Pegasus

:) Exactly Ira he he. Hey Steve... You may have invented a super filter that nobody has thought of..

Nothing to get upset about Shae, as I basically asked... The questions have been answered by Cees. No Shae, I don't regret my post, but it wasn't made with the intention of upsetting you or anyone else. It was made because there suddenly appeared an email from you some time back (1/4/05) that I found to be more of a demand than a request, but possibly that was as I pointed out above... a bit harse. You commented in a previous post why you had only recieved three replies. I gave my reasons for my lack of response. Nobody is denouncing your efforts, just the manner in which it was made. Bill.

Not exactly how I explained the concept... but hey... it looks good, and I hope it works. The only probs I can see are that you have eliminated the exterior of the sponge, and in doing so have reduced the capacity of the filter considerably. Mine just consist of a simple block of foam or sponge. The ones I make are pretty large (150mx100mmx100mm) In the 100 by 100 end I pierce a hole dead centre so that it goes all the way through to arond 30mm from the other end of the sponge. I then get a piece of 15mm butyl pipe (grey).. (Marley water pipe will do).. and put several saw cuts in the last 100mm or so. I put these cuts on both sides of the tube, then clean off any slag or bits that may be loose. This tube is then forced into the hole I made in the sponge. A small hole can be placed on the other end of the tube to accept the airline if desired, but just pushing the airline down the top with an airstone attached works just as well. The 15mm tube needs to be around the depth of your water. The job is done... connect the air... sink the sponge (may be a prob till it gets fully soaked) .. and away you go. Keep em comming... love these DIY things Bill.

This was posted by Shae on the 3rd of Oct last year... Can I ask how this was done, as the site only shows two areas, both of which now show "Page Not Found" It seems that both areas "may" have been working, but now it seems that even new members are unable to register.. http://poecilia.net.nz/ Bill.

I for one did not answer for several reasons. The first of course being that I had nothing in the way of guppies that were worth classifying. The second was the manner in which the request for info was made.. To quote... Very un-business like, and I suppose we are all asking the same question... Perhaps I am being a bit harse here, but my main concern is... "Who appointed you in charge of breeding coordination"..? Was there a vote taken... or emails sent out... or was this just a self appointed position...? None of the members I have mentioned this to have been made aware of any appointments, other than Cees as the main organiser of the venture. Our understanding on signing up was that there would be an area for discussions, along with possibly a seperate part of the site for proceedings that were going on, but none of this has happened.. that I can see anyway. We don't even have a direct link on the main forums that can direct us to the area concerned. The idea of creating a NZ Guppy society was brought up almost two years ago, but then interest was lost. This attempt has been on the cards for several months now, with few words being issued to those that took the trouble to register. My regrets if this upsets or offends you in some way Shae, but if this thing is ever to get off the ground, then it needs handling in the correct manner, where EVERYONE concerned is notified of the proceedings. Bill.

Fantastic series of pics Pies... Your hard work is certainly paying off by the looks of things. Pity you don't want to raise some young though Bill. (My ducks on the water post... eg: 2222)

Ha ha... I sorta knew that Ok guys... time to dream of ... well.... GUPPY SITES http://www.deltaguppies.com/ http://www.showguppies.com/ http://www.aquabid.com/ (Livebearer area) Bill.

Duke said: These "are" the good ones.. all sizes HINT*** The TIGER worm gets its name for a reason Run them through bran or fine bread crumbs for a day or so if you are concerned about the soil. ... and... The mixture the WW are in should be moist... but not wet. If it is wet and slimy looking, then it is time to replace the medium. I use organic potting mix... (no fertilizers).. and soak it thoroughly, then squeeze it out in a cloth until it holds together without being too wet. Any worms remaining in the old mixture can be forced out by tipping the old mixture into a large fishnet suspended over a container. Place a bulb over the top (not too close).. and the light will drive the worms out through the net and into the container. Put a small depression in the new mix culture and tip the white worms in. Add a quarter of a slice of bread dipped in .. well... I use tank water, but others have their own methods... and cover this with a sheet of glass that is in contact with the mix. Cover this with a piece of card to eliminate the light. Place in a "cool" but not cold or too hot place. Leave for a few days and the worms should be thriving. Feed only the worms that have collected on the glass. Remove any uneaten food that has gone slimy or mouldy. Once the culture is in full swing... split it and start another as above. Tubifex are a different type of worm... normally found in the areas of sewage outlets... hence the reluctance to sell them live in NZ... but I do believe one firm is selling them. Bloodworms I believe (may be wrong here).. are a stage of... possibly the mossie larva... not too sure, but they are always in abundance in the bottom of my mossie barrels where all the gunk collects. Other thoughts on live food here... http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/grumpy ... ltures.htm Starter Cultures Available Here.... http://www.ak.planet.gen.nz/~bio/ HTH Bill.

Duke asked: Find an old hessian sack... or a piece of old carpet. Lay it on the lawn somewhere and soak it thoroughly. Come morning there will be heaps of worms there Bill.

