Caryl

Nothing wrong with shopping online. Quite a few here are regulars in trademe.

The secret to plants and an ugf is to make sure the gravel is deep enough - at least 5cm. I have never had trouble keeping lush plants using ugfs. I agree with Alan, that silver dollar is going to think your plants have been put there especially for it to raze. I was told most of the dark gravel sold in pet shops comes from the Canterbury area so I should think you ought to be able to find it 'in the wild'. Watch the ize if you are using an ugf. Too fine and it will fall through the slots in the filter. Too big and it won't anchor the plants properly. Fish prefer darker substrates by the way.

Hi cannz and welcome, you have come to the right place! I would suggest you join a club but there isn't one in Kaiapoi You could join my club, Marlborough. We have about half our members living elsewhere in the country and one in Texas. By joining a club affiliated to the FNZAS (this is their site) you will get the Aquarium World magazine free plus a Year Book listing all the affiliated members throught NZ and a list of retailers offering discount to FNZAS members - plus lots more. Before you decide on filtration and substrate it helps if you have some idea what sort of fish you want to keep as some filtration and substrates are more suitable than others for some species. Always follow the KISS principle - Keep It Simple Stupid. You do not have to spends lots of dollars to have a nice looking tank. Any idea what sort of fish you would like to keep?

Mbuna and angels (by accident )

The filter MUST be kept running!

Welcome morz. You have come to the right place! Hope you enjoy yourself here.

I rarely do water changes. They would get 4 or 5 a year if lucky. Lots of plants, light stocking.

Multiple Tank Syndrome strikes again!! Welcome to the fishroom (and yes, I am the same Caryl you emailed) Getting kids involved is good and you will find the tank useful when it comes to ideas for experiements for school science fairs You water is milky probably due to a bacterial bloom. This usually occurs in new tanks or after a water change. It should clear in 3 or 4 days. It isn't harmful to the fish or plants either. Thank you for not running out to obtain your very own Nemo!

I wouldn't bother with the Cycle either. I find my tank goes milky after water changes - but only during the summer months. No problem at other times. It is a bacterial bloom and perfectly harmless. You aren't doing anything wrong and it does not harm the fish or plants. I would not bother doing that many water changes but that's because I don't like doing them . 10% weekly or 20% fortnightly ought to be plenty.

Mine used to tease the cat :lol:

Don't get excited Alan, he is only referring to the new ribbed hoses they use on the Fluvals instead of the smooth plastic type. Dark was the one who mentioned it being for pleasure and I hate to think what he has been doing with his filters I have great difficulty getting my Fluval 404 to maintain a decent water flow. It goes great guns for a few days then drops to a fraction of what it should be. My Eheim wet/dry ran perfectly for 6 months and then stopped its pumping action. I have heard of others with this problem too but no one has come up with an answer. This is why I am considering using sumps, I am not impressed with external canister filters these days and like to keep as much equipment OUT of the tank as possible.

Hi Varun and welcome. Sounds like you had an almost ideal set-up going in Mombasa. You must find the species here severely limiting. There is a marine reef club just starting up in Auckland so check out the saltwater section. I used to have a cold water marine myself but could not afford a cooler to keep the temperature low enough. Various experiments with cooling were not successful. Perhaps I need to move to Dunedin or Invercargill

I bet the fish get a good workout when they turn the jets on :lol:

I haven't seen it! As FNZAS editor am I entitled to a look? I am happy to mention your club in the next Aquarium World too or you are welcome to submit an article

I'm sure the fish would be happy after the vodka whether it worked or not.

I am happy to supply you with the knowledge if you are genuinely interested. Having helped set up a couple of clubs myself I have quite a few ideas. Am also happy to help with poster design, advertising etc.

One of our members made a ply tank with the front of glass. Looks good. He keeps Africans in it.

If the other clubs aren't near you, what about forming one?

If you click on "visit the FNZAS Homepage" at the top of this page, then click on "Clubs" you will get a list of all affiliated clubs in the FNZAS. As a non-Aucklander I have no idea where in Auckland the clubs are in relation to 'west'. Auckland Fiskeepers meet in the Green Bay community centre North Shore meet in the Sunnynook community centre South Auckland meet occasionally for dinner. What actually happens at meetings varies from club to club but it is a chance to meet like-minded people and perhaps swap fish, plants etc and learn heaps about your fish

Pineapple sword have been around for years. Just a different colour strain, not dyed.

Unless the tank is well planted they wil be eaten. Separate them if you can or cycle another tank and wait until the next batch I put ordinary flake food through a fine tea strainer to feed fry.

Have you ever thought of keeping a few catfish Rob? :lol: :lol:

I don't know about calcium deficiency but do know female guppies can develop a bent spine with age so I guess platies can too.

As I said, it depends. I believe some whitebait species are OK and some are protected. The ones in your area are fine I think. I certainly kept local ones for a couple of years. There used to be a native fish group in NZ but don't know if they are still operating. They used to have a little magazine too.

It is possible it was latent in the platies and having them bagged and bought to a new environment and introduced into your tank was enough to trigger it off. Fish can get scared if people run up to the tank suddenly but generally they don't seem to take that much notice of humans quietly looking. Keep showing them off.