AMAZONIAN

Congratulations HandS Good luck with the "rearing" part of the equation. :lol: Apisto's + the other "DWARF'S

Hi All Yep, if the shop or the staff are NO DAMNED GOOD we just dont go near that shop. :evil: Thanks for the statistics Aquagold. Says something for the feelings and caring of us "MAINLANDERS" eh? :roll:

HI All I'll jump to the defence of the owners of C.C as they are as honest as the day is long. They are the only people that I know that are in business but it's only for the hobby, not the profit.

Why worry. :oops: If you are thinking of buying then you negotiate the price accordingly. I've known the owner and his wfe, (and son) for near 35 years and I would have no hesitation buying a custom tank from them. If the edges are a bit rough you can rub them down with a carborundum stone. :roll:

Congrats Antwan All credit for your designing skills. It appears the fish are as happy as pigs in poo and that's what matters. I have always stated that we don't breed fish. :roll: We create the atmosphere for them to feel that they are in their own biotype and they want to do at home what "we do at home". :oops: It looks just like I imagine an "Apisto. River Bed" should be like.

Bloody old bitch. :evil: I had a look earlier today and all was great. :roll: Mum and Dad both cleaning fry and doing well, but I just had a look and "The BUGGERS" have cleaned them up. Not a single fry to be sighted. :evil: Never to mind, I have just pulled a little Artificial Hatching Tank" from under the house; and guess what. :roll: I'm going to feed the buggers up on Brine Shrimp till they almost burst and fill with eggs and spawn...... but they wont be hatching them: I will. :lol: Hands, my temp is 26 degrees and pH is 7.3. It could be a bit more acid but I find around 7 is a good level to be in as a lot of fish fry seem to get "CONSTITUTIONAL DROPSY" in water which is on the "Acid" side of 7 and die very young.

Hi All. Well we have fry, about 35 on a quick count. Not too bad for their first spawning. And it gets better I bought four fish and I find tonight that there are in fact two pairs. 8) The second pair are colouring up nicely as did the first pair prior to spawning. :roll: So maybe I could get lucky and end up with two pairs spawning at the same times..... :lol:

Hi All :lol: I have just got home from CHCH hospital and fed the critters but haven't had a good look at any of the tanks yet. :oops: She is cleaning the rock to the right and down from where the eggs were originally laid and making rapid trips back and forth to the back of the flower pot so I assume there are eggs/ fry there and she is preparing to move them again. Here's hoping.

Hi all, an update before bed. She has decided that too many people 4 -5 is too much for her to take in her DELICATE "post natal" situation and has moved the eggs to the back of a Flower Pot in the corner of the tank. :roll: :roll: I CAN SEE THEM LOOKING IN A MIRROR PLACED PRECARIOUSLY ON THE BACK EGDE OF THE TANK, SO THEY "AIN'T EATEN YET".

Hi All. Thanks for that Antwan. Day 2 and all is well in the household. Eggs are still there and NO "WHITE" Ones. Brine shrimp are getting eaten with great gusto and relish; but I'm running out of live adult ones though. Never to mind they ate newly hatched to three day old before so they can damned well eat them again. :roll: I dont want them getting too laid back in their condominium, and expect to be waited on hand and foot. :lol:

Hi All Thanks for the congrats. 8) I'm going to leave the eggs with the parents as they are both taking turns at fanning them and then going off to feed. There also seems to be no animosity between them either which is unusual for cichlids. If they eat the eggs they will only get to do it the once, but then they may be like my "Kribs": I cant kill them off faster than they drag another spawning around the tank. :lol: Some Useless Data: Tank is 20 X 9 X 9 inches Temp is 26.8 C. pH is 7.5 Hardness ......Plenty (typical Nelson water)

I hope this is a better piccy showing the eggs :lol: I rephotographed the beasties.