Nice looking fish Philz, and choice photos.... but who is the guy that is drowning in the bottom right hand pic... looks like Ceasar

Nice looking finnage there Ball... Good erect dorsals and good extension of the laterals. Looking sweet... Keep up with the partial water changes Bill.

Jo said: Unfortunately, so do I... Will help what may I ask...? At that degree of dilution it would do nothing to promote a rapid cure for the problem mentioned. Yes... I agree that a 1/4 cup in 100ltrs would be fine as a general tonic, or as an assistance to replace certain minerals, (some add a small amount of salt every other week for this purpose).. or as an addition to the water for Mollies and such, but in the first instance... very few who use this forum can devote a 100ltr tank for the purposes of medication, and the example given in my post was the basic measurements for treating fish with this kind of fin damage. I was asked by Philz what the Progressive Salt Treatment was.. and I gave my answer. But perhaps you missed this. I try to answer questions directed at me, and so Philz got the answer she asked for. Nothing here to disagree on as far as I can see. Regards, Bill.

Hi Namlish, Welcome to the bottom of the world It don't get much lower than this he he... (apart from Antartica) You sound like my sort of person, as I really enjoy the DIY side of fishkeeping. Hope you can contribute some of your ideas and projects in the DIY area.

The Siiaflex RTV Glass And Ceramic Professional Range Silicone Sealer is the one to use. It is safe for the fish... recomended for aquarium use,... and can even be used to seal leaks in a full tank that is leaking. I've built dozens of tanks using this stuff, and would use no other. Warren's big tank was sealed using this stuff. Can't remember the litres, but it was eight foot by two by two I think. Around 13bucks a cartidge and is available at any decent hardware store. Bill.

Philz asked: I certainly wouldn't risk using the salt treatment on the Pleco.... or any Catfish. I see you have now already started the treatment for WS.. so it might be wise to forego any other treatments until the one you are using runs its course. The PST (Progressive Salt Treatment) is well documented on the net, but basically the usual dosage is one tablespoon per four litres of water. The "progressive" part is that you increase this amount slightly over the period of the treatment, which may be only a few days, or perhaps a week or so. I only went to around 2.5 tablespoons per 4ltrs, but apparently they can withstand higher dosages. The salt strips the unwanted mucus from the fish and promotes new growth. Some recommend a quick ten minute dip in a stronger solution a couple of times a day. I used a seperate tank for my treatments, and did water changes each day. The removed water was replaced with prepared water of the same salinity. As the fish improved, the water was replaced with normal water to reduce the salinity. Care should be taken to watch for signs of stress, and the fish should be removed if needed. Bill.

Hi there Snowman, Welcome to the forums, and it's good to see you getting involved around the boards Bill.

Jo said: Only my view on this... but doing this will do nothing towards controlling any bad bacteria, as being "new" it's only benefit will be in removing suspended matter from the water. The concept of using a gunky old filter (plus gravel and a small amount of water in some cases) is that it contains enough useful bacteria to control the unwanted bacteria to a safe level, provided the latter is at a controllable level, (eg: that the tank is not so cloudy that you can't see the fish) and if not, then partial water changes on a regular basis will be required. IMO your "established" filter is like gold, and should be treated with great care. Regarding the fin rot... I have had Angels with little more than a stump for a dorsal fin. This was eaten away by other fish, plus fungus. One adult was at a stage of laying on its side on the bottom, and looked like there was no hope. The progressive salt treatment cured this in a short time, with new growth being seen in the first few days, and by around a month, the whole fin had re-grown back to far better than the original one. Salt works wonders for many things, and I prefer it to using chemicals of any sort. Bill.

Caserole asked: I'm a little confused here, as it seems you have "been in" already... but here goes You need to download the Java Virtual Machine.. then once you have that, you just click on the Chatroom tag, and in you go. Some say they don't need the Java, as they have IRC or something... but not sure how this works Look forward to seeing you around. Bill.

Thought you had already worked that out Alan said: Bill

Hi Caserole, Seems like you are off to a good start Hope you enjoy your visits here, and might catch you in the chat some night..: Bill.

HI MA, To assist the thing getting started... lower the pump to "below" the water level of the tank until you can see a good flow coming out. If all else fails... Nip it back into the shop and ask them to show you it working as it should do. Bill.

Nice to see you Raza, and hope you find lots of interest here. There's a Cichlid section, plus a Members Tank section if you have some pics

Five tanks already Sounds like you're in for the long haul, with lots of exciting times in front of you. A warm welcome to you both, and look forward to your posts. Bill

You sound like a busy person mustcooktea Recon we will have to abreviate that to .. MCT Have a great time here, and we look forward to your posts. Bill.

Great to see you Cameron and Skye.. (It's Ok... we won't charge you double ) Plenty to see and do around here, so plan on some late night he he. Hope you enjoy your visits, Bill.