Bilbo

Does anyone have any current books on Marine/Reef tanks that they could loan??? Preferably 'Introduction to' books rather than 'study for doctorate in' books I can pick up form anywhere in Wgtn or from KMAC meeting tomorrow night

Just as another alternative. Try looking at the HRV system. It heats and dehumidifies. Has a better filter and pump than DVS so removes dust, smoke, pollen and poisionious gasses and is cheeper to run at about 10c per day. www.HRV.co.nz

(Aequidens Curviceps) Dwarf flag cichlid or Sheepshead Acara are not all that rare now. I had a couple of pairs that were breeding for a while but gave them away. Hutt Pet Centre has a few of them and there are a few people over your way in WOA who breed them. They are a neat little fish.

Hi Matt Welcome aboard. Seems to be tons of new people from WOA, its good to see.

I wouldnt use it. To many other factors to consider like what is in vinegar that may harm the fish. Try using peat in your filter to lower pH.

Horrie Parker used to live in Naenae. Myself and a few friends used to be forever at his house tinkering with stuff we weren't supposed to touch and annoying him. Unfortunately died a few years ago now. Fay, who used to be the treasurer of Lower Hutt Aquaruim and Pond Soc, has moved to Taupo I believe. His sons are around somewhere locally but I don't think they keep fish.

Hey Jo. Those Danios are about a year almost now. Should have no problems breeding them.

I agree with MD. I realy like my school of 30 neons they look great in a school and would like to get more. They are happiest in soft slightly acid water with heaps of plants and hiding places and with lights that are not to bright. With that said as adults they will live in almost any tank as long as there is nothing with a Neon or bigger size mouth . Breeding can be a bit of a chore as the eggs and fry are intollerant of any light and water, tanks + equipment must be imaculately clean with very soft water. Not all tetras are peaceful. Serpaes for example are some of the worst fin nippers I have ever kept but easier to breed than neons.

Yes I admit it, I have used it too. Also Cat biscuits, Rabbit Pellets and even tried them once on a piece of a a banger left over from a BBQ.

1 more vote for Glass. For all the previosly mentioned reasons.

Wow he is an awsome looking fighter. Good find

Keyholes are one of my favorite fish but I have not been able to find them down here. They are usually, as Caryl said, peaceful.

I use a CO2 thingy in my community tank and it works great. They are easy to make out of a coke bottle and some airline tubing. There is also some plans for a diffuser in the DIY section which looks good. I also use the flurish excel and highly recomend it. I dont use that gravel fertilizer either for the same reason as you dont CO2 plans are everwhere on the net but here is the one I read. http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html#6 It cost me about $7 all up and that included a nice cold drink of coke. Post some pictures when you are done

Hi Guys. I have been unable to find the meds you recommended. Even contacted the supplier in AKL and the local rep but no joy anywhere. None available and no vets here carry it. I have been using Droncit and it looks like they are much better. All there colour is back and they are eating heaps now and putting weight back on. One still has pale stringy poo and also looks like it has a kind of fish diahoria with occasional white cloudy discharges. They look like they are on the mend though so thanks all for the help. I had 15 and have lost 3.

Some very good points here and I agree with the ones made by Jude and Chimera. I think also that 1.2 wide is too small. Especially when you have said that So that leaves only 600mm down the middle to move around and that is hardly enough room to get past a bucket or to view the tanks. Although it may be a good move to stop fatties like me coming round to have a look???? I before E.

The ancestors of most of the fish we keep are different colours to the ones we now keep. The 3 spot gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus) has a number of colour variations including the Cosby (Blue with black zigzags) and gold. They are not rare, at least not in New Zealand. The pictured fish look smallish and skinny to me so unlikely to be 'pregnant' (I personally dislike that phrase. egg layers are full of eggs, live bearers become pregnant) also it looks to me like they are both males. LB is a Kiwi expression, it can be loosly translated into American English as "Wellingtonian student that keeps Killifish and Guppies" 1 gallon [uS, liquid] = 3.7854118 litre.

