ajbroome

Interfecus said... > You can easily check if they're planaria.... I've only very rarely seen true planaria in aquaria. Mostly we see various other small non-segmented flat worms. They're almost always a sign of overfeeding but are generally considered harmless themselves. I'd rather have planaria though because, as has been pointed out, they're quite interesting little critters. Andrew.

Ira said... > The latin name is hypostamus gibbiceps or something like that. Try Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps, as in: http://www.plantedtank.net/sailfinpleco.html http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/gpterigo.html To make matters worse (and even more unpronounceable) also try Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps... There's all sorts of good info on pl*cos at: http://www.plecos.com/plecos/art_robert_fenner.php Aqua said... > ... I wish everyone would refer to fish by their Latin names, > instead of the 'common' names which seem to change > depending on where you are!!! It's not a bad habit to get into, especially if you're talking to people overseas. Andrew.

Cees said... >... Andrew, you still want that last one?... Yep. Definitely. Much as I'd like to, it doesn't seem like I'll be in the neighbourhood over the next couple of weeks so I guess the best thing would be for me to post you a cheque. I don't suppose you see Chris Downs much? He's coming up here in early August... Andrew.

Ira said... > It seems like with the glass there, since a lot of them > collect against the glass they're concentrated where the > food is instead of down in the dirt so they eat more, grow > more. I suspect it has something to do with the increased humidity at the surface (between the soil and the glass). Worms don't have a hard shell to reduce moisture loss so are prone to dessication if they spend too much time in a dry environment. Andrew.

Lurch said... >... are all egg layers eggs not fertilised till after they > are layed and the male then fertilises them? That's the case in the vast majority of fish. There are exceptions though but not usually with species typically kept in aquaria. Andrew.

Martin said... > ... well the plants are al growing well but I have > found I have got a lot of long hair algae staring > to grow how can I get rid of it Algae, like all plants, require nutrients and light. You most likely have an excess of one or the other. I'd guess it was the nutrients. Are you doing regular water changes? How much and how often? Andrew.

Caryl said... > When I used bread it always went mouldy. Was this a > case of too much bread? I would say so, yes. I generally add an amount that will be eaten in about 3 days. For one of my big cultures (fishbox size) that's about half a slice (a quarter of a slice placed in two locations). It takes a while for cultures to build up to the level where they're eating that much bread though so it's best to start off with much less and increase the amount over a few months... I feel it's important to cover most of the soil surface with a sheet of glass as well as to have a cover on the culture to exclude most light (and ideally, critters). I also keep my cultures cool, sitting on my concrete garage floor. Andrew.

Folks, I use moist cheap white bread, have done for years. Seems to work and is easy (so suits me fine). The trick (with all foods I reckon) is to not add too much. It's better to underfeed than overfeed. Andrew.

Nico said... > The main problem is the temperature range, it will > stop at 25.2 degrees and start again at 19 degrees... That sounds more like a thermostat problem rather than a heater issue. Try swapping it for one that you know works. You can sometimes get 'Reliant' thermostats at the LFS. Andrew.

Matthew said... > Does anyone know how long I should leave my white > worm culture before using them. It's always a good idea to have a spare culture up your sleeve so that you can avoid harvesting from the same one all the time. I have 5 or 6 cultures going and could still use more... It's hard to say how long to wait before a culture is harvestable as it depends on many things, including the size of the starter. Andrew.

Mitch said... > I am considering using trickle filter method for turtle tanks. Good mechanical filtration and massive water changes are, IMHO, the way to go. Andrew.

Rob said... > ... our clubs resident plant expert ... Dr. Lenny? Andrew.

Pegasus said... > http://killifish.vrx.net/feeding/live/c ... rms/micro/ VRX is having problems at the moment so you probably wont be able to get to it (or killi.net or aquaria.net or any of the other sites Richard hosts for free). BTW: Welcome aboard, Wendy Andrew.

Aqua said... > Only one of the swords has been eaten (I think eaten anyway), > but the other is covered in a light 'fuzz' which the bristlenoses > seem to be ignoring... One of the plants called 'borneo swords' is Spathiphyllum spp. They're a terrestrial aroid rather than an aquatic one although they tolerate being submerged for a while. If you've ever seen a pot plant called 'peace lily' then compare it to your 'borneo sword'. If it is this plant, it *may* explain why its not doing so well... > Maybe I should get a red-spot pleco ... They get big and tend to damage plants as they swim about. Ancistrus are your friend... Andrew.

Midas said... > Did you end up finding some levamisole? Yep. Len Trigg in Hamilton organised some from his vet. I've got enough to do another treatment of the tank if I ever need it. The one treatment knocked back the worms pretty quickly and I've seen no sign of re-infestation. The only casualty was a red-tailed shark which keeled over within a couple of hours. Don't know if they are sensitive to the drug or what but it might be something to bear in mind if anyone else is planning a similar treatment. Andrew.

