Caryl

Finding appropriate guest speakers when you live in a small town can be difficult. When our club first began, and we had a large membership, we had a sales table. Didn't have to be aquatic and a percentage of the sale went to club. We also had a table show. Each meeting we would select a different class or group of fish to be entered and this would be mentioned in the newsletter before the meeting so members knew, for example, that this month's show was for "livebearers", "barbs", "pairs" etc. Members brought their fish in small Critter Keepers or jars. The room was kept warm so heating wasn't a problem. We also ran a monthly raffle. Each member brought a food item to go in the raffle and the winner took the lot. The raffle paid for the hall hire ($8 a meeting) with more left to bank. We have had demonstrations of tank landscaping, how to set up a specific type of tank, tank building/repairing, filter maintenance, plant care, and once did a demo on how to change the diaphragms in the air pumps. Another interesting evening was when we handed all members some empty film canisters and asked them to bring them to the next meeting with a water sample from their tap, and samples of water from their tanks. They were also told to bring any pH test kits they had. We then compared the readings and the test results. We had new kits, old kits, and very old kits. We had test strips, drops and electronic meters. It was interesting to see we got the same readings from all the kits so pH kits are accurate, no matter how old! The electronic meter we used was highly accurate and recently calibrated (borrowed from the local salmon factory). It was also interesting to see what a wide range of pH tanks were, and how the same species of fishes were being kept in widely differeing pH's, and all doing well, despite what the books said their pH prefernce was. Guest speakers can be difficult. Try a local MAF person, if you have one, or whoever on the council is responsible for control of pest plants. You might find that a number of members also have another interest in common. Get a speaker on that topic. Our local MX5 club realised the majority also had 4WDs so one of our runs was a 4WD trip through the Mangatapu Ranges. Got a local mini golf? As mentioned, Kapi-Mana went Go-karting. A local aquarium? Paintball. Anyone able to organise a team game indoors? Bowls, netball, cricket etc.

One of the NZKA members works for them and organised the discount offer. Among the stuff they sell are hoses and Hansen fittings and fittings that could be useful to the aquarist.

Kapi-Mana have great go-kart nights 8)

Yes they can drop over a day or two

Hi and welcome. As said, your tank is way too small for goldfish. As you have now totally cleaned out the substrate, I suspect you tank will have to start cycling again. You asked the purpose of the pump. It pumps the air through the undergravel filter plates and needs to be on 24/7. It supplies air to the beneficial bacteria growing in the muck under the plate. The bacteria grow in relation to the amount the fish poo. New tanks often get quite a bit of algae to start as the nutrients are not balanced yet. Over time as plants grow and the bacteria build up, the algae dies off again as they compete with the plants for food and, hopefully, the plants win.

Can't see anything as it demands name and password Heir

Yeah that was it. 8) We also visited the nearby ladies' market, flower market, bird market, electronics market and jade market, to name a few. We stayed just off Nathan Rd opposite the Temple St night markets (our favourite)

Yes

The fish market we saw in Hong Kong (probably the same one as above) was a whole street of just fish. They also had several streets of craft stuff - shop after shop just selling buttons, bows, ribbons, lace etc

No aliens? Well that just took all the fun out of it :-? :roll: :lol:

I don't think we have Amano shrimp in NZ.

I would expect the plec chips to be better for them than the zuchini, as it would have more nutrients. Just a thought.

Hi and welcome

Are they getting enough to eat? 30 days is often the critical time for fry, food-wise, I have found

Welcome

I believe it is illegal to sell body parts (especially if they are not yours). Wonder if you can swap them though? As in... Would you like to exchange your red aro for my right kidney? :lol:

Welcome Alice. I suggest you join the Dunedin Aquarium Club (ask Denise about it at The Pet Warehouse). They could help you cycle the tank with a bit of bacteria filled media too I am sure.

I don't know what to say Loopy. You must be devastated

Too many places in Hong Kong to narrow down suggestions. Just try and see as much as you can. Have a good trip.

Empty??? Not full of Kiwi Crush???? :lol:

Don't feel sorry for me - I got a new kitchen Actually, once the tank was removed the island straightened up again.

The email from my loving son consisted of the words "I love you" but the word "love" was actually a monkey's red backside shaped like a heart :roll:

Up the top of the page you will see IR Chat (1). Ignore the (1) it is lying :lol: It is a chat room where you "talk" by typing in real time to whoever is in the room with you. If you enter through this forum (which Cees doesn't recommend but it works for me) you need to install Javascript first. This is a free download. Google it and follow the instructions.

There are 2 others coming to conference from Auckland but they do not belong to this forum. They live in Takanini and Mangere East. I don't know if those suburbs are near you. If they are I am sure I could ask them to transport fish if wilson brings them over. Easier to get someone to ship from ChCh though or they will be in for a long trip.

I didn't realise it was Mothers Day until my son texted me saying "Happy Mothers Day - check your email!" :roll: I had a lovely day. We slept in (after a late night tour of Monteith's Brewery in Greymouth then BBQ tea at the Railway Hotel (all you can eat sausages, bread and salads for $5 ) We got up and our motel hosts cooked us all breakfast of sausages, hash browns, bacon, eggs, toast and whitebait. We then headed up the west coast stopping at a model village then lunch at Punakaiki followed by a few bush walks to walk off the food! We then had dinner at Beechwoods in Murchison before arriving home. All in all a great weekend, not just day. Gorgeous top down weather to be touring with the MX5 car club 8)