Caryl

No I am not a tetra 17 questions left

No I am not a white cloud. 18 qustions left

No I am not a coldwater fish 19 questions left.

Pegasus suggested a game of Name That Fish and suggested somone start the ball rolling. Well, I will take up his challenge and give it a go. Here are his rules: 1. Poster gives the first clue and how many attempts are to be allowed (not class, or sub class, but possibly region only or something). 2. Each member then gets one question eg Is it a catfish? Is is a bottom dweller? 3. The same member cannot ask two questions in a row but may follow after another person has asked. 4. The poster can only answer Yes or No but may say if the member is getting 'warmer' or 'colder'. 5. The fish must be a freshwater or brackish species and still available to aquarists, either here or overseas, with recognition in fish books or magazine. Think of games like "20 Questions" and "What's My Line?" (those old enough to remember black and white TV!) and you will get the idea. Don't know how this will go but.... I am an egglayer and you will be allowed 20 questions.

Any help you can give would be appreciated Bruce. It will be around 250 - 300 litres, depending on how many rocks we fill it with. Anywhere from 10 - 15 degrees would suit but not higher on a prolonged basis. Ira, it will be saltwater, which is corrosive to copper.

I have never heard of balloon mollies or balloon gouramis, nor seen any. I certainly know about the poor glass fish being injected with dye and hope that stupid idea has had its day as I have not seen any for a long time. I am now picturing mollies and gouramis being filled with air so they look like puffers! What are they?

Hurry up Warren, we wanna see the photos!! I am sure the finished set-up is going to look spectacular. I have a copy of the Nature Aquarium World and was able to look at the pages you say your tank will be based on. Will it be ready by conference? :lol: This may sound stupid but...if lights don't reach down to the required depth, why can't you use underwater ones? Are they not the right sort of light, or not strong enough?

Parrotfish are man-made but why are you mentioning 'balloon fishes' and what are they (apart from mollies and kissing gouramis)? What is wrong with mollies and kissing gouramis? What did angels have 40 years ago that they don't have now? Some of us are not old enough to have been able to see fishes 40 years ago. You have got me curious Squid!

Had you done anything to prepare the wood before putting it in the tank? It does sound like sediment from the wood and not algae but it must be leaching a lot to be forming on the glass like that. It will not harm the fish but does look unsightly. Ancistrus (bristlenose) catfish need wood as part of their diet. It must be a hard wood though. Never use willow by the way, I understand it is toxic to fish.

Maybe you have two different problems here Disneyworld. The brown stain in the water is the natural tannins released from the wood. The only way I know of to fix it is to do regular water changes. This should not affect the glass though so aren't sure why cleaning the glass helps the problem. I would have thought it would not stick to the glass. Have you actually got a brown algae growing on the glass as well as the tannin from the wood?

My books say Bettas live about 2 years but if Pegasus has kept them for longer then obviously the books were wrong! Longevity is affected by a lot of factors from water conditions to genetics so stating how long a fish may live with any accuracy can be pretty difficult (and hit and miss). Perhaps if enough people send a post stating how old their Bettas were when they finally died, we can get an average overall They like a pH of around 6.8 - 7.0. Most Bettas I have observed don't move around much, they just hang around at the surface (that's why I prefer the Africans as they are always on the move). They need to get extra oxygen from the air as they are labyrinth fish so perhaps they don't like the depth of the tank. Their natural habitat water level is not very deep.

Got the Auckland Fishkeepers' newsletter today. It had the following from the Aquarium Soc of NSW... Epsom Salts as a cure for constipation - 1 tsp of Epsom Salts per gallon of water. It says to put the fish (and some tank water) in a 1 or 2 gallon bowl to dose it. I think a gallon is about 4.5 litres. Discus take about 15 minutes before they start dropping and emptying faeces. Angels can take up to 6 hours to empty so need an airstone in the bowl too. If fish shows signs of distress, return them to their tank. Signs of constipation are: excrement hanging from the fish in long attached strings, sudden loss of appetite, hiding in a tank corner and perhaps a bloated appearance. Flatter fish, such as angels and discus are particularly prone to constipation. They suggest putting Epsom Salts in your angel fry tank to avoid constipation, which they say is often the cause of unexplained deaths in a fry tank.

