alexyay

Unfortunately I've not seen mine out for a while I lost one due to an IP infection, one got wedged between the filter sponge and glass, and I then lost two due to an Excel overdose. I may have about 2-3 left, but I imagine they aren't feeling so safe in such a small group. I never managed to get them eating anything other than Bloodworms, but it was so hard to tell as they only fed at night (they used to come out before lights-out, but then stopped after I rescaped the tank). I'd like to get some more one day, but will probably hold off until I can be 100% sure that the environment is stable/suitable (might even try a species-only tank one day).

Has anyone here owned and bred them before? I've got a group of 6 and am adding 5 more tomorrow - What temperature do you find they prefer? - Do you find they're particularly sensitive to water changes? - Do males develop red finnage and very mild vertical bars at all? I'm struggling a bit to sex mine (they're currently not in their final tank, so are a bit stressed) - What kind of lights were you using with them? - Do you find they constantly have gorgeous colours and spread-out fins? Or do you find clamping, discolouration etc is common in them, even when not exposed to stressors? They seem to be very reactive in terms of their colouration - I've got Apistos and Badis which are quite similar in this behaviour, but those have both typically been at gorgeous colouration for me - the Samurais seem to be experiencing more stress than the others. The Badis and Apistos seem to be pretty good with the pH out of the tap being a bit high (KH is very low, and pH drops quickly), but I'm wondering whether I'll have to start with rainwater or aged water for the Samurais.

1. Unfortunately it's too hard to tell, but it's a crypt species (emersed growth) 2. Looks like what's often sold as "Cryptocoryne retrospiralis" (emersed growth) 3. Emersed hairgrass

This cheeky little guy has developed blue in his fins and turned out to be male (I suspected he would be) - unfortunately I already have a male + one unknown, so I'm looking to swap him for a female. Happy to pick up in Auckland. Note: These guys are being sold as Badis ruber however I'm picking they're Badis badis, but I'm not 100% sure, but any currently being sold as Badis ruber will do, too

AFAIK they are definitely Pacu (whether they're Black-Finned or Red-Bellied, I'm not sure - Blacks are the legal species, but both seem to be present). As mentioned above, though, temperature is likely to be a major issue in a pond, I imagine?

I've been given permission for a wee bit of a project So, what do your fish rooms/stands look like? Currently our apartment looks like this: Lounge: 450L Community My bedroom: 300L Breeder, 54L Killifish/Rainbow/Hara cat, 31L Dwarf Puffer, 120L Southeast Asian (ish) biotope, 60L Photography tank "Second Lounge"/Office: 140L Killifish etc, 60-ishL Breeder/QT, 220L South American (ish) biotope, 36L to-be Dwarf puffer The 31L Dwarf Puffer tank is moving to a different building (so I get to see my favourite fish all day at work) and the 450L Community is staying where it is (same goes for the Photography tank). Not sure what I'm doing with the 36L to-be DPF tank. BUT I want to move all the tanks from my room into a more efficient system, where I can access all the tanks (exc the 450L) at once. So, I'm thinking: Split the 300L breeder into 4 68L tanks (third-fourth shelving unit). I was initially going to sump it, but because I was planning on doing these two racks of display tanks when we move (so getting a stand for these would be more economical for me in the long-run - the 300L is quite tall and awkward, whereas with individual tanks I can change individual water levels - even if sumped). Either store the 300L or sell it. Get a second 220L (was a plan for the future move anyway) and move the 120L SE-A biotope fish into this - either store the 120L or sell it. Keep the Killifish set up in their current tank (moved to the left shelf) Move the breeder/QT into the second shelf - because I want these two shelves to go as display tanks, I'll likely have them made rimless. The first shelving unit (54L) will end up being a breeder unit when we move. However height looks to be a bit of an issue. I have 3300mm space available for width, but despite being almost 6", a height of 2m is a wee bit tall for me (especially if my plan is in order to make maintenance easier). I won't be employing the 1000mm long sump at the moment - I'll likely just keep the canisters currently running the tank. But I may make 4 of the 68L sumped (merge the bottom two tanks into one), and leave the top two as individual tanks in case of needing them for QT. The 3 left 54Ls might be sumped, or I might leave them all individual. The extras I really want to keep, as I was going to get 3-4 extra bays if I sumped the 300L (and I currently just don't have enough tanks to separate fish eg parents from fry). So: - How much space do you think I should have above each tank? Considering that I love my riparium plants, I'd like to keep the 400mm between the two 220L tanks, but I don't know how much space I need above the sump. Do you have any other ideas on cutting down height? I'd like to make it a max of 1700mm if possible. I won't be doing this project if it means cutting back on tanks. - I'll either make it 3 or 4 individual shelving units, as the setup will be different when I move so this can't be a permanent fixture. So - what kind of framing is recommended? Wood? Steel? Should I be able to get away without putting a bracing bar in the middle of the 220L tank to support the one above? Does the framing preference change if I want these to be relatively modifiable eg. being able to put a smaller tank in the space designed for a larger tank? - Are there any businesses in Auckland who would be able to make the shelves? Due to our current set-up, I won't be getting all of them done at once - I first need to get the 220L shelf made, move everything around it, and then finally get the other 2-3 done. - What else should I be aware of? Any suggestions for setting up auto-water-changes without 1. drilling holes in the wall, and 2. taking up too much space? I have a feeling my desire for an auto-WC system won't happen, though. Filtration will be a mix of HOBs, sumps (hopefully) and sponge filters. The sumping is a while away in the future, but for those sumping fry tanks, do you prefer to use overflow boxes or a different system?

