Hi, newbie to the forum here

[Fray]

Have been searching through all your knowledge here for a while and decided it was time to join. I live on the mid north coast of NSW, Aus, and started this very addictive hobby at the beginning of the year. Have had lots of ponds of differing sizes for years, with rainbow fish and Pacific blue eyes to keep the mozzie population zero, and bought my first 29 litre tank to grow some of the blue eye fry out. And then down the rabbit hole I went!
That first tank is now going to be a dedicated shrimp tank - love to watch them fuss around - and I have a 87 litre planted tank now with three bronze corys, (have three one month old fry to add when old enough) and five swordtail fry about three months old. All beautiful black with red fins and I think all female, hopefully.
Have just bought 12 neon tetras which are in qt. Not sure if I've done the right thing buying them, have spooked myself reading some negatives about them on here! I'll keep them in the qt for a month ?? and hopefully they'll be ok.
And I am in the process of getting a second hand 52 litre tank which when all cycled and happy I'd like to try as a sorority tank. Would love to rescue some of those poor Bettas from those glass jars.....
So that's me....so far!

 

[Lemon]

Welcome! You sound like a busy person with all that going on lol hope to see you active often!

 

[Lynnzer]

Hi and welcome.
You are really into this, aren't you?Don't know what the chemical makeup of your water supply is like but I believe that guppies are predominently introduced to water systems in some places to control the mozzies. From what we in the cooler parts of the world can see, Australia in general also seems to be infested with annoying flies.
Aussie Gold Hunters and other shows brings that out.
As flies generally don't lay their eggs in water, perhaps you could also put some flying fish in the pond

 

[Fray]

Now wouldn't that be something! Definitely have the neighbours guessing running from pond to pond chasing them. I chose the rainbows and blue eyes as they leave the frog spawn and tadpoles alone, love the frogs. Tho can get pretty noisy on summer nights when they're all feeling friendly.
Thanks for your welcomes!

 

[Fray]

Welcome! You sound like a busy person with all that going on lol hope to see you active often!

Oh God, did I ramble too much? Hope not.....wasn't sure what was expected! Didn't like the idea of introducing myself, then I go and put everyone to sleep!

 

[Lynnzer]

Now wouldn't that be something! Definitely have the neighbours guessing running from pond to pond chasing them. I chose the rainbows and blue eyes as they leave the frog spawn and tadpoles alone, love the frogs. Tho can get pretty noisy on summer nights when they're all feeling friendly.
Thanks for your welcomes!

Preventing the tadpoles being eaten is a really envirnment friendly thing to do. However if the fish also eat Cane Toad tadpoles I'd actually encourage it.
OOPS - the tadpoles are also poisonous. Forget that.

 

[Colin_T]

Oh God, did I ramble too much? Hope not.....wasn't sure what was expected! Didn't like the idea of introducing myself, then I go and put everyone to sleep!

No you didn't ramble on, it's fine.

What species of rainbowfish do you have?
Which variety of Pseudomugil signifer do you have?
What sort of frogs have you got there?

 

[The603]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[connorlindeman]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Fray]

No you didn't ramble on, it's fine.

What species of rainbowfish do you have?
Which variety of Pseudomugil signifer do you have?
What sort of frogs have you got there?

Thanks! Crimson spotted rainbows and just the plain blue eyes, tho it's hard to tell really. Being in the ponds I can only spot the fry, and that's only till they get wary of anything lurking. But they do an admirable job with the wrigglers.
As for frogs, green tree frogs, striped marsh frogs, perons tree frog, barking frog and the dainty green tree frog mainly. You're in Perth? Do you have much the same ones?

 

[Colin_T]

In Perth we used to have motorbike frogs and moaning or burrowing frogs but they are all dead now due to councils, government departments and people spraying herbicide (roundup) everywhere, including along the banks of rivers and creeks.

The last time I saw a motorbike frog was in 1996 and he lived in a pond at my place.

We haven't got many native fish left here either for the same reasons and due to habitat clearing and government and people releasing introduced species into local waterways.

Our department of fisheries regularly releases trout into rivers and creeks and they eat all the native fish and crustaceans. And the trout have TB, which kills native fish really fast.

Locals dump introduced species (aquarium fish) into creeks and lakes and they introduce diseases that wipe out the endemic stuff.

 

[emeraldking]

Welcome to our forum...
There are more fish species that could be used as a natural mozzie exterminator.

 

[Colin_T]

There are more fish species that could be used as a natural mozzie exterminator.

Rainbowfish and Galaxias are great for controlling mozzies and their larvae. Most livebearers also make good mozzie control agents. It's just a pity governments didn't use mollies or platies instead of Gambusia. They do less damage to native fish and eat more mozzie larvae. Plus it would be nice going down to my local creek and catching hundreds of sailfin mollies instead of hundreds of Gambusia.

 

[Fray]

True! I'm very protective of the frogs and their spawn tho, and the blue eyes and rainbows have been the best for that. White Clouds are "suppose" to leave frog spawn alone, but only when they have a full belly of them....
And as to spraying 'round up" willy nilly around the place, can not understand how councils etc do not see how ignorant and short sighted that is. As Tom Waits says "Nothing kind about mankind".

 

[emeraldking]

Rainbowfish and Galaxias are great for controlling mozzies and their larvae. Most livebearers also make good mozzie control agents. It's just a pity governments didn't use mollies or platies instead of Gambusia. They do less damage to native fish and eat more mozzie larvae. Plus it would be nice going down to my local creek and catching hundreds of sailfin mollies instead of hundreds of Gambusia.

I assume that the government hasn't chosen for mollies or platies, for gambusia species have a bigger tolerance in fluctuations of the water parameters.