Caryl

Merry Fishmas! :cr11:

I thought I had answered this then realised it has been posted in two different sections. I said similar - it has scraped its side.

Looks like it may have wriggled in, or out, of a tight spot and scraped its side. White spot appears all over the body and looks like the fish has been sprinkled with salt.

Yes, I was going to suggest contacting the Dunedin club.

I ran a local rockpool marine for a couple of years but lack of a chiller meant I could not keep the temperature down at the required level so had to give it up. All I did was set up a 3ft tank, went down the Kaikoura coast and gathered up rocks, water and rock pool inhabitants then took it all home and poured it in the waiting tank (the rocks were carefully placed first ;-) ) I had a HOB filter and nothing else. There were lots of shrimp plus little red jelly anemones, a triplefin or two and a rockfish, a sea cucumber, chitons, starfish, brittlestars, and for a while, a baby octopus that a fishing friend brought in for us. As the room sat at 28C in summer and the water needed to be 15C or below, the freezer worked overtime freezing 3L bottles of water and still didn't get lower than 18C.

Indeed it is. Reminded me about another song I have always liked... Kansas - Dust In The Wind

I have stopped re-potting mine as they outgrow them anyway. I just use a rock to anchor some of the roots down. We cleaned out our pond, which had a thick layer of sludge on the bottom. This was thrown on the garden with no ill effects so a bit of algae won't hurt. Not sure if the lilies will like being re-potted while flowering though. Why not just dump them back in and divide and re-pot after they have finished? Mine sat on the grass for a day or two before we got them back in the pond and all recovered.

I had 8 adults, 4 of them male, living together in a 4ft, 280L, heavily planted tank for almost 15 years with no problems. They certainly fought over food and girls a bit but not in a way that lead to damage or death.

Keepers of what? I assume fish but since it is in off topic...

I have heard people say their BNs have killed each other but mine never have. Perhaps if the tank is big enough with plenty of hiding places, and plants, they have a chance to get away?

Thought I would add a full shot of the tank before once again hauling out excess rotala. It grows like a weed! :roll:

Here are some photos to show how different rotala looks between its emersed state and submerged... Here it is growing amongst some Java moss on top of a rimu log This bit had been growing up out of the water as the water level had dropped considerably. I have just done a water change and topped up the tank.

That would work well with my experience then as I too found they did not grow but coped for about 6 months then slowly died. Rotating them is a good idea.

You may find they don't last too well underwater over time. I have heard a lot of people say this and experienced it myself. Maybe they just require a lot of ferts and that is something they would not get in my setup!

I can't remember the last time I did a water change but the tank does get topped up. It has been going over 10 years, is heavily planted and lightly stocked.

I would be asking for an itemised account!

It definitely is what they say it is. Different fish look totally different with different patterns. Look up the scientific name for more pictures that match the one they used.

:slfg: I am sure there are many in Wellington with female BNs. One may even be willing to sell one to you. There have been many bred the past few years.

Welcome. You need at least one boy and one girl plus plenty of small hiding places then let nature take its course.

I was unaware we didn't have suitable ammonia here. Can't you get pure ammonia from the chemist?

This is typical goldfish behaviour. They suck the algae off them and usually spit them out again. Sometimes they swallow them and if they are the wrong size, they can get stuck and cause a blockage.

Good to know Alan. I have never had a fish with the infectious version (fins crossed), just an old wound that healed over.

- Does your water contain chlorine?* NO - Do you use a dechlorinator?* NO - Do you know where your water comes from, if so do you know the average levels (eg residual chlorine) in your water supply? ARTESIAN SUPPLY (EG. Mine comes from Ardmore and Waikato, and according to the 2013 Water Report their averages are, in mg/L, 1.10, 0.95 and 0.97) - How old is your tank? 12 - 15 years + - Does your use of dechlorinator change based on the "maturity" of the tank? N/A

If the weight of the rock can break the wood I would question whether it was suitable for the aquarium as it sounds rotten, unless it is fine roots. A rock will only break the tank if you drop it on the glass, or it falls over against the side.

You sometimes find these growths eventually get knocked off and the fish has healed perfectly underneath. If it is eating and acting normally I would be inclined to leave it be. I suspect it injured itself at some point and the injury then developed the fungal growth.