Pauly said... > ... plants and fish all look very healthy and happy The plants aren't as happy as I'd like. Some do well, other (such as swords for some reason) are not looking as good as they should. The fish are much happier since I got rid of their Camallanus worms. Saved a few baby angels from the batch of eggs in the pictures. They should be free-swimming today. The Emperor tetras are spawning and I'm waiting for the Bolivian Rams to have another go so I can nab the eggs. Andrew.

Folks, Took some photos over the last few days of the community tank and its inhabitants using my relatively new Canon A40. They can be found (along with the old ones) at: http://www.oxalis.50megs.com/fish/tank.html Comments, as always, are welcome. Any one have an ID on the crypt? I think it came from Rob...? Andrew.

Joze said... > Average breeds average, so I would not even contemplate > breeding average fish. There's an argument (one which I perhaps subscribe to) which suggests we should not be trying to 'improve' fish but rather maintain species as close to the 'wild type' as possible. This is certainly a popular position in the killifish hobby. I think, if you get a nice healthy pair of discus and breed them then you're to be congratulated and encouraged. Distribute good healthy youngsters and you're doing the hobby a favour. Sure, there'll be people who'll have the latest whizzy-do 'Snakeblood Pigeonskin Green Emperor Peruvian Heckel' discus but to me, to some degree, these are more suitable as Borneo Tiger food than a nice healthy colourful (not so, anymore) common brown or blue discus. Remember all the labelled 'designer fish' came from wild caught fish sometime in their ancestry. See, I told you not to get me started... I do agree with Warren though that all sorts of things are available to people who have a good relationship with their retailer and that this takes time and effort. Andrew.

Kiwiwulf said... > ... any joy with the Grindal cultures? Er. No. They're still waiting for me to sub-culture them. I got as far as sorting out some suitable containers and then got distracted by other things (Oh look! A birdie... and there's a plane... isn't that a nice flower...). I'll do my best to get some culture started up this coming weekend. My two cultures are doing well at the moment though, which is encouraging... Sorry about the delay. Andrew.

Pauly said... > ... if only I could find some good quality cheap discus ... There-in lies the problem. People have put a lot of time and effort into breeding what are considered 'quality' discus (you don't want to get me started on that though :roll: ) and as such they want to get some of their money back. So they sell at high prices to the exporter who sells them at higher prices to the importer/wholesaler who sells them at higher prices to the retailer who generally at least double the wholesale price as the final retail price. This is all more expensive that whipping a net through a rearing pond in Singapore and sending a bag of neons (or guppys or swords or whatever) to NZ. Also, if the fish were cheap then their perceived 'value' is lower and people would want them cheaper still. Certainly no one would bother breeding them when they can get the same price for other cheap easier fish. IMHO while discus are *much* more breedable than they were in the past they're still not the kind of fish you can churn out by the 100s with a minimum of effort (like Zebra danios or something for example). One last point to remember, most of the discus we see in shops are juveniles and it takes a while for them to colour up to look like their parents. I've seen some nice adult discus out there. These are just my thoughts, of course. Andrew.

Pete said... >... how long has this site been running? Apparently since Jan 1st, 2001. Andrew.

Pete, > I see ajbroome (Andrew is it?) is from Palmy Sure am. Feel free to come see me sometime, I'm at [email protected] and am generally home at the weekends. I've got a small fishroom but am increasing the number of tanks and species kept and have various other critters as well. Either way, send me your details and I'll add you to our mailing list. > ... mentioned perhaps restarting a Palmy fish club in an old post. > Did that go ahead? If so i would love to join. The PNAS is trying to get back on its feet after some quiet years and you'd be more than welcome to join us. We don't have an 'official' meeting until August (tank repairing by Chris Downs from Wellington) but are having a 'social' gathering (dinner at The Celtic Inn) on Wednesday the 9th of July. Feel free to come along. Oh, and joining by joining PNAS you automagically become part of the FNZAS. Talk to you soon, Andrew.

Folks, My longer finned WCMMs are doing well and I'm about to set some up to breed. The previous fry have gone to new homes, some to Rob Torrens. These fry hadn't developed longer than normal fins last time I saw them so maybe there was some weird environmental thing going on, or maybe it takes a while to show up. I don't know. The adults still have longer fins than normal WCMMs and always attract attention when people see them. Andrew.

Thanks Ira. Well, it's obviously some sort of East African (probably Lake Malawi) cichlid. I'd guess it's one of the 'Aulonocara' species. Some sort of 'Peacock'? Andrew.

Cees, > one can left. I've still got a spare, feel free to direct people to me if you get extra enquiries BTW: You got my cheque I trust? Andrew.