Hi All I finally cracked the code. :lol: My "panduro's" have just finished spawning. It's taken a wee while but this is great. Not a great piccy but who cares, it's the "panduro" that matter..... :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

Hi GREEN WATER: By definition, it is "Green". :lol: That is because it is alive with algae spores and also amoeba, paramecium, and maybe even a few rotifers. All these things are microscopic, but believe me a fish fry's keen eye will detect them, and eat them. they can eat them for a week or more but you should start with a little bit of NEWLY HATCHED "Brine Shrimp" after about four to five days of free swimming. 8) From then on it's 20% water changes twice a day and plenty of food, even five or six times a day. :lol: You will see their little bellies turn pink with the "BS" they are consuming. The biggest killer you will have after hatching is LACK OF FOOD, followed by OVERCROWDING, and LACK OF WATER CHANGES. :roll:

I find that if I give the newly swimming fry green water for a few days and then Brine Shrimp they go ahead in leaps and bounds. Regular water changes are a must as is plenty of food. :roll: View some of my posts on Angel's.

Hi All thanks for all the sympathy posts. She was a beautiful fish and had a character all her own. She is missed especially be her mate who I haven't given another lady to yet. Her offspring are doing really well and after the New Year thingie is over I will start selling the babies as they will be 4 months old then and a good size. The most forward of the young are already 3.5 - 4.0cm in body size and they are still only 12 weeks old and cramped in the 18 X 9 X 9 tank they were hatched in, as I haven't had time until today to start sizing them on.

It also goes well with Pork Bones Caryl. :lol:

Echinodorus of any variety is prevalent in the Amazon. The further inland from the coast you go the bigger the plants are. I personally like the following and in the order listed. Echinodorus bleheri .............grows enormous up to half a metre. E. macrophyllus...................grows to 50 centimetres. E. grandiflorus ....................grows to 45 centimetres. E. osiris...............................grows to 45 centimetres. E. schlueteri.........................grows to 25 centimetres. E. tenellus...........................grows to 10 cenimetres. All the above are available in New Zealand, however if there is a rush on the people that grow them you can bet the prices will treble overnight. :lol:

Needs plenty of pork bones though Wok especially if you use Watercress. Onions go ok with a good Chow mein though. :lol: I wouldn't think either the Onions or the Water Cress would do anything for the fish, (or the tank) except make them fart and have bad breath as Caryl says. Hell they had enough trouble with the "FART TAX" for Cows on a farm, let alone the Fish Tanks in the home. :roll:

If they are the "Ware Whare" :oops: (Warehouse) inspection lamps, they are value for money and they are cheap enough to not worry about one "Crapping Out", just throw it out and put another one in. 8) As they are electronic ballasted they disipate very little heat and the top layer of the tank doesn't get over heated. They are slightly better than "ENERGY SAVER LAMPS" due to the way they are designed. I use them and they are clipped to the tops of the tanks with heaterstat suction clips. :lol: Works a treat.

This works for me and it should for others as well. Take a length of nylon line (5lb Breaking strain) and a couple of small hooks, and a bit of bait, and head of down to the wharf or boat harbour. Dont forget to "Take a Kid Fishing" as well, and catch a few herrings. :lol: Take them home and clean them up and place in the microwave and cook them. Let them cool and break them up over the tank/s and watch the feeding frenzy. A very old saying in the "Fish Fraternity" is WE ARE WHAT WE EAT!!!!!

Hell..................... :lol: The toy makers are certainly making a "Good Quid" at the hobbyists expense. :evil: You dont need a toy to hatch "Brine Shrimp" a 1.5 or 2Ltr FIZZY DRINK bottle with an airstone is all you need. Cost...........................$2.50 plus whatever "spirits" you choose to put with the Fizzy. FORGET THE TOYS, THEY ARE JUNK. :evil:

Hi Lady-Lene from what is in your tank at present as I saw the list; you could quite safely put in 4/5 more Danios.

Greeting to one and all. I am going to write as I know, and it's what works for me. I SHIP FISH DAILY AROUND NEW ZEALAND. I WILL ONLY USE A COURIER IF THEY WILL GUARANTEE DELIVERY THE NEXT DAY. The fish are boxed as required and dropped off at the Couriers Depot at 4:30pm, with delivery the next morning by 11:00am at the latest. IF THEY DONT THEN IT IS BY AIR FREIGHT. It is a bit more expensive but if people want ME TO GUARANTEE LIVE DELIVERY then it is on my terms, and I will say ( tongue in cheek) that I have never had a DOA to this day. Touch wood it may continue..

DONT TRY TO RE-INVENT THE WHEEL.................. Nature has been doing this longer than man has been on the planet. Man invented science to rationalise the actions of nature.