F15hguy

handle?, an old fella in Greerton who keeps his nitrates below 10ppm religiously has a 5 year old neon (possibly 8years, he only bought them twice) "handle" is a bit relative

lol, Katikati kid are you, I grew up swimming and chasing eels in that river. go down Henry Road and have a poke around, Great jumping spot there when I was a kid. lotsa inanga, shrimp, Koura, Kokopu and bullies nice clean water and clean stones that you cannot take.

technically it is illegal. you should be fine ID'ing bullies anyways. just go get a feild guide out and read up for a day or so before you go. if your after red-fins specifically its the Diagonal face markings to look for, quite distinctive under a spotlight at night.

might point out at this point that it is illegal to collect sand or stones from a river in NZ without a permit. what river btw, im a TGA boy and know most of them like the back of my hand not illegal to take the threatened native animals, just the sand and stones...... :facepalm:

"High levels of nitrate can pose a health risk for certain people. For this reason the Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand set a Maximum Acceptable Level (MAV) of 11.3mg/L for nitrate - nitrogen. This level is based on international standards." thats from http://www.cph.co.nz/Files/DrinkWaterFAQNitrates.pdf these are the Long-term values, short term is allowable up to 50ppm, but to be serious, I got those readings just downstream of an unlined septic tank sludge settlement pond in a high intensity farming area. if your getting that sort of levels I would be complaining NOW (BTW as soon as my marks come back im officially qualified in Water treatment and management )

I would be surprised at that for tap water, unless it is bore water. the 40ppm thing is put out there by the industry. just seems strange that for "sensitive fish" they say maximum 20ppm. just cuz a fish can handle a level doesn't mean that it is good for it.

lol 40ppm is the MAV for humans, would hate to have to be a fish in that. at 50ppm human babies start to get Blue baby syndrome, and thats just drinking it, not existing in it. I say 20ppm is a maximum

they are one of the most experienced shops in NZ, i'd trust them anyday.

ask your local irrigation supply shop to order them in, they normally come in bags of 50 or 100, buy the whole bag and tack it onto their next order. you will want spares cuz 4mm is easy to break.

as you can see the advise is differing because there is no proper answer. I recomend a minimum of 20-30% per fortnight, preferably weekly with the additional if I have time i'll do one. some times I'll do 4-5 in a week, sometimes just one. small tanks need a lot more than big ones, and stocking levels also affect it. there is no negatives for doing a water change and heaps of positives. (unless you have major water temp or pH imbalances) the real question is how few a number of water changes can you get away with without problems?? and is it worth risking your babies to save yourself 1/2 an hour a week?

no one likes crabs are they fresh water ones???? if not then remember you also want to wash as much salt and organic matter out as well.

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=64126 for sale. as promised

what kind?

I have a big bag of shells for sale if your keen, i'll post it up here tonight

oh well, probably save my life, the missus woulda killed me =P :roll:

all gone except one that was a bit ugly coloured (more brown than red and grey than white), a young dude took the lot, he loves them.

WHAT????? did it get offered in here??? I woulda taken them!!!!

wooopz http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=64014

I would also follow this thread, there is a link in there to a work in progress, Blueether has done some awesome work on the bullies already.

gidday... other tanks??? 670L tank... PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! c'mon we want a full run down of every fish you have!!!!!! tease

not allowed to sell them, Patea river is full of bullies, never had a look at what types though, as to where, thats the fun part, go door knocking at the farmers houses and take a picnic. most bullies will take sinking pellet food if they not to sure on it, try frozen bloodworm or buy a white worm culture (there is bound to be someone close to you on here that will sort you out).

Taranaki is one of the best places for redfins. try lower down nearer the sea as they are a sea run spawner, but they do go inland quite a bit and can climb waterfalls. next time your near a library go have a peek and see if there is any books.

simple little tip that I use every time and have never had a cloudy tank. Gravel vacuum while you are filling, sucks up an amazing amount of crap even after spending hours washing gravel. plus I tend to use the cheapest gravel I can find due to spending more $$$ on fish than gears.

worth a bit of pain for the gain????

check out the native section on the forums, some like the redfin bully are gorgeous. the Kokopu are golds and browns normally, but are stunning. Redfin Bully Banded Kokopu the best thing is you get to go out and catch your own, so the fish are a lot more personal. plus if you have kids its an amazing educational tool. We are currently working on a Native Fish profile page so keep your eyes out.