Alan

Mine are in ordinary Whakatane town supply water, at about 20oC Alan 104

You'd prolly need a chiller to keep the temperature low enough as well. Alan 104

One male to two females is a good ratio David. Then just let them do their thing. They'll need a JUMP proof lid, that means NO GAPS at all. Also you'll need some top cover plant, eg. riccia, java moss, small indian ferns. They will spawn in the plants, but you can leave a mop there to be able to gather eggs yourself and raise the young away from the parents, as the parents will eat the fry if the can. Best food to raise the babies on are BBS. Alan 104

Next time, watch carefully when they are laying and look at their depositors and see if they are the same or different. I want you to describe what you see. So no one else add on here what the diff is please. To see is to learn. The probable reason that the eggs were eaten was that as I said, the eggs were white, therefore not fertilized, so they had a good protein addition to their diet and getting ready for next time. G'luk Alan 104

Maybe it ran into Willie Mason. Alan 104

What!! This Sunday?? They are barely visible, you do understand that don't you Jim?? But if you aren't joking the following Sunday would prolly be better tho. The All Blacks are on this weekend, after the Kiwis game. So I'd be fairly tired. Or did you forget those two fixtures?? Alan 104

When did they spawn Craig?? Those eggs look white to me which is an indication that they aren't viable. But then again, what you see in a pic isn't necessarily what you see in real life. Good work tho. Start preparing a babies bath for the youngsters. Alan 104

Well aren't I glad that I'm not too old to learn something new. Thanks Alan 104

Well this is the first time it happened to me, and I've had eggs in water for a long time before too. Hence me being so surprised. Alan 104

The other day when I went to the Western Bays meeting with Peter Cottle as guest speaker, I went around to Sharron and Pauls place to see their setup. Paul gave me several giant gouramis and asked if I'd like to have their breeding pair of lace gourami, as this was one that I hadn't bred before, I accepted them and they have since enjoyed a 2'er on their own. Well his bubblenest building left a lot to be desired as he kept on harrassing the female, so I put in a divider, giving them a cubic foot of water each. Heated to close on 80oF and with small indian ferns floating on top, he made silly attempts to impress the female with his non-existing nest building skills. I tired of waiting for the monster nest that I know they can produce and during the weekend, took out the divider. Well to make a long story short, yesterday I removed the mother, and left dad to try and keep up with all the babies falling down through the column of water. Today, they are all through the tank and dad is being driven stupid trying to contain them. Any one want some babies?? 8) I know Ira had problems disposing of them as are Sharron and Paul. But at least they have a hungry arrowana. Alan 104

Couple of days ago while doing a big tank shift around I just happened to have to move a small tank, about 150x200x300, used for spawning a pair of red Nothobrancius korthause. It was still setup from when the pair decided to die on me. The tank had a small container, about a margie size one in it, this had a hole cut in the lid and the container was filled with peat. A small amount of peat was on the base of the tank, which gets there from when the fish are spawning, and the water was like a medium tea colour. What to my surprise, as I was lifting it down to do the retrieval of the peat for drying, to see a fry about 5mm long zoom across the tank. Few more seconds and the water was gone onto the garden. This of course made me have a closer look, and I found another 5 babies, three of which looked as though they had just hatched going by their size. I rescued them by using a pipette and sucking them out and transfering them to one of my raising trays. Fed on bbs, they are now starting to size up and I'm still surprised at the continuous wet-hatch. These fish are supposed to have a drying out period, add water, then the babies arrive, enmass. I water hatched some nigrapinnus years ago, but apparently, that is not an uncommon happening with this species. Alan 104

Pectoral fins. Maybe they are cleaning one anothers teeth?? :roll: Alan 104

Tam, I'd go with Billany's offer, strip down, cycle, and start again. It has been going on for too long, although if Frenchy is correct with ammonia poisoning, then this won't help. Alan 104

Plants can be imported and are. A lot of plants that we did not have here are now imported from TROPICA. There use to be an NZKA member that imported plants who had a Q-shed the same size of a backyard shed, but the treatment for nasties on them killed a lot of plants before they came out of Q. So when his wife developed cancer, he threw in the importing. Since then, I think he is back into it again, although I haven't seen his new Q area. Apparently he imports, and supplies one of the big chain LFS's in Auck. Hi Way Fisheries also import from Tropica too so I'm told. The treatment for the plants is not so lethal now, so I assume that would be one of the reasons that our plant varieties have improved. Alan 104

I put in my own drains and they went to two soak pits. No permits???? Other than that, I bucket water to the garden, potplants, or the lawn. (Rose mows them) :roll: Alan 104

Hammer, screwdriver, nail-punch. All you need with easy built. Oh, and Bob the Builder could be helpful too. Alan 104

How big are you thinking of making the fishroom? Inside or outside? What type of fish are you wanting to house, and of course that leads to the ?? what size tanks are you envisaging?? I have a friend who built a room INSIDE his garage, so it is doubly insulated. Another guy built a small one outside, about the size of a large tool-shed. Another good trick is to get a refrigerator contaner for about $2000 so I'm told. Excellent insulation. I have converted my garage, and also have the small garden shed, (statehouse size), as a special shed. You could take a trip out to see Phil, NZ discusman at Papakura, have a look at his shed, his stands and fish. Never know, you may end up buying some of them. :roll: Think insulation, insulation, then insulation. I have also incorporated plastic piping into the floor to be attached to solar panels to heat the floor. Night storage idea and cheap heating. I'm sure that'd impress you. Alan 104

Another way to sex your fish, especially the more difficult ones, is to drop your TV romote into the tank. The ones that tear across to get it are the males. Alan 104

I have a breeding pair that I don't think that I've ever seen out of the water except when I've been changing them from one tank to another. Alan 104

Anyone got any idea what plants etc were involved. It may help others that obtained some from him and dispose of them. Alan 104

Yu do have my address don't you Craig?? By the way, watch out for the locals at Bundy offering you their rum. You'll glow in the dark with it. Alan 104

All the best for your shift Craig and Shelly. Thanks for the help that you have been to me. You know what I mean. Good to here that you are getting over the dreaded TB too Craig. I often wonder when I look at my arms and hands about the same thing. Where in Oz are you heading for. Watch out if you are going near the Goldcoast area for two guys that go by the name of Brad and Justin. They'll really get you into trouble. :roll: By the way, you'll be glad of the prices that you got here with your "oh so successful" breeding of the Fronts. Over there they are cheap as. So now you'll have to find some other fish associated with dollars. I'd suggest Zebra Plecos, organise a way to get them back to NZ and you'll be into your first mill in no time. All the best. Alan 104

Welcome to the FNZAS forum Cam. I'm a neighbor of yours, (you lucky thing,) I'm also located in Whakatane. If you are interested in joining a club that has something to do with your new found hobby, there is one in the TePuke - Tauranga area. I'm sure Sharn or one of the others will come in here and give you some indications about it. Alan 104

I was not!!! I'm a born here New Zealander. Some of my ancestors may have been from overseas. But not this kid. Alan 104

Ummmm! Excuse me Ira, but aren't you an import?? Just checking. Alan 104