Pegasus

Ok Alan.. there was a mix up with the measurements.. and we now know that he is looking at having a tank six foot long ((1082mm) by three foot wide (front to back .. 90omm) by thirty four inches height (870mm) Can someone work out the litres.. gallons... weight... glass thickness.. etc Bill.

Well you did the first thing right.. by coming here and asking a few questions Hi there purefishbreeder.. Welcome to the Fishroom You can tell when your Guppies or Swordtails are ready to give birth by the dark colouring around the anal region. This is the area where the fish passes wastes, and it will get darker as she gets nearer to her time to drop the fry. Guppies will drop young around every four to five weeks normally.. but if your fish are stressed out.. then she could hold on for much longer than this. If these are your first fish and first tank, then do a bit of reading here and ask for more info if you are not sure about setting a new tank up. Would be good also to post in the Welcome section and meet a few of the members. Regards, Bill.

At 6'X3' for the base glass... at the thickness you would need would cost a small fortune on its own... without the rest of the tank. If you "are" talking 34" (inches) high.. by six foot long by three foot wide... you are talking major weight, and could be looking at 15 to 20mm glass. Warren has a glass thickness calculator on the other site (click the twin fish at the top of the page) There are calculators for water volume listed in the Technical Section under "Useful Links" Bill.

I was reading an article some time ago (don't know where).. but it was concerning something like a "micro embolism" in fish... similar to when a diver gets the bends. I think I was researching Pop Eye at the time.. (in fish that is... not the sailor man Alan ) The theory was.. that a possible cause for the eyes popping was due to air saturation in the water, through possible over aeration.. especially fine bubbles... and the liking for fish to swim in the current and bubble stream. They also mentioned that the same theory could be related to swim bladder disorders.. eg: Air trapped in the body. Not sure about the mechanism that is behind the eye.. but if pressure is built up there it might also be possible that the pressure is affecting the muscles (or whatever).. that control the movement of the jaw.. Just theorising of course, as I have no proof of this.. but seems feasable. It has always been my belief that popeye was caused by poor water conditions that caused a fluid or gas buildup behind the eye.. but of course air is a gas Bill.

Good to see you back Dan. Girl friends come and go... but fish usually last a bit longer Bill.

And the Oscar is saying... "Now look here bud... This tank ain't big enough for the both of us, so which end should I bite first...?" :) Great pics misnoma.

Fishbait said: :)

For a group of members with such a vast amount of intelligence, many of you "still" fail to read this..: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=3805 Especially the bit that says..: Read through the posts.. Very few have not gone into a slanging match, or finished up being a podium for some commercial gain.. You guys were given this forum to share your interests in Marines, not as a place to constantly argue among yourselves. Be grateful you still have a forum to argue on, as you could finish up losing it the way you are all going. Bill.

Think I might have said hello before.. but hey... you can't have too many welcomes, and it's great to see overseas visitors on the site. Would be interesting to know how you found us way down here at the bottom of the world Slots... Now don't get me started on that subject he he. I'm in the process of building a routed track (30X10) for the grandkids.. (well.. that's my excuse anyway ) and do a bit of scratchbuilding when I get time. Might even be a member on the above forum, but been too busy lately to even do anything with the slots. Great to see you getting involved here, and hope to see you around lots Bill.

Hi Lorenzo.. nice to have you join us Don't worry about the language... we all talk fish here, and that's what is important Hope you can post some pics of your setup when you get a chance, and good luck with the Pearls (Tricogaster Leerii)... beautiful fish.. I have about ten at the moment Bill.

Hi Squirrelfish, Welcome to the Fishroom. Great pics there... thanks for sharing. 1/ Angels.. 2/Female Swordtails.. 3/ possibly Corydoras Jullii or poss C. Trilliniatus.. 4/....? 5/ Tetras of some sort.. (so many that colour.. hard to say) .. Female Sword again.. and the Neon could be a Cardinal Tetra... hard to say from the angle. Bill.

Is there no way you could set up a drip feed system so that the shrimps are fed directly into the area where they cling to..? A simple tub (like a tupperware container) could be set up above the tank with multiple outlets of clear air hose that are nipped off to just allow a certain amount of drip. A bit like a Calf Feeder... but with hoses instead of teats. You could then just tip the shrimp in there along with some clean salt water and the siphon would start automatically... with a constant drip of shrimps. The normal air valves would probably not work too well... but the ones that clamp the tube would work fine. Bill.

