Caryl

Ain't fishkeeping fun? :bounce:

Time off? Try owning your own business and working from home. People seem to think it appropriate to call 24/7. The phone started at 7.30am (as usual), couriers start arriving at 7.15am and it is all go until midnight - 1.30am for my husband - 7 days a week. We have even had someone ring on Christmas Day one year as they had bought a printer and couldn't figure out how to make it go with their computer. Always the conversation starts with "Sorry to bother you BUT...) Only 10 exams would be a breeze. :roll:

I don't know if you have limestone in Wgtn but I have a lot of it here. A bit dear to post. Anyone coming this way over the holidays? You could load up the car boot

If you have a female guppy, chances are it is pregnant. Very hard to find one that isn't :lol: They can drop fry every 4 - 6 weeks and can carry sperm for several months so don't need a male very often (lucky girls) When about to drop the body will be very fat and you can often see the black dots of fry eyes through the belly of the fish. The gravid spot (where they come out) gets bigger and darker at this time (I imagine the fishy midwife saying "You are .5mm dilated dear, not long to go before you have to push!")

The vinegar test: Pour a little vinegar over your rock. If it fizzes, don't use it as it indicates the rock is not inert (ie won't alter the pH). Vinegar reacts that way to lime.

Salt won't be an issue because it will just wash off. They should be fine without more vinegar added. It is the white rocks you have to watch for as they can contain lime. Have you got a local rock and mineral club? They could tell you what the rock was and whether it is inert.

I wouldn't give them tabs or pellets. They are idiots and choke easily. Stick to flake. Daphnia will be good but my goldfish (when I had some in a tank insde) didn't seem to know what to do with white worms and they would sink into the gravel before the fish figured out what they were. It was then a case of 'out of sight out of mind' and I would have to siphon the worms out :roll: They did enjoy earthworms though. The kids used to dangle them in until a fish got a hold of it.

I gather they have not been bred in an aquarium so no fry expected. I htink they are Botia histronica, gold zebra loaches

My 2 loaches have been nuts all afternoon. Chasing each other, circling and shimmering at each other...

What physical size is the tank? Gallons don't mean anything to me (plus I don't know if you are using imperial or US). Are we talking 1.2m x 38 x 45 or so? If so, I wonder if your filtration is enough. I try not to do water changes over summer here as every time I do I get a white algal bloom. Don't have a problem any othre time except when the water table is low :-?

All my goldfish are comets. Can't keep fancy goldfish outside here - too cold in winter.

I might have a pond oscarboy but I don't have orandas If people just send PMs, how will the rest of us learn as well? I agree with IOU1, don't feed them pellets.

www.applesnail.net has all you need to know

Yes. Hope nobody nearby sprays persticides etc though. Better check first. I always have mozzie larvae and daphnia etc outside in ponds ready to feed to my fish.

No, we had the wrong policy. We are covered now

When I used the grolux the algae took over. :roll:

I buy "bright white" or "daylight" tubes from Mastertrade

Do you know the age of the fish? They will fade, get a little ragged looking and get thin when old.

Some lay eggs above the water line. Depends on the type of snail.

My friend had the Canterbury mudfish on his farm. Officials got all excited for a while. They caught a lot to study but I think they all died :roll: I think their habitat has now been destroyed.

With ipod you pay for the brand. I have a Sandisk mp3 I have used for about 4 years now and it is great. It takes one little AAA battery which lasts for ages. I use rechargeables and always have fresh onhand as required. I just plug my player into the computer and copy and paste the songs from there. No sweat. Must be easy if I can do it :lol:

They can be found in a lot of places. I believe you are allowed to have them but not pass them on to others. Not sure what the rules are these days :roll:

Hope you haven't put it in with the axolotl 8)

It isn't looking 100% but pale fish like that show up redder in areas than more coloured fishes.

jn if you have yellow flag irises Iris pseudodacorus, they are a banned species.