From Redwoods? I only ended up getting the Macs - though I did halvsies on the shipping with a friend who got some Pelvicachromis taeniatus They laid eggs on the second day! Unfortunately she ate them on hatching day - I assume this is because the male is still in with her as I've currently got no where to put him. Am planning on trying again in a couple of weeks

Oh no I didn't even know we could get these guys in NZ - they're one of the most gorgeous killies out there. Would also love to know if you find any, Maxi

Gorgeous fish - they certainly don't look like they'd be easy to photograph! Props to you!

(Y) Nice fish!!!

Haha, bugger - thanks anyway! I was surprised such a cold-water, adaptive fish was allowed in the country - so that explains that

Did you not take the pic in NZ?

I'm not sure whether they're treated, but I saw some at the fancy cheese section of my local New World (though they were a wee bit pricey iirc). Also saw some at my local Bunnings a while ago.

Not really sure which forum to put this in I'm hoping to buy a bunch of books from the lovely Caryl but they're looking quite heavy to try to ship - is there anyone travelling this way that might be willing to work as a bit of a taxi service for us? I'm happy to pay some petrol money

Late question, where does one find the Notropis chrosomus?

It might be worth getting a "comprehensive" fertilizer such as regular Flourish - small holes can indicate magnesium or potassium deficiencies, but it is always hard to tell when eg plants show deficiencies differently and over-dosing can also cause symptoms similar to deficiencies.

Personally I won't use LEDs that don't list things like PAR, but there aren't really any available in NZ that do I don't have any experience with Sanrise, but it does look a wee bit blue in terms of the wavelength spectrum.

Good to see - was always fond of Animal Antics and they were great with clean tanks, advice etc (got my first ever fish and Hara cats from there)!

I believe there were just some available in Auckland - I'll PM you the guy's name

Not Ostracods?

If you've changed or cleaned all the substrate at once, it's very possible that you have an Ammonia spike. Substrate holds a lot of beneficial bacteria (especially if filters are inadequate, or if you're using an under-gravel filter), so cleaning it out all at once can have the same type of effect as cleaning out all of a filter.

Unfortunately test strips are known for being inaccurate. Would you be able to get your Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates done with a liquid test from your local fish store? Make sure to get all the numbers written down

As Benjans got the Java Fern added to the list, they don't actually seem too bad about it with plants - first needed is the EPA and proof that it's been available in the hobby before (I think) 1996, otherwise a risk assessment has to be done (so the EPA is the hard part). They only update the list "when needed", so you'll likely have to show them that you actually plan on bringing the plant in.

They currently are, as importing aquatic plants is a painfully long & costly process. A portion of what's available isn't even on the PBI (MPI's plant import list), lol.

Insect wholesalers got me all excited for cheap fish food. I don't think they'll appreciate the giant amazon centipedes (I've got a funny feeling the family won't, either).