Caryl

We need to fix it first

Hi and welcome. You will see we have a native section and there is a lot of information there on setting up cold water natives, with pics too! Have a good browse, as most of what you need to know is there. Main thing with natives seems to be temperature requirements. Stella brings out her new book on native freshwater fish in December. I suggest you buy it and read voraciously!

I would appreciate the Aqua Clear 150 impeller please Adrienne. I have one of those I use as a spare, or on Q tanks as required.

I hope to be sending some down to Trilobite shortly - for free :bggrn:

I have travelled a number of times with fish (and once with axolotls in an ice cream container) as hand luggage in one of those foldable cooler bags.

Because he won't like being trapped in there, unable to reach the females he can see but can't get to. These fish also like to swim forward, not hover in place.

I always found females stressed out in these boxes. Much better to provide plenty of plant cover so fry can hide. Putting the male in there is fine but he can't stay in there too long.

Are you in a hurry for them? I think I know someone who will be heading down to ChCh at the end of the week. My sister's partner also drives trucks to ChCh and back on occasion. I could send several down wth him next trip if you want spares.

I have a garage full. If only you had asked early Sunday, I could have filled my daughter's car when she headed back to ChCh. :-?

We won a fancy test kit many years ago at a conference. I know all the other tests in that one are no longer accurate.

Yes it was me. My pH test stuff is years old and still gives the same reading as a pH meter (when I have the use of one) and newer tests :dunno:

Just been to one of the sites Grant looks after, to put a generator on it until power is restored. Look what the batteries did to the shelving. This site is almost above the epicentre (within 1km) of the major shakes...

Another 5.2. They have been going continually, large and small. I feel for those in Seddon. They have a big mess out there. The main road between us is closed due to cracks in the road, boulders and slips and 2 bridges north of Kaikoura have sustained a lot of damage. :tears:

You have to clean them when they clog and yes, it does destroy some of the good bacteria. I assume you also have the ceramic noodles in there too? There will be a lot of bacteria living in that also so you will not lose it all by rinsing the sponges. Doing them alternately is a good idea but don't bother until the water flow slows down.

Tis a bit wobbly. Over 30 quakes in the past hour. No damage at my place (minor stuff falling off things) but Seddon is a mess and cracks in the road. My brother was driving through Seddon when the 6.2 hit and thought he had 4 flat tyres then saw people running out of buildings and things falling over. Grant has been called out as Telecom and Vodofone systems are overloaded.

diabetes

Hi Nathan and welcome. I thought it was generally a no-no to put angels and discus together. Hopefully someone who has kept discus can confirm or deny this. You will certainly have trouble if the angels decide to breed! They will also out-compete the discus for food. Come to think of it, the angels will eventually eat the neons :-?

Nice paint job. We went for a walk up to the lookout this morning then this afternoon soaked in the mineral hot pools. There is now a group of people in our motel unit enjoying Happy Hour before heading to Jolly Jacks for tea (Hanmer Springs).

Been baking for the weekend and a meeting I am attending tomorrow. The big cupcakes are for the weekend event and the minis are for the meeting... BLACK AND WHITE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES 8 oz flour 7 oz sugar 4 oz dark chocolate cocoa 1½ tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 4 oz sour cream 3 eggs, beaten 6 oz chocolate pudding, prepared 4 oz butter, melted 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 24 cupcake pan cups with paper liners. Mix dry ingredients together with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds until well combined. Add wet ingredients & mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Stop & scrape down sides of bowl & resume mixing on medium speed for 1 additional minute. Stop mixer & fold in chocolate chips. Fill prepared cupcake liners with batter 3/4 full, & bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool completely. White Chocolate Frosting 8 oz cream cheese, softened 4 oz butter, softened 6 oz white chocolate, melted 1 tsp vanilla 10 oz icing sugar Beat cream cheese & butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Add melted chocolate & vanilla; mix for an additional 1 minute. Add icing sugar gradually, beating until light & fluffy after each addition. Ideas for garnishing: fresh raspberry, mini chocolate chips, chocolate sprinkles Please note that, as usual, I halved the sugar used as I find American recipes waaaay too sweet and always halve the sugar, without it affecting how they turn out. This is also one recipe I did not get around to converting to metric.

That was my piece!

I met my parents and sister in town for morning tea. My daughter has had a more interesting morning. She is currently in Wanaka and said "So far my day has seen me encounter Greg Murphy, a mobility scooter made from motorbike parts, a Z station attendant who upsized my hot choc for free then stamped my card 4 times so my next one is free, and a dog taking a cat for a walk on a lead. In that order. Pretty awesome so far!" Happy birthday Insectile and that recipe sounds good Alan !drool: Hmmm wonder if I just felt a small, rolling shake? Will check geonet. Probably just a wind gust.

I am tickled by the "real" butter and "fresh" flour. Can't say I have ever had flour go off. I have had it attacked by little critters once but not sure how you know if your flour has lost its freshness. I will be sure to try this recipe but, as I do with all American recipes, I will halve the sugar. Might also try the egg yolk trick just for the hell of it.

:iag:

Hi and welcome. There used to be a fish club in Timaru and I assume it is still going. Perhaps your local Citizens' Advice Bureau could help you, or you library may have a database of local clubs (I know ours does). Since you say you did a water change to reduce ammonia levels, does this mean you tested the water and the ammonia was high?

Would someone just give Ira the crabs to shut him up? :gigl: