Alan

What the heck do you mean by "BIG ALAN" Faran??? MMMMMMMMMM woops, beter put in a smiley. 8) Alan 104

Very much so Alan. These ones actually have a black extension on the top of their caudal fin, and by using this colour variation we can locate the species or should I say type, that it is. The first ones that I saw at the Rotorua shop were of the same type, but unfortunately, the ppl that bought them, lost them. About $200 plus worth. Alan 104

Killies don't protect their eggs so they wont be distressed in that way other than they have missed on the meal themselves. May stress you tho as you wil have to compete with them for the eggs. Best to have a "special" designated tank for the breeding. The mix would be okay for rearing (raring ???) them together and conditioning. Alan 104

And you have been here what?? Two days?? And you can form an opinion that quickly. mmmmmmmm :roll: . Alan 104

Ozzie Al, most of the BNCF in NZ are one species. It is interesting to see that Phil has not only sourced from a different country but also that means a NEW species for NZ. One prob that I can see tho that as they are WC, they may be difficult to induce to spawn under aquarium conditions. Ala 104

There are many cichlids out there big, small, calm, stroppy, different countries of origin also need to be considered as that will affect the water pH required. Once again, let you fingers do the walking and check sites out there. Decide what species or types you want to narrow down your search and questions. Alan 104

I know you are new to this Mick, but the word chdlid, should read cichlid - sic, lid. End of lesson for the day. Alan 104

Hi antwan, it may have been me that said take a look What shop was it in that you were told?? Welcome anyway and all the best here. You seem to have a good selection of fish for breeding. Do you sell them on T/M or to the shops? We are in the chatroom about now. Call in. We sometimes even discuss fish. Alan 104

Chuck the fish onto the concrete path hard to kill it. Or just into a small(margarine) container till it dies. Get it out. Do some house (tank) cleaning and do a water change with the other fish. If you do a straight swap to a clean tank, if they are stressed, you will only stress them more, and prolly have more casualties. Alan 104

Off to an isolation tank ASP and then do your treatment. Maybe a salt addition, or a methylene bath. But isolate straight away. Alan 104

You could fly them down to someone who can look after them for you for a week or so. Depends how fast you drive. Alan 104

Forget about them. After a while they will perish and not work anyway. Alan NZKA 104

I think you should take an account of the fish you lost down to the council and present it to the Mayor. You may not be recompensed for it, but just let them know what has happened and TELL them that before they do additions like that to the cities water supply, that the population should have air-time and adverts in the paper, at least a week before it happens. Man that stinks. Alan NZKA 104

What lights do you have over the tank? 12 hours should be enough, but obviously the wattage is too low. Alan NZKA 104

Have you a dog that may have ripped a duvet? If so, grab some of the fill from that and pack around the exit. It is just a polyester type stuff. Don't need to go to the expense of buying filter floss. You say you have a sheet of glass over the top. But does it rest on the braces at the ends of the tank? If so, it prolly means you have a jump target area the full length of the tank. ie. that small gap between the tank and the lid. Split a hose lengthwise and slip over the edge of the tank, nearby closing up the gap. Inanga definately don't like being out of water like that, and I think that being a scaleless fish it's life could be severly curtailed. Keep an eye on it, as if it gets whitespot you'll find it difficult to treat as the others will, or could be, affected by the necessary medication. Goodluck with the fish. How big are they?? Alan NZKA 104

How does this tank earn the "Top Tank" rating?? I believe the lighting is not strong enough. I base it on the fact that the ambulia that is shown has large gaps between the leaves. With higher lighting, the ambulia won't look so 'leggy' and more bunched. Are you a member of the Palmie fish club?? Alan NZKA 104

SHM, get them out straight away if they even look like breeding again. That will be the last thing they do just before the lay. Small floating container. and feed BBS with a snail in to keep the rubbish to a minimum Alan NZKA 104

FLUKE TABS... Fresh/salt water for parasitic infestations. Highly effective against tapeworms, parasitic copepods, anchorworms, body flukes, argulus, capillaria and tremetodes. It is unequalled in getting rid of HYDRA fast and can be used safely in fry tanks where Hydra accumulates. One tab per 10 gals of water will do the job. Picked this up on the web Shiuh, it may be worth a try. Alan 104

Gouramies I'm told handle them Shiuh Alan NZKA 104

Not red like those Kyle. More like these, http://www.killies.com/gallaustraleorange.htm but with the dark removed. Must try and get a photo of the three different ones I have so you ppl that are interested can see. Alan NZKA 104

Thanks for that Kyle I think all the chocs that we have in NZ are ones that originated from Stu. He pointed out the diff to me fairly early on in the piece, and as the original ones that he had weren't straight to start with, there could be trouble coming up. After a discussion with Stu, it was agreed that to try to improve the colour, that we should only be breeding from our darkest fish. IMHO any possibility of crossing should be avoided at all cost. At the moment I am trying to develop what I call an "apricot" colour. That is a gold without any dark markings. I got the colour morph male and chose the lightest colour female. I'm now awaiting the colouring up ofthe babies to see how I got on. The father at any rate, will be bred back with his daughters, with more emphasis on the lighter ones of those. mmmmmmmmmm Lots more icecream to be eaten I think. Alan NZKA 104

You could of course Paul, once you get breeding them, use only males in the tank. The males will "flash" to the others. The best tank I ever saw of killies was an all male gardneri blue, in a river bio-type. I wouldn't agree with the australe. But what Shae says about the cross-breeding is correct with the three named gardneri. Don't keep any babies if you do mix them. In other words DON'T pick eggs, and the adults should take care of any babies that do appear. The albinoes are really special, and I know that at least twice, they have been down to almost impossible numbers, but have then been bred up and got out to the members again. It is so difficult to get new fish, that "we" try to keep them as pure as possible. Take care of what we have, we may not be able to replace them. Alan NZKA 104

I'd advise not to mix the babies of the two colours. Sometimes you can get a variation of the chocs and you'll end up mixing the strains. You don't need two tanks tho Alan. Use icecream containers. What number are we talking about, and how old are they?? Alan NZKA 104

Yes Alan they are. They are exactly the same as the ones in a heaterstat without the heater coil of course They are the Reliant brand. I have suggested to ppl that have a tank full of expensive fish, that would break a bank account to replace them (if you could) to put one into line with their heater in the tank, so that if the heater jambs on the tank isn't boiled, the thermostat comes on and alerts YOU that the heater isn't cutting out. CHEAP insurance. Alan NZKA 104

I have just located some thermostats . NB Thermostats only. No heater. These are what are required for doing the undertank heatpads. I know this could be under the for sale, but they'd cost you $21 plus pp. Only a few are available. Alan NZKA 104