roger
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Posts posted by roger
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Well I have just about sold out completely of my first book (I will reprint later in the year) and on the strength of that I have been asked to write a fieldguide to the freshwater fishes of New Zealand! :smln:
The photographer is Rod Morris (wooo!) and publisher is New Holland! I have been finding the people there fantastic to deal with, and am really looking forward to learning the process of working with a publisher and editor.
The contract is all signed and the writing is underway.
The only unfortunate part is you will have to wait till December next year to get a copy, but at least it will make it easy to choose what you want for xmas!
Will look forward to the new book! Great news!
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Man - I'd like to go to the supermarket with you so you can talk to the butcher about the pink fluros they put over their meat.....
;-)
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Fast, cheap and they put the value of your item really cheap on the outside of the box so you don't get pinged for GST or duty
Go for it!
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I have been looking at the fx5 but do you think the flow rate will be to much?
I've got an FX5 on a 350l tank with 5 discus and other random fish and they are all pretty happy - keep laying eggs even
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How exciting for you!!! Here are some of my ideas - stuff I've read about, been told about and learned from experience. It really is just my opinion - not a "this is the only way"
- I have dead, uncured rock, do I have to cure it first, or just start the cycle process as if it was cured?
- Will all the crap be removed from the dead rock regardless or will curing it be the only way to ensure the rock is free from unwanted algae etc?
Is your rock dry stuff you get from the pet store? If so you should be able to give it a quick scrub/rinse (pref in some RO/DI water) and pop it in your tank to start your cycle. Any dead stuff left on it will help your cycle along. If your rock is wet stuff it's probably a good idea to cure it to get rid of stuff on it first. I think that the whole cure thing is more for the USA where they ship wet rock.
- If I want to run a DSB in my sump possibly with miracle mud, will I need a light in the sump?
A light is a good idea (not a necessity) on a sump. Run it opposite to your display tank and you'll have a more stable PH.
- Will a couple of baby (?) clowns be ok in a tank without a anemone (at least for a few months)?
Absolutely! You should wait at least 6 months before getting an anemone too. Clowns in a tank are fine if you decide to never get an anemone - and then (IME) if you do finally get one your clowns might just completely ignore it ;-) Clowns are great fish to start with too.
- Will turbo snails allow coraline algae to grow and if so, how many should I get (if any at all)?
I don't think they do. They eat diatoms and micro algae - according to my book ;-). It depends on the size of your tank and what you have in it as to how many you should get. They only eat algae so if you have too many in a tank they will run out of food and slowly die
I have 10 in my 250l tank and they clean out the hair algae and other stuff as it grows. They don't seem to touch the coralline - so far....Good luck!!!
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This is my guess
Platygyra
Favites
Both are from the Faviidae family. There is also a 3rd similar one called a Favia - that is very similar to the Favites but the little 'circles' have their own coralite wall (the Favites share coralite walls). Platygyra have maze like shared walls. They are all commonly known as Brian Corals.
And what a lovely, healthy looking tank!
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I use Flourish Excel - which is slowly working on my BBA and my plants are growing fast! I use a dosing pump as I'm notoriously forgetful
Cam
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Hi there, we have recently purchased a bubble tip anemone for our marine tank. He seemed to settle in ok, moved himself into a spot that suited him and today the third day of having him we found him deflated. I understand they can sulk but not sure that they would do it three days later and if so how long should we expect him to sulk for???
Thanks heaps for your help :-?
MIne shrinks from a dinner plate size to next to nothing at the same time every night. It really annoys the clown fish who still try to get in it even though it's tiny. I takes an hour or two to get back to full size. Sounds like yours is perfectly normal
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Hi guys wondering if anyone is traveling from AKL to rotorua and has space to bring some tanks with them. Tanks are 100x600x600
Where in Auckland is pick up?
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When they become free swimming they will stick close to mum and dad, you will see them sticking to the sides of their parents as the feed of the mucus that is secreted from their parents.
You may find that you may be able to syphon them out when they get abit bigger and pop them into a container and float them in the tank that you have them in now.
Is lots of fun raising Discus Babies.
Good Luck.
Oh wow - that would be awesome to do that!!!
Do you think I should give the free swimmers a week with their parents?
Cam
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I have two lovely Discus who paired off and laid eggs - woo hoo!! The best part is that my other half knows how much I paid for my fish and that I can sell them, so said 'I need another tank to raise them'. Ohhhh - words you only dream about!
Well two days later the other fish in the tank ate the eggs when the Discus wandered away for a bit. But...a couple of days later they laid some more. Day 3 I couldn't see the eggs so presumed they were eaten again but day 4 and I have a closer look with a magnifying glass as the Discus were still hanging around where the eggs were and I have wrigglers!!! The parents are being very protective this time but once the babies start swimming are they going to be gobbled up straight away? I don't have a separate tank yet - working on it.