Hi Anthony, ... welcome to the NZ Fishroom. Twelve tanks... (or is that twenty one.. twelve you just bought plus nine you had).. that's a pretty big re-entry after being away for six years, but I'm sure they will soon be occupied. Lots of Aucklanders here, plus there's another part of the site that you will find by clicking on the FNZAS logo at the top left of the screen. There is also a Guppy and livebearer club being formed if you are still interested in livebearers.. (details in Livebearer Section) Look forward to your posts Bill.

If they are sort of flat looking with pointed ends, then chances are they are Planaria worms, which appear to arrive though overfeeding and excess waste. Cut the food back to a small amount a day and they should disappear. More info if you do a "Search" of the forums. Enter Planaria... there's quite a lot of results. They won't harm the fish BTW Bill.

Hi Shelly, The two links I added... http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=2406 http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=3880 .. explain pretty well how to post your pics... but in the first instance you need either a web site of your own... or a place that will host your photos and allow your photos to be viewed by the public. Not all hosting sites do this.. but the ones mentioned do. Once you have your pics stored somewhere.. you just use the method as outlined by Caryl or Cees, and your pics will appear on the site. If you are having probs with any of this, I can host your photos for you if you want on my site, but apparently it is quite easy to set up an account with such places as mentioned... like Photobucket etc. HTH Bill.

Hi Shelly, Looks like you may have gone a bit overboard with the cleaning and upset the balance of the tank... especially if you were poking around in the gravel too much, which could have released unwanted bacteria into tank. You say: This could be due to high stress levels, or could even be caused by the fish jamming itself in an area (under a rock or the heater).. in order to get out of the way from all your activity. The four chemicals you have added are all not required if you get your tank into a balanced state with the correct light, and fish load as the others have mentioned. Partial water changes will cure your other prob. Adding pics. http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=2406 http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=3880 Bill.

Hi Kazz... welcome to the fishroom We don't have a Coldwater section here so we usually post all the Goldie stuff in the Freshwater section, but there are heaps of members that have Goldies and some with NZ natives. Using the "Search" feature above will guide you to a lot of the posts relating to Goldfish and such. Hope to see you around Bill.

Hi Angelfish.. a warm welcome to the NZ Fishroom. Good to see you have a wide variety of interests, and good luck on those Lotto tickets Bill.

Hi there Prison Sheherd, Thank for the mail... I was going to answer, but saw you had joined a couple of forums There's a lot more activity here than the other one, with lots of members with the same interests, so you should find lots of info here. Nice to see some pics if you have some Look forward to your posts, Bill.

Congrats Seahorsemad.. hope you manage to rear a few. I think that many here would be very interested in the progress of these little guys if you can find time to keep us posted Did you establish how you lost the others..? Was it conditions, temp, food, or unknown..? Bill.

Hi VCH, welcome to the NZ Fishroom I thought when I saw the "VC" bit that we were having a visit from Victoria Cichlids, as we have a few of their members, but they don't get here that often .. and we have quite a few members from all over Australia. You'll find lots of info here from a great bunch of people, and although we can't swap fish, I'm sure you'll enjoy your visits here You said: Here is the info. http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=2406 http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=5218 http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=3880 Look forward to seeing you around

Welcome to the NZ Fishroom treehugga. Real handful of fish you have there Bill.

Usually when fish flick on objects it is a sign of unfavourable water conditions that are causing irritation to the fish, either on the gills or body, possibly ammonia etc.. Often a few good water changes will sort the prob out. Many also claim it is a sign that WS (ick) is on its way, so the fish will need close monitoring just in case Bill.

Warren said: What's wrong with chemicals..? As above Warren.. Four chemicals to raise it... and one very lethal package to lower it. Cost.... Frequency of use... Fatal to the fish if used incorrectly... Fatal to humans (Sulphuric acid )... and HIGHLY DANGEROUS if used in the incorrect manner. One bag of Peat Moss would dose a tank for twelve months for under ten bucks. One bag of Shell Grit would dose a tank for at least six months, for arond six bucks. No danger... no poisons that the kids can get into... just a slow.. safe... controlled reaction that can be monitored by any Aquarist without a degree in Chemistry Bill.

Hi scherazade, welcome to the Fishroom. Good to see you finally pushed open the door.. You'll soon get rid of your shyness here... Have a nip into the Chat Room around 9pm and meet a few of the members. What fish have you got at the moment...?