Pegasus

Quite right Ira, Most new intallations use the "Grey" piping, which is Butyl, for intallation on hot and cold systems. Even the pneumatics companies now use this type of pipe for their main feed systems in preferance.to the old steel and copper. Copper is a thing of the past, except for certain installations.

Wrap a large pebble onto the roots with an elastic band.... much safer

Hi Whetu, Welcome to the forum. What are you breeding ? Just been looking for some old posts that had some reference to spawning mops, but couldn't find them. Andrew breeds Killies and may be able to help. (See Killie Section) If you want a mop that hangs, then I use a piece of webbing as used in backpacks or harness gear. Just cut across the strap and tease the end of the cross fibres out. You will find that the strap unravells leaving you with thousands of crinkled long tassles. Brushing these out make them softer, and as they are nylon, they can be washed etc with no problems. The dye in this type of webbing will not leach out BTW. Pin it to a lump of styrene and it will hang down nicely in the tank, or you could use several if needed. Offcuts of strap webbing can be obtained from bag mfgs or saddlery repair places Look forward to hearing about your fish. Happy Days, Bill (Pegasus)

Hi there again Howard, I am almost speechless (for a change What an absolute brilliant write-up you have given the aquarists of the South Island of New Zealand in your articles. Brilliant writing, and amazingly clear and discriptive photographs. It has been a great pleasure reading your report, and I look forward to reading the other articles on your site. All the very best from New Zealand, and please keep up the good work. Bill (Pegasus)

Hey there Leeves, Was wondering how you were going with the move. Real pleased to hear you had no fatalities. The Plecos can be a bit of a handful to move, especially the big fellas, but they are such a great fish.... who would be without one :) Great to see you back on the forum, and hope you keep us posted. Regards, Bill (Pegasus)

Hi Frances, Have a look here in the DIY section. http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/grumpygr/ Might give you some ideas.

I get mine from the local quarry suppliers (Atlas Quarries Northland) It is grey chips as used on the roads and is around 3mm to 4mm diam. Costs around forty bucks a tonne, but they will sell by the bag if you want. Give it a good wash under the hose and away you go. Hasn't seemed to affect the params of the tanks, as the fish are breeding and the plants are thriving

Hi Howard, Thanks for the kind words :oops: I was just about to post the letter you sent me, but I see that Caryl and yourself have beaten me to it You have mail by the way he he. Best Regards from New Zealand. Bill (Pegasus)

Congratulations on your new Moderating position Caryl

And up to now it has had 43 replies.... all from a piece of fabric :)

Day seven, the 29th. By now all the fry are fully free swimming and have vacated the once lush green broad leaved plant for other locations. A restricted area for the nursery has been picked by the adults at the rear of the tank, and the adult pair seem to be constantly pushing and arranging the group into some form of order. The parents work endlessly as the group of fry scatter and go their seperate ways, but the vigilant parents soon have them herded back together once more... at least for a few moments. Another few seem to have escaped the pack, and in a mad series of jerky dashes the parent rushes at each one and promptly swallows them into the confines and safety of its mouth. She then reverses slowly back to the group, picking the odd straggler up on her way, and with a slight chewing motion she spits the captured fry back into the fold where they then seem to be chastised for leaving the group. Dinner arrives, and millions of tiny shrimp flood the tank sending the fry scattering in all directions and into a feeding frenzy. The adult pair try frantically to bring the group back to order, but the young are gorging themselves on the newly arrived feast. With bellies now full, the fry wander aimlessly around the tank until they are snapped up once more to be returned to the furthest corner of the tank. Here some semblance of order is restored, and the corner nursery once again quivers with the huge heads and bulging bellies of hundreds of tiny occupants. The group is now quiet, and as one parent moves off the group seems to split into two packs, but then the parent swims backward toward the others and the pack regroups. The parents relax slightly as the huge group of several hundreds settle down once more, but suddenly some remnnants of dinner are spotted and a few adventurous fry break from the pack, followed by the angry parent. This small action creates a mini explosion within the group as they once again begin to split in all directions. The parents seem to be quivering with anger. "Here we go again..." they seem to be saying as the group once more begins to scatter. The Following Days. The fry are now becomming unruly and quite large, and the parents are exhausted from their constant vigil. "I'm pretty worn out" says one. "Me too," says the other. "I'm feeling a little peckish," says the first. "My thoughts exactly," says the female as she promptly swallows a few fry, but a large net suddenly breaks the surface and scoops up the astonished pair. "Mmmm.... Looks like we may have to start again," says the male as he is dropped into the new tank with the startled other. "Let's give it a few days can we... I've got a headache" says the female. "Excuses, excuses.... that's all I ever hear.... excuses," says the male as they settle into the breeding tank once more. Happy Days, Bill (Pegasus)

