Loopy

Why would you want to stop them coming in?? I found them very pleasant to deal with when they came round to about the eels. Perhapes if everyone co-operates with MAF instead of complaining and pleading ignorance. I doubt they are out to just ruin our fun. They aren't some all seeing god-like being. They are a bunch of normal people who have to do their job like the rest of us and make mistakes like the rest of us. I think it would just be secondhand info. I disagree. Take a look at pictures on the net of dyed fish. The colours are washed out, patchy, irregular, usually bigger fish are dyed. The dyed fish have short lifespan due to the stress they are put under and are highly susceptible to diseases, Not all the fins are affected by the dye, The colours can fade over time too. And the offspring would not be coloured. Then there are the glofish... http://www.glofish.com/images/glofish_037.jpg Even consistant colour that affects the whole body, that won't fade over time. Fish probably live and have all the characteristics of a standard natural, healthy danio. Another observation that i have made is that i can't seem to find anything about dyed danios. That doesn't mean they don't exist but there are "better" fish to dye than a danio. And the only aquarium fish i can find anything about genetic modification on is the zebra danio. I think it would have only taken a little observation to work out the difference. These fish have travelled by a lot of people and had plenty of opportunities to be questioned. As soon as there could have been ANY suspicions that the fish could be GE/GM there should have been inquiries made. The importer, the shops, the breeders, and all the people who have bought or even just seen these fish have had the opportunity to investigate. Surely the whole NZ tropical fish keeper population didn't ALL assume that these fish were ok? I guess someone must have asked otherwise there would still be at least 12 tanks full of these pink fish.

There may not be anything specifically wrong with the pink fish directly but many people out there disagree with the whole idea of altering an organism. There has obviously been a rule made that New Zealand will not allow these fish into the country and thus they have said the fish is illegal. That is what is wrong with them at the moment. No-one has said they can stay and that means they have to go.

I agree bdspider. I wish i had said that myself

Hopefuly they will do the right thing and ring the 0800 number. I'd say that there will be an amnesty for a while and after that no leniency. The important factor will be whether you want someone to nark on you for having them or do the responsible thing and declare them yourself?

I am pretty dissapointed that everyone seems to be so negative about this. I think MAF has done an ok thing here. They have found out exactly what the fish are and confirmed whether they are accepted in the country or not. Which has answered the top two questions regarding these fish. I thought New Zealand is a GE FREE country?!! The pink fish may not pose a threat to our environment but could they pose a threat to our reputation as a country?? Yes i feel it is a shame that those raids happened but perhapes those who were raided put themselves into that position. If they didn't know what the fish specifically were, they could have asked. Just as I did with the long funky what the eels? Those red fish as MAF has said are not supposed to be in this country. What do you suggest they do instead of putting them all down? I personally enjoy knowing as much as i can about my fish right down to genetic traits like in angels and bettas. So i find it a bit odd that there are people out there who will but a fish and think " I have read that it *could* be caused by a coral gene or a jellyfish gene or it could be dyed and i morally disagree with the whole idea but i will buy some anyway!" I think it is worse that "they" (whoever they are) said they thought the fish were dyed is just as bad if not worse. And besides i would have thought that if the fish were dyed it would only be that fish that would be pink not the next generation and the next.... Dying would only affect the body of the fish not the genetic make up and offspring. As soon as those fish were bred and the fry observed to be the same as the parents, it would have caused alarmbells to ring if it were me. Everyone whinges that MAF (and all govt dept's) don't do their job properly and now when they are obviously doing their job we have more whinging!!! I presonally believe that anyone who purchased or bred these fish should have been more responsible and not just assumed that it was ok to have them.

I have got 2 of the little brats. Never had a problem with them yet. *crosses fingers and hopes she hasn't jinxed it* I got really peeved with the snails in the puffer tank cause the puffs weren't eatting them so threw a skunk in there. i have seen the puffs and plenty of snails but no skunk for ages now. I don;t know if the puffs ate him or not..........suppose i should have a look one day...... :roll: The other loach is in my community tank with allsorts of fish and no problems there either.

My suggestion would be a compressor. http://www.thereefshop.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=21&products_id=351 We bought a while ago one of the bigger models that you can get and we got it for a stupidly low price in our mind ($50 new) It runs the filters and stuff in nearly all our tanks. (about 17 airstones) and it can handle doing plenty more than that too. I think we would be stuffed if we had to revert back to using air pumps again. all those dang plugs and repairs to do. The only repair we might have to do on the compressor one day is get new diaphrams but we have had to do that before for someone elses compressor and that only cost about $8 for better quality reinforced ones. We to our compressor.

