ajbroome

Binkles said... > I think we're about 100L ... 60 x 30 x 30 = 54000 = 54L filled to the top with just water, no gravel, rock, wood, plants etc. You probably have closer to 45L usuable (and *very* clean) water, potentionally down as low as 30L or so... > I'm still worried about the power of the eheim. I'd be inclined to take it off and just use the UGFs. Andrew.

Fishkeepers, I'm a strong advocate of regular water changes for aquaria but lately I find that I don't have as much time as I used to and am thinking of finding a quicker way to do my water changes. The set up is something like this: A fishroom at the back of my garage, currently holds 30 odd tanks (all around the 2ft size or under) but there is room for some more (one wall is still bare, whether that stays bare, becomes home to more (a dozen or so) 2ft tanks or a couple of 4fts remains to be seen). There is no nearby tap so currently water is siphoned into a bucket, carried to the drain and emptied. Fresh water is mixed inside the house and carried to the fishroom where it is siphoned back into the tank. A typical water change consists of about 10 x 20L buckets each way and takes about 3hrs or so (about 4 CDs on the garage stereo - I hope my neighbours like Fred Eaglesmith). Then there are some coldwater and turtle/amphibian tanks in the garage itself, but I generally just run the hose for those. There are tanks inside the house too but they're less of an issue. I could use the above method with minimal problems when I had fewer tanks (about half as many) and lived in a place with an internal access garage. Now it's becoming too much like work, especially with various things (cats, plants, people etc) to trip over between the fishroom and the bathroom and assorted distractions along the way (Mmmm... liquor cabinet... slobber slobber, drool... what's happening on TV?...er, where was I? ) Has anyone in NZ used 'Python' style water changes on multiple tanks over a long period? Does anyone have one laying around, under-used? Know where I can get one in NZ? People in Hamilton, what's that thing Brian at the Goldfish Bowl uses all the time? Should I get a big barrel (to be filled from the hose), some high wattage heaters and a water pump? That would at least eliminate a chunk of the the filling step/ I'm not interested in 'central' filtration. It's asking for disease problems (IMHO) unless lots of expensive kit is bought (UV etc) and I like to be able to tweak water conditions from time to time. Not to mention I use peat in some tanks for killies to spawn in. I also can't risk fry ending up in the wrong tank. On top of that, I'm not keen to drill tanks. So, anybody got any suggestions? Nothing is completely out of the question at this stage. People are welcome to visit to come up with ideas... Thanks, in advance, Andrew.

Warren said... > I've been to 5 conferences and 2 Killifish conferences. The NZKA doesn't have 'conferences' it has an 'AGM' as all FNZAS clubs should. Andrew.

Warren said... > If the person in question is indeed so brainless then how > come he is so successful? Yes, because wealth and intelligence are almost exactly the same thing! Not knocking John, I've known him since my first conference in 1987 (or whenever it was, Napier anyhow) and he's a bright cookie as well as being a successful businessman. > ... some discontent, but much of it seems to be caused by a > select few who have never attended Conference before or > maybe only once or twice. I think that arguement is a bit dubious since I've not seen many of the more vocal supporters at very many conferences either. If we're having a competition, how many have you been to Warren? Is it better to blindly accept everything a group does or to reject it out of hand? To me, both seem to be equally a bad a idea. I do think people (from both 'sides' of the discussion) should watch their implied tone when posting messages here and to re-read them before hitting the 'submit' button (if only to check the spelling ). Calling someone a 'liar' in public isn't going to win anyone any friends. It's never a good idea to type something you wouldn't say to a persons face. How bad can the other person be, they keep fish don't they? Andrew, still hoping for a successful 2004 conference.

Rosemary said... > Were did the 2 yrs come from please, first I heard was > when our delicate reported back to me as secratary in > our July committee meeting in 2003. To the best of my knowledge, the idea of an offshore conference was first suggested by John Eastwood at the 2002 conference in Napier. Andrew.

Warren said... > I'd be very interested in hearing from others who are disgruntled. I'm not disgruntled and don't claim to represent anyone other than myself but I honestly can't see me (or anyone else from PNAS (other than Rowan - funnily enough I was talking to him about it today) or the NZKA for that matter) making the trip to Fiji at this stage. When the cost was approx. $1000 and there was a choice of venue I was interested but now the price has gone up and the venue has been set to somewhere that doesn't overly interest me, I think I'll be saving my money. I am a little concerned about how many clubs will have actual delegates (not proxies) at this conference and if a quorum can be reached. An offshore conference was always going to be a brave plan and I still hope it works out for those that attend. Good luck. Andrew.

andyman98 said... > i am tempd to get a choclate talking catfish how big do > they get and would one be ok or do thy need mates to > play with? I used to have a couple of these (if you mean Platydoras costatus) and I've never seen one bigger than 6 or 7 inches (although some dorad catfish get *huge*). They're very nocturnal and I suspect are not naturally gregarious. My flatmate used to call them the 'waste of money fish'... I liked them though and had the for years before giving them to Wet Pets (along with a lot of other stuff) when I went overseas in 1996. Andrew. Andrew.

Folks, You may find this page interesting... http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/gsl/brines ... hrimp.html Andrew.

Malawimad said... > ... do others share my views??? The generic Malawis you see every day have become a pretty sad lot, largely IMHO due to hybrising and/or indescriminate breeding. There are some good fish (and breeders) out there but it may take a while to track down what you're looking for. Andrew.

andyman98 said... > how do you store eggs? wet or dry what temp? It depends on the species. Non-annual eggs can be incubated in water at normal fish tank temperatures. Or they can be sat on very damp peat for several weeks (allowing a lot of eggs to be collected and hatched at the same time, when they're placed in water again). Annual eggs are stored in damp peat for varying times, generally 3 to 6 months. I keep them in my hot water cupboard but any warmish place would probably do. Eventually, I'll probably put a shelf high up in my fishroom, assuming I get any annual fish again (I'm looking...). Andrew.

