KM

Yip, I have tried it too. I had two large goldfish living with my parrot cichlids for at least a year at about 26 degrees C. No probs at all really. I also have mountain minnows living with my discus at about 28 degrees C and they are doing very well too!

Hey Eon That sounds like a really good idea. I like out in the Howick area too, seems like there are a good few of us! How would we go about getting a club started?

Let me know how you go. Stringy white opaque poos could also be hexamita (hole in the head), so if the deworm doesn't work, you will have to try flagyl, (also known as metronadizole) which you will need to get from a vet.

KM Good luck with that. I have to go through a move myself in a few months, which is very daunting! Hope all goes well though

Hi BK I was advised someone to deworm my discus. A bit risky with hundreds of $ worth of fish, but I decided to give it a try on 4 of my discus that have been a bit suspect. I was recommended to use one drontal (for cats) tablet to one entire batch of bought discus tucka. That works out to about one quarter tablet to every 8/9 discus tucka blocks. Well, the long and short is that the fish are still alive, and I have tried it on my larger more expensive discus too. I'm not too sure if it has had any positive affect though to be quite honest, although it hasn't had a negative affect either Would appreaciate some feedback myself from others on their opinions/sucess or failure, and their dosage suggestions.

Hey mustcooktea (very cool tag!) Welcome to the sight. You are doing the right thing, I lost far too many fish (bless their wee souls) before looking for help! Goldfish are far harder to look after than people in fish ships will tell you, it's not that they are difficult, more a case of do things right first time, and you will be fine! Don't hesitate to ask questions galore!

Hey Duke I have ViaAqua's on all four of my tanks, two being discus tanks, one being a medium cichlid tank, and the last being a 500l big messy cichlid tank! I was actually going to buy Eheim's, but someone at Hollywood FF, who I have a good amount of respect for, recommonded ViaAqua's to me. They were quite a bit cheaper than they are now, but they are still well priced. They are a bit of a bugger to prime, but other than that, I have been more than happy with them. I don't always think that more expensive is better.

Hey freshwest I have not seen any for a long time, but I have heard things from time to time. Recently I spoke to someone at a well known LFS that confided that he had 6, that he had sourced from an importer located in Christchurch. I see you live in Waiuku, that's pretty cool, as I'm moving there with my 4 cichlid tanks in the next few months. What fish do you keep? Oh, my pay to get in touch with phil the discusman, he may be able to help as he has an import licence.

You will notice pretty quickly if your fish get white spot, and it is relatively simply to cure so I wouldn't be too concerned. Convicts are very tough little cichlids, and they aren't know to be prone to white spot. White spot is often brought on by stress, such as moving tanks, being shipped, being placed in new water conditions etc. I have all too often seen fish in reputable fish shops with white spot, so it isn't unusual- although I'm never seen them at death's door before! Your fish would probably have shown signs of white spot pretty soon after being settled in, but it sounds like they are happy and healthy. I don't think you have too much to worry about.

Thanks Rob I may need to check into the fish in Hamilton. Can you tell me what the LFS is called? I went to Jansens in MT Eden on Saturday, and they were all gone. Wasn't to upset as I ended up buying three quite unusually coloured, long fin rams. Hey they had some killifish (sorry, don't know anything about killi's but they were orange with red flecks) if anybody is interested. I didn't buy any as I don't know enough about them, but they were being sold as a package of 2 females to one males at $70 a pop!

It is true that Goldfish are able to cope with tropical temps far better than most people are aware of (Goldfish Guide by Dr Axelrod and Dr Yoshiichi Matsui). Angelfish can be quite sensitive to water conditions, as can goldfish - so you may find that it is best to seperate them to try and give both the angels and the goldies a better chance. I have had blood red parrots living with goldfish for a few years at a temp of 27 degrees celsius, and whilst the combo does work, it is quite a balacing act. As the others have suggested, you may need to look into a bigger tank at some stage. Goldies can get pretty big!

Thanks guys, that's awesome. I went to J's last week and didn't see any. May not have been paying enough attention...fast tracking to the discus!

Has anyone seen any salvinis available for sale in the last while? There were a few available a few years back when I was starting out with large cichlids. I woule love to have a pair now, but I haven't seen any available for a long long time! Can anyone help?