I am sure Cees can give you more details as he is a member of the Upper Hutt club, but they meet on the 2nd Thursday of the month, 7.30pm at the Maidstone Centre in Goodshed Rd, Upper Hutt.

I am pleased to report Sid did not make my fish walk afterall and they arrived safely via courier this morning. All were still alive and seem to be settling in with the 6 residents already ensconsed. I now have more neon rainbows and McCullochii, some Melanotaenia lacustris, M trifasciata and a large female Boesemani. Unfortunately, the male died the night before he was due to be packed up and sent north with the rest. There was a bag of Boesemani fry in the package - so small I have put them in a separate container with a sponge filter. My 4ft tank now looks a lot better with all the new additions. Here's hoping the Fluval keeps up with them!

Where do you live Ira? Let us know and we will tell you who the nearest group is and where they meet. The Marlborough Aquarium Club meets every 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm in various members' homes.

A Hunter walking through the jungle was surprised to find a pigmy standing beside a very large dead beast... Amazed, he asked, "Did you kill that?" The pigmy answered, "Yes." The hunter then asked, "How could a little bloke like you kill a huge beast like that?" Said the pigmy, "I killed it with my club." The astonished hunter asked, "How big is your club?" The pigmy replied, "There's about 60 of us." What have you done with your club lately?

If it is for new additions, using water from the tank they are intended for saves them having to adjust to 2 different water parameters.

Whack them on the head. Putting them in the freezer can actually be a very slow and painful death as the ice crystals build up.

The CD ought to have Latin names, common names, whether they are tropical, cold etc, Temp range, pH preference, Hardness preference, habitat, propagation and whether it is common, readily available, rare or noxious. This is assuming I can still find all the details in the computer!

Are you saying an air conditioner is cheaper to buy than a cooler or will be cheaper to run, or both? Running costs are important as I have no intention of paying anything near your monthly bills! Mind you, I am only going to be cooling a 4ft tank which is a few less litres than you have. PS. Answer my email please

In NZ we have Biosuppliers who have a neat web site. They supply all sorts of live foods. http://www.ak.planet.gen.nz/~bio

I did that Bill. You are right - it took many many hours! It is the electronic version of the FNZAS Plant Survey Book originally produced by Paul Parsons, Virginia Stead, Len Trigg and illustrated by Ian Mills. It was much appreciated when Cees was able to put it on the site. There may still be a few copies of this book available. The FNZAS editor has the master so a copy could be printed off I think. I believe Kelly Rennell may have a couple of copies. I am making up a CD to be available of the information but have to design a pretty cover for it so it looks professional. I will be taking copies to conference. Once it is decided how much to charge (profit going to the FNZAS) I will be able to sell them to non FNZAS members too.

A new public aquarium has just opened in Picton and Grant and I went for a look. It is really neat, not up to Napier's size or money naturally, but good in its own right. It has made us keen to set up a local rock pool aquarium again so we are seriously thinking of buying a hideously expensive proper cooling system. Does anyone know of any companies selling them here? I am not too sure what their proper name is so can't look up the Net. I guess if I put "Aquarium water cooling systems" it might start me somewhere.

FNZAS members can check out the Aquarium World May 2000, page 22, for an article by Max George about his African set-up made out of 18mm construction plywood with fibreglass reinforced corners and resin coating for the inside. No details like Bill's article but an interesting article all the same. This 600 litre corner tank has recently been moved to his workplace, as he is shifting house, but most fish survived the shift (as did Max). I think he lost two.

I myself have never put additives or chemicals in any of my tanks. The pH etc is rarely checked either. It is survival of the fittest for my fishes! They are also only fed once a week (if I remember). This means I can go away on holiday without having to find someone to feed the fish while I am away and possibly overfeed them. If I am away for more than a week, I put the right amount of food required in a small container with instructions to my letterbox clearer and cat feeder to just tip the contents in at the end of the week. I also make sure all other containers of fish food are put away so they don't accidently grab the wrong one.