Marty said... > how long do the eggs take to hatch if they are laid in the tank > in moss! and left in the tank? Most of the non-annual species (such as Fp. gardneri etc) will start hatching in around 2 weeks if left in the tank, all things being equal. Generally adult fish will eat fry but I've got all sizes from newly hatched fry up to fully grown adults in a 2ft tank in my fishroom. They reach some sort of equilibrium though since I wont see many new fry now unless I remove some of the bigger babies to a new tank, then a week or two later there'll be a bunch more babies lurking in the moss. Andrew.

Folks, I don't know if this is the appropriate place to put this but his son rang me last night to let us know we lost an excellent fish breeder and a good friend to the hobby on Wednesday morning. Andrew.

Killifan said... > ... they look a bit like tadploes with one end thicker and the > other a little whip like tail. If they're really tiny, then the description could fit 'cyclops'... Andrew.

andyman98 said... > I was reading a book lately and it said that there are over > 30 species of mexican livebearer the females don't keep > any of the males sperm. Do you mean the non-poeciliad livebearers commonly called Goodeids, as discussed here: http://www.nanfa.org/articles/acaztecs.htm Xenotoca eiseni was here briefly several years ago but was never widespread. > i was wondering > > 1 are they allowed? Don't know. > 2 are they rare ? In NZ, pretty much non-existant I suspect. > 3 do you have any? No, wish I did though. > 4 what price are they Cheap enough in the US/UK but since they're not available here they're either priceless or worthless depending on your viewpoint Andrew.

andyman98 said... > What rare catfish are out there... I know someone with tiger shovelnoses, how rare is that? I don't have anything rare these days but have had a regular shovelnose in the past as well as various uncommon Corydoras species and Dianema longibarbus. Probably the most unusual catfish I have at the moment is Corydoras pygmaeus. C. melini is pretty common these days, aren't they? Andrew.

Cat said... > Unfortunately Andrew was here at the time hubby found > them helping us setup our new computer so he got to see > them in a fully sober state! Being the serious and dedicated fishkeeper (and all around nice guy) that I am, I don't know what you're talking about.... ;-) Pbbbbtttt!!! Andrew.

kriber said... > I wonder if swordtail/platy hybrid offspring can produce > fertile young They can. Most of the swordtails and platys we see are hybridised. All three species cross freely and produce fertile young. I don't know the last time I saw a decent 'variatus' platy... > because that would kind off make them the same species > wouldn't it? By some of the more rigid definitions of species, yes. In the real world, there are many fertile interspecific (and even some inter-generic) hybrids. Plants are even more promiscuous than animals... Andrew.

Folks, Recently imported and about to reach the shops is a fish that may or may not be Puntius (Crossocheilus?) denisoni. Certainly the fish in question bears some resemblance to this species (aka the Roseline Shark). http://www.dolphin-int.com/pics/puntius_denisoni.jpg They won't be cheap though (whatever they are), somewhere up towards $50 each... Andrew.

Folks, Seems some have been imported through a North Island wholesaler and are about to hit the shops. None for me thanks. Andrew.

Harry said... > sounds great > what would that cost me. Well, if you make the effort to come all this way I'm sure we can come to some arrangement, perhaps depending on if you were planning on breeding the fish or not. Alternatively, I don't have any discus... > does wet pets have any?. I was in there last night and saw a lone male 'Blue Panchax' (Aplocheilus panchax), other than that - not as far as I know. They don't regularly stock killies, unless I send some spare males their way. Andrew.

andyman98 said... > what rainbows would you recomend? Depends on what you want. If you're after a red fish, G. incisus is better than M. lacustrus. If you want a blue fish, go for M. lacustrus. Neither would be good if you wanted to keep them in small (ie under 2ft) tank, then I'd go for one of the Psuedomugil species or the threadfin (Iratherina werneri). > and whats the rarest? In NZ? I've never seen G. wanamensis or any Rhadinocentrus spp. > are they hard to sell? Nothing is hard to sell if the price is right. Most rainbows are relatively slow growing and take a while to get to a saleable size, this tends to make them expensive. Andrew.

Rob said... > Currently I'm keeping ... P. gertrudae... Ah, so you got them then? Excellent. Currently I've got G. incisus, B. gaeyi and P. furcatus and intend to pick up other varieties as space/money/opportunity allows. I'd really like to see some female 'threadfins' again... Andrew.

Folks, Looks like plans are well underway. I keen to hear what the final outcome will be. Just to be different, I'd much rather go to Australia (anywhere) than any of the islands. It's cheaper and there are more things to do that *I'm* interested in, this does not (of course) apply to other people. Andrew.

Harry said... > il pm you when were going to come up. Sure, no problem. I'm usually home on the weekends or after 5:00 on weekdays. 24hrs notice would be good. > what do you have available. I don't have huge numbers of any of the species I'm breeding but can probably find you a young pair or two of Fundulopanchax gardneri and/or Aphyosemion scheeli which are both good fish to start off with. Andrew.

Alan said... > The hatch time is the correct time... What temperature are you keeping the eggs at? Try cooler and warmer. It has been suggested that water that is too soft and/or too hard affects the egg membrane and can make fry hatch too early. There are many variables you can play with. I've not got any fry from my imported A. australe yet or the Fp. amieti but have a good number of fry from the Fp. nigerianum gold. Andrew.