Caryl

Sorry, don't know. Ask Paul, he will know. http://paul.aaquaria.com

It is common in the upper Waikato river and Lake Rotoiti

You don't need much room to grow brine shrimp - just a coke bottle or similar. Microworms do well in butter or margarine containers and white worms can be grown in ice cream containers (although I have seen them mass produced in a bath).

Guess we will soon see another for sale advert in the trade section? Congratulations!

Good to learn a bit about you Matt. Here's hoping your wife will get interested in fishkeeping too. It is a hobby our whole family has enjoyed together.

Bruce definitely still has them for sale as they are advertised in the latest Hawkes Bay newsletter

What killed the first bristlenose though? Was it stuck in the rocks or had it died and dropped there? If the bottom dwellers die first it often indicates something gone bad in the substrate. Does one of the local shops do water tests?

Hi aqua and welcome back! One of our members is having to move their 6ft tank - for the 3rd time. The bristlenoses can be a bit hard on softer leaved plants and leave them looking a little tatty. My only suggestions is to remove either the bristlenoses or the affected plants. I have anubias and bristlenoses too but both seem OK. Sorry to hear about the knifefish. I have no sympathy for the white cloud however . Serves it right.

Derek Heath. He belongs to this forum under the name 'Derek' so send him an email or PM. His email address is in his profile.

Good to see you recovered from your fright :lol: Guppies will live at 18C no problem.

Hi jiba and welcome to the fishroom. A couple of bristlenoses would be ideal for your tank. They look like plecostomuses (plecostomi?) but, unlike the plecs which grow over 30cm, the bristlenoses (Ancistrus sp) only get to about 10cm. They are very peaceful and help keep certain types of algae down. Try and avoid the algae eaters commonly sold as Chinese Algae Eaters as they can harrass other fish. Siamese Algae Eaters will get a bit territorial as they grow. If you just wanted some bottom dwellers, not ones to particularly eat algae, there is a wide range of corydoras species available. These are in the shops under various names such as peppered cat, bronze cory, albino cory etc. I suggest you get in touch with the Waikato Aquarium Society as they can be a lot of help to you (and possibly a source of cheap fish and plants). Rob, in this forum, is a member or Dave (also here) can also get you in touch with the right people.

I believe you have to have official papers declaring them to be pest free and they have to go through MAF. You can't just order plants from overseas without a permit or proper documentation.

I agree with Ira and it is the mollies who like the salt. Are the guppies breathing differently - the ones with the red gills? Are they breathing faster for instance, or hanging about the surface or altering any other behaviour?

Welcome to the fishroom harpy What temperature does your house get down to? This would have a bearing on what you could keep without heaters. Many egglayers like barbs can cope with cooler water and they come in a variety of colours. The paradise fish would certainly add colour. BTW: Those godfish dave mentioned - I think he meant goldfish :lol:

Gorgeous it right! Nice pics, thanks for sharing.

I assume you have checked out the floor support as well? :lol:

I was wondering myself. Must have been talking in my sleep perhaps? I didn't know I was so knowledgeable! Your experience must be catching Bill :lol:

If you click on the FNZAS.org is here logo at the top of the page then select "clubs' you will find a list. There are 3 FNZAS clubs in Auckland meeting in Green Bay, Takapuna and Manurewa. There is also a reef club but I do not have any details about it as it is not FNZAS affiliated.

Beaut pics Andrew. My guess for the crypt would be C. axelrodii but I am not a plant person.

I had never heard of fishless cycling until recently. Seems like a lot of hassle to me. If you cycle correctly using live fish they have no trouble surviving. As Ira said, the only time you need to do it fishlessly (good word eh?) is if you do not have access to another tank with some used media.

My opinion too! That is very few fish for a tank that size and it should cycle without problems. I cycled mine with 4 8cm goldfish. When it was ready, I threw the goldfish outside into a sunken bath, turned the heater on in the tank and added 36 fish around 4cm. All were very happy chappies.

I agree with Ira. If you have a filter, or bubbles, breaking the water surface it will be ok but if you have a calm surface, the oil slick will be interfering with the oxygen. I seem to remember someone saying they thought it was due to too many nitrates (or ntrites, I always get them mixed up). Get some paper towel and carefully drape it on the surface. I should suck up the film. Might take several pieces of towel, depending on the size of the tank.

Thanks for that link nico I am sure it will be helpful to many. One of our club members is moving this weekend. This is the third move in a couple of years - they have a 6ft tank! Takes several to lift it when empty. Our club has several 30 litre leak-proof containers they use. When the lids are on they can fall over and roll around, even be stood on, without leaking. We transport fish in them regularly. These containers are bright blue barrels, obtained from a paint shop (Resene I think) and were originally used to bring paint powder into NZ from Italy. They only needed a rinse and were ready to use. No toxicity from the previous contents. The barrels were being sold at $5 each so we bought the lot! They get used regularly by our club members.

Hi Grahame, good to see you. Cess, our webmaster in charge of this site, belongs to the Upper Hutt club. Perhaps we can enthuse you and get you back into the hobby :lol:

I wouldn't pay $150 for a fish that wasn't common! I am a scrooge The most I have ever paid for a fish would be around $17 and even then the moths in the wallet got agitated :lol: