Caryl

Why not? Get a bit and try it.

It's funny how something you have bottled up for so long and riddled through with guilt can be forgotten by others affected. About the only thing I have done (apart from having a heaterstat stick and kill my scheelis but that was a faulty heater) is poured a few baby bristlenoses down the sink not realising they had got into the filter. I always check now.

Hi and welcome KM. Did you know there are 3 FNZAS fish clubs in Auckland?

What about that carpet they sell as artificial lawn? You could carpet the tank. After all, Jude has carpeted her garden :lol:

You are coming to the BBQ at Jude's aren't you disneyworld?

Ah that makes sense. Come to think of it I think I remember seeing the actual pic originally.

Welcome to the forum (that you Marcel?). Water lettuce is illegal in NZ and it will grow that far south as I know someone who had it in a shed where he breeds turtles in Timaru. He tried to get rid of it by telling MAF he had it (figuring they would destroy it for him) but they came around and said "That doesn't look anything like the pictures we have, it isn't water lettuce" and left again. So he was stuck with it. This was many years ago so I don't know if he still has it as he was going to destroy it by burning it. He was well aware it was water lettuce, no matter what MAF said.

I saw some for sale a month or so ago. Will check out if they have more.

Many of the shops do not sell a lot of their plants with names on, just "Bunched plants" etc. Stock comes and goes all the time too so it is a case of being in the right place at the right time. Try this place in Christchurch. It is a great place to visit and staff are helpful http://www.yellow.co.nz/site/thewatergarden/ Another Christchurch shop, where the staff are keen plant enthusiasts, is Organism.

I agree Dawn

Did you know your accent shows when you're excited? :lol: Dwarf gourami colours do not make a difference except when they breed. The parents' colour affects that of the fry of course. They will still interact. Think of them as blondes, red heads etc. All the same except for hair colour. I never found dwarf gouramis to be aggressive but some of the larger ones are (like the blue and 3 spot gouramis). A group is always better as the aggression (if there is any) is then spread out over several fish rather than the only other inhabitant being harassed all the time. The number you can have depends on your filtration and maintenance schedule.

Hi Brian and welcome "officlally"

Do you mean Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps? Also known as red sailfin plec.

I don't think so and I have seen it for sale in ChCh. It is common around the upper Waikato river and L Rotoiti apparently.

and depends where you are taking it from. As long as it is not a protected species.

I have never added anything extra to my tanks for plants. They just get fishy poo and grow OK.

Could also be lack of light. Does your lighting cover the whole tank or just the middle?

My concern is the height. How do you reach the top tank? Also, will it be anchored to something to stop it toppling forward in an earthquake?

I too think cardinals look great with discus - neons tend to be too small. A school of rummy noses would also look great, even harlequins ot other tetras of that size.

The closeups help give a better idea of what it looks like. Can't wait to see it "live" next week :lol:

If you had picked him up as I suggested he wouldn't have been able to bite you :lol:

Hi there and welcome. Hope you meet lots of fellow fish freaks here. Where are you based?

It also depends on why the pH is "bad". If it rises, or drops once it is in the tank you need to find out why. If you have high, or low, pH from the tap you need to think about what fish to keep. Limestone in the tank will raise the pH and peat in the filter will lower it. Much better than pH up or down stuff which is only a temporary fix and can alter the pH too quickly.

Mad Fish Disease... now that is different :lol: Like us, fish like variety. Good quality flakes plus the occasional live food treat.

I confess to always cleaning my filters under the tap, even though we are told not to. I make sure the water is running at a similar temperature to the tank. Never had a problem. We don't have chlorine in our artesian water supply.