Gatito

Hi @Caryl, It was a long time ago! What a shame that activity on the forums have changed, are the clubs very active still? Haha that's a good point! I'm starting to save for my reef setup now, so that once I have to pay for a house i'll have the money tucked away for setting a tank up & stocking it. Only hiccup will be if the house deposit fund needs some help from the tank fund 🥲

I hadn't found this group yet, thanks so much!

Good to be back! Haha dark side of my wallet most likely 😅

Hi all, Jo here. Getting back into fishkeeping and thought i'd drop a hello 👋 It's so nice to see some familiar usernames on here! Not sure if any of you will remember me, but I have fond memories of the convos in forums & at meet-ups, getting waist-deep in mud on wild molly hunts 😅, and trading free labour for spending time with @livingart & his better half C's menagerie back in my early 20's (AKA ~20 years ago). Back then I kept FW tropical tanks and some herps, but downsized to nothing in 2013 following my marriage ending. From there I went back to uni for 7 years & studied bacteriophages/microbiology before doing a 180 and starting my own business in my old profession working with dogs 🤣. I now live on Auckland's north shore in a little flat by myself (if you don't count the dog & cat), and so far have resisted the urge to get any tanks (though I do have the materials for a paludarium build sitting in a cupboard waiting for me to get stuck into, haha!) I'm on the way to buying a new home in the next year or 2, and am spending the meantime getting educated & planning to set up my very first reef tank once I move to the new house. So i'm back in here reading guides & forum posts, and getting familiar with the process - i'm loving the learning curve and excited to get started, but also really enjoying being able to take my time researching & planning. Though knowing me, some FW trops will probably sneak into the house at some point once I get more involved... Keen to join AFA, and to connect with other reef/marine tank keepers. Love my FW tropicals, reptiles & amphibs too so i'm going to enjoy dreamscrolling through everyone's posts just to live vicariously 🙂 What's the current situation with Auckland fish clubs? I'm seeing AFA, and Auckland Aquarium Association? Thank you for listening to my TED talk. Have a great weekend!

I can't see where to edit my username... I might just have to be myself...

Thanks M! I've already been through my awkward newbie phase ?

I was actually thinking of you when mulling over possible options ?. Lizard road trip!

Hi mods I used to be active in fishkeeping/these forums years ago (username: gatito). I just tried resetting my password, but it set me up with this new account instead so I guess my gatito account was linked to a different email... Is there any chance of merging the accounts, or getting my access restored for the old one? This could be dangerous... i've just been stalking the gatito account & it's making me want to get some of my old favourites again... ?

Hi all! I live in Auckland, and have inherited a blue-tongued skink from my old flatmate. I've been caring for Bob for months now since his owner relocated out of Auckland, only coming home 1 night a week for work, and they have now moved away permanently, leaving Bob with me. I'm going to find him a great new home and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions? I'm aware I can't sell him in Auckland. I am looking into giving him to someone with a great set-up that will give him fantastic care, or possibly relocating him to the Waikato to sell - I still need to look into whether the Auckland restrictions extend to the Waikato to see if this is an option. I'm considering selling him because 1. it can help discourage enquiries from people that may not have the means to care for him properly, and 2. I've spent a fair bit on upgrading his living situation (his old owner had no UVB and inadequate heat sources in his enclosure and wasn't planning on doing this, so I stepped in and purchased what he needed) so it would be great if possible to try and recoup some of those costs. Does anyone know whether I can advertise him for sale south of Auckland, or have any suggestions on great facilities/herpetologists that can provide him with an ideal set-up? I'd love him to have a massive enclosure - he's very active since I got him a heat bulb & i think he'd love more space to do his thing P.S. the plastic bin in the photo is NOT his home ? - it's just where I put him while cleaning his enclosure or for messy meals.

Thanks, yeah I went right to the max line and it stopped for a little bit. Has been doing it every now and again so I reposition the filter media and it comes right. Need to adjust the eheim bio balls I think & should sort permanently. Thanks for the tip!!

