KingFish

As requested by someone, here's one with orange tentacles and green centre. Think picture did not turn out right since I have yet to figure out my new camera.

Wrong Section to post. Please repost in the appropriate section.

Wrong section. Please repost.

Tank is sold. Thanks to all for your interest. By request of the seller, this thread is closed.

Odds are they are Gammarids, or otherwise commonly known as Amphipods. Perhaps you can catch some of these critters and take a picture for better verification. Dottybacks are not a good idea unless you can make do without ornamental shrimps.

Do they look like this?

Thread Revival !!!! Here's an update picture of one of the pups ...

As for determining the ######, you might need to note down the behaviour of the 2 to see if you see any peculiarities. If you can get a decent picture of them, you can compare them with any other pictures you can gather, from the net or owners. That might indicate some physical differences. It could be anything from colouration, length and broadness of fins, etc. Here's a trick I learnt while photographing elusive fishes: - Mount your camera in front of where the fish might appear way before your scheduled date and hope they will get used to it. - Pre-determine the approximate sighting area and configure your camera settings. Take a few test shots. - Use remote control if you have them. If you have to shoot manually, move very slowly so as not to startle the fish. Good Luck

Good writeup, couldn't have done it better myself. I see that you have an attached refugium which should keep your pod population going as long as you keep your phyto supplement going. Noticed that you are using MH for the nano, I'm theorizing but have you considered a more subdued lighting to encourage more appearances?

On the matter of addressing the problem, I see no real effect on launching a blitzkrieg on puppy mills. They will eventually pop up again. Next thing we know, they're carrying pups in trenchcoats and pushing them in the back alley. In a country where you can be hung for posessing a pinch of drug; why are they still available, if you know where to find them? Think about it. The real solution is educating the public. You can cut the supply, but that will only drive up the demand. Thereby leading to a rush to meet the demand, and *BANG you're back where you started.

In fact, even home breeders might not be as responsible if for a fact he/she do not understand the breed, its standards and the genetic defects usually associated with line. There are not really nothing much to say about puppy mills. Serious breeders, who usually show their dogs are however more particular with complying with breed standard. In that, they understand the breed, its needs, nutritional requirement, right down to its psychology. They will not in good conscience engage in indiscriminate breeding as they have to maintain their good reputation and standard. Therefore there are pet quality, and there are show quality dogs. You can tell the difference if you pay attention to its general disposition, structure, composure and gait. While the market is proliferated with dogs of bad breeding, there are those who maintains the breed standard and continue to educate the mis- or ill-informed. It will be unfair to generalise all breeders as indiscriminate, profit making entities.

Oops ... that would be me, I wanted to close the thread and move this to Kopitiam where we can engage on a more intellectual level. I'll rename to indicate its a 'Moved' or 'Split' topic. It is already has been stated in the source thread.

Its a great site managed by good people, lots of info, but like SRC, you'll need to sieve through the information carefully.

Fair enough, but they have really got to make the distinction between the two before they go ape-shit. It should also be in the interest of the buyer to determine if the pup they are considering are healthy, free from diseases etc. Ask to see the parents, see the premise. It works both ways. To curb backyard breeding, you cut off their demand, the buyers. A separate action must go about educating new dog owners about avoiding them. So they are forced to go even deeper underground, or buck up. Admit that the society will never rid of it, and mitigate it to an acceptable level which is more practical. Move on to greater issue such as poverty, homelessness, cross-straits relations if you're up to it. Anyone can be an activist, but one has to act, otherwise, its just a load of gas. On a separate note, not that I know of any Schipperke owner, it is a very handsome and compact dog if its within breed standard, especially in its black harsh coat. If I'm not wrong, its probably around the same size as mine.

Thanks William Inferring from the other parameters, it is possibly slightly elevated, but that is what the 2 measurements concluded. It should not have much impact as it is nowhere near toxicity levels. Besides, increasing Mg is as tricky as Ca without adding more chloride or sulfate ions into the water.

Thread is locked as it is should belong in the Equipment section Please repost.

Holy Smokes .... not exactly a cube though. Its a Mac mini ..... Coooooooool .....

Thanks guys, I do my best Gouldian, I suppose you can age the water longer than usual if you can keep them from contamination. Unless exposed to changing ambient environment, I can't say for sure if it takes that long for the water chemistry to stabilise. It has a lot to do with the water used as well. I just realised that my tapwater contains minute traces of PO4 which is probably since this is a new building. Wished I could have done a Silicate test though. Distilled water however worked really well.

