Caryl

The bigger tank should stay cooler longer, heat up more slowly and therefore be more stable but we did not find it so. It just meant we had to freeze more bottles! The tank was in the computer room which gets full sun from early afternoon so rarely dropped below 28 during the day and 18 overnight (we are talking sunny Marlborough here). We have since installed airconditioning to keep the computers cool but can't afford to run it 24/7 to keep the room cool enough for the tank. Besides, 10 - 15 is a bit cool for my liking Several of our glass merchants make tanks to your requirements or make them up over spare glass and have them for sale at their place of business. Ring the nearest to you and ask. They are a lot cheaper than buying from a lfs who have a huge mark-up added. To your questions Chris... I didn't change the water, just topped it up as it evaporated. Didn't need to do it very often as it had a lid. It didn't need a heater as it was cold water. Our problem was keeping it cool over summer. It had an AquaClear HOB filter.

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder

All OK here as we are both interested in fish. Grant hasn't anything to do with looking after them but he does enjoy looking at them. :lol:

Why get a tank from Jansens? Cut out the expense and go direct to the glazier - lots cheaper. Someone caught the octopus in a fishing net I believe and kept it alive for us, knowing we had a coldwater marine set up. It was only tiny, about 10cm with his little tentacles stretched full length.

I understand you are upset Ira but please watch your language when posting. An edit would be appreciated or I will ask Pegasus to remove it. I would not have thought a power cut that short would have that reaction. Perhaps the combination of the water change beforehand was enough to tip the balance. The tank doesn't sound overstocked - unless there are lots of still live fish you haven't mentioned. Did you clean out the filter when you did the first water change? Sorry about the loss of fish.

Well they haven't brought it to the asians as their countries are slipping further and further into debt (like the rest of us )

We had a rockpool tank set up for a couple of years. Most interesting tank we ever had but keeping it cool was a major problem. They could take higher temps for short periods of time but a room sitting at 28 deg wasn't good. The water needs to be 10 - 15 degs. We had a 3ft tank, added sand and rocks from the beach and caught all sorts of critters in the rockpools - triplefins, rockfish, shrimps, anemones, sea urchins, chitons, hermit crabs etc. Never fed them either, just topped up the water with sea water every now and then. We used sea water as we figured it would have the microscopic greeblies the others fed on. Must have worked as everything survived. We also added sea lettuce regularly. Lots more critters would come with it too We had a couple of small paua at one stage but they do not cope with higher temps. An octopus was doing well but was an escape artist who discovered he could not overcome carpet fluff! We didn't light the aquarium as there was nothing in it that required light. The only plants being the sea lettuce which was eaten by the inhabitants.

Double yuck! I don't know why the asians have to keep playing around with existing species. Some of the goldfish were bad enough. Why they stiill have these notions... Red eyes that scares away evil Bump head (like the head of Qilin) that brings prosperity Green spots that looks like jewel;symbolising wealth is beyond me. What does a lump on a fish have to do with prosperity!!??

If you are collecting from the beach you don't need a heater, or lights, for the tank.

PM me the name of your breeder and I will be able to tell you if he belongs to a club or not. Often breeders do not join clubs.

These are not regular events. Goldie is referring to a recent one held by the Hawkes Bay club which we attended. I know the Auckland clubs have auctions at their meetings but have no idea if discus are involved.

Ignore Ira, Chris. How can you take notice of someone who thinks the Oompa Loompas should have been shot? :lol: :lol: :lol:

How long has the tank been set up? I thought from when you said how often you did the water changes and siphoning that it was a well established tank.

If I had one fish with damage, I would remove it and treat it separately, rather than dose the whole tank. Cheaper to do it this way too. I don't use meds if I can help it and have not done so for years so can't tell you if kuhlis are particularly susceptible to them. Someone else may have had a similar experience though and be able to comment further.

Thank you pegasus, I know you were only having fun but thought I would take the opportunity to explain a bit further as a number of people come straight to the forum and do not realise there is a connection with clubs too. At least at club level you should get good information. A lot of stuff on the Net is dubious to say the least! (except forums like ours :lol: ) This forum is particularly helpful to NZers as it directly relates to fish keeping in NZ.

I saw the name there and guessed it was you. :lol:

For those who don't realise why we push the club aspect ... The NZ Fishroom belongs to the FNZAS - Federation of NZ Aquatic Societies. This is a group of affiliated fish clubs nationwide all wanting to increase interest in the hobby and make sure people set up correctly in the first place rather than do it wrong, have the fish die and decide fishkeeping is a waste if time. Anyone is welcome to join in these forums, you do not have to be a federation member, but we also try to encourage people to join local clubs if there is one in their area. If there is no local club, we offer help in setting one up! :lol:

Please stop telling people to read the club section until it is updated Dave. Janey said she would do it, once Cees has given her access. Corrected information for Wellington clubs... Kapi-Mana president is still Roger Smith, secretary is Dominique Hawinkels Upper Hutt president is Derek Hallett but won't be for much longer I believe. Cees is a member so may be able to advise on who to contact if required. There is the Wellington Aquarium and Watergarden Society too but they are not affiliated to the FNZAS and I do not have a contact person for them.

Looking good!

You must have the wrong friends Suemack :lol:

Welcome Tracey. Do you belong to any of the Wellington fish clubs?

Hi Aquamanx. You will find a few of us swimming through the Community Tank as well. :lol:

Very little sexual difference in chocolate gouramis. Male is slimmer and his caudal and anal fins are edged in soft yellow.

Personally, I would not feed them. After 4 days they might be more willing to accept other foods as well

Any chance of a pic Ira? It sounds interesting whatever it is.