fishyNZ

Everything nice, daltons sand?

try Sikasil RTV Clear

I think it depends on the destination airport. If you're going to either Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch (only airports I've been to), which have international connecting flights, everything will be scanned (xray). Though I'm not sure how or if airport security will notify the corresponding airline, if carrying live fish is discovered.

nice. did you use active cooling as well? Edited: sorry missed the 4 fans...

Isn't lumens more important than wattage, for lighting applications such as fish tanks?

It is called Duty Cycle and it is not only the Chinese that uses these "tricks". I have been involved in designing display interfaces requiring LED lighting; by setting a specific duty cycle, a target power consumption can be achieved (e.g. battery applications), as well as simpler product design (drivers requiring smaller or no heatsink). Brightness levels can also be adjusted, if required, by varying the duty cycle (pulse-width modulation). I believe cost is always a consideration, no matter which part of the world a product is designed.

Close-up view of the "shoal". I've removed the parents, fed bbs, siphoned off some debris and changed the water; all whilst the kids are sleeping. Yawn...

Got free-swimming fry yesterday; first noticed the eggs about a week ago. I've deferred siphoning so pardon the mess.

I got the following cichlid breeding pairs for sale, pm please if you're interested: Heros Efasciatus (Green Severum) - $50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXd4GZitiLc Rocio Octofasciata (Jack Dempsey) - $60 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMWiSEDOmzw Andinoacara Rivulatus (Gold Saum / False Green Terror) - $40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EPVNtNzJZk Due to size, the severum and dempsey pairs are for pickup only. Will be listed elsewhere.

That's great!

Nice pics Hecticity, got stiff neck on the first one though... is that the female?

Nice mix of south american cichlids. How big are those Uarus?

Here's the tank setup; 6-foot and slightly over 300L. It is subdivided into two sections: one has a pair of apistomac, 5 black neon tetras and an L140 pleco whilst the other, a trio of apistomac, 5 black neons and an L140 pleco as well.

First 2 weeks after separation, the fry were directly fed with bbs and mysis. After that, I started giving slivers of repashy and eventually stopped/replaced the bbs. As for the unhindered fry, I didn't fed them anything directly so they survived with bits and crumbs that their parents fed from (bloodworms and the same repashy). Perhaps due to the quantity of food that made the difference in growth. Frequency of feeding are roughly the same (at least twice/day).

Here's a video for better comparison:

Quick update. Most of the separated fry went to a good breeder. It was a busy holiday period and I don't have properly setup fry/grow-out tanks at the moment. Some were returned back to the parent's tank. Actually it's within the same tank, just separated by plastic breeder boxes. I used a larger plastic container and floated it when the fry got bigger. A number of fry escaped being separated; they survived with their parents and other tankmates (black neons) unhindered. Surprisingly (for me), they grew much faster than those separated. Here's a comparison:

Second spawning, still quite young, under 10cm and less than a year old. Other names: False Green Terror, Gold Saum

Thanks. Unfortunately one of them has a swim bladder disorder (when I got them). I have been treating with the boiled pea method as well as salt baths for several weeks, with no success. So far she is still happily eating and moving about, just vertical or upside down at most times.

It’s just an analogy; a logical comparison. The point being: humans and fish can both be (negatively) affected by big sudden changes in temperature (environment). Like DavidR, I mostly have american cichlids whose optimal temperature ranges from 24-27C, hence the 3C limit. I usually omit measuring the tap water during summer whilst winter, usually split water changes into two per week and also preheat some water.

Haha, good point! You got me there. I wasn't good at biology anyways...

Well here’s an analogy. You’re sleeping in your favourite stubbies when the temperature suddenly drops from 27C to 20C. How would you react? Most likely you’ll wake up, feeling uncomfortable. You’d get a blanket or duvet. Now you’re back sleeping snugly. Fish can’t have any blankets or duvets.

I use a pump attached to a long hose, for draining water out to the garden. For new water, I use another garden hose, connected from an outside tap and attached to a wand-type spray gun at the other end. All in, takes about 15-20 minutes to replace 160L (about 30%) of water for my 540L tank. For temperature, I make sure the difference between the new water (from tap) and old water (retained after draining) should not be over 9C. This ensures that the final approximate temperature after adding new water will not drop to more than 3C, thereby minimising fish stress. I used this simple online calculator, http://www.onlineconversion.com/mixing_water.htm, to get the optimal temperature difference for my setup.

It’s been very hectic the last several weeks. I had several spawning (6 species); 3 of which passed (barely) the 30-day FNZAS breeding scheme requirement. I lost a female Macmasteri, so I now have 2 males as surplus. I got Macmasteri, Agasizii and Cacatuiodes fry; though I lost the Cacatuiodes after only a couple of days. I sold all the Agasizii and some Macmasteri fry recently, hoping they will be raised and grown much better than myself. I haven’t had the chance to properly setup fry/growout tanks at the moment. No pairing on my Panduros and Trifasciatas yet.

Yes it would be nice if shops will have them again (hello importers?). I sold two a few months back, one which paired with the other person's TBar. There was reported spawning but I'm not updated on the status now. I acquired another two afterwards, so far no spawning (most likely same sex). Here's a video:

Nice pics. 6 amps (or about 1400w) seems a lot. Must be the lights?