Pegasus

Hi AJ, You say,

Thanks for the info Caryl. Bill

Hi Caryl, Once again I have to be careful of my words. Caryl says, In my particular case the "Pathetic Amount" does not come into the equation, and I am considering joining the FNZAS, but the only benefits that I will gain (as far as I am aware) is the Aquarium World, along with various newsletters that may be available, and perhaps I may get to know other people with similar interests, but as far as meeting/trips/shows/ and all the other benefits of this type, it just won't be possible for me to be involved, which is my loss, and of no fault of the FNZAS. BTW. In my club days (30 odd years) in various clubs and societies in the UK, of which there were countless thousands of members, I classed each and every one, (known or unknown) as a friend, much as I class all members here, of which I have not met a single one. The circle of friends is there Caryl, whether you admit it or not, and it happens in all clubs, no matter what your interests are. As an example, if you breed/keep a particular fish you tend to spend time with those members that do the same, so therefore, (in my words) you form a circle of friends, that you converse with on a regular basis. No disrespect meant by my previous post. My question now is, If one joins the FNZAS, will all these FNZAS members make available to other FNZAS members details of their contact address (Email) so that if a member is seeking a particular fish/plant/item/breeding knowledge, that member will be able to contact other members with relation to the above, or will one only have access to a list similar to that in the list of NZ Breeders as here on this site? Bill. This is way off topic :)

Your first link seems to be inactive Cees, but perhaps you are updating, as I viewed it this morning with no problems. You wrote, Perhaps you should have added the word "Scarce" or "Unusual" to your question, as in, Perhaps will all the surveys and such you should create an area especially for this :) As I mentioned above, knowing that "Fred or Jane" has a Swordtail or any other species is not going to assist you in gaining knowledge that we already have regarding "What species are available in NZ". What you REALLY want to know is "Is there any species of fish out there that I/WE don't know about". Regards Bill.

Hi, This doesn't seem an appropriate area for this topic, as I understood it was for buying and selling goods that members had that they were needing to sell, or as in my case wanting to buy fish and plants. However, I am very interested in the goings on, and the results, so I would like to ask the following. Cees wrote, I'm a little confused here, so please bear with me. Question: What exactly are we trying to establish here? Are we trying to establish ALL fish that are in circulation in NZ, or is this a means of possibly finding someone who has an oddball species of fish that few of us know about, which if this were the case, that person in question would hardly make it public if the fish were brought in by some devious means. The lists given elsewhere cover the range of ALLOWABLE fish in NZ, along with allowable imports, but the original conception of all this was to find out if the wholesalers would import other species not on the list if the need was great enough. I can understand the fact that many members may need "new blood" so to speak, to strengthen a particular breeding line, and this "new blood" may be held by a species already in the country, and possibly the survey could "unearth" a special fish of some sort, but displaying the fact that "Fred, or Jane" has a Swordtal along with twenty other species is not going to answer anything, unless one of those species happened to be on the endangered list, or an illegal import. The list of breeders on the FNZAS site is extensive, but again I would like to ask a question. How do we contact these people if we are not members of the FNZAS or a member of their particular club or group? The answer seems to be "You can't" unless you are in their particular circle of friends. To quote you once more Cees, Can I rephrase that by asking, "Is there anyone BREEDING fish out there, that are willing to SELL a few, and willing to make the details public, or contact the person requesting details."? Aquarists in NZ seem to be very secretive about their hobby, especially when it comes to sharing breeding secrets, or revealing what favorite species they may have tucked away in a hidden tank somewhere. Perhaps your survey may change all this. We hope so, and perhaps one day it seems I will have to make the six hour trip to Aucland and back . Until then I remain fishless. Bill.

Hi All, Having set up a tank recently I was faced with filtration. The tank came with a couple of U/G filters and some odds and ends. I place the gravel in the tank, and despite washing it for what seemed like an hour, the tank became cloudy. I needed a filter in a rush, one with some grunt, so I knocked this together in around fifteen minutes. After searching around I found an "Egg Bin" from a disused fridge. It's around 300x120x120, and is transparent, but is tinged a slight blue colour. I bored two 15mm holes in the base, approx 50mm from each end and 60mm from front to back. The rest of the base I randomly drilled will a 6mm bit to give a good perforated base. I had several lengths of 15mm waste pipe from which I cut two uprights approx 40cm long. These were pushed into the 15mm holes I drilled in the base of the egg bin. A good fit is needed here. The pipes were adjusted so they were just above the upper edge of the egg bin, which had now become my filter. I drilled a couple of holes in the rear of the box and attached a couple of suckers to hold the thing in place. A bit of filter wool etc along with a couple of air lines down the tubes (from the top) and I was in business.... One grunty filter with two powerful uptakes. It cleared the tank to crystal clarity in just over two hours. You can fit airstones down the tubes, but just pushing the air lines well down inside does the job. The resulting flow is strong enough to lift the water 30mm above the top of the pipes, so adjust the flow as needed. Mind you, I have a large pump. :) If you need a sketch let me know. Just an afterthought. Cover the ends of the uptake tubes with a mesh of some sort or you will find your filter full of fish A piece of nylon pan scrub pushed into the bottom of the tubes will do the trick, and won't restrict the flow too much if you don't pack it tightly. Bill. Happy Days

Thanks Rene. Sounds a bit expensive for a container. Cees suggested a similar plan. I built a cottage for my oldest son several years back, which he has now vacated. If my single tank has several offspring, (which I hope it will have) then I hope to convert the cottage into a refuge for my fish. Bill.