I can offer 2 things here. I don't know how well they will help but possibly worth a thought. 1. I can offer to seed the new filter from one of my well established filters. could really help get the bio-filtration going. 2. Or i can offer to fish-sit some of the fish till the tank settles a bit. I understand the wicked temptation of those dang fish deals at animates over the weekend. I was very tempted myself but we have reached our full capacity for fish i think. Animates do have deals like that on tuesdays and wednesdays too. And if you come and join Totally Tanked i am sure you can get some pretty good info and advice and the occasional good deal there too. I hope we haven't scared you off with too many slaps on the hand and telling offs.

No wonder they think it is large. Look in the photo on either side of the tank for sale. It is auctions like that where i want to send them a photo of our 6ft tank(660L) And say "now THAT is a big tank!!!" :lol: (and yeah i know even that is small on some peoples scale)

Your grow out tank will depend on how many fry you get. Have you thought about what you will do with all the fry once they get to about 1 and a 1/2 to 2 cm? they will start scraping a bit and get territorial etc about that size and that is where i started to have problems. People who are lucky enough to have a heated fish room i think would seperate the males and anyone who is starting to get a bit bossy into jars or breeder traps about then. Some folks will tell you that you can raise the fry fine in a big tank together and i do think that is true but they still nibble and batter each other around a bit and i don't think they get to grow to their full glory. It was when i encountered this dilemma that i decided to sell off most of my bettas. I was lucky that the person who took them was well equiped to handle them all too. I certainly didn't have the space and time to grow out 400ish fry individually. I think this is one of the few species where you really do have to seriously plan ahead for. As for the spawning tank i think you can get away with really small tanks for this like 1ft x 1/2 x 1/2. Just watch them really closely and learn their body language. Watch how they react when totally seperated, together and seperated but in visual contact. I find a lot of the time that the female will be ready and eager but the male will be too eager and spook her off. Working out when he is going to behave himself was the hardest part for me. Good luck and keep us well informed of your progress.

I work at NZ post. Does this mean i have to keep an eye out for "lava lamps" heading to Timaru? (i only sort Timarus mail)

ok managed to find about 10 or so i think had to stop looking 'cause my eyes were starting to go all Couldn't find anything on the mops. Also another Q When preparing the peat to put in the tank do i keep the stuff that goes through the seive or the stuff that stays in it?

yay i found an egg! :bounce: A korthause egg in my peat :bounce: :bounce: **goes off to look for more**

I have a plastic container a bit like a chinese takeaways container with peat in it in the tank for them. i have not seen them do anything in it yet except swim around and above it looking very interested but no action (i think) The little chocs on te other hand are randy little brats! which is why i thought i had better find out just what and when i should be doing something. So hatch times are still based off when the eggs were laid? i wasn't sure about that.

Ok i have got the killies and the tank, fed them up etc. They are spawning merrily but how long after an egg is laid do i harvest it? For peat and plant/mop spawners? How long can i leave the eggs in the tank? ie if i chacked my mops or peat in the tank now and there had been eggs there for say two weeks? Would they still be ok to harvest? Cheers. Oh and on a side note, Did no-one tell the korthause yellow males that interspecies relationships are a waste of time?? one of my males tried flirting with a threadfin rainbow female for an hour or so. Stupid fish :roll:

More than likely it's a male from the sound of things. How ever female fighters have been known to do the bubble thing to. Where did you get it from? Size? Might see you tonight at TT Mr L

Who's hijacking what??????? Sand paper is now locked away but dremel and cordless drill aren't. Just came up from the fish. Had to do a temp replumb job on the airlines. I hate it when Shaz has a play. I'll give her credit though she does try. Looks like I'll be ordering the new main airline sooner than I wanted

We don't mind typo's as long as you have fish

Hi Gills. The requiremant to join TT is bring a plate for the pot luck tea and have a good time. We are an informal bunch of addicts. We have started a bit of a library, and the others have great info. TT isn't affiliated with national YET but the intention is there. Mr Loopy

http://www.loaches.com/articles/clown-loach-breeding-related-items Well I found that was pretty insightful little read. Anybody willing to give it a go??? :lol:

Welcome. It is a great hobbie that can be quite addictive. We have a Totally Tanked meting at our place on Saturday so feel free to come along and chat and ask questions. We are a great bunch of people and have a great variety of knowledge. Check out the thread of Totally tanked. Mr Loopy

how long is a piece of string? I guess they guy will do it when he has time. They are frozen so they should keep fairly well. In saying that with them being in shops it should be done asap

This is the latest we have heard, this is the reply I recieved from MAF today after I asked for an update. "The suspect eels have been sent to a NIWA scientist for identification, and with the weekend and such I believe he only received them today."

dunno. But however long it does take will be too long for us impatient types!! :lol:

I don't know anything about the scientifics of the idea but as long as it is clean and pure i don't see why not. Perhapes as an experiment soak a handfull in a tank and monitor the hardness and pH levels (and any other elements of importance) to see if they are affected by the garnet. Otherwise i would just say you HAVE to post pics once you set it up!!