Aquatopia

One snippet of advice that successful phish photographers give is to remove the subject to a separate holding tank - only needs to be a small one, maybe with a little bit of decoration (depending on how reclusive the fish is). May be worthwhile if its for something as important as breeding this lovely fish (for us all, hehehe, so dont forget to add me to that list)

Beautiful fish - good luck in your search for a mate, whichever sex - look forward to more pics :-)

Thanks guys - as long as I am on the right track then I'm happy. Of course if CHCH water came out at pH8.2, with a general and carbonate hardness to match lake malawi i'd be a happy bunny.

So what i said is right then Thats all I need to know - so it looks like chch water is pretty soft huh.

Hi Christchurch water has a total hardness (as CaCO3) of 45mg/litre. Am I right in the following conversion ? 45mg/L (= 0.045/1000) thus =0.45/10,000 =4.5/100,000 =45/1,000,000 =45ppm Im basing this on a formula I found online that says 1mg/L = 1ppm and have translated it into decimals so that anyone else can see the mathematical progression as well as just applying a formula.

Im sure there is something rather spectacular in Tel Aviv - I recall reading about it some time ago. And yeah - sounds like u have enough time.

Who are you flying with and how long do you actually have in Seoul ? My flight got me in to the airport around 6pm, and then because I wanted a city centre hotel for the free stopover I had to wait till 7.30 to get the shuttle - its a 60-90 minute transport to the city depending on traffic. Then we left the hotel at 11am next day to get back to the airport for a 3pm flight out. There wasnt any time other than to wander round the local shops. Having said that I dont know what times the aquarium is open so it might work. Looks a good place to see though.

Its still nice phoenix - looks well fed too, and I actually quite like the idea of it in such a planted environment - would like to see more pics of the overall tank if you have them ?

much better to just take the whole thing in - they wont think twice about giving you bulbs im sure.

lovely depth of colour smidey

did the enamel give you a smooth finish Alan ? Is it expensive ?

just tell them you only wear them on sundays ! :lol: :lol:

now that i didnt know - thanks. can u tell me if any old spray gloss is ok to use ?

Lol, I didnt mean whats the difference quite so litterally - I know how they are both made, but thanks for the comprehensive answer. I meant whats the difference between using either if they are both going to be sealed by paint ? Either way, water should not get in unless the paint chips ? Or am I missing something ? Thanks.

Whats the difference between ply and particle board (MDF) ? Im thinking a gloss finish would be good.

Hi, I am going to make a wooden lid for my tank to match (as close as poss) the black cabinet stand it is on. Simple box design with the front 2/3 of the top being a hinged opener. Supports on the inside that will sit on top of my tank and the outside walls will slot over the sides of the tank and cover the top 1.5-2" of glass, hiding the waterline and the lights etc. Question - do I get veneer covered particle board and use iron-on edging for the cut parts ? Or do I do same but paint the exposed parts ? Or is it better to buy plain wood (if so which type), and paint the whole thing ? What paint is safe and water resistant ? Thanks

Whats the solution then ? Taller vivs so they cannot jump up to the heater ?

Think I've found it ! :bounce: Second pic down on that link says "Mr. Stuart Grant himself (a legendary exporter of Malawi Cichlids) was excited about the beautiful Malawi aquarium with many colourful Aulonocara stuartgranti from Cobwe. " But I dont know enough about Aulonacara to say if it is them or not - from the pics I have seen the finnage is the wrong colour to what I have come across. :-? :-?

True but it cant be as bad as the direct heat of the original source surely ?

JC360 - what an awesome idea - now the idea of a group of people bringing in the rarer fish is very appealing. It means those of us who are not loaded with cash to throw around can enjoy our hobby without being accused of not being committed ! I honestly believe that if some of the more special fish are within the reach of the average hobbyist then it will improve the chances of the hobby. Because I am sure there are plenty out there who would love to take their hobby one stage further. Perhaps there could be a forum (or sub forum) for "Breeder Groups". The purpose does not have to be stated as forming a buying consortium, rather to create an "Interest group" whose main intentions are to further the interest of a particular species. Can't see any harm in that

Incidentally, is there a way you can protect him from doing the same again ? Some sort of cage around the ceramic heater perhaps ? I think I have seen that sort of thing in the past. Just an idea

No A-town - thats not what hobbies are for in the case of most people - well i certainly don't covet things just because someone else has it, but you might I guess. Im not you ! And again, it seems there are some people who really are not aware of the current economy - a hobby as something to "throw all your money at" ? For some maybe, if they have money to throw, but I would say most of us cannot afford to be so frivolous. To me, the hobby is something I enjoy just because I love fish. Not because I want to have what everyone else has or as something people can see me lavishing money at. I just want to enjoy the fish. At a fair price. Incidentally, the ability to fork out massive prices for certain fish has absolutely nothing to do with committment and a lot more to be with economic reality. To imply that someone is not committed because they dont spend hundreds of dollars on one or two fish is either somewhat arrogant or totally naiive.

Well I think you are taking your example to extremes to be honest - and its definitely not fair to say no one wants to pay more than $20 for a fish - there is a male venustus on TM at the moment and the bidding is at $30. Money, time and space permitting I would like to do my bit for the hobby too - but thats the thing isnt it - money time and space permitting. I guess its something that wont be resolved on here, thats for sure. Anyway, we have probably hijacked this thread too far from its original purpose now so lets leave it there :-) One things for sure, I would love to have the opportunity to see this discus farm sometime - cos THATS A LOT OF FISH ! LOL

Too tight ? LMAO - not many people have $165 PER FISH to spare - that ain't tight, thats called being realistic !! Are you aware of the current economic slump ?

"IMO" its a bit damned rude to tell people to "quit crying about it" :evil: I'm sure there are more polite ways of disagreeing with someone. You have stated that what you wrote is YOUR opinion, so how about having the manners to allow others to have their opinions without being rude about it. Oh, and I know of one LFS owner who is a multi-millionaire and another who owns a house on the Grand Circle overlooking Christchurch, so lets not assume they are all poor either ! :roll: The one thing I do agree with you on is that some of the breeders on here who are putting a lot of effort into producing good quality fish are doing a very valuable job for us all. (And thank heavens the fish available on here or on TM from members on here are priced so fairly).