you want to try it. Unlike Alanmin4304, I did not notice any change in my filter bacteria and didn't lose any fish when using it.

They are threads to which you have replied at some point.

Bud wishes you all a merry Christmas and here is one of my Africans from a Christmas past...

At least you did it in your soon to be left flat and not the new one (didn't you??? )

If you do it all at once you lose all the good bacteria and the tank will have to cycle again. Change one drawer at a time, a month apart. Hmm doesn't sound like the lights are on too much or that you are overfeeding. Could be just phosphates in the water. I tend to have trouble only in summer months when the water table is low. I do not do any water changes over summr if I can help it for this reason (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!) :lol:

Why would you stop feeding? You want to feed them extra good food to condition them!

It is probably in the tree and you can't see it cos it is camouflaged

We work from home so don't get days off. You would be surprised how often someone will ring Christmas Day saying "Sorry, I know it's Christmas Day but..." :roll: So we are going out for the day and there is no cell phone coverage where we will be :lol:

How long do you have the lights on? I agree with Stella, too much light or too much food.

I was impressed you actually started by stating it was your own fault. It would have been easy to tell us you had had an accident without owning up to that. Well done.

Are they sure it's dropsy?

Some don't have a choice of companies :-?

What is everyone doing on Christmas Day or is it just another stat holiday for you? Having lunch with sister in law and various other inlaws then evening meal is a BBQ at daughter's place with whichever of my relatives are about. Who will you be with? Husband (plus whoever else is invited) Where? Okiwi Bay and Blenheim Does your family have any special Christmas traditions? No What did you ask Santa for? I didn't as we are heading overseas next year so figure that is enough.

Hi Fraser and welcome. You are probably the last to join before we move the site to the new server later today. Hope it doesn't confuse you! :lol:

There was a club in the North Shore but I think are in recess. Anyone got an update on this?

It happens so fast doesn't it? :-? Good nobody else was injured and yours don't appear to be serious.

I think they are just standard colour and pattern variations. Probably some gold morphs in the lineage somewhere too. Some of my females get quite long, straight bristles around the mouth but other don't. A bit like the males' bristle length, and amount of curl, varies between the fellas.

If you are asking then yes, it is definitely illegal. It is illegal in many other countries too.

The person you are arguing with does not live in NZ. Perhaps their regulations and laws differ from NZ.

Were the closeups of the fish taken at a different time to the pond pics? The pond looks very clear but the closeups don't. What a pity it dries up during summer months

Why do you need to heat it if it is only over summer? I breed tropicals outside over summer using a 6ft diameter kiddie pool. Don't need to heat it as it stays as warm as the tank inside, if not warmer during the day.

It has had a lot of rainwater in in recently :lol: How much peat would be required for a pond this size? I have a large filter I could stuff full of it. We have calculated roughly 6,600L of water. I think I would need a whole tree if I relied on driftwood :-?

I was just reading through a club newsletter in which one of their members was concerned about the high alkalinity in his concrete pond and wanted to know how to lower it. Since I had never checked the pH on my own pond I went out with the test tube and testing stuff - WOW what a gorgeous shade of deep blue! Now, obviously the fish don't care about the high pH (way off any charts I have) and have been merrily living and spawning (and being abducted by aliens to go Christmas shopping) in there for almost 3 years now but it might explain why the plants haven't taken off as well as I expected. When first built the pond was painted with some sort of coating but it is possible the concrete is leaching at the top edges. Anyone any ideas of naturally lowering pH in a large pond? Perhaps if I can find some barley straw this might help. I am curious to see if a lower pH makes the plants grow, since they prefer slight acidity.