henward

i would be curious to see the real figure of our hobby expense in nz. im not talking fish im talking reptiles:D reptiles is more 'specialized' than fish..... i dont think its really that much - suer it is part of the economy, but trying to 'stimulate it' by legalising snakes and so fourth is not a worth it due to the monitoring perhaps? wghat needs to happen is a revenue neutral or a revenue gathering by maf wtih licensing and monitoring snakes. so the hobby funds itself wtih no extra burden to govt agencies. prisons should be like this. prisoners should not cost more than a person who is on the unemployment benefit...... but a person in prison costs 5 times to put them on the unemployment benefit.....thast probably why we let everyone out right? its cheaper? cynic anyone 8)

there are snakes that live in weather like nz. in florida, native wildlife is now the minority, as tropical foreign species are taking over.... buit here, we wotn have the most suited environment for snakes. sure therea re species that may establish - but i think a good way is licensing. if someone said to you - you can haev a snake, you gotta pay $200 a year registration. and you must tag it wtih a chip, plus a tracking device at your expense. who would do it? I probably would. why? because i dont wanna move to another country. regulation is fine, but smart regulation. but yeah, all just hypothetical. snakes in nz is not enough of a economic benefit for maf to even care or the govt for that matter. i can relate to taht, understand....our hobby doesnt really contribute much to the country lol

fishy did not make it, just didnt eat enough and got skeletal thin. kinds just floated around- i isolated again to ensure it didnt get anyoen else. but had to put it down - put the whole community at risk. now i know early signs of sickness. none of the other fish were affected, i dont even think its a parasite.... i have seen this patter from clwon loaches, skinny disease i think.

yeah, they love groups. in big groups you see them swarm your front of the tank when its feeding time. feed a good beef heart mix - growth is superb on those.

Ok, who uses garlic guard? i am makinga new batch of Beef mix for my discus. of course i will have fresh garlic, but was thinking of fortifying it with garlic guard. can i just add it straight in there? or i was thinking of soaking the pellets and massivore i add with garlic guard and blending to a paste mixed in the mix. same effect really. to add more vitamin c. anyone had good experience wtih garlic guard? what dose should i do in about 1 to 1.2 kgs of meat mix (all inclusive of veges fresh garlic total weight of beef heart mix)

when they challenge , its only when its feeding time. tank is big enough for no harassment to ever happen. the cobalt is huge. about 22cm is or slightly more from mouth to tip fo tail. i think a little more. its a fatty!

i have not heard of nz havng temps of 25c for concecutive days on end day and night to sustain breeding of reptiles like that.

i agree wiht broms. if it was a monitor lizard, that could live in colder conditions liek desert nights that fall way below the bar....what then? a monitor is more likely to eat a kiwi than a corn snake lol but both sides are valid. if you want to be cynical - you can say our economy is worth more than some lives? but another is .... do you put a price on peoples lives vs economy?

yeah - i can understand that. beardeds, water dragons, all exotic non native reptiles could carry the same disease. that is not why they believe snakes shouldnt come in. its cos they kill birds. dont get me wrong, this is just for arguaments sake:D really, if you want snakes so bad. move overseas! so you jsut deal with it:D im just putting more wood in the fire! 8)

David, i must agree you get people commiting horrible se xual assault - and they get a warning or probation.... and few months. and bringin in a snake, which will probably die because it will never metabolise food... and a guy goes to jail for 3 months, up to 5 years. child molestors get out in less than 5 years at times..... a snake requires constant heat to incubate eggs. we know that from breedng BD and Water dragons. drunk drivers kill many more and waste more of our money a year in this country yet they can have 15 convictions before they see bars.

yes, i believe he did believe that:D

i doubt a person would make a public thread lol he seems like a dumb one though. i mean, who would buy a snake while visiting a country for fun? what an idiot its like going to fiji for a holiday and buying a dog wile you are there....then trying to bring it back.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=10659519 lesson is, dont sell snakes in nz!!

discaus tank is 2400Lx62Hx82W it looks cool, they all spread out, then i approach and all just attack where i am:D

