Caryl

There certainly is! They meet 1st Tuesday of the month (except Jan) at the Sunnynook Community Centre, 148 Sycamore Drive, Sunnynook at 7.30pm. Their secretary is Sue. I will PM her phone number to you as she is not listed in our main club list so I do not know if I can post her number here. We are currently updating our list on this site.

and his age is showing! :lol:

Thanks for that aqua, a most informative site!

Sounds like the internal ballast may need tightening, depending on how it is fitted and where, but this is a job for a qualified electrician for safety.

Is it humming or buzzing? This makes a difference. If it is new, ask for a replacement.

After studying my peace lily closely, I see it has one, but occasionally two, leaves per stalk and these leaves form at the end of the stalk, not part way down. I would say the one you saw may be misnamed. The scarlet leaf is possibly a form of Ludwigia. It is green on the top of the leaf and red underneath. Can't say it looks like silver beet though. A plant sometimes seen is cherry leaf, sometimes called temple leaf, Hygrophila corymbosa syn. Nomaphila stricta. Another possibility may be Barclaya longifolia. Though the red form has red upper leaves. Can you post a pic? There are a number of red plants available now. Most red plants require a lot of light to keep their redness.

They are probably planaria worms. Harmless but unsightly. Caused by over-feeding and lack of maintenance. Feed less and regular water changes using a vacuum to clean them out of the gravel.

Click on the fnzas.org is here logo at the top of the page. You will find our Plant database to get you started. Mouse ear - Saururus cernuus pH: 6.8 0 7.4 Temp: 18 - 24 Needs good light and is very hardy. Often grown out of water as a bog plant Borneo Sword - Spathiphyllum wallisii Not a true aquatic plant and will eventually die in the aquarium. Luckily it grows very slowly when underwater. pH: 6.8 - 7.0 Temp: 15 - 24 Also called Peace Lily (I have one in my bathroom)

They come in under all sorts of names. The sailfin plec is the most common here I think. Any information on plecostomus in general would do

Remind us how big the tank is please. Do you know those plecs grow quite large?

Since you asked if anybody could save the plants - remove the gouramis! (or put the plants in another tank)

When I used bread it always went mouldy. Was this a case of too much bread? I did not moisten it in any way.

Neither had I. My daughter did a project for the Science Fair on which food whiteworms preferred but that was a few years ago and I can't remember what the answer was! She used bread and milk, cat food, crushed dog biscuits, porridge and luncheon from memory. I think there may have been one or 2 more. May have to hunt the project out. I am sure it is tucked away here somewhere.

But is he sure the explosion is white worms and not uneaten rice? :lol:

It depends on the fish. Some need acidic water and others won't mind. We have limestone readily available on the Kaikoura Coast so I just dumped (carefully of course) a few rocks picked up from the Ure River into my Malawi tank to raise the pH a bit.

Is this a commercial one or homemade? Is the thermostat internal or external? How is it playing up? Staying off, or getting too hot? My husband Grant has built these in the past but we are in Blenheim. Perhaps he can offer a DIY solution if he knows more about it. Otherwise, I would have thought any electrician ought to be able to fix it.

The tfh "Handbook of Fish Diseases" by Dieter Untergasser tells you how to dissect fish and what to look for. Get yourself a copy, it may be useful.

1 male to at least 2 though preferably 3 or more females.

I would think they would be the same as they are both corys. Derek from here has bred them successfully.

As long as you have enough to 'harvest' and enough left to keep breeding you will be fine.

Welcome Liam. Have a good read of Pegasus' articles as he writes good ones which are easy to understand and follow . He knows about working with wood and glass.

Welcome to the fishroom spawn. Did you know there is an aquarium club in Hamilton?

Oh dear, I understand your anger and frustration. There is no telling some people is there? I don't have any other suggestions for you either. Poor fish!

Love the puffer! The key to better pics with digitals is lots of light! And try to stick the fish to the front glass so they can't move! :lol:

Helpful as usual Pegasus. I like the way you put everything clearly and simply rather than overwhelm with technical stuff We have no objection at all to your lengthy articles.