alexyay

I can't remember whether he managed to or not (I just remember talking about it), but Shae Gallagher (not sure whether he's on here) on FB may know a bit about breeding the Blue Eyes. My Blue Eyes definitely get randy after a cool water change, but I haven't noticed any eggs (they're in a community tank).

Hmm - what were the water parameters exactly? What species of Plecos are you keeping?

What were the Nitrates and what are you feeding? I imagine they may grow up in the temps just fine, but it *may* be a little bit on the cold side for them.

Yup, good to go with Africans (except for the above, if they're likely to get stuck then it's not so good) - shells are good for the water as Africans appreciate a high pH, and shells slowly break down and raise the KH and pH. Make sure they're empty to prevent anything rotting in them.

What kind of cichlids are they?

Thanks heaps for the offer Unfortunately I can't quite afford shipping costs at the moment but I appreciate the reply!

I have a female (I believe) Royal Whiptail that I would like to swap for a female Red Whiptail, but that appears to be the opposite of helpful

I still have these! I at least need to adopt out 2/3 of the males before they fully mature and start having a go at each other (although I really, really want some girls!)

It may have been me - I advertised it as a female but mine are being weird and maturing late/not showing any signs of breeding - so the ones I have are either very late to mature or are female I'll see whether I can catch her! No worries re payment - I'm kinda just happy to have them go to a good home.

I can probably ship some down to you for $5 shipping if you would like? Not sure how much duckweed you're after, though

It's really common for people to perform the Nitrate test wrong - as mentioned above, bottle #2 and the test tube need shaking for the recommended period of time - If your arms don't feel like they're about to fall off, you're likely doing it wrong API unfortunately can be known for producing dud kits, also, so it's often worth calibrating it with a DIY calibration solution, or using a second/third kit. I personally switched to Seachem as my kit was actually testing as double the actual Nitrate rate.

It may be worth mentioning which species of whiptail you're after Although most are peaceful, some like the Sturisoma (Royal Whiptail) can get quite large and can be a bit feisty, and some like the Rineloricaria sp (Red Whiptail) stay quite small and do well in groups.

I've not seen Galaxy Plecos about, but New Pupuke Aquarium had some awesome Snowball plecs the last time I was there

Filtration! Canisters can be a great help - adding pre-filter sponges also allows them to collect the poop and is easy to regularly access & clean. I also have had wavemakers pointed towards the filter intake, and good quality internal filters to be purely filled with sponge and work as mechanical filtration. when I had 3 BNs in a small quarantine bay with a sponge filter, I had to keep the tank bare-bottom and siphoned the heap of poop weekly. The addition of an internal filter was immensely useful (I'd just clean the sponges weekly, though there was still siphoning to do). Whatever form of mechanical filtration you use*, you do need to make sure you clean it out regularly. This is because it'll eventually become clumped up and do the job poorly, and because cleaning it helps to remove waste before it breaks down - making it an efficient way to control Nitrates. *Mechanical media is the filter media that catches debris, unlike Biological media which is used for the Nitrification cycle, although it will still hold bacteria.

If you're happy to wait, I can try to catch one of my girls? I can't confirm the sex, but some have no bristles at all - I've been wanting to sell them off, they're just a pain to catch I was never able to get a male to breed and ended up with 6 females out of 6, so have moved on to other species.

Unfortunately members of this forum and others have contacted the airlines and have been told officially that they can't fish on planes - the answers seem to change based on who you talk to, but when asked for a response in writing they said that they would not allow it. As security is tightened over time, they seem to be less lenient - not worth the risk when the fish might end up being destroyed

In all honesty, they just don't dig deep enough to prevent anaerobic pockets - they don't really dig below the first inch or so. I'll post my handy-dandy link on Deep Sand Beds once I'm back on my laptop, but Anaerobic bacteria aren't necessarily something to be afraid of unless you are concerned about fish digging suddenly or will have to dig them without removing fish (although my L140 pleco has suddenly decided to dig all the way to Dalton's and I've had no issues yet with the gas pockets affecting fish health after being released - I'm honestly not sure whether they spend enough time in the water column after being released to actually worry about).

