Pegasus

Thanks Andrew, I suppose many people feel that the Killie group of fishes are like a seperate group entirely, as in like "Marines" and Freshwater" Can any of them be kept in a community enviroment with other fish, or do they need a devoted setup especially for them? Most readings say they should be kept on their own, but they say this about most Cichlids. Bill.

Geez Arly... Saw your post and thought it was all fixed up and full of fish :) Keep us informed of your progress. Bill

Hi Goldigirl, good to have you back again. Don't be too hard on yourself, these things are sent to try us, and losing any fish is upsetting, but it's all part of keeping fish. Perhaps your fish might have recovered, but then again it could have gone through a long episode of fungus and fin rot that would have been hard to erradicate. Deciding what to do on the spur of the moment is always hard. The thing is, you've taken the correct measures to stop it happening again, although a piece of fine mesh like a kids fishing net wrapped over the intake might have been better as it won't restrict the flow like the foam will. Sounds as though he was on his own, so it might be time to shop for two or three more so they'll have some company. Regards Bill (Pegasus)

Good selection you have there Benny. Apparently most of the eel types can travel overland for several miles provided they can keep moist. I was wondering if any member had an unusual Anabantoid or as you say, even an air breather. Don't seem to hear much about the Paradise Fish (Macropodus opercularis). Are these fish legal in NZ as they can withstand quite low temperatures. According to the books they only grow to 8cm, but my last male seemed bigger than that, but it was some years back and the female was not much smaller. It also states that they don't like heated tanks, but mine were in a nine foot tank with juvenile Oscars and other fish for quite some time and even spawned in there Really beautiful at spawning time, with fantastic colours, but also pretty aggressive and not to be trusted with smaller fish. Bill (Pegasus)

Hi Zeta, Caryl, Can't see the bristles, but it seems to be a Ancistrus hopogenys, but whatever he/she is, it looks real contented So Caryl, how DO we distinguish a true Plecostomus from the others, apart from the name, there are so many variations?? Bill

Question. How many true Anabantoids are available in captivity, and what are they? How many are available in New Zealand? Bill

No Post.

How long can Killie eggs remain dormant? What would be the easiest species to start off with? Bill

Hi everyone, Just a big hello to all the new members that were missed by the welcomes. Twelve new members this month alone, and these include, Dennis, Tris, JohnD, Janey, Rene, NeilD, Lyn, Julie, Nico, Chris, Minchton,and finally Zeta, (great Pleco) A plea to new members. Don't be shy, Get involved, start a new thread in this section and tell us about your fish, leave us with a question so your thread will grow, find other topics to join in or start a new thread in, help others if you can, be noticed, (post your logo or avatar by the side of your name. Ask if you need help here.), but most of all don't remain hidden and silent, join in the fun and make this forum grow. Not sure what to write? Tell us how you got started, or about your setup, the fish you have or might have bred, or ones you would like to breed, your water conditions, the plants you have, fish antics, your good times, and bad, or just a funny story about your fishkeeping, as long as you don't remain silent Keep on posting Bill (Pegasus)

Hi Zeta, Good to have you with us. Plenty of interest here, and you have lots to tell us about. Nice pics, love the Pleco Bill (Pegasus)

The costs might be way out of line with your thoughts, but have a look at some of these designs...... Pretty choice eh. http://www.acrylicaquariums.com Bill (Pegasus)

You said you were after a TANK, not a Swimming Pool :)

Hi Arly, If you can work from the outside you will find it easier. Find a strong cardboard box around the size of your tank and place the tank upside down over the box. You can cut through the silicone with a craft knife, but once you have a gap the wavy edged bread knife works well if you smear a bit of cooking oil on it so that it doesn't stick. Concentrate on clearing a small area, then "saw" the rest of it away. The scrapers that are used for cleaning paint from windows that hold a "Stanley" blade will clean the remaining fine bits of silicone from the good bits of glass. Take care Bill (Pegasus)

Hi Arly, If you are going to the expense of buying a new sheet of glass, then the best thing to do is cut the old one free. Provided you clean the old seams up completely of old silicone then you should have no probs. If the crack is JUST in the base (Seems as though you have one up the side) then replace the glass. Laying one sheet on top of the other on a BASE glass is pretty dodgy as the pressure along the cracked area could cause the pieces of glass to flex slightly causing extra pressure in one area, which could crack the glass again. You may have gotten away with the back or an end, but personally I recommend you rip the old sheet out and replace it. At least you'll have peace of mind once it's done, and it's a lot of work if the repair is a failure. Just a note, Before you remove the base make up a jig to hold the tank (as in the article on Glass Tanks) so that it won't flex around too much. It's easy to tear the seams if you're not careful, but basically it should only take half an hour or so, and is easy to do. Regards Bill (Pegasus)

Caddilac Plastics... Auckland Clear, tube, square etc etc.

Hi Johnd, welcome to the NZ fishroom. If you are into DIY this may be a cheaper option for you, although you would still have to buy the accessories. http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=75 Regards Bill (Pegasus)

Hi Dennis, Welcome to the NZ Fishroom. Would be great to hear about your fish in the "Welcome" section. Find yourself a logo (Avatar) and it will appear next to all your posts once you apply it to your profile. We have two lots of boards, this one and the one above with the two fish (fnzas.org) where there is more info on fish, plants and such. Regards Bill (Pegasus)

Hi Arly, Ira, Don't know if you've visited the new site (fnzas.org) at the head of the page, but there's a great article by Warren on filtration http://www.fnzas.org.nz/filtration.0.html plus more good articles, and one for Brackish fish by Caryl. New site is coming on great Cees. Looking really good with excellent info Regards Bill (Pegasus)

Hi again, Just re-read your article. Talking about fake plants. My wife is into having these scattered around our home if the ones in the garden are not blooming too well. Anyway, she gets most of them from the two dollar shops or Kongs, I thinkl they call it. Some of these "plastic" plants are so amazing you have to touch or smell them to tell the difference. The thing is that many of the ferns and leaves on these "plants/flowers" are so lifelike, and would look great in an aquarium at a fraction of the cost of the ones sold in aquatic stores. Just strip off the bits that look good and there you have it, instant plants, and in many cases more lifelike than the ones sold for a lot more. There's fine tender ferns along with every shape and size you can imagine, so it just takes a bit of searching through the hundreds they have to come up with a substitute, and all for two bucks Regards Bill.