Hi Cat, Sorry to hear about your disaster. You can repair the tank rather than replacing the glass. If the crack is at the rear, or unseen, just plate it with a piece of glass silicone well and fitted into position. Cheaper than a new sheet of glass, and just as strong..... or stronger

Living With The Angels. It was the twelfth of January when I saw yet another clutch of eggs neatly laid upon the uplift tube on my U/G filter, and having previously set up a two foot cascade tank next to my big tank with my breeding pairs of Angels in, I quickly removed the tube, along with the parents and placed them in the cascade tank. I was hoping they would care for the eggs, which they did for two days, but then the eggs were gone without warning. As I mentioned elsewhere, the cascade tank did have a large crack in it, which I repaired with a piece of glass and lots of silicone. I placed several objects in the cascade (cum breeding) tank, as I knew they would spawn again shortly. A flat rock was added at an angle, plus a selection of broad leaved plants. By the 22nd they had spawned again, and decided to use the layer of silicone I had spread over the tank repair. By the 24th, there were around a dozen eggs fungused, but I left them to tend to them and didn't interfere. There looked to be several hundred good eggs still attached, and the adult pair were constanly changing places to do their duty as they flapped their fins in front of the cluster. By the 25th I could see the mass of wriggling fry still attached to the silicone patch, but by the 26th there was not a fry to be seen. I searched the tank in vain, but could not see any life apart from the adults. There was a plant with five broad leaves (unknown) and several new smaller leaves coming out of the centre, and that night as I was about to turn the lights out I spotted the fry on one of the drooping leaves of this plant. I switched on the low voltage light that I leave on during the night if the fish have eggs to care for, and turned the main lights out. By the morning of the 27th the fry had gone once more, with no sign of them anywhere, and I presumed they had been eaten, but later that day they appeared once more on the next leaf on the plant. Later that day the fry were moved once more. I watched as the parents picked several up in their mouths and tranferred them to the next leaf on the plant. They did this until every last one was in its new location. By this time the fry had almost consumed their egg sacs and were doing little hops up and down the leaf, with some dropping to the bottom of the bare bottomed tank only to be smartly picked up by the angry parent and blown back into the cluster of fry that seemed to be straining to stay on the leaf. At this point I fed some newly hatched brine shrimp, and the parents, along with the fry gorged themselves, although I would think that the shrimp would be of little value to the adults. I feed the parents only flake food at this time, as any wriggling live food (mozzie larve) would be swallowed quickly without thought, and possibly some fry that were mistaken for mozzies. By the evening of the 28th, the fry are spilling off the leaf with many hanging in bunches about the size of a pea below the leaf, and the parents are constantly rushing around picking up any strays that may have wandered off. Meanwhile, in the main big tank, another pair has decided to spawn. No surprise, as I have had three spawnings going all at the same time, but up to now have had nowhere to put them. This is a strange pair, as the female is around seven inches tip to tip, and the male is around three inch tip to tip. This pair also lays like clockwork, every ten days, but as yet have not had the oppotunity to raise a spawn. There are no secrets to spawning these fish, (provided you have a pair that is,) and the best way to get your pairs is by buying several young, preferably in two batches so they are from seperate breeders. Feed them the right foods and they will soon pair off once they get to breeding age. If you notice either one or both of your fish starting to clean a certain area of the tank, then this is a sure sign that they are due to spawn. My water is slightly acid and around 6.8pH, but an odd point either side of pH7 will do if the fish are healthy. I feed several times a week with Mozzie Larva, White Worm and a good selection of flake foods. As mentioned above, I leave a small low wattage light on while the parents are looking after the eggs or young. This light is just a simple car tailight bulb running from a plug in type power pack. Mine has variable voltages, (DSE) so that I can make the light either bright or really low, but any small light will do. Many breeders don't even use a light, and still manage to raise the fry. Start your brine shrimp going after the fifth day of the eggs being laid. This gives time for the little guys to dispose of the egg sac. I've been lucky and managed to finish up with several pairs, but if you manage to spawn these fish, but then find that they eat the eggs, give them another chance or two. In good condition, they will spawn every ten days, and inexperienced pairs need a few tries before they get it right. Move the parents on after around four or five days, or sooner if fry numbers start to diminish. Feed them at the opposite end of the tank to the fry if possible and make sure they are never hungry enough to start eating the fry. Feed them well on good foods once they are moved and they will be ready to spawn again shortly. Avoid disturbing the tank if possible, and likewise avoid sudden noises and disturbances that may stress the parents into eating their eggs or fry. Like all the Cichlids, watching the parents swimming with hundreds of young is a sight worth waiting for, and one you never get tired of seeing. Happy Days, BIll (Pegasus)

:) Congrats Goldie :) Now comes the hard bit . See the post in the Cichlid Area.

