gunnstack

Hi Kim-yes I have contacted a number of shops and $20 seems to be the norm. I bought a couple in P.North this morning who seem to have them in fairly regularly and I will add a couple every time they are in stock till I get a small shoal. Regards Gordon

Hi Fish Tank- I'm not sure if we are talking about the same fish. The one I'm looking at is called Botia sidthimunki, similar colourings to a Khuli Loach but grows to max 5 cm. Lovely yellow.brown colourings with what could be described as gold portholes along the bodyline and the belly also a gold colour. If there are plenty in your neck of the woods what are they charging for them?? If they are a reasonable price I would pay for the fish plus the courier costs. At present our local fish supplier is offering White Clouds at $4.50 each- just a tad over the odds I would think so heaven knows what they would charge for theses little beggars. I suppose it might be a sign of the times but when I first bought my Dwarf Loaches they cost me $8 each- from an importer and he had a markup on that price!! Regards Gordon

Hi, here I am again with another question. Some 9 years ago- (yes 9!!) I purchased 4 Dwarf Loaches ( Bodia Sidthimunki) from an importer in Wellington- since stopped importing. I have one left and he looks as good as the day he was bought. I have not seen this fish from that day to this. Does anyone know where in the Manawatu/Horewhenua area these fish are available- or anywhere in NZ? They would be one of the most delightful little Loaches I've encountered. The life span has surprised me. I have had fish live over 3 years but these little beggars have surpassed all expectations. At one point I could see they were in a breeding cycle but didn't have the neccessary tank set up for this to happen. If anyone out there has any to sell or know where I could purchase them I would be very interested. Regards Gordon.

Thanks for the tips about Flourish Excel. As a next question- why does the carbon have the desired effect? Why could you not put the (I presume it's activated carbon?) into the filter to achieve the same effect therefore the effect would be costant -so long as you monitored the carbon content in the water regurarly? No, I'm not a novice but on tank water I am on a steep learning curve. I always believed that tank (rain water) was ideal for fish of all types- aside from tweeking ph etc. This is obviously not the case! As regards the rainwater tank It's clean, apart from a little sand- and a little Pine pollen which floats on the surface at this time of the year and goes out out over the overflow. Anyway I will try the Flourish Excel and post the results for all of us using tank water. Something worth looking at is that concrete tank water tends to give a neutral ph whereas plastic tanks alwyas give a negative ph down as low as 6.2. I suspect it has something to do with the plastic curing agent as the ph seems to come up the older the tank is- just a thought.

When I lived in L.Hutt I never had any problems with algae apart from the green form and every plant thrived without the addition of nutrients. Since moving to Foxton and until recently, no plants survived more than a few weeks (I use rain water from the tank, Ph neutral to slightly acidic). The worst problem I had was with the black algae which tends to attach itself to the edges of the plant leaves and over rocks. I re-sited the tank to cut down outside light, planted densely and started using a plant nutrient called Aqua Master Plant Food on the assumption that rain water would be mineral defficient. Well I have no problem with plant growth now, they are growing out of the tank and I take cuttings to keep the density up. The problem is the black algae has raised it's ugly head again!! Does anyone know of any product which will kill off this type of algae without affecting the plants or the fish, or is there something lacking in the water? Bearing in mind that this tank, gravel etc. has been disinfected prior to re-siting it's surprising the curse has come back only couple of weeks after. Any suggestions gratefully received! Regards Gordon

Hi-my first post on the forum. Some years ago I had some White Clouds but recently on trying to find them in the pet shops etc. they seem as rare as hens teeth. I tried my old Wellington club but had no luck. Has anyone seen them around or has anyone got some they would be willing to sell? I live in Foxton so if anyone in the Horewhenua or Manawatu area has some it would save on travel but I will go any reasanable distance. Regards Gordon.