Enjoy sorry, would post here, but darn limiter wont let me. and im not gonna turn all those photos into the pixel required:P follow link http://fishkeepers.co.nz/forums/viewtop ... f=4&t=2937

my winter is approx 380 to 400. summer was similar uninsulated. should go down i just insulated my garage lately. works well!

yaeh, the pump is a simple thing, its the finer thinsg like how well the baskets seal or seal too much. the precision with directing water to the right areas for example. i just think that aqua one is fantastic, but prefer fluval.

you are aright, most of east coast bays, albany okura is from the okura resevoir. so yes. if youare water is treated fully - then it may be riskier. also, in theory. wtih the tiny amounts of chlorine per say - will kill SOME bacteria not all of it, because the chlorine is not so concentrated. then in that case, corerct me if i am wrong - i am applying darwinian principles here. if say initially 50% of bacteria die, then the surviving ones are teh ones taht can tolerate the contents of your water. and so on, so those will breed and multiply to be more resilient. just a thought. you selectively breed bacteria:D

i will never buy a canister cruddier than aqua one. aqua one is the best chinese canister you can get. good plastic, moudling is sound and plastic is stronger. others are 'crispy' plastic! i have a fluval 404, and i have had it for 8 years, and i have never repalced ANYTHING, NOTHING AT ALL. thats value, thats lasting power! i bought a random chinese brand...same as resun - crispy plastic breaks easily. seasl are not as good, and in side, baskets dont fit properly so filtration isn comprimised. seriuosly, if you are gonna go chinese - go aqua one! its not that expensive. better yet, go fluval, you wont regret it! or even eheim. never under estimate the power of good quality control at teh factory:D

canisters are one of teh best inventions in the aquarium hobby. lasrge bio filtration capacity. completely separated systems so diseases wont spread. you acn rig up all teh tanks to a giant sump. thats easy. thats like having a tank wtih a sump system but having multiple tanks feed to it. ' if you are using cheap chinese rip offs for canisters....that may be your problem. I use Fluval - fantastic! Eheim i hear is better...but not for the pocket:D Maintenance for canisters minimal in most cases unless you have massive fish waste and solids... I have a fluval 404 in my 2x 1200 litre tank set up shares same system, and i havent cleaned it for months -and output is still massive. In saying that, i also have 3x fx5 in that same system - i have to claen one fx5 per week to clean wool and foam. but tahstone a week with the massive feeding i do! you wont need that in breeding tanks.

i have certainly found discus to grow faster wtih a mix of pellets and beef heart mix.

second that, asian supermarkets they are 30% cheaper than supermarkets i get large tiger prawns... i mean stuff that you pay a premium for in restaurants. peels, 1kg 18dollars. my arowana is picky, doesn likt small prawns, likes the big ones. i use smaller cheaper ones for discus bh mix, but asians upermarkets is the stuff

i obviously turn off the light and heat but i have heard that breeders that sell commercially do keep lights on and heat on 24/7 locusts are a plague - an affliction to nature lol they survive almost anything.

if you aer weary still prime by seachem is the BEST value for money might sound expensive, cos it is, but if you calculate litres treatment per ml of solution.....its way way cheaper. just get a syringe and measure that way. 5ml can treat 200l! so to be honest i woudl use half that treatment cos nz water does not have much chemicals to begin with. youc an get a 2 litre bottle of prime for very cheap! almost 40% cheaper than buying small bottles in terms of MLs/$ ratio. i did that. i dont anymore, no point. but, they also neutralise amonia! very good

evidence of chloramine in tap water - according to the test sheets of watercare, theya re not there. now, chloramine if im not mistaken is a reactinow tih amonia and chlorine? well... i have been using straight out tap water in my tanks...All of them including discus which are apaprently mroe sensitive.... no adverse effects. i asked for a test sheet and the chlorine in taps are almost non existent to none, evaporating before they reach your taps. none the less. i use no agers - none - and no problems and my fish are fat, huge and monstrous.... in sayign that, id otn know bout west, south or regional nz. if you are scared. try this get 5 goldfish - cheap comets or cold water guppies put them in the bucket - a big bucket, and leave them over night running a tap over it int eh kitchen or outside garden tap if next morning they are alive, perhaps thats a godo sign:D nz water is clean.