Took everything out of filter box except powerhead and its mount/case, ran fine, then slowly added the media. Done the trick, I think there was a big air pocket trapped between the bags of media

It's completely submerged when its running. I've just had a look and can't see any air pockets, wondering if its drawing air trapped in the filter media so having a tinker now

I've just downgraded from my Juwel Rio tank to a smaller 60L one. Set up and the filter is quiet/normal for a few seconds then it kind of hums and spits out a little burst of air. I've taken the powerhead out and run it submerged in the tank and it's fine. I've also submerged it in its case to get any air out of the impellor chamber etc, then kept it surrounded by water as i put it back in place by blocking the holes in the casing. Is there air trapped in the black box housing somewhere near it? It must be a lot because it's run like this for a few days now and no end in sight. how do i fix this?

Bumping this up as i've just found out I now have a forced timeframe to find her a home, 2 weeks, 3 tops. Very much in love with this sweet adorable girl, keen to find the right home asap before she becomes even more attached to us. She is so devoted once you build that trust, so if you know someone who could return all that love, let me know ASAP. Uploaded with ImageShack.us

She's absolutely lovely, aside from wanting to use the cats as toys. If we weren't moving to stay with family we'd be keeping her.

If it weren't for poor timing this girl would be joining our family. Genuine enquiries only please. 2 year old French x Neopolitan Mastiff looking for her new forever home. Almost fully grown but still a puppy, things didn't work out with her previous owners and she is currently in a foster home that loves her to bits. Much more information and photos available upon request. Please only enquire if you have experience with dogs, especially large/giant breeds and Mastiffs. This is vitally important as we will only be letting her go to the right home. Very sweet and laid-back, healthy and playful, good with dogs but still learning gentler play methods. Not socialised with cats, but we're working on it with her foster family's feline members, and she's doing well. She will go free to the right home, but depending on how long she is with us I may ask for a contribution towards the costs we incur feeding her. She is already desexed, vaccinated and microchipped. Please PM me if you are interested, with as much info as possible about yourself and your suitability for this special girl. I will reply to every enquiry by PM or preferably email, and we'll go from there. Photos: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150489713275848.359333.685705847&type=3&l=4d4b39c5ea

done! good luck! great cause, we used to have GAP come in to work on weekends/special events to help raise their profile

fab, thanks guys :thup:

Thanks - Java moss is fab - I have it in the water, and it works well draped over the edge of the water onto the substrate too (using a glass partition, water on one side, potting mix/gravel on the other), but i'm concerned it will dry out and die off if i arrange it away from the water and don't make sure it stays moist. I'm gunning for it to be as low maintenance as possible, so i'm looking for suitable drier mosses that don't need to be kept too damp. What needs to be taken into consideration when assessing plants as safe or not?

Did you end up going to see them Sharkie?

Doing a planted firebellied newt tank, where's the best place to get mosses and ground cover, and what kinds are/aren't ok for them? Also, any foliage recommendations other than miniature figs? Will have space for potted "bog" plants as well. Many thanks for any replies

excellent, i was wondering if they still had any left, will go grab some more soon

Red parrot cichlid? Engineered mutant with a smiley face?

Beating the odds yet again, the puffers have started eating the flaked food that i give the tiger barbs before i drop the bloodworms in. Have never shown any interest in flake before. Must be the competition - i swear the puffers and barbs think they're all one big group. Main diet still bloodworms, but wont hurt them to eat a it of flake on the side I think they would be fine so long as the tank is well-established and you do your research in regards to feeding and behaviour. Also make sure you test your waste levels regularly in case your water changes aren't frequent enough (they're very messy), so if you don't know how to do this, best to learn first. If your tank is brand new I would start with other fish before moving on to the dwarf puffers.

or at least give yourself a bit of a break before trying again . Have you looked at the gh/kh of the water and whether that could be a factor?