Ironically I think the wrigglers look exactly like the BBA - but with eyes when you look closely ;-)
The other fish are: 3 more Discus, Rams, Cardinal Tetras, Golden Bristlenose, Corydoras Julli. They are all in a med/heavy planted 350l tank with a Fluval FX5 filter, temp is 29 deg C, PH 6.0-6.2, Ammonia and Nitrite always 0 and Nitrate 2ppm - 5ppm. The water is filtered rain water
Cheers
Camille
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I can't afford this hobby and a drug habit ;-)
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Hmmm should we be concerned he has a syringe handy to use? :gigl:
Oh oh oh!!! Bugger - that does sound bad! I have a reef tank too and use a syringe (like the ones to give my kids Pamol) to target feed corals. Honestly...
and I'm a she ;-)
Cheers
Cam
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Discus are sensitive to flourish excel but in saying that I dose every day without issues. If you mix the excel in water before adding it, it will help as ime the discus seem to like to swim directly through where the excel has just been poured.
The best way to kill off the bba is to get hold of a syringe and squirt the excel directly on to it. You will notice it turning red within a couple of days and ime once it starts to die off the other bba in the tank seems to reduce. Work your way around the tank.
Wow - that's some great information - thank you!
I dose Excel 15ml morning and night (using a dosing pump as I'm notoriously forgetful) into the corner filter thingy so it isn't directly into the tank.
Cheers
Cam (off to get my syringe out and kill me some BBA)
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Hi Roger
Yeah more than likely just the breeding causing the problem
leading into the spawning.
Maybe a ph crash? rain water doesn't offer much buffering capacity,you could mix it with tap
especially when using co2 can drop the ph
How long have you been adding the excel?
Not sure about the dose and its effects on the discus, maybe someone can offer some help
just a few thoughts.
Hi Flosty
The PH is usually low side. Although it has been sitting about 6.2-6.4. The filtered rain water is what comes out of my tap as I'm on tank water ;-)
I did consider trying CO2 but was cautious about poisoning the tank as I have such soft water.
I've been dosing Flourish Excel for 3 or 4 months now - more to try and get rid of the Black Beard Algae than for the plants but all I've had so far is excellent growth on my plants AND my algae - doh!
Any thoughts are great - thank you
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Just a thought :roll:
Have you wormed them recently??
No - I've never even read anything to say to do that. Is this important to do regularly or only when there's issues?
Thanks
Cam
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Hope that helps?
Yes it does help me not to worry
They are eating a bit more enthusiastically today and all the other fish are just peachy.
Fish have emotions - who would have thunk it!
Cheers
Cam
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Things can certainly change when Discus are guarding their eggs.
Did this behaviour only start when the Discus laid??
When did you do your last water change??
No - they only laid today but all Discus been odd for about a week. I hadn't seen any pairing up or aggressive behavior out of the norm. Maybe they only fought when I wasnt looking - a bit like my kids ;-)
2 days ago for the water change
Thanks
Cam
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Hiya
I have a 350l tank with 5 Discus, 2 GBN, 20-something cardinal tetras, 6 Rams, 5 leopard catfish.
It's got lots of plants and some BBA & cyno.
The fish have been awesome until about a week ago. The discus have suddenly become shy. They run and hide when anyone approaches the tank where as they used to all come to the front for food. Now they seem to eat only reluctantly.
All rams and cardinals still come to the front for food. My GBN has been busy with eggs/ babies. I did have 2 girls and a bloke (GBN's) but this morning I found one of the girls dead and looking a bit munted
I've been getting a little worried at the change in the discus's behaviour and the dead bristlenose but this afternoon I've discovered two of the discus with eggs!!
I'm guessing the water is OK as the discus and bn are laying eggs but I'm still a little worried at the suddenly shy discus. Is it just like a human household where new babies change everything and everyone acts a little weird??? Or is my PH too low? I've read so much on the internet and so much of it is contradictory...
TIA
Cam
Temp 29 deg C
Ammonia 0 (always)
Nitrite 0 (always)
Nitrate 2-5ppm
PH 6.0 (that's as low as my test kit goes)
I use filtered rain water with about 3x 30% water changes per week.
Dose 15ml flourish excel 2x a day
PS Feel free to laugh at my algae garden....
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Mine took 2 or 3 days to open fully.
They love light and lots of flow.
Some star polyps have white centers and long green 'petals'. Some just have the long green petals.
Mine closed up on one side just recently for about 3 or 4 days. I moved them higher in the tank and away from my other corals (just in case they were having a toxic war game) and they opened up fully the next day.
I was at Wonderworld last week and all their star polyps were open and looked just fine
aqua nano 40 55ltr reef build
in Saltwater
Posted
Could be a blessing in disguise.
"I'm glad I put a damsel in my tank" said no one, ever...