Pegasus

Ha ha... Thanks for the support. If only it were that simple, but I suppose next to Stress and poor water conditions.. the biggest killer of fish would have to be White Spot, but even when things look hopeless, there is often the chance you can pull some through Many fish diseases go on the "Uncurable" list, but at least WS is one of the curable ones. Stick with it... and join up... we won't bite and it's great fun getting to know each other

Great news Misty.. best get those tanks and gallon jars ready :)

HI Killifan, Doesn't need to be "air tight" as such, as the purpose of the cover is just to keep the surface air warm for the hatching fry. Ideally you should "very gently" lower the water level down to around 100mm once they have finished spawning. This allows the fry to reach the surface easily once they are hatched, as being a surface breather they need to reach the surface without undue strain. HTH Bill

Killifan has some Dwarf Gouramies that need sexing. I can't be 100% positive... Three Pics Thanks

Good advice LB Sorry about your losses Shiuh, but the next drop is just around the corner. The thing you have to find out now is "Why they died".. and try to avoid the same situation occuring again. If you post details of what you did, and some details of your setup and tank readings, then we might be able to isolate the cause. It is highly unlikely that it was the BBS.

Hi Guest... welcome to the NZ Fishroom. Would be real nice if you registered so that we know who we are talking to, and your location would help Definitely sounds like White Spot, which is VERY contagious, so be careful if you have other tanks not to infect them with nets or wet hands that have been in the infected tank. As Jude mentions... the WS cure should sort it out if you follow the instructions. The WS has to drop from the fish before it can be erradicated, so raising the temp of your tank to say 26C or 82F will speed up the process. Increase the air supply slightly due to the additional heat. Once you see the WS have dropped from the fish... siphon the gravel to remove as many WS cysts as you can (very hard to see.. but you should get a lot with the siphon).. then continue the treatment as per the instuctions on the WS cure. This is a topic that is often discussed, so if you do a search using the "Google" above, you may find other posts on this problem. HTH

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/grumpy ... shrimp.htm I have a differnt food formula if you want it.

Hi there, and welcome to the fishroom. See you already know a few here so you won't be lonely Bill.

Sorry Alan... thought you had bred them Yep.. seven bucks plus is about the price of Cardinals from the lists I have. You could make a killing at three bux apiece LB

Answered your post under "Brine Shrimp" Killifan This time of year the "Orange" you mention "may" be something from the surrounding trees... so only a few scoops with a fine bait net will give you the result Bill.

Alan said... Please tell us more Alan LB said... I think its past your bedtime LB Having spawned the Neons in the late '60's I can assure you it was 'not' simple to get the conditions right... 'nor' to raise the young.. which I might add that I had little success in doing after countless attemps :) There is of course many more documented spawnings of these fish these days... but it is "still" far from "simple".

Shiuh.. You say... You should "not" include the salt mix at each feeding. Almost "any" fry will be happy to take baby brine shrimp if they are big enough, and four times a day is not excessive.. "provided" they eat everything you are feeding them. You can of course feed finely crushed flake food instead if you wish. Killifan.. You ask.. The infusoria is the microscopic life that accumulates in such things as a flower vase, where the stems of the plants have started to break down and turned the water cloudy. Often a flower vase stood on a sunny widow sill will show signs of this. Other methods of procuring infusoria are through Infusoria Tablets from your LFS.. or by using crushed lettuce and an old banana skin in a bucket of old tankwater which has been left outside for a while. You "can't" see the infusoria with the naked eye (apart from the cloudiness).. but they are very visible under a microscope. Daphnia... Water Fleas. These can often be obtained from your LFS.. or can often be found in small pond on farmland where stock have been drinking. Size basically, and usually a fish fry that can take BBS can move onto Micro Worm after about a week. HTH

Hi shiuh, I... like many other millions of hobbyists... have fed countless millions of both baby brine shrimp and adult shrimps to our fish for decades... without any ill effects. It is a RECOGNISED food among breeders worldwide.. so the BBS did NOT kill your fish, and it is highly unlikely that the husks or shells would have either, for the fish would have eaten the BBS (baby brine shrimp) in preference to the shells. Platies can stand certain levels of salt... but hopefully you didn't pour the whole concoction in there IE: Salt mix plus eggs and shells. The thing at this point is NOT to be disheartened... as your fish will soon produce more young.. and we all learn by the mistakes we make. Let's just clarify what you were SUPPOSED to do,... Once the shrimp had hatched the air should have been stopped in the hatcher and the shrimp and shells allowed to seperate. The BBS are easily visible, and are the pink mass that you can see bobbing around in jerky movements. At this point, a light will attract them to one area where they will congregate enmass. Using a container to collect the water you are about to remove... you place a sieve.. (or a hanky as Caryl mentions) over the container and siphon the BBS from the main container into the sieve. It should be a seething mass of live BBS... with very few shells. At this point you can rinse them under the tap if you wish.. but as mentioned.. I feed millions of these per day/week and never bother rinsing them. One thing NOT to do is OVERFEED THEM... (which I suspect you may have done)... as the shrimp will die in fresh water after a few hours... so ONLY feed enough for each feed. You can either return the siphoned shrimp to the container, ... or.. Freeze the remainder for the next feeds. The ORIGINAL Coke bottle mixture should be capable of producing for two or three days... then will need replacing with a fresh salt mix and eggs. If the prob WAS overfeeding... then a couple of water changes of 25-- 30% will help. HTH