Hi Jaze, I asked the same thing a while back and the replies are here. http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=88 Lots of info and ideas

He he.... Might not spark much.... but it would certainly smoke a little

Hi Shilo, I use the standard "Bi Pin" fittings that are at the ends of most flouro's, and have my tubes in the hood and the balasts out of sight. To waterproof I just slipped a length of bicycle innertube over the tube, then rolled it back over the holder. Makes a tight watertight fitting, at little cost, and it prevents the push on "bi pin" fitting from dropping off. I haven't had a moments prob with mine after almost a year of fitting it up.

Hi Lexy, I too have heaps of neons in with my adult angels.... no probs whatsoever. Mind you, they were all bought young and have grown up together. Plopping half a dozen neons into a tank of angels is not the way to make them compatable, although the angels won't object I wouldn't think :) Introducing new fish late at night just before lights out sometimes helps, and re-arraging the "furniture" sometimes breaks the boundary's of the resident fish. Great to have you with us BTW

Hi F.E. Great to see another member from the States. "Pesky Discus"....... Tell us about them, lots of discus lovers here

Cough.... Cough.... Just a mo till I ... Cough.... clear the smoke from.... Cough... the screen..... Ahhh. That's better. Stick the airpump outside under cover if you can. Must admit, I smoke in my fishroom but it doesn't SEEM to harm the fish, but they do keep me awake some nights with their coughing

Can't have you "giving up" You've had a bad session, and it's gonna take some time to get things right again, but now you have a few more supporters on your side. Now promise...... no more fish until...... well until....

Ever wondered about something..... Well I did. I wondered if the net had any info, and as Midas asked: .... I decided to type "Sari Filtration" into my browser. The news article was very brief BTW, and of course didn't give the full story in the 30seconds it was on, but here is the link, and here is some info. http://www.tve.org/ho/doc.cfm?aid=588 The sari A sari is a rectangular piece of cloth measuring five to six metres in length. The style, colour and texture of the cloth varies and the traditional dress of Bangladesh women can be made from cotton, silk, or man-made materials. For centuries, the sari has been worn by millions of women throughout the Far East and, in Bangladesh, people have, for years, been using the sari to remove insects and extraneous particulate matter from sugar or molasses water, commonly used to make a local drinks. The sari is now being used in Bangladesh to filter drinking water in an attempt to reduce the occurrence of cholera. The sari as a filtration tool The beauty of the sari material is that it is thin and readily available in all villages in Bangladesh. To filter the water effectively, the sari needs to be folded between four and eight times. The folded cloth is then wrapped over the pot used to collect drinking water from ponds or rivers. After the water has been collected, the sari is removed from the pot, unfolded, and rinsed in water and then air dried in the sun for a couple of hours to decontaminate it. This is sufficient to kill bacteria trapped in the material but in the monsoon seasons, an inexpensive disinfectant can be used to decontaminate the material. Sari material is excellent for filtration purposes and as saris are found in every household in Bangladesh, this method is affordable, even for the poorest of the poor. Laboratory tests have shown that, by filtering water through four layers of sari material, 99% of the bacteria attached to and inside the copepods, as well as other matter, can be removed and, thereby, reduce the infectious dose of cholera vibrios present in the water. This is because the tiny bacteria are attached to the much larger plankton and particles so they can be filtered out easily when the plankton and particles are removed. This means that the chances of consuming a large enough dose of bacteria to cause cholera are dramatically reduced. Four to eight layers of cloth turned out to be the optimum number – any more folds can cause clogging and do not improve filtration efficiency significantly. The technique of using a sari to filter bacteria out of water can be successfully adopted in other parts of the world, using almost any material that is thin and dries quickly. ************************************************************ There were many more sites and links, but this basically explains things. Seems it WAS 99% Midas.... gotta get my hearing checked as well as my eyes..... now where are the batteries for my pacemaker..... Ahh there they are Regards, Bill (Pegasus)

Yes Caryl, A few of us here know Annie who has recently lost a couple of dear fishy friends. Here's hoping you find lots of interest here Annie, and find a couple of replacements to fill your loss in the near future.

Hi Kriber, Some of the eggs may take 36 to 48hrs to hatch, and having only part of the body out of the egg is normal, and it should get free. Without looking too closely, it looks like they are all head Don't feed until they are fully free swimming, as they will be consuming their egg sacs. You got those marbles out yet :) Wouldn't leave them in, as they are a great place for dead fry and polution to hide.

Hi Shilo, Try here, http://www.surplustronics.co.nz/cat.php?cat=MP They are at the top of Queen St, but you can view online before going.