Caryl

If you ask me nicely I might take some off your hands next weekend Ira. I still haven't decided what to put in my 4ft and it is rather empty. It has 2 or 3 gouramis in it now from the Napier Show weekend. Don't think they are yours though.

If you click on the logo top left it will take you to the page with Clubs on it. Under that is a list of clubs and contact people. If you want to join my own club, send $15 for an individual or $20 for a family to C Simpson, 8a Faulkland Dr. Blenheim and I will sign you up Make sure you remember to send your full name, address, phone, email and a few details about yourself and your tanks. We take direct credit too so if that is preferred, send me a PM and I will send you the account details. All FNZAS members get 4 Aquarium World magazines per year (they come out in Feb, May, Aug and Nov). This is NZs only fish magazine and it is a 40 page, A5, full colour production - printed by me! at home on my colour laser, so do not expect a professional glossy like the overseas mags. Members also get a Year Book which, among other things, lists all affiliated members NZ-wide plus has a list of retailers offering discount to FNZAS members. Depending on the club, they also get a monthly club newsletter. Some clubs do not have one, some have black only, and some are full colour. Our club emails most of our newsletters to save postage. They get sent out as a pdf and members can read them on screen or print them out if they want. They are posted to those who do not have access to the Internet, or whose computers are so old (or connection too slow) they can't handle files up to around 800kb.

Hi and welcome. Look forward to seeing pics.

Sorry to hear that KM. Unfortunately the Sth Auck club is very small and they only meet occasionally at the moment. Two of their members are regularly overseas. If you want to join a club so you can belong to the FNZAS and get their Aquarium World magazine for free (plus other stuff) you can join another club. For instance, my Marlborough club already has members in Auckland, Whangarei, Tauranga, Wellington, Motueka, Nelson, Ashburton, Christchurch and Timaru. Not to mention Texas USA. We also have a few in the Marlborough region :lol:

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: