Caryl

Clamped fins are a sign of stress. What size is the tank and how many fish in it (what sort?). They may have been fine up until now but fish grow. Are you now overstocked?

I have a Laguna pump in my pond and got it from The Water Garden in Blenheim Rd.

How long has the tank been set up? Have you done any tests for ammonia, nitrite or nitrate? Sounds like they are stressed.

14 - 18C is good but raise to 22C to breed them. Below 10C and they stop eating. A club member used to breed them here outside over summer. Gets too cold for them in winter though.

If you only have space for a 90cm tank I suggest you move house

Yes they can for those who live in the warmer areas.

I have had gouramis with no problems but gave up on the dwarf ones.

I always go to glaziers for glass or complete tanks. They don't have the markups that pet shops add to theirs. Added advantage they can make it to the exact size you want.

Another place would be farm supply places as they would be good farm dogs. Know any farmers you could ask if they know anyone wanting a pup?

It differs from almost instant to years :roll: If it isn't too big, try boiling it in water with baking soda added. Rinse well afterwards. Someone claimed the baking soda helps release the air bubbles trapped in the wood. Don't know if this is so and I have never tried it.

Sane? What's that??

How are they doing now Paul?

Don't forget to take the running costs into account. We are talking big biccies here.

It is also the off topic site and the person is asking where the best place would be to sell the puppies. Sparkynat wasn't "offloading general goods", just asking for advice. I would agree with cichlid7 that online trade sites would be good. You could also contact your local SPCA. Do you have a local freebie paper? That would be another place. Local vets often have noticeboards as do supermarkets.

Try looknig for AnimaTes

FNZAS members get discounts at participating fish shops nationwide plus they get free copies of the NZ Aquarium World magazine. They also get a Year Book listing all other clubs and members nationwide, handy if you are wanting to buy or swap fish or plants with others. I take mine with me when I travel so I can contact fish keepers as I go and meet new people and see other aquariums and ponds to get ideas etc.

Of course I should have thought of swordtails and platys :roll:

Sorry about the typos in my last post. I am at work and rushed it off before a proper check :roll: Goldfish need a lot of space so 3 would fit in a 3ft tank - minimum. Sorry I know nothing about the cleaner you purchased so can't help there. Whitespot remedies are easy to find at any LFS. Just follow the instructions on the bottle. Sexing goldfish isn't always easy. Look down on them from above. The males are more streamlined. Females tend to bulge slightly to one side making their tails look slightly out of line. Also, when about to spawn, males develop white spots around the gill plates. When I mentioned the fancier types of goldfish, I meant veiltails or fantails. For other types of fish you would have to go tropical. You can get gold gouramis or black widow tetras as an example. Google these and see what you think. You would have to buy a heaterstat if you decided to do this.

LOTS of books :bounce: a game of chocolate Trivial Pursuit some glass fish (ornamental ones that is) a tropical fish calendar a toy gingerbread man (the one from Shrek - NOT THE BUTTONS!) :lol: set of gardening tools chocolates Most fun though was giving a present... got together with my brothers and sister and bought the parents a 31" wide screen TV. They love it :lol:

Ooh would love a tarantula. They look cute 8)

I suspect bullying from the larger male. Has he plenty of plant or places he can get away from the larger fish?

I don't think that is a bad bit :lol:

Please remember, signing up to this site does not make you a member of the FNZAS. To do this you must join an affiliated club.

Hi and welcome. Sorry your first foray into fish keeping is not going well. Let's look at the problems one at a time... Prob # 1 - after about 2 weeks of moving them into their new home, they started to go to the top of the tank i though it was because they were hungry then checked at the petshop and they said they might need some air so told me to buy oxygen plant which i did and put it in their tank. A bowl is totally unsuitable for goldfish (they have been banned in some countries) and they need something much bigger. Personally I like to see all but the fancy long finned varieties in ponds, not tanks or bowls. If oxygen lack was the problem (and it probably was) an oxygen lpant would have done little to alleviate it. An airstone would have been better. Prob # 2 - after doing a full water change and putting the new filter and airstone in the water became blacklike and murky so i assumed i did it wrong and after 3 days did another full water change, then again after 3 days noticed the water changed to the same colour and decided to pull the filter out. I believe this to be the problem and decided to just do a 10% change everyday to keep them happy As suggested, did it have carbon in it somewhere? Sounds like loose carbon dust has fouled the water. What sort of filter is it? If it was one you put under the fravel, did you clean the gravel? If not, you will have stirred up all the muck trapped in the gravel since you had not been cleaning it before this by the sounds of it. Prob # 3 - before the last water chage i notice my fish were really fat, alot fatter in the tummy than when i got them so jumped on the net and realised i may be over feeding them so have now cut down the amount of food i give them especially cause they live in a bowl! Some species of goldfish are supposed to be fat. Feeding once a day, a small pinch, is plenty. More important is to make suer there is no leftover uneaten food which will foul the water. Prob # 4 - after noticing the large bellies - i notice one of my fish has two white spots on both sides of its tummy and am now worried it is sick. Do you mean it has 2 white spots at the front of its belly, behind the gills? If so, this means you have a male who is ready to spawn if given the chance. If further down the belly it is most likely whitespot, caused by stress. I have done alot of reading and want to get more fish so am investing in a larger tank - hopefully this will make my current two fish happier. After that i want to add another 7 goldfish to make 9 my total collection. Please do not put 9 goldfish in a bowl or tank. As said, they shuold be in a opnd. Have you considered a different species of fish to try?

It would be good to get a Whangarei club going though