Caryl

Welcome aboard Lynnz. May I suggest you join the North Shore Aquarium Society? Kim in here is their president and she works at Pupuke Aquariums so next time you visit there, introduce yourself.

Not a stupid question at all mystic. Angel babies do not develop their distinctive shape until a bit later (about a month if I remember correctly. It is a long time since I had angel fry).

I thought I had seen them for $25 - $30 in ChCh.

Bilbo how upsetting! It will be interesting to find out what caused the leak.

Here's a bit more... Symptoms This disease is characterised by a swollen or hollow abdomen. Swollen areas may exhibit a 'pine-cone' appearance caused by the fishes scales sticking out. Fish may also appear off-colour and listless, and may stop feeding. The swelling caused by this disease may often be mistaken for a pregnant or egg-carrying fish. Gouramies and Cyprinids (barbs, danios, etc) are prone to this disease. Causes Dropsy is a condition with several possible causes. It may frequently be caused by internal infections by a number of different bacterial species. Viruses have also been associated with the disease. Poor water quality and/or diet may trigger the disease. If the problem has been caused by permanant damage to the kidney, then treating the infection will not eradicate the symptoms. Possible cures This disease must be caught early to maximise the chance of saving an affected fish, and even then the disease is difficult to cure. Previously, antibiotics prescribed by a vet were the only means of treatment for those countries where antibiotics cannot be purchased over-the-counter. There are now commercially available remedies which may help. These include Interpet #9 Anti Internal Bacteria and Waterlife's Octozin (can we get this in NZ does anyone know?). The addition of salt (1 tsp/gallon) may also be beneficial. Dropsy is not usually considered to be particularly contagious, so it should not spread to other healthy fish - dead fish should be removed immediately however, to avoid cannibalism. However, bear in mind that there is more than one cause of dropsy, so in some cases the infective agent could be contagious. It is preferable to carry out treatment in a hospital tank where available.

They are gorgeous those barbs but I have not seen them selling for that much!

Hi and welcome MA. Are you coming to the BBQ on Saturday? Quite a few members from here will be there and it is great to put a face to a name.

They look like a pinecone and the othre fish catch it when they eat the infected fish.

It is likely though Shae whether directly or indirectly.

I know there is debate re the fat content of white worms. I know that when I was given some leopardfish they were on flake foods until I started a white worm culture. Thinking I was being kind, I fed them white worms every day and it quickly killed them. They were fine up to that point. This was about 18 years ago. Of course, like us, fish like variety so a treat of worms once or twice a week is sufficient. The problem with tubifex (wild caught that is) is that it grows in polluted water (loves sewage) and you can kill your fish with the bacteria and parasites introduced with the live tubifex.

Hang on while I find out the account details for direct credits. I will have to contact the FNZAS treasurer (who is in here under "jane") Yes, joining an affiliated club means you get the magazine and free and club fees are sometimes cheaper than the magazine subscription.

Welcome Brendan, I must admit to consuming a few fish but have not had them consume me! :lol: (not that one or two haven't tried when I have stuck a hand in the tank).

We publish the NZ Aquarium World magazine quarterly. It is a 40 page full colour A5 magazine printed on a colour laser (not a fancy professional glossy one). It is free to all affiliated members but others may subscribe for $21.80 for a 12 month sub ($5 per mag plus $1.80 post). If you live overseas it is $20 plus whatever postage to your country costs. I am editor so all enquiries to me please 8)

It's called the seafood diet See food and eat it

You would have to feed an awful lot at once for a fish to overeat enough to hurt itself. Fish see food and eat as much as possible as they never know (in the wild) when the next bit is going to go by.

Overfeeding pollutes the tank so causes more problems. Underfeeding can stunt the fish. In a well established tank the fish can browse on algae.

Yay! Show us the pics!

I am working this week and away in Wgtn this weekend (BBQing with other people from the fishroom) but after that "I'm free". Name a day. 17th or 18th perhaps? Not too late? I assumed you lived in Nelson. It takes 4 hours (each way) to get from Blenheim to Hokitika and since it takes 1 and a half hours max to get from Blenheim to Nelson I can't see the trip taking too long from Nelson. 3 hours perhaps each way. Conditions down there - floods wash waterlogged native timber out of the bush and it ends up at the river mouth just waiting for us to come along and collect it :-). I would assume it would be the same at the mouth of most West Coast rivers down there but I haven't looked.

wild caught fish for feeders run the risk of unknown disease.

I didn't mean to put you off the Timaru club at all! They are a nice bunch of people (or they used to be when I was still in contact with them but that was a few years ago and I do not know who their members are anymore). They will still be of help to you in setting up I am sure. It is just that they are no longer affiliated with the FNZAS so do not get the benefits of this. Try going to a glazier rather than a pet shop as they will be cheaper. The advantage of the ones the pet shops have is that they are already to go just point to the one you want, pay and off you go! I believe Animates may have a tank sale on at the moment down there. Pays to shop around and ChCh has many shops to choose from. A tank 4ft or larger really needs an external type od filter so it doesn't take up room in your tank. I use the Shark internals as extra boosters and always have 1 or 2 of them running in a tank for use if needed in a hurry (another filter fails, a tank has to be set up in a hurry etc).

I think when you drill rock you need one that drills wet. Not sure of the terminology here. People often silicone their rock stacks together too.

We can arrange a day trip with you one day if you like Helene. I could come over to Nelson, pick you up, run down to Hokitika and be home in time for tea. Lovely sunny day, roof down on the car, what more could we ask for? 8) I will be bringing a number of different sizes to the BBQ Anthony. I several very small pieces around 5 - 10cm too

But don't you mean you are monitoring your total house consumption Mark? Helene just wants to know how much the tanks and stuff add to the load.

Gouramis are eaten for food in many countries. Ira has a nice recipe.

Welcome to the fishroom. 8) Bigger is definitely easier! Much more stable and more forgiving if you make a mistake. Things tend to go wrong more slowly so you have time to figure out what has gone wrong and fix it before things get out of hand. Getting the goldfish out of the hex tank and into something larger would be good. There is a club in Timaru. They recently pulled out of the FNZAS though (with a few nasty words unfortunately). Last contact I had for them was secretary Gary Laird, 38 Hassall St. Look him up in the phone book. mgilchrist in here is in Timaru so perhaps you should send him a PM and you can talk fish together. He actually belongs to my club (Marlborough) as he wanted to be affiliated to the FNZAS. Check out our trade section in here for tanks and many people find good deals at Trademe, the internet auction site.