When will you guys stop acting like adolesecents and start acting like responsible members of these forums. You are "constantly" causing discomfort to other users of this site and seem to feel that this is the perfect place to settle your disagreements, and offend others livelihoods and companies.. You recently asked for additional forums to be added to this section, but yet you fail to to create the image that this site is trying VERY hard to preserve. Warnings have been posted to this effect, and although nobody has ever been barred from this site, there will always be a first time, and you guys are pushing the envelope. Your behaviour is placing the Saltwater Section in jepardy, the result of which is diverting both newcomers and regular users from these forums. Concerned Moderator. Bill.

Good to hear you got some results If you had done as per the instructions I wrote... then you should have no shells in with the shrimp. The newly hatched shrimp are attracted to light... so once everything has settled and the shrimp have congregated in one area.. you siphon them off into a sieve with a piece of airline tubing. Hi Brian... You ask... Yes... you can get the shrimp to grow to maturity and start to produce their own eggs... but not with the "Coke Bottle" method Details are here on this site somewhere if you search for Brine Shrimp.... otherwise visit my site and look under "All About Live Foods" The addy is below.

Reef asked... I suppose that being in the geographical position we are in the world and the currents that can move so quickly down the country, that a very close watch has to be kept on the condition of our waters. Look at just a few years back when the shellfish industry was almost wiped out completely, and this swept through the seas in a very short time. Bill.

Beautiful pics, and the total dedication to keeping such a setup is apparent. Truly amazing Bill.

He He Jude... You remembered The other thing you can use are the plastic plugs that are used in walls so that you can screw a screw into them. The old name was "Rawlplugs".. and they are basically a length of plastic dowel with a hole down the center and have serrated outsides to assist in gripping the items they are inserted into. (Available at any hardware outlet) The ones around 6mm diam would be suitable, and they go up to around 50mm long if I remember correctly. Just drill a 5mm hole to half the length of the plug and hammer it home.... then drill a hole in the next piece and ram that home... etc... etc... Bill.

It sure can be purchased there. Just look in the area where the baking and such are kept. It will say "Sea Salt" in bold writing on the front. "Rock Salt" works as well... but is a bit harder to get. What fish have you got...?

Hi shiuh, Welcome to the NZ Fishroom There are many opinions on the type of salt to use, but I personally use the "Sea Salt" that is available cheaply from any supermarket. Many table salts contain Iodine, which is not good for your tank mates. Hatching... There's heaps of info on the net, but basically you need (for small quantities).. a Coke bottle that has had the bottom removed. Drill a hole in the cap so that you can force an airline in without leaks. You can fit an airstone to this on the inside, but it works without, but is somewhat quieter with the stone fitted. Fill to about 3/4 full with water, and add around two tablespoons of sea salt. Add around a teaspoon full of "Baking Soda".. as this will assist the hatching. Set the air running so that the salt.. soda.. and water are mixed thoroughly. Add around 1/4 to 1/2 a level teaspoon of the Brine Shrimp Eggs and adjust the air to keep them in suspension... but not so they are forced out of the water... (experiment a little) Suspend the bottle in a tank if possible so that the temp remains constant, or in a warm place if you prefer. At around 80F.. the eggs will hatch in around 12 to 18hrs... whereas cooler temps will take a bit longer. Harvesting.... Stop the air and allow the eggs to settle for about ten mins. The live baby shrimp will be attracted to light, so you can "draw" them towards a light and siphon them off into a fine mesh sieve. Some advise rinsing them under clean water at this point, but I personally don't bother. Any probs... just let us know. HTH

Plants look great Dubbiboy, with nice clear pictures to compliment them. Your writeup is also very good and will be most helpful to others wanting to get into CO2. Makes me want to get back into growing a few plants Well done Bill.

Day by day here Krib http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewto ... adic+angel

It ain't easy here either http://www.maf.govt.nz/biosecurity/impo ... ic.all.htm

Hi Carol, Good advice from Alan.. It certainly is the wrong time to add more fish. Have a look here... http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=1817 It may help Bill.

AJ said: It would be 'really' nice to think that at least 'one' species of fish has not been affected by the intervention of captivity, but I would doubt this very much. True.. good fish with good bloodlines will invariably produce good offspring, but there are exceptions, and IMO Killies are no different. As above in my post.. As above in my post, and my feelings exactly. Bill.