Caryl

I like that Godly3vil :thup: I always told Grant that if he ever called me mum I would brain him. His dad always referred to his wife as mum, never by her name, even if it was just the two of them. Mum is a title and description. I used to tell my kids I was their mother but I also had a name and identity of my own.

I briefly considered Nan C - Nancy :bggrn: Because, Sophia, nana is a title not a name.

Bucket eggs :slfg:

My last sentence was aimed specifically at Ira as I knew what sort of names he would come up with :slfg: It isn't denial hovmoller, just surprise, as they had always said they weren't going to have children so I assumed I was not going to become a grandparent (other child not in a position to have a child and getting older). It is not something I ever particularly hankered for but my mum is so excited and said hearing she was to become a great grandnan was the best 60th wedding anniversary present she could get :thup: I suspect I will just be Nana.

I am going to be a grandmother but don't want to be known as Gran, Grandma, Nan, Nana etc. Anyone got any ideas for something suitable but different? Polite suggestions only please :bggrn:

I used goldfish to cycle my African tank filter then removed the goldfish and turned on the heater. As far as I know the bacteria were all fine. As you are in Auckland I can't see the temperature difference great enough to cause any major problem.

I have never kept discus but I don't think that is big enough for 11 discus.

You want quality more than quantity

You now need one much larger tank to house all the discus together

The water changes you are doing will be fine.

Saw that on TV. We have a Muddy Buddy one coming up but it is not something I will be doing! :bggrn:

Are we talking about a comet or something fancy? Comets really need to be in a pond in my opinion. Under gravels are not good as goldfish can dig up the plates and it gets messy. A box filter in the corner would work well and easy to see when it needs cleaning. Otherwise, have you any HOB filters lying about? Find a local waterway that has good clean oxygen weed and keep adding fresh (the goldfish will destroy/eat it). How big is the fish? If it is still small, you can cut back on those water changes. I would do 10L (one bucket) weekly.

Love the patterns on the Hermanns.

I gather this tank is not being moved far? ie within the region. If this is a move across town then there is no need to take several weeks to put the fish back. I like to save at least half of the original water. This has nothing to do with any bacteria in the water (very little) but stability of pH etc. If you use food safe containers you know they are good to fish, some plastics may not be. You can get big food/fish bins easily for a reasonable amount. I find chilly bins good. I have also transported a large number of cichlids from ChCh to Blenheim loose in a polystyrene box (they were in the box about 5 hours) with no plastic bags at all. I have cycled a filter in Blenheim then taken it to ChCh and hooked it straight up to the new tank, added all the fish immediately, and all was good. Although some bacteria will die, as long as the filter media remains wet inside the canister (don't empty the water out of it), plenty will survive for several hours. Empty the main tank, move it, fill it again with as much original water as you could reasonably manage, hook up the filter again, top up the tank, make sure the temperature is about right, turn the filter back on, put the fish back in. It will be the equivalent of a large water change.

I think the fish are missing Dena as she feeds them when she's here but went back home to Christchurch this morning :-? I have just put the royal icing over the almond icing of the fruit cake I have made. It is my parents' 60th wedding anniversary today so I am making the cake look extra special. Pity I hate fruit cake, so won't be eating it, but as mum said "It's my anniversary and I want a fruit cake. I don't care if you don't like it, your dad and I do!" They are going to celebrate by offering morning tea to their friends after church on Sunday, so I will be busy baking tomorrow as I am providing the goodies. One of them might be this as they sound delicious! !drool: My son found the recipe yesterday and I think it needs to be made. :smln: What do you think Sophia?

We run a business from home but the accountant works it all out so I can't say what we claim etc but do know we can claim for most stuff except food and clothing (if our business required specialised clothing it would be different). We claim a percentage of the house, power and vehicle expenses etc. I am sure there is probably more we could do but feel the effort is not worth it as it is swings and roundabouts, what you gain in one area you lose in another. The accountant does all she can to keep out outgoings low compared to income and I believe we manage to run at a loss. Of course, when your husband works 70+ hour weeks it doesn't leave much time to then work on home business stuff!

Reminds me of the old lava lamps! :bggrn:

I am sorry I missed it, the first conference I have missed since I started about 1991! Congratulations to all those elected and I hope you do (or continue to do) a great job over the next 12 months and get lots of help from others :bounce:

I watched that earlier and loved it! Who knew so much about invertebrates? :bggrn:

I have a Sony and buy kindle ebooks. They can be converted on a programme called Calibre. I am sure there are others that do the same job but we find this works well. That is the only bit I can help you with as I have not used an ereader for anything but reading without pictures.

A lot of Palmy fishkeepers get their water from a tap at Wet Pets I think because it is a well and the council system has a lot of chemicals in it, or is too hard. Can't remember which.

No you cannot bring medicated food into NZ

All my wood was washed up on the beach and already waterlogged so I can't advise as to whether it helps it sink more quickly. I suspect you have a tangle of roots which are not as dense as the heavier heart woods so it is less inclined to sink. If you have not filled the tank yet, silicone the wood to the side and base glass to keep it in place. I like M@.'s theory as I thought boiling released any air bubbles trapped in the wood. I remember being told adding baking soda to the water helped too (can't remember why or how much).

http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/9881817/ ... l-you-over

welcome. Yes there used to be a really active group in the Wairarapa but, like many, it has fallen by the wayside with people seeming to lose interest in face to face meetings You will find a lot of people in the area do keep fish though. You just have to mention you have them and you will be surprised how many others then say they have too.