djsurfs

awesome :bounce: thank you for that link!

serious

building (as in "Elvis has left it...:lol: )

:bounce: neato! hey, how big a tank would one need for a koura or 2 and what would I feed them? Never had a FW tank before!

LA, haha you are too funny :lol: Uhh, somebody??? gee gees???translation please. Thanks to all for the compliments. Glad someone besides myself actually enjoyed them.

Hiya Georgeous oops, i forgot to answer one of Cam's Q's... it is fairly easy to "sex" them once they are 6 months old; sometimes earlier. there are good diagrams on those SH website libraries, or if you Google... but basically, if you look at Lele's pics again, (especially in her little black dress) you can see the rounded shape of her belly and how it comes in at a fairly sharp angle to her tail & you can even see her little anal fin right there too. A male will look almost the same but the sharp angle will not be there as that area is filled in with the males pouch. the anal fin is still at the bottom of the belly, and then there is an opening at the top of the broodpouch where the female deposits their eggs. The male gets to incubate them, get fat and give birth to live babies ! ( some of us like calling them ponies ) Those girls have it all figured out :lol: Here is a pic of mine where the difference is clear... I bet you can guess who the boyfriend Uku is and tell me which one is Lele! oops forgot the pic! :roll:

Yes, it is amazing how much they can & do change colour! sometimes it is a slow transformation and at other times nearly instataneous "flashing". So be aware, the horse you might buy may not end up looking the same at all when you bring it home! There are many variables to factor in: if they feel the need to blend with their surroundings, their mood (ie; playful, stealth/hunting/flirting) Some will change colour with gentle coaxing (& luck!) like, dressing the tank with the colours you might like to see. Also, what is in their diet can enhance and enable colour changes... I am no good with tank sizes etc... I have only a 75 litre for my kuda. I would recomend going bigger. The bigger the better ( for water quality sake) SH's are messy eaters! best to get a reply from the experts here or search the libraries for Seahorse specific info on SH .org or syngnathid.org . They are a wealth of info.

I was bored.... so thought I'd bore you with a Seahorse "fashion show" LOL :roll: All the following pics are of the same seahorse, my kuda named Lele. As soon as I added this orange plastic margartia "glass" for a feeding dish, she decided to change colour to match. How very fashionable of her! Here she is in her "little black dress" A fashion faux-pas. I don't think the cyano chiffon look suited her very well! Her white Chanel suit was much more becoming. Lately she has been wearing her yellow sports suit, trying her hardest to match her favourite hitch. That all for now; thanks for looking!

Cute pics!

inflamed

ngaio

You sure got that right! Yah, I like having some colour too! BUT, I think tangs & most of the "swimmier" type fish are considered not good tankmates unfortunately. Mainly because they could get "nippy" and tend to outcompete SH's for any food. Good things to go for are blennys & gobies; there are a few nice colourful ones about and they have the most comical faces. Dragonets (mandarins) are beautiful too. I'm not too good on ID's... go here for some pics and guidance with an easy rating system --> http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/tankmates/tankmates.shtml Zeros being totally harmeless to SH's and #4's are going to have your SH for lunch! I have some "2's" in my tank and have been OK. The other things you could look for are a colourful shrimp (My bright racing striped cleaner shrimp is a "2", because some SH's get stressed/annoyed and don't want to be cleaned!) When the shrimp has gotten too big/agressive, I've traded him/her in for a smaller one. After my seahorse, the thing I get the most enjoyment from in my tank is my beautiful sunny tubeastrea (suncoral). It is a great SH tankmate; it does have sticky tentacles, but does not sting. It also helps the water quality by filter feeding, though it does enjoy and thrives better with an occasional feed of the SH's leftovers. And, it doesn't need any special lighting. My troppo tank is only 75 litres! 26 does seem a tad warm to me, but I also don't know what other tropical things you have in there... I would hate for you to lose anything else! My mushrooms don't seem to like my coolish temp of 21, but candycane, suncoral and button polyps are thriving. Perhaps a figure in the middle if there is anything of concern in your tank, temperature wise?... Keep up the good work! splash ya later DJ

Wow, those are beautiful!!! I doubt I will ever have a tank big enough though Are there any saltwater dwarf puffers or are they all FW? & Does anyone in NZ still have any??? That would push me over the edge of the pool to give a FW tank a go.