Bill said, I should have done what I intended and ignored the topic. We can only offer what little experience we have in the hope it will help others. Ira was advised that the problem with his cat (fish) was not worms. Regarding dosing the tank with animal worm preperations, if Ira or anyone else feels this is good practice, then that is their opinion. There was no need to spend $20 or so going to the LFS for medication that was suggested was not needed. Regarding humans taking animal preperations in Darkest Africa where perhaps the nearest assistance is thousands of miles away, then this is a risk one must take. AJ said, I, as others, have offered advise to Ira many times, which is why we are here among other things. If Ira makes a post for assistance and then ignores the advise offered, then that is entirely up to Ira. I am NOT degrading or berating Ira in any way, I am just totally confused why, after losing so many fish, that Ira would even consider what he was about to do. All I can say AJ is that the original problems with Ira's tanks were man made, not some freak of nature. Fish don't die in those quantities for no reason, so obviously something happened in the process over the past months. Hopefully that problem is solved, who knows. The ingestation of decayed food (or dead fish) seems the most likely reason for the problem with the Catfish, and as Caryl pointed out, not a worm problem. Ira will decide what HE feels is best, irrespective of the advise given by any member. Hope your bristlenose comes right Ira.

I rest my case. :oops: Utter rubbish. Are you sure this didn't kill your fish?? Bye.

No promises Ira, don't know how far your fish has gone. BTW. Is this a wind up.... it is, isn't it....?? You weren't seriously considering this were you, Naw.... It's gotta be a wind up :) Besides a cat or dog weighing thousands of times heavier than your poor sick fish, just exactly what were you going to do.... Open wide fishy... Now this won't hurt a bit.... Just swallow the damn thing will you... :) IRA... You amaze me more each day. You know I'm not going to sleep tonight thinking about this, I'll probably be laughing half the night. Advise for the day Ira, Get all that rubbish you're putting in your tanks and flush it down the crapper, then sit back, read some good fishy books or the forum, and start to look after your fish as they should be looked after. See ammendment to "CAUSE" above. This may be what caused your problem.

Don't know why I'm doing this, as my words seem to fall on deaf ears :) Seems you have an internal complaint called Catararrh of the intestine. SYMPTOMS..... Lack of appetite, loss of weight (thinness) thin slimy excretions protruding from the anal. CAUSE...... Consumation of old or decaying food. (possibly the rotting guppy corpses) CURE.... Fast the fish for a couple of days, and if you feed only feed lightly with dried foods until the nomal feces appear. Bill.

Might be worth a read before you order. Bill http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=105

Hi again Clothahump, Speechless.... Absolutely amazing, :) And not only that, the pics are good too Bill.

Nuf said. Sorry about the point in the point five I missed out.

Hi again, You is too late my friend, the first drop of water from your infected tank would have done the damage, if any is done, and I hope there isn't. Thirty watts of light is pretty shitty, I don't wonder your plants are at the surface, they're struggling to get to the light. What was it someone recommended, 5 watts per litre or something. Errrmmm 5x6=30... 6 litres... errrrmmm somethings wrong Ira. Sorry, but I think you need to up your lighting slightly. Bill.

Hi Bigfish, The coice is yours, but heat rises, so having your heater horizontal will disperse more heat than in the vertical position.. JMO of course :) Bill.

Hi there, glad you made it at last. You've been missing all the fun you know :) Sorry to hear about the guppies, but it seems things have come right if your cats have bred. Can't be sure from what you say as to whether they have bred or not, but best of luck either way, and I hope you enjoy your stay with us. BTW. We all love catfish, so you are in good company Bill (Pegasus)

Good to see you back on the boards Deleatidium It's true, after a while you get to be able to "Feel" when the water is just right Just a little point about Caryl's post. Fish in the wild are used to these changes that might vary from hour to hour. Fish in the home are/or should be, kept within certain parameters, ones they become accustomed to, so sudden shocks like quick deviations in temperature should really be avoided. JMHO. Bill.

Hi BigFish, Question

Hi Ira, Seems you isolated one of your probs,

Hi Warren, Geez... I have to get some up to date books :oops: Like I've mentioned many times, my books are pretty dated, and it does seem as though the plant has had a name change.

Hi Ira, You are quite right,

Thanks David David wrote

Hi Ira, Don't want to be a P.I.T.A., but

Hi Warren, Almost missed your one liner down the bottom of your post