Aquatopia

Have done now thanks, would still like to translate it into what people actually use though.

None at the moment Repto - but have previously kept Yemen Chameleon, Beardies, Leopard Geckos, rainbow boas and western hognoses :-) Sadly the selection and availability (and price) is somewhat different in NZ.

I was hoping to avoid long winded articles but will have a gander anyway. Thanks. If anyone else wants to contribute I'd still be keen to hear what others are doing too.

Hi, I am trying to get to grips with "pH" vs "Hardness" vs "buffering", so that I get my african cichlid tank right. I understand there are types of rock/substrate that will increase the pH. I think that in combination, certain types of rock/substrate will increase hardness. I also think that hardness acts as a buffer to reduce fluctuations in pH. Am I on the right tracks there ? Which combinations do I need ? (I have chosen a dark grey crushed limestone for substrate which is great - its particles are smaller than coral sand but bigger than play sand). Thanks

phew, thought u meant u were using it as a heat pad (cos thats what it is, lol) And now I know you have other pets too, Im sure they would not be impressed if you sold it to buy Izzy a heat rock, lol.

Hi Vee, She looks great - can I make a suggestion about the snugglesafe - maybe consider putting some sort of cover over it ? Cos its plastic, direct heat when first out of the microwave could potentially cause a slow burn. Alternatively you might find that selling it on Trade-Me (or even on here) will get you close to the cost of a proper reptile heat rock (which I believe are thermo-regulated to a safe maximum, but if anyone else knows otherwise, please correct me).

Thank you oh mighty one, :lol: :lol:

I presume that was a joke, though I can't see any clue from smilies :roll: Just trying to make a helpful suggestion :-?

:roll: :lol: :roll: You like picking the tough ones don't you.

Hans is dead right there - something that has lots of babies, often, that you can sell cheaply :-)

Thats cool - and you can always set up a separate tank for her to breed easier fish - how old is she ?

Hehe - the thread title - send me a PM if you have any difficulty.

ditto that . . .

I reckon you've picked a hard one to start with, but I may be wrong.

Vee - can I suggest you select EDIT on your original post and change the title to something a little more descriptive ? :roll: :lol: :lol: A fine looking skink though - you must be very happy with her.

How about posting a couple on here and starting a new thread ? - i think you'd get a wider audience with a new title for your pics

Yep, but they dont climb up the nearest tree and eat the birds eggs, lol. I appreciate accidents happen - what I am suggesting is that the incidence of deliberate release is nowhere near as significant a risk to wildlife as many other variables.

I thought I had replied to this but I dont see my reply so it must have failed. I dont know that much about fish disease, but have heard of some parasites that have to go through a free-swimming stage as part of their reproductive cycle, before re-attaching to a host (is white spot like this, i think ?) - I have also just read though, that UV filtration inhibits the active ingredient of metronidozole and such other bloat treatments, and should be shut off when treating.

Thanks Johannes - very interesting reading. One thought that springs to mind, and which could be of course, but might equally be good;- Do these protozoans go through a free-swimming stage as part of their reproduction ? And if so, would UV filtration be an effective addition to help minimise their presence in an enclosed system such as an aquarium ?

Ahh bloat is the one thing I have read about so far - so what do you treat it with ? Does it happen often ?

Thanks for the above snippets of advise. With regard this specific quoted one, what medications do you suggest and for what particular problems (the typical Tropheus ones) ? Or, what have you found to be the key issues to watch for regarding health ? Thanks.

They are awesome Johannes. How do u find them compared with other Tropheus ? More/Less agressive ? Just the same ? How many do you have in what size tank ? And as Ryan said, are they the ones given the common name of Firefox ? Cheers.

And the first few batches, thats probably fair enough. From the angle of breed perpetuation, they should probably be sold, as priority, in breeding groups at a cost in proportion to the original investment, in such a way to make an ongoing positive contribution to the original breeders program. Eventually there will be sufficient numbers, with prices coming down as supply increases, until the breed meets demand at a price affordable by most. (In my cotton lined ideal world anyway, lol).

LOL - Actually it highlights something though - the biggest problem to our bird populations is (i believe) the possums - and yet there really is not very much being done to eradicate them (though with an estimated pop'n. of 70 million I'm told, where do you start?) - compared to what would be a hell of a fuss over, lets face it, the unlikely event of very expensive reptiles being released. We pay a lot of money for most lizards in this country - I cannot really believe there is likely to be people just releasing them into the wild.

That side of it is indeed a problem Alan :-? I guess you get that with any animal though, including dogs and cats, fish, ... the list is probably a long one. But its a bit much when some beaurocrat gets a bee in his bonnet and makes the assumption that because some idiot might release a cayman alligator that all reptiles should be banned - and that is what this statute sounds like. Typical over-reaction.