Caryl

I'm not surprised they hadn't caught it judging by the bait used. Why bait a trap with catfood? I would have thought using an actual cat would have enticed the fish more! :lol:

I know people say you should remove fish from a room being painted because of the fumes but, for those interested, I have just had new carpet laid in my lounge and the awful glue fumes and the smoke from the hot iron they used to join the carpet sections together didn't bother the fish at all. Now, if I could just convince Grant it would be OK to have an $8,000 colour laser printer (and not have to justify the expense) to play with...

You plant cardamine but it grows roots at all the junctures of the stem. I let mine grow long and floaty then anchor down one or more of the aerial root sections otherwise it gets tangled up with the other plants. you can also keep chopping off bits and replanting them.

floaty...ummm...stuff - the scientific name for cardamine perhaps? Good to hear you have joined the club Ira.

I think you may find Minchton is a member of the Taranaki club. Have a look under 'clubs' in the Fishroom's main page for contact details.

For those who live a great distance from civilisation it can be difficult. To join the FNZAS you must join an affiliated club or society. I realise attending club meetings is not possible for you either. Our club has a number of members who join for the club newsletter, Aquarium World, and the ability to contact likeminded people when they have a problem, or question. They either live in an area that does not have a club, or live too far away to be able to attend meetings. We have members in Ashburton, Motueka, Wellington and Texas USA. We used to have a Westport member too. If you wish to join the Marlborough Aquarium Club Pegasus you would be most welcome to do so. Our subs are $15 single or $20 family and the newsletter is emailed in pdf format (read using Adobe Acrobat Reader). The sub covers the FNZAS capitation fee. The FNZAS produces an annual Year Book which is sent free to all members. This lists all members' names, addresses, phone and/or fax (with only one I can think of who refused to give permission to us to print his contact details). Those who wish their email address to be known will have it listed in the Year Book also.

I seem to remember talk about MAF reviewing their allowable fishes list. As I understand it, if we can prove a particular fish not on their list has been kept or bred in NZ for more than 2 years (I think it was) they would consider adding it to their allowable list. Can't remember where I heard this discussion though! As for the FNZAS breeders Pegasus, one of the reasons we join the FNZAS is to improve our network of fishkeepers and to help the hobby in general. We pay for this in capitation fees (even if it is only a pathetic amount). They are not "a circle of our friends". I have never had any problems getting anyone to tell me how they bred a particular fish, although I have had problems getting them to write it down as an article!

Welcome Tris. If you look under the topic "Killies" you will find the following... Anyone with an interest in killies should feel free to contact me ([email protected]) at any time. Also, check out the NZKA web page at: http://nzka.killi.net Andrew knows all there is to know about killies and will be able to help you.

Oops. I stand corrected Rob :oops: Silly me. Of course they aren't livebearers.

The jaguar wasn't the goodest either

I think our jaguar cichlid was sold to us as a dovii.

Both are peaceful. Both are livebearers (good for the plants apparently) and both do not tend to eat their fry.

You could have leopards and white clouds!

We used to have a jaguar cichlid but she got real stroppy as she grew bigger (she was sold as something else and was supposed to be a lot smaller!) so had a 3ft tank to herself. We felt sorry for her as she looked lonely so we gave her to Redwood Aquatics (Christchurch) where she promptly mated with a male jaguar and destroyed their beautifully landscaped tank!

Leopardfish would look good and not require heating. These tanks are also called paludariums.

I never thought to ask Ira, until Andrew mentioned it, but you do have some driftwood in the tank don't you? Hardwood is a vital part of the bristlenose diet. They need it to digest stuff properly.

Are you sure you are not just getting too much sunlight? :lol:

The address is correct but he is not good at replying to emails.

I have another trusty book called Handbook of Fish Diseases put out by TFH. From what I have read, I don't think your fish has worms. If it did, they would be red or brown and hanging 5 - 10mm out of the anus. Little white worms 1mm or smaller doesn't sound like your description either. How long is the bit hanging out? Is it poo or a long slimey thread?

I have not bred them myself but my trusty book says they need a tank of 200 litre capacity with compact bunches of plants. It suggests a labyrinth of wavy nylon mesh (although leaving a free swimming area) to stop the parents eating most of the eggs (the eggs float for a time in open water before they find a firm object they can attach to). The fish breed in a shoal with a few more males than females. Water temp: 24C pH: 7.0 - 7.5 1 Tbs salt for every 50 litres of water. Good luck

Just a thought while on the topic of filters. It is a good idea to have a small canister filter tucked away in your main tank somewhere then, if you have to set up another tank in a hurry, (for whatever reason) you have a filter already up and running and full of beneficial bacteria ready to put in it.

I personally have never had trouble with under gravel filters. Especially if you have a good thickness of gravel on top ie. 5cm at least. Again, not so good with the bigger fishes. There is always the thought that if you plant well, stock lightly, and do regular water changes, you could get away with no filtration at all

I am sure any outlet could get Aquaclears as they are still available as far as I know. I have two of them lying around somewhere in two different sizes. They have worked well for years and were easy to clean. They work well but not with bigger fish, like goldfish, because the sponges clog up really fast (every couple of days). They can be awkward depending on your lid and the position of the tank. If you have fish that jump, they have a tendency to leap out the gap you have to leave for the filter to hang in, and the water to flow through. If I remember correctly, I got one of my Aquaclears from the pet shop in New Brighton (it was on special at a price we could not resist). Don't know if the shop is still there though.

since when have strawberries been blue?

...and do they wish to affiliate with the FNZAS?