reef

you can add a new genus, if you get it approved by ERMA, then MAF will do a risk assessment when they have time, There has never been a cost in the past, however they could change it as they do not want imported fish. They are always looking to make it hard.

That will never be approved as a quarantine facility. its a tin shed. i would read the standard ,

Nothing really new in that. Actually MAF/MPI have already done that on existing genus. Adding more species from existing genus needs to be approved by ERMA first then the rest should be not a problem. Not a option as that avenue has been exhausted. Really, my alzheimer's is bad but i would have remembered if the FNZAS committee approached me for help. The only way the Hobby will have a future is if it has a proactive voice, something like a Industry society. Group could be made up of a few importer/stores and FNZAS. A good way to kick thing off would to get some funding and maybe each importer/store/FNZAS could put in say $1K each. More funds could be accumulated maybe by a surcharge on fish sold. Funding could be used to pay for a consultant & helpers to do the work required to add fish.

mumbo jumbo comments made by Jennifer is all smokes and mirrors. Why not just provide decent updates , its hardly confidential stuff .

Fish list project post opened started 17 Nov 2010 Todays date 17 oct 2012. time elapse . 1 year 11 months Progress. Nil achievement . zero Sounds like it is really discretely moving going well

i am afraid it does not work that way, MAf want to reduce the fish coming in. give them a inch and they will take the whole 9 yards, i think i am in a good position to know how it all works. nothing is easy when working with MAF. fixing the flaws will stuff up getting in some species. i am sure that is not what you will want. I added the L number to the allowable list so change it and it will be the end as there will be more bureaucracy to deal with.

All well and good , no need to point that out as it works in our favour.

Sounds like another stuff up by Biosecurity. Someone in Biosecurity has stuffed up if the article is correct.

any electronic store, noel leemings/ dick smiths etc,

Initially when i added species i provided evidence that the species has been in the country prior to 1998 and provided research papers that they could not live in NZ water, also got feedback from experts so support this. After that ERMA was happy with providing invoices etc. For any species we wish to add these days, evidence is to be to ERMA that the fish can not live in nz waters, Then MAF has to do a risk assessment on what disease the fish might come with etc. It does not cost much, what can take time is to get evidence that the fish can not live in NZ. ERMA is pretty good as they take less than 3-4 months to asses a application, however MAF(MPI) can take up to 5 years as they consider it not important to add more fish. The best way is to get ERMA approval and complain to the Ombudsman if MAF take take to long.

Likely due to the fact he disease has not been recorded in wild populations in NZ, so as fare as MAF is concerned the disease is not in the country.

Because some importers have already done most of the fish list, i have spent 5 years adding fish and countless hours doing it. i am over it and if i was getting the reward i would add more , however that is not the case as once they are added then anyone can import them. Some importers also ride on the back of others hard work. Now and then i still add fish, however it needs to have a group/Federation to keep adding fish. Unsure who said it is easy. LivingArt wrote Living art Stop clowning around with your continues one liners. once a clown always a clown. your resentment is getting boring.

You wont have much of a Federation if few species of fish are imported. every year common fish are getting harder to get whilst new species are always being discovered and not able to be imported into NZ. If we don't replace fish that are getting harder to get then far less species will come into NZ. MAF have already classed many fish as high risk so importers tend to stay away from importing them, and every year there is more red tape. I hardly think it would be throwing money around. it is a important necessity.

you can import goldfish, however you have to get all the paper work sorted which is not easy. Gold fish have to be tested overseas by a MAF approved authority, takes time and lots of money

FNZAS has $100k in the bank,? It does not cost much to add new species, $5k would easy cover it. It the time and research. When was that done? 1980s?

Just get a 1000w titanium heater. I use it with a controller.

Why not make up a list of fish species and send it to your local stores and hopefully they will pass the request to the freshwater importers.

Seems no much has happened since 2010 http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=49422 I agree adding new species in a priority and has been for the last 5 years. the longer nothing happens the worse it will get, already it is hard to get species that used to be common and easy to get. The problem you have is that MAF don't want to add fish, basically they want to restrict the trade so hence the reason it is hard to add more fish to the current allowable list. Adding fish is not a priority for MAF and normally takes over 2-5 years to add new fish. The pain i had to endure to add fish was unbelievable, got to the point that i had to ring them weekly so that they would not forget. Basically the aquarium trade adds no value to the country and we have no voice, however if you have the bucks/voice like the aquaculture trade then it is easier to get things done.

fail could be lack of cashflow, unable to meet MAF audits and standards, Unable to look after fish as it is not easy. Its hard labour when the novelty wears off. Any fail with MAF is a pain as it effect all the hobby. everything has got harder since so many have failed. you can do it for love, but you still need to make money to pay for the shipments that you big losses, The power bill does not go away.

What qualifications do you have Jaxxnz? what experience in importing do you have? fish diseases? its not like looking after your fish tank, totally different ball game. Expect big losses , maybe 50%. if so you will have to get fish tested to see if you have a virus. its not free to get them tested. Its like being a doctor with out getting the qualifications. its pretty damaging to the industry as the failures have caused more red tape for existing importers. All new importers have failed so far? so how will you be any different? We had some new importer illegally bring in goldfish a few years ago. a result of that is that everything cost more as we have far more red tape to deal with.

The red sea tanks are nice, but the skimmer is pretty useless, about as good as a reef octopus skimmer. You can upgrade the skimmer. The t5s are ok for most corals, no need to get leds ,

absolutely not, it is dirty . if it was pure we would drink it. Best is a RO/Di filter.

Yes, but it is not stock that you can just go and buy when ever you want as it is not available, and it is not costs effective to go to one supplier to get a few species of fish.

who pays for wages? who pays for future upgrades? who pays for transport/ vehicle running cost/ stationary/ plastic bags/ rent/ salt etc, I think you missed most of the costs. In general the buy price of imported stock in general is irrelevant to the overall running costs of a Business. Retailers need even a bigger margin to cover Business costs and have some money left to make a profit to sustain future growth. Can't see how as it is impossible to get other species given MAFs none appetite to add more fish. bread a butter fish keep wholesalers from operating.

That would be nice, however reality is that it is likely to go up by 20-30 % given the fish industry is not immune to inflation.