Hi Ira, Well well, and I thought all this time you were a lady, we live and learn. :oops: Totally impressed with your tank, (Wish I had it ) Have you thought of some of the Crypts, or Lugwigia, Pigmy swords, which gropw pretty fast, they have pretty tough leaves, and someone mentioned that Java fern tasted bad, (Caryl had some for sale) The other thing is why not stick a whole bunch of cheap stuff like Elodia Densa (Oxygen weed) in the tank. They MAY decided to feed on this instead of your good stuff. Someone else mentioned lettuce leaves, which might be worth a try. Put a request in the Trade section on this board, you may get some cheeeeeep plants Great stuff Ira, Great picture too. Is that a shark I see? Regards Bill (Pegasus)

Hi Arly, Thanks for rescuing me :) We ain't fighting, this is just a friendly debate which Ira and I often seem to have You're right about the haps, they do like alkaline conditions. Pleased to hear the cloudy water has gone and the fish are OK. Don't know about the Ammo Lock. These things tend to act as a buffer and not a permanent cure. Adding a few more plants might help keep your levels down a bit. Regards Bill.

Hi Ira, We are going off topic again, which seems to be a trend with you and I. I have NEVER, and NEVER will say your advice is bad, but you do on several occasions seem to "Pick the bones" out of my posts. You are a knowledgable helpful member to these boards, as I have said before, and all posts, no matter who by, are the writers opinions only, and you have yours, and I have mine, and we can both offer good advice where we can. Your fish MAY be surviving at the exteme of 120ppm of nitrate, possibly because they have become accustomed to the conditions over time, but lets be honest, the level is far too high, and to suggest that these levels would not stress fish under normal circumstanses is incorrect. Fish, as with people, can live in adverse conditions, and battery hens or pigs in tight enclosures still remain alive, but are they suffering, I ask you? You would be hard pushed to control your bio cycle without good filtration and most of all plants which will keep the levels a great deal lower than the ones you mention. Find some tough plants and anchor them down somehow and you should see a change in your water once the plants start to feed. You also mention tank water, which could be pretty soft I would think being on tank water myself. If you pH is low (acid) then adding some Dolomite or coral chips would bring it up slightly, too high (Alkaline), then a peat moss filter would help. Ammonia levels are affected by pH levels, as are nitrites and nitrates. Just out of interset, what filter system are you running.? Might be time to shake hands and concentrate on the problem in hand. Regards Bill (Pegasus)

Stop the digs Ira, if you kept your NITRATE levels below 60 or 80 then you wouldn't have to do a FIFTY PERCENT water change, but could do perhaps a 25%, which would be less stressful to most fish (IMHO) Offer good advice to people that need it, and not critisize people who take the effort to attempt to help others. Just edited this as I checked my suggestions. This was written by a well known scientist in the field of water conditions. Is this not what we are trying to mimic in our aquariums, a natural enviroment. Just one more question Ira, Have you ever wondered WHY your nitrate levels are so high after only ONE WEEK Bill.

Hi Arly, Gotta be pretty careful here, as I am an "Old Hand" and many of my opinions could be shattered by more clued up members. I'm not up to date with the latest trends, or the latest additive that you can put in your tank as a "Wonder Cure" for this or that, in fact I am fully against aditives of any kind, however, your problem..... Your levels are way too high. Anything above 0.2ppm of nitrite can cause stress to most fish, and any level above 10ppm in nitrates can do the same. The fish in my opinion should be moved to different quarters until you get the tank into some form of stable condition. Anything above 10ppm of nitrate could also cause a rapid increase in algae bloom Which might have been your original prob) Try to stabilize your pH where you have it, which is very slightly alkaline. The tank could take 15 to 30 days to establish a colony of nitrifying bacteria. (By normal means) Once established in your filter system this will stabilize your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrate, but you can upset this once more very quickly if you add something or overfeed once you have re-introduced the fish. It's a balancing act that you have to adjust very carefully, because without the "good guys" as I mentioned above, you will have no hope of getting a balanced tank, and the only way you can get these "good guys" is with patience and exteme care. As I said, the quick way for me was to add some or all of the items I mentioned from an established tank, as this could cut your waiting by half or less. I think someone mentioned adding a handful of garden soil. Personally I haven't tried this, but it certainly couldn't do any harm and could be removed later. dH (Hardness) is related to the pH in many ways, as soft water is usually silgtly acid, whereas hard water is usually alkaline. The test is made with a specific measure of tank water to which a number of drops of a liquid soap are added. On adding the drops you shake the container of tank water until it lathers, (Foams). The amount of drops you add once converted give you the deg of hardness (dH). Finally, your water changes may be the only answer at this point provided your adding water is of an acceptable quality. Do a couple of big changes, say a third and see how the levels react after an hour or so. Other members will hopefully have some more advise which may help your situation, but in the meantime, watch those Haps Besides colour you should look for inflamed gills, a sure sign of ammonia probs. Best of luck, just stick with it, it will come right Regards Bill (Pegasus)

So I wasn't dreaming... he he My sanity is intact. Must admit thogh, they were pretty useless, but as you say, they were good for removing uneaten food and bits of plant. Bill