Quek, you defected there eh? Its been a while and its good to see William and yourself back, my apologies if I missed someone out but I do miss the original crew. Now that we are here, we must remember to conduct ourselves as gentlemen and ladies, with the proper netiquette, posting reasonably and responsibly. 1315 views for the thread, no doubt we have seen a lot of guest traffic. Well, one should make the distinction between the responsible and irresponsible breeding instead of firing at everyone; like DeepBlue has put it, "being critical for the sake of being critical". Only then, can one address the issue from there. Lets see if this develops into a healthy discussion, and if this thread gets linked elsewhere again...

Conclusion All my livestock, including inverts such as shrimps and a starfish are taking well to the new saltmix which is 75% of the total nano volume. Overall, I find the salt's dissolubility and water clarification amazing. The readings from the hobby testkits seems acceptable, except for the slightly lower kH, which is only logical due to its higher Ca levels. Practically, its easier and more economical to buffer kH than Mg or Ca. All other parameters looks to be similar to Natural Salt Water (NSW). The airtight bucket is certainly a bonus. Thanks for reading. * Another quality review by Rumor ** This report is solely meant for hobby review, and may not be used in full or part, for any purpose beyond this Forum. The Author is granted full ownership, with no exception. Permission must be sought with Author before any references may be made to this article.

Miscellaneous The bucket comes with an O-ring on the lid to ensure better sealing. It should inhibits moisture and prevents the salt from clumping. Somehow the lid is also easier to remove. Took less effort than opening a bottle of beer, which I will after finishing this article. Some good-to-mentions According to the bucket label, Oceanic Systems is endorsed by ORA. For the uninitiated, Oceans, Reefs and Aquariums, Inc., known as ORA, is the only all aquacultured marine fish wholesaler in the United States who has succesfully cultured ten species of clownfish, seven species of dottybacks, one cardinal, two gobies and peppermint shrimp. You can find more information at http://www.orafarm.com. Value for Money It is priced slightly higher than the normal brands, but cost per gallon is comparable to KENT and lower than Tropic Marin and Marine Environment. * prices may vary. Price references were made from eAquanature's webstore. ** Dissolubility of salt will vary from brand to brand, and also dependent on water parameters.

After 24hours, or more, salt is added to water and stirred manually. The salt dissolved well, with little settling to the bottom of the pail. Amazingly, the water clarified within minutes, and almost zero sediment. The saltmix is allowed to sit for 24hours for the satwater chemistry to reach an equilibrium. The measurements for the Saltmix with normal dechlorinated Tap Water are as follow: Temperature: 27degrees Celsius Specific Gravity (SG): 1.025 pH: 8.0 kH: 7.2 PO4: 0.03ppm NO2: Undetectable NO3: Undetertable Ca: 480 ppm (first test yielded above 500ppm) Mg: 1500 ppm and above

Preparations and tests from Saltmix with normal tapwater Tapwater is collected in a clean tub, processed with SeaChem PRIME and allowed to sit for 24hours before the salt is added. The measurements for the Tap Water after 24 hours are as follows: Temperature: 27degrees Celsius Specific Gravity (SG): not conducted pH: 7.6 kH: Not conducted PO4: 0.03ppm NO2: Undetectable NO3: Undetertable Ca: Not conducted Mg: Not conducted

Preparations and tests for Saltmix with distilled water Without the luxury of a clean room where I can work in a controlled environment, extra care was taken to ensure that the least amount of contaminant are introduced. Distilled water is used to mix the salt. All implements are washed in distilled water. Since clinical grade is not readily accessible, a bottle from the local pharmarcy was used instead, which should be at least 99% pure, if not 100%. It took only 8 grams of Oceanic salt to mix 600ml of distilled water to reach the Specific Gravity (SG) of 1.025. The SG was measured through the use of a refractometer for greater accuracy, instead of a hydrometer. The solution is then sealed in a clean container and allowed to sit for 24hours before the the tests is conducted. The measurements for the SaltMix after 24hours are as follow: Temperature: 27degrees Celsius Specific Gravity (SG): 1.025 pH:8.2 kH: 7.2 PO4: Undetectable NO2: Undetectable NO3: Undetectable Ca: 480 ppm Mg: 1500 ppm and above

Scope: This limited tests will include two (2) subjects, one is that of a saltmix using tap water from my residence. Results from the test on the tap water will be published. The second subject is a saltmix using pure distilled water. Equipments / Test kits used: Refractometer Hanna Test Pen calibrated with pH7 liquid Salifert Carbonate Hardness / Alkalinity (dkH) test kit - expiry 06/2009 Salifert Phospate (PO4) test kit - expiry 09/2006 Salifert Calcium (Ca) test kit - expiry 06/2009 Salifert Nitrate (NO3) test kit - expiry 09/2006 Salifert Nitrite (NO2) test kit - expiry 06/2009 Salifert Magnesium (Mg) test kit - expiry undertermined