Luke*

I make my own discus food. Topic of our next club meeting is homemade food. Makes me want to make it even more reading that article, nice one. The discus certainly adore it and it pumps them up really good as it's so filling and has my secret blend of herbs and spices in it too I made a heap at a time in the food processor then pour it into freezer baggies. I made lines in it then freeze. Then once frozen I can break it up into big chunks for thawing and feeding later.

I think there is a market, but people won't pay too much for them as the public will perceive them as just a different kind of angelfish.

wow wicked!

I wonder who they bought them off???? Maybe someone local and they didn't realise what they were doing.

If you boil it up it has a greater and much quicker effect. In a stocking still works just takes more time.

my guess is it's your water hardness, my water is 0-1 degrees hard and therefore the peat has a big effect on the pH. Peat does soften water so try adding more

Okay just to clear some stuff up here. I read an extensive article on a guy in asia who bred them. He is the only one I know of that has managed it. He didn't have a pond, just big tanks, like 6 ft x 2 x 2. And by the powers of the search function I've just found it! http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/want-a ... t3730.html (article at: http://www.geocities.com/asianarowana_2000/a1.htm) Enjoy

Corydora Parallelus, look a lot like C. Schwartzi

how hard is your water?

Do you mean growing out? The fridge is too cold they will die. Put in hot water cylinder with just a little yeast mixed into water. And of course use salty water. I use recycled coffee filters to strain mine, cheap and can keep reusing, reusing, reusing.

Simple, it's a girl. Glowlights are easy to spawn, and sex

Kinda scary how many on this forum have had 'visits' from MAF, sorta feeling like X-files right now. Maybe they're one of those mysterious 'guests' on here, I'm sure it's not a conspiracy theory and Warren is not selling our details to MAF

Hi Alan, that sounds awesome. Do you have any pics of drawings of how it was set up? Do you mind elaborating? What do you mean exactly by self contained? Were all the tanks connected together via central filter? How does it actually heat the water? (given the various ways mentioned above) Water changes? Good timing I just read an article on heat pumps vs solar heating tonight for hot water cylinders. It suggested solar panels cost around $10 000 and aren't as effective as heat pumps which cost about half that to install, but that was for hot water cylinder heating...I assume it is similar to heating fish tank water. It said you get $4 of normal heating power for every $1. If well insulated you can have a heat pump on a night only meter (runs 11pm-7am only), which usually costs less than half per unit than your usual everyday meter costs per unit reducing costs further.

Good topic, i was also wondering what we can do in NZ as I saw them talking about it on SimplyDiscus.com in America after the hurricanes they had, especially that one in New Orleans. The method of choice was generator, aside from that battery operated pumps just to run the air driven filters. The air is the most important thing you need as mentioned heat can stay a while with polystyrene, towels wrapped around etc. Suphew I haven't seen the Geni's... I assume these are generators you can buy from Bunnings? How much? I have quite an investment here with discus so need to look at that. Hamilton is sweet for outages though, only an hour or two max usually, still makes you nervous the whole 'not knowing how long' aspect. What powers those Genis?

Hmm i better read my AW again It's an awesome place out there, quite a novelty having butterflies landing on you, just make sure they don't go out the door with you or MAF will have to shoot you on site. The 11m tank is pretty cool, my question is how do they clean it??? Look for the huge clown loach in the smaller end part (it has one bit divided off)

Ottos are shy and like to be in groups, usually retail for about $15 too so can be kinda pricey. I have 4 and they do a good job and only eat algae. Some others like black line flying fox start to fancy flake and other food you put in after a while

Sweet I'd be happy with a tank and fish for my birthday! Keep getting socks though. hehe nice one l/l, like we say here in fishland, everyday should be valenti... i mean your birthday :bounce:

Heya, just wondering what your views are on what you think are the best digital cameras on the market at the moment for photographing fish and tanks. I'm told a camera with good macros is essential. I don't mind spending a bit more to get a really good one. Cheers

Is your tank getting any sunlight? Brown algae can appear also due to lack of light. Everything in balance there would be no algae, i.e right amount of nutrients (macro/micro) and light and CO2. I treat all new plants with potassium permanganate, you can get it pretty cheap from a chemist, bout $7 or so. Comes in powder and you mix with water in a bucket till pinky red (not purple). Leave the plants for ½ an hour and you're sweet. It's good because it stops those nasty hair and black brush algae (bba) getting in. Bleach is too strong and needs more rinsing afterwards to get off even if used lightly. P/P then a rinse and it's gone. One good thing is that brown algae is much easier to get rid of than most green algaes. HTH

Ahhhhh much better visibility now thanks NAS. Looking really really good. I'd just recommend some fill in the back middle and back left, and the driftwood in the mid section sticks up attracting the eye and adds symmetry. The aim is usually to have a flowing aquascape that looks like a riverbank and the rest of your set up certainly reflects those aspects, nice work. Oh and of course will look great with more ground cover or when the rest spreads out. All just IMHO of course. Is it 6 ft x 2 x 2? I just got 3 congos myself, spawning in the plants after a week, gotta love them.

LFS: Local Fish Shop IMHO: In My Humble Opinion HTH: Hope This Helps DIY CO2: Do It Yourself Carbon Dioxide PMSL: P Myself Laughing (have to ask mystic what the p stands for ) LOL: Laughs Out Loud LOLLIE: new version of LOL LOLARIOUS: newer version of LOL LOLLIE CAKE: newest version of LOL And that's all you need to know HTH

It's too dark to see it properly. If you have photoshop increase the brightness.

Luke notes being green with envy is better than being green with algae. Freshwest you feel sorry for the parents...what about the FRY??!!?? They're the poor ones getting eaten. I'd definitely remove the tetras if you don't have enough space to house 3 pairs. I reckon the fry would grow quick enough to soon not be eaten by cardinal tetras. Me Love Fishy, dwarf siggitaria seems to grow okay as a ground cover plant with good fluros (ideally less than 6-12 months old too). But if you really want a good cover you need MH.

I like cichlids for their intelligence, but not just that. They also have a myriad of social interactions; same applies for tetras when sparring or spawning. E.g discus do lots of shimmies and shakes and various things that indicate the way they're feeling. Very interesting to sit and watch for....hours

Good to see you back from the dead guys, when you left, there was a distinct feeling of emptiness and I missed your funny light hearted posts Mystic.