I think that a 300w heater would be struggling in anything over the 600-700 ltr mark. Depending on the heat loss of course. It doesnt matter what size heater you use (without being silly like 50w in a 1,000,000 ltrs or 5000w in a 10ltr tank) the price to heat water 1 degree in a 100ltr tank is the same with a 100w or a 500w. The 100w heater will be on 5 x longer. I also like the idea of both LxWxH and Ltrage.

I did a guesstimate recently on a larger tank. Here are my calculations for the 300w heater. 300 (watts) / 1000 (to make kW) x 0.16 (price per kWh) x 12 (hours on per day) = $0.58 per day. I worked this out myself so I hope its right and I dont put you crook. Even if I got the calculations right this is not compleately accurate and a power meter is a better plan but this should give you a rough guide. The biggest power problem in a tank is the same as in a home. Heatloss via uninsulated sides.

Yes I am interested S. Man. I have enough losses this week. As well as ALL my 2mth old Angels and Rainbows I have also had 1 more Discus die. I have phoned my local Vet and he has some stuff I can buy but being unemployed currently I cant afford the $34 per dose for 5 doses. Well not for another week anyway.

It was in an unused room straight on a concrete floor. Looks like water has gone behind the room under the house and from there out a storm water drain. Both those points are good as there is no real damage to anything else. Crack looks to have started about the middle of the 1500x750 base and gone out in 3 directions from there.

My worst disaster, which I am yet unsure is my fault, happened last night. I had a new 700Ltr tank put downstairs and was going to be my Discus display tank when they get better (See Diseases Post) After 3 weeks or so with water in it, setting it up and cycling, everything looked nice so I put in 3 platties which lasted 2 days fine so yesturday we decided to put in all our growing Angels (65 in all) and our Dwarf Neon Rainbows (over 100). Checked 11:30 last night and all looking great. This morning at 6am I got an alarming wakeup call from a near on histerical wife. "All the fish are Dead!" "All the water has gone and they are Dead!!!!!" So I stumbles down the stairs to find she had hit the nail fair on the head, 600+ Ltrs gone AWOL and dry dead fish everywhere, heaters popped, filters making some ugly grinding noises and pump drowned no longer working. Only managed to save 1 Pepper Cat and 1 BN. Dwarf Neons were the first and only fish my wife has bred and her favorites especially in a large school. Bizare thing is that I could have made more mess on the floor by dropping a 10ltr bucket. Its damp everywhere but no puddles. Must have drained out the front of the house.

I lost a Discus a month ago and thought it was simply bullied and had starved or something. 2 weeks ago I noticed 2 more looking quite sick. They are very dark coloured, wasting away so I can see there bones and have long white stringy poo's. They are still eating at the moment. My searches say its most likely Hexamita. Does anyone know if this is correct diagnosis and of any cures or what I should try next? I have tried an number of things from some websites including - Epsom Salts (To clean em out b4 giving meds) Raise Temp (Speeds up bugs lifecycle to make eaiser to kill I guess) Garlic (Supposed to kill parasites but more a preventitive than cure) Meth Blue (Next to useless against internal bugs) Salt bath (Not seem to do anything but anoy the fish) 20% water change twice a week. Temp now 29-30c usually 26-27c 12 x 3-4cm Discus in 150Ltr with 1 pair of Rams, 3 BN and 3 platties PH 6.0 - 6.5 (mostly rainwater filted through peat)

An old guy told me, years ago, that if you use a 9v battery with copper wire attachements that will kill snails. You can put one wire in each end of the tank and one end will bubble and turn green. I never tried it as I thought it cant be good for fish due to the current and the copper oxidation. Perhaps someone more scientific than me can give views on this method? I prefer the loach method myself.

I got a Phillips 18w colour 865 6500k for about $8.50 yesturday and 58w ones for around $10. There is tons of info in here on lighting but as a general rule Use 6500k bulbs for fresh water tanks. Lower (Cool/Warm White etc) = high algae/slime and gunk because of too much of the red spectum and higher rated ones cost tons more and are of no real benifit. Colour 865 and 965 are both rated at 6500k but 865 is alot higher lumens and IMO better.

Pity as it looks a great deal better in real life. Hope to see more pix soon.