the-obstacle

I was completely wrong with my first diagnosis so I've edited this post.

[understatement] looks ok. [/understatement]

About to clean out harry's guppy breeding tank. I noticed all the fry in the large guppy tank have disappeared and that the tank is a little warm (maybe 28 instread of 26?). I wonder where the fry have gone? There are 2 apisto males in there - I guess they got hungry. Gives me a chance to cull the deformed adults though which is good. Anybody after a bird cage or 2? I have the 2 single cages that our cockatiels lived in before we got them a big one to share. The reason I mention this is because I have to clean them out so I can sell them.

I'm about 8 minutes away - pretty much Grey Lynn. PM me your address and I'll drop it in your letterbox during the week.

I actually paid $50 a piece for mine when I got them because I needed them on the day and given that I was quoted close to $200 each I figured it was a fair enough price. I've since learnt some patience.

I have some ferts that p44 sent me that he garanteed would kill off my snails. I didn't have any in the tank I tried it on so I've no idea if it works or not but you're welcome to some as a test if you like?

Awesome! The stock list sounds good. Maybe a pleco or 2? I would steer away from apistos because of the size of the altifrons but they might be ok if they get their territory setup and can defend it or hide when required.

What would I need to add to the tank for this to work? I'm assuming a skimmer of some sort and some specialist salt water only chemicals in the filter? I've read the beginners guide a few times but can't seem to pick the exact setup I'd need. Did you get the one you were after? Hmm, according to the internets I'd need to buy 8 or so up front and wait for a year for them to pair off? I like the idea of a FOWLR tank but not sure what I'd need to make it work (other than a bit of live rock and a fish or 2) Not a bad idea. I think I did just agree to buy a gold nugget off Rabbit but was going to put him in the big tank. Keep the ideas coming! This is great!

I've already got 2 tanks with cories and tetra. I love them but thought I could something a little different with this one.

So I picked up a Blue Planet 50L tank with built in t5 light and filter in the hood a couple of nights ago and now I'm wondering what to do with it. Its a really nice tank/package so I'd like to make it into a display tank of some sort but I'm literally stuck for ideas. I've got plenty of planted tanks so don't want to use it specifically for plants (but will do so for whatever fish go in there if they need it). I was considering a FOWLR setup but can't really be bothered with all the work and I'm not a very accurate type of guy so the chemistry side of salt water tanks would probably fail on me, or i'd fail on them/kill everything by accident etc. I also considered running it with an external algae turf scrubber as I really like the idea of them but I could always use one on a brightly lit FW tank too. Anybody got any awesome/out-there ideas? I'm happy to change the bulb and filter setups, add power heads for heaps of flow and open to all ideas so let me know.

Woo hoo! Well done.

Locally they're really seriously expensive. From international sites they're about $20-$30. The one time I tried to get local ones at 6000k or higher they were $180+ as the standard is warm white which isn't much help for growing plants.

Yeah, I thought I had but clearly it wasn't right at my end.

Cool, thanks. I didn't see it the first time round Looks like I've got some work to do.

Hi, I'm considering breeding my cardinals (just to see if I can) but can't find the cardinal breeding guide that used to be on the front page. Has anybody got any links to it or a copy I could get hold of? Cheers Dan

I have some tank side panels and a tube of silicone

There's been a few people wanting pickups and shipping recently for various reasons, from Mark's Polar Bear to the little green terror and the little bristlenose I picked up yesterday and dropped at Ryan's for shipping to Ymir, and it got me wondering - if there was someone trusted in Auckland that did a regular round town pickup / dropoff service for aquatic items (fish, plants, food etc. from trademe or stores that don't ship direct) would YOU use it? I probably would if I knew I could buy something on trademe that was listed as being sold in Franklin and I knew that the fish delivery guy does a run down there on Saturday mornings and I would have the bag in my hand later that day. As long as the seller was able to hold the item until the next run etc. It could also be arranged to link in with the national pet transport people (I can't remember their name) to get items to them so they can then be sent down/up the line. Sort of like a bus service taking people to the train station. Just a thought. I have a LOT of time on my hands at the moment... edit: Oh, and it could be a service affiliated to the auckland fishkeepers or FNZAS even if that was something the clubs would be interested in?

Don't give up hope on shipping if it's important to you to get this fish. I've sent you a PM re: pickup and shipping. I did the drive out to Ranui last night and then on to RyanJury's place for a teeeny weeeeny little bristlenose to be shipped so it can be done and I'm willing to help. It'd just be nice if the seller was a bit less vague with his directions (nothing you can fix of course).

That's some serious light porn right there!!

Are the dwarfs apistos? Mine breed happily anywhere between 6 and 7+ I've never had to worry about the pH for them. If that's any help...

Have you got a source for ADA bulbs?

There's a quote to remember!

Absolutely - I have all mine from the same source and they twist at different points in the water column and different rates depending on where they are in relation to the light and how well they're growing. I found that if the plant is concentrating on growing vertically they straighten out but if it's trying to spread across the substrate they twist. That of course could just be a complete coincidence though. Once I trimmed mine it stopped growing up and concentrated on spreading and has twisted lie crazy.

It looks like the poor mans reactor. Or in some cases the rich mans reactor as I suspect I paid less to make mine but I had most of the parts already.

Ask if that means he's in Waitakere township or Waitakere Region. The region is pretty damn big and the Township is way out the back of the region.