Ooooh, any pics?

That would be absolutely fantastic, thank you so much I'm currently a bit busy with some personal stuff but will let you know when I can start looking into doing this for realsies @Jamie No BBGs yet, will spend a few good hours when you're away photographing them The larvae and Earthworms would be awesome, thanks!

Over the next few years I'm hoping to do a Native Fish photography project, taking photos of fish on-site (and perhaps around the country to help visually record differences based on location). However, as a bit of a city-kid, I wouldn't have a clue where to start. Does anyone have any recommendations for places to visit (specifically around Auckland) for finding Native fish? (invertebrates are good, too). The fish will be placed in a 60x40x30 Tank, with two slots in the front (adjustable). The intention is to have fish in there for no longer than 15 Minutes at a time. I will photograph test subjects (inanimate objects) first to get "the shot" right before using anything live. No drugs will be used, and the fish will not be killed. The tank will have a lid, a dim battery-powered light*, and an external flash unit sitting on top - this is usually set to around 1/16, rarely is the full 1/1 flash used. Please note that these photos may be used for commercial purposes. I'm happy to do this at night - this reduces reflections, anyway. I'm more than happy to have someone with me if it's private property - I can't guarantee success in the photos (I've not tried this yet, so it depends on how good I am with the lighting, and whether the wild fish maintain their colour under short periods of stress) and I may be there for some time - because of the tank size, somewhere I can drive to is definitely preferred. It would be great to know the substrate that they are found on, so that I can prepare some washed substrate first. I'll be using their natural water, so water with low turbidity is preferred. *I haven't actually gotten this yet, so if anyone has any suggestions for a battery-powered light, this would be great. I'm after something about 10-12" long, and it only has to be as bright as eg a T8 or low-end LED. PS. I'm still after some of the following in order to help out for a Native Fishkeeping book: Whiteworms Mosquito larvae Backswimmers Earthworms Peamussels Latia My website's gallery is down, but below are some pics I've taken: Daphnia: Ostracod: Pangio anguillaris: Pristella maxillaris: For personal photography, I'm also keen on all kinds of other freshwater inverts such as Amphipods, other Ostracods, larger Copepods etc. Please no Hydra for now I'm also working on photographing all of the tropical fish available in New Zealand, so if anyone (stores included - am happy to do a deal ) is interested feel free to contact me, and I'll let you know the conditions needed etc.

I believe the reds prefer a slightly more carnivorous based diet (they seem to eat greens when young but less so when older?), but I can't believe it's not feeding D: They are a bit shy when it comes to feeding, and admittedly they didn't get too much in those last couple of weeks because I was trying to keep the bioload low. I did Prazi them 2-3 times, but it might be worth trying it again. I have mine on Novotab, Omega One Shrimp pellets, Meat Pie, bloodworms etc without any issues.

Totally safe, and totally normal I'd siphon most of it out (specifically the food fungus, the driftwood fungus is fine) once the fish are placed, but that's also because the food may still be breaking down and putting nutrients into the tank.

The girls seem to be more aggressive than the males - the males kinda just chill, whilst the girls are busy sorting out their hierarchy. My alpha girl for example is definitely the "alpha"/dominant fish - haven't had much of a chance to observe them but everyone looks to have settled in just fine

I couldn't just leave four of them there They're doing way better lately - will be moving the first group to the group of 9 tomorrow - they're still super reactive, but I'm seeing less white/black patches in general, and much more colour. The 6 seem to have sorted their hierarchy out a bit, the 9 are still squabbling but in a 260L tank they have so much room it's not as intense. Now I'm going to mess it all up by introducing the two groups

Heya - I'm in Auckland but can send you one for $5 shipping if you would like