No hard and fast answer on that one. Many people would remove the dad. I have never removed any of my male cichlids though, and sometimes they have turned out to be great parents! Would be interested to hear what others think. Essentially you have a choice - let him stay and see what he does, or take him out and not take the risk. If he starts eating the fry, then you know he needs to be removed. I say, give the dad a chance!

Paradise Fish and american flags also do well in colder tanks! Both can be a little nippy though, especially the flags. Both fish are quite lovely though. I have seen Paradise Fish in outdoor ponds too, and they seem to do very well.

Thanks for that - Capital Racking huh? Worth a try! I have to move into the house first, and I will take it from there. Thanks everyone for your comments and assistance.

I'm glad the shop was of use. It is small, and isn't as well set up as Jansen's, but they are keen to do business with you, and that is the main thing!

Hummingbird, I bought some of those a while ago (did you get them from Botany Jansens by any chance?) If it is the same fish, it seems they are part of the rainbow family. They are known as the Australian/Pacific Blue Eye, and their Scientific name is 'Pseudomugil signifer'. They come from northern and eastern queensland, and their close cousins are found in Papau new Guinea. They like a neutral pH apparently, and can do well in a tank with some salt in it, as they are known to be estuarine. The temp level should be between 20 - 28 degrees.

No, you are right, it isn't a waste of time. It can be infuriating when you are looking for something specific, and it isn't in stock. In my case, I ofetn come home with soomething all together different, which ultimately means I have to set up another tank *lol* I don't have anymore room though for anymore tanks!!! So if I have something in mind, I try and call ahead, to make sure I don't bring any other fishie friends home!

I have used KMNO4 before, but only in fresh water tanks. It is used to strip parasites from tropical fish. You have to be very careful about how strong the solution is, because it will strip the skin right off the fish if you aren't careful! I imagine it could cos some big probs in a reef tank if you didn't get the solution right! It may fix one problem, only with the result of causing another.

Hollywood Fish Farm have good ones from time to time. I bought a very nice Crown Siamese Fighter from them a while back, but they don't stock them often. Probably best to call them and ask what they have in stock. I see you live in Highland Park, you could go have a look at Goldfish Pagoda (I think it is on Cascades rd), they sometimes stock some attractive Siamese males...once again, may be best to call and ask so you aren't wasting your time.

Congrats Shae I agree, convicts are pretty cool fish. They were the first fish I ever bred, and that was a really lovely experienced. You may want to keep an eye on them though...if they have bred once, they won't stop, and soon you will haver a tank overrun with convicts!!! They are fantastic parents, I have a pair that have raised fry twice, in a tank with oscars, severums, a jaguar and a large tyre track eel! Talk about a challenge. KM

Hi Phil I had heard lots of things about fighters too before I bought mine. I keep my male and a female in my discus tanks with some neons and danios, and have never had any problems. I have heard that if you have a large enough tank, where every male can establish and defend their own territory, then you may be able to have more than one in a tank. I have never tested this theory however! I have actually found some of my females to be very aggressive. I had one who was so possesive over her man, that she killed off the competition - and then the male as well! Now I keep one female with a male, but that may reduce your ability to breed...am not sure though! The best advice I ever had about fighters is that they are pretty intelligent creatures, and each will be slightly different, one may be very placid, anothers may be pretty aggro. Probably best to go with one male and female, and then add another female at a later stage. Would be interested in what others think. Hollywood and Jansens usually have good fish, but it would probably pay to contact them to see when they are getting in a new shipment so that you have a few males to pick from.

I'm glad the site helped a bit. Unfortunately in my early days of fish keeping, before I new terribly much about water quality and filtration etc, I had a few cases of dropsy, and it can actually affect most types of fish. I have seen cichlids and goldfish with dropsy. You will know when your fish has it. They swell up, and their scales stick out instead of sitting flush against their body. It often happens when you have an overstocked tank....a common beginners problem (which I was guilty of) Interestingly enough, in my experience, it doesn't seem to spread like other diseases do, which is generally a good thing.

Hi Carrie and Dawn There are lots of sites on the web about dropsy, an easy one to wizz through is: http://www.thatfishshop.com/health/dropsy.htm I believe that dropsy is more a result of environmental causes than anything else. You may want to get your customer to check his water conditions and make sure he is doing proper water changes.