Caryl

We have been putting money aside for 12 months since the idea was first suggested. If it doesn't go ahead Grant and I are going somewhere by ourselves. Whatever John organises will be fantastic fun and we don't plan to miss out. $10 - $12 a week is not so much to save. Being self employed, we plan to shut the business down for a week as we don't have employees to take over for us. Everyone needs a break and we will have well deserved this one. It will be worth it. All work and no play makes you very depressed

If you just ease the trap up underneath her, instead of netting her, she should be OK. Guppies are pregnant for 3 - 4 weeks. The colder the water the longer the pregnancy. When they are near dropping, you can see they eyes of the fry as black dots through her belly.

Still trying to shake the cough but not feeling unwell at all. I go back to work tomorrow. I hear Jo was sick when she arrived at conference so we'll all blame her shall we? Had John and Gael E. here (they took me to dinner!). Looks like next conference may be Rarotonga. He is looking into the options.

Yes they can be fed from the start. Was the guppy already in the trap or did you put her in just before she gave birth? If you move a pregnant guppy too close to when she is due to drop she may abort the fry. This would explain why so many didn't make it.

Welcome to The Fishroom Mike. We are all nuts here The Wairarapa has a very active aquarium club. Most of them spent Queen's Birthday weekend at the FNZAS fish conference in Blenheim.

I have always found the female guppies hate the breeding traps and get stressed in them. All the fish you have, including the guppies, will eat fry. A well planted tank is best (especially if you can't separate the guppies) with lots of Java moss and water sprite. Plants with lots of bushy, fine leaves. The fry can hide in it and the bigger fish can't reach them. Guppies reproduce very easily with no special help required. That is why they are also known as the millions fish If you really want babies then I would separate the guppies from the rest of the fish. You need a sex ratio of 1 male to every 3 or 4 females at least, they are not meant to be kept in pairs. Too many males and the females will be harassed to death. By the way, the danios and barbs are shoaling fish and happier in groups of 6 or more. Keep an eye on those mussels too. They pollute a tank very quickly if the die.

I doubt guppies care about pH :lol: Anything from about 7.0 - 8.0 and temp of 22 - 24C

Breeding them in cold water is no different to doing so in tropical. In Auckland I can't imagine your water getting that cold anyway, especially if they are inside.

I wondered if it would decompose in the filters. The tank does not get any direct light and the fish are not overfed either. I have the lights on a timer and have reduced the time they are on.

I have heard a lot about them but never seen one actually in a tank (I don't think so anyway). Different ideas come and go all the time.

I understand they are around $35 - $37.

My new cichlid tank is growing algae on the front glass. This doesn't actually worry me but I do have a question. I scrape the algae off and it forms fine sheets. Should I scoop these up in a net or just let the filters suck it in? I know it means I will have to clean the filters out more often but will it actually do any harm?

Yes, I have reached the phlegmy coughing stage but it is not a major problem. My voice has come back (sorry) and I will be able to go back to work this week.

Ken from our club has the sore throat and sniffles bug too. Who started this bug??? Sorry to hear your troubles Janey. Thank goodness you didn't start throwing up until you got home. I hope Mark is taking good care of you. The sore throat doesn't bode well though I'm afraid as that's how it starts.

ME!!!! I have been sick since then too, mine started Tuesday so I must have caught it from you. Grant is coming down with it now. Don't say you didn't get to take anything home from conference this year :lol: I was supposed to be at work these past 2 days but called in sick. As a medical receptionist, it doesn't look good to cough and sneeze over the patients.

Unfortunately not goldie. The only Aucklanders to make the effort were John and Gael Eastwood. You know the story - if it is south of the Bombay hills it is not worth the effort. To be fair though, Paul, their secretary, would have attended if he was not tied up with the Boccia championships.

I will PM you some other member contacts. The secretary is away at the moment I believe.

zzzzzz. Oh sorry, have fallen asleep as I am absolutely buggered! Thank you for the praise and we are glad you had a good time. Did I really get elected as editor? I thought that was a nightmare I had last night.

We're missing you too goldie. Just going home to change for dinner but will be online later so keep an eye on the chat room tonight

There are 3 clubs in Auckland so I am not sure which one is closest to you. I gather you have seen the club list with contact details. Paul Monckhof, secretary of one of the clubs, is away at the moment as he is in the NZ champion boccia team and they are building up for the next championship (or the disabled games, I can't remember which) so it would pay to contact the president of that club instead, if it was the closest to you. The Auckland clubs have inter-club shows, or competitions, but we do not often have large fish shows these days as they are very expensive to run, and get to! The last one was a public display in Napier, organised by the Hawkes Bay club. We took a van load from our club to the event and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. You may have seen elsewhere on the site that this weekend is our annual conference. It is being held in Blenheim this year with me organising it so check out the chat room during the weekend as we hope to be in there during the evenings after dinner. We may even get a web cam set up.

If you want colour then guppies are certainly the fish to get. Plus watching them drop their fry is always interesting. Fast moving, shoaling, fish would keep his interest I think so perhaps a school of tetras. At least 6 or more. Tiger barbs look good in a group too.

Hi bikiegirl and welcome to the fishroom. I am rather intrigued by your 'coldwater tropicals'. Do you want to start the tanks again or add to the current inhabitants? Sometimes it pays to find out the pH of your tap water. If it is particularly high, or low, it may influence which fish you choose.

Shilo I don't know if you can get refill bottles as I use the kit so rarely none of it has run out so I haven't looked. The kit comes in a plastic carry case with several test tubes, bottles and stuff.

I won a JBL testkit (well, Grant did actually) at conference once and it has tests for pH, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, Gh, KH,CO2, phosphate & iron.

You will probably get several different answers. Many people don't use test kits until something goes wrong and then they are useful in helping pinpoint the problem. I use (when I use them at all) pH, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite kits. If you are having trouble with your tank or fish and post a question about it, these are the 4 things you will be asked about - along with tank size, type of fish, stocking level and temp.