Check out this website--> http://www.commodityaxis.com/ProductData.aspx?id=48 I have not actually ordered from this company, but they seem to have the greatest selection and I found some of the info & pictures of all the parts available very helpful. Though most of all Vinsons advice was most helpful in an old post when my canister was leaking! ...might be some relevant info there *goes to look for old post* here's the old thread--> http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/help-my-canister-filter-is-leaking--vp315764.html#315764

Really??!! I would love to hear more about that! what type/ how many/ who gets em??? And Charlie, not ganging up on you but yeah, Waterfaller is spot on. I would take her advice. Starting out overstocked will only lead to dissapointment, not to mention a big void in your wallet! lol Hey, just curious who/ how many out there have any survivors from that last shipment? I checked em out at our local, but didn't fork out the $ because they looked all so very teensy tiny ( though not the price!) & none survived

Oh SHCrazy, I'm so sorry you lost your dear little SH! Wish I had seen this thread earlier, though still it may have been too late... I do have to respectfully disagree with some views here. I do not think it is a waste of time to try and save/treat illness. Even if you can't save them all, any success is worth it! Especially since we become so attached to our special little charges; they each have an individual 'personality' and aren't easily replacable as seahorses are so difficult (& expensive!) to get here in NZ. For any sick SH, it is highly advisable to isolate them in a "hospital tank" and carry out any medications there. NOT in the main display tank, as you could upset/ kill your bio-filter. I would still keep a close watch on your other SH, and monitor the tank closely. (as I'm sure you are ) and get help ASAP if anything looks awry; bouyancy/ appetite/ behaviour/ spots... Things you CAN do: slowly drop temperature. This can help keep some nasty bacteria which favour tropical temps at bay (even with UV; it's great you have a UV steriliser BTW ) Depending on what else you have in your tank... I keep my kuda constantly between at 20-21C. And have dropped lower during power outages and purposely when one fell ill. (successfully saved BTW) It looks like you are doing a good job checking water quality, and that the parameters are fine so obviously you have a decent routine and enough quantity in WCs; But, if not too inconvenient for you, smaller changes more often can still be beneficial. If not weekly, then every other week would be an improvement over once monthly Oops! I just re-read page 1 and see you are doing a superb job! LOL,Can you believe there are even some who vacuum small volumes from their tanks daily?! The point of this is, even though nitrates etc. are "fine" , it is good to clean regularly so there is not a booming population of undesirables which can lead to problems like "weak snick" ... BTW I'm not good at wording & am in No Way trying to pick on you , just trying to help! Once again ,sorry about your SH. Hope you figure out how to post a pic soon. I love seeing others SHs! and another good skill to play with/ learn. Comes in handy for so many things, sick fish Q's included. PM if ya need help OK, Now I really will stop babbling on DJ

Nice find & pic Livingart ! I have many times been tempted to try a nudibranch, but have refrained as yet because I was worried they would end up starving in my tank... What is the longest you have ever kept a nudi alive for? Do you know how long they live in the wild? Will they eat any sponges or only particular ones? Go on, talk me out of it!

Thanks for sharing your find If I was lucky enough to ever find a cute little baby occy, what tank size would you reccommend, allowing for the fantastic growth rate? Story to follow?! :bounce: does one need a special tank or lid to contain them?

If anybody, Auckland or north has some, please let me know. My spoiled picky seahorses do not like other brands! Sorry about double-posting, (in classifieds too) but I'm getting desparate!

Well, I did get some tiny welts on my arm, but maybe they were from hydroids? Though still not nice, I'm not too worried about droids for my adult seahorses, but yah, I've heard the bluebottles are way worse, but I'm too chicken to puposely find out for myself! So I'm still worried if there are any baby BBs in the water. I'm not sure if I should just pitch it & wait for better conditions, or get some special fine filter... The tank isn't currently set up with a skimmer, just a canister filter & chiller.

glad to hear I'm not the only one willing to make a small effort. Just sorry I didn't haave any suggestions for you, dohc. Sure sounds like minchton is onto it though! :bounce: i just knew I was hanging on to my pumps for a reason, lol. *goes to look up Shuk Engineering* PS, sometimes it IS an added bonus in the $ dept too I've had a washing machine that someone was throwing out on boxing day 12+ years ago , and it only cost me a $12 part and easily fixed it myself.

Does it always have to be just about the money? Why throw something away if you can fix it? the whole world seems to be changing to a "throwaway society"... I sure am glad someone here finally helped me fix my canister filter, rather than running out and buying a new one!

Hey, how far south have people been noticing bluebottles? I have been having a hard time with all these onshores, there were bluebottles on the beach, and now rain. Last week the beach I collect from looked clear, but afterwards I went for a surf at the next couple bays over & I still saw some bluebottles floating around and I even felt like I got some stings. So, the big question: Is it possible to have microscopic BB spores, or stingies that I cannot see? I need to do waterchanges, but am a little scared to use this water!

Thanks skuzza. Still looking! has anyone seen Biosuppliers brand mysis still in stock, or a brand other than Kordon, Auckland or north?

I've posed the question in trade/exchange, but has anyone seen Biosuppliers Frozen Mysis available anywhere?