Faran

Hope that's a Royal Pleco!!!! Why are standard plecos one of the few fish out there that never increase in value with size - mostly due to the fact they don't breed in captivity?

Agreed with everyone above. You can never have too much filtration - 'specially with discus - and if they look unhappy due to the current just point the output towards the glass and it'll be just fine. I do this with a Fluval FX5 which pumps out somewhere between 2500 and 3000lph on a 460L tank and there's no problems whatsoever. On the other hand, if you're setting up a river biotope in the future have the output nozzle in one corner spraying directly across the tank. Your fish will love it!

/me runs off to cross cardinals with guppies... so do you think it was a male sword and a female tetra or the other way around? Must have been a male tetra cuz a male sword could never knock up a tetra, too quick and small of a target... Tillie - may seem nasty but we must stop people from misleading others. Swordtras are in a mythological category with jackalopes and anyone trying to sell them as a rare and unusual item needs to be corrected. With a starting bid of $4 I wonder how much they expect to get from these wonders of the aquatic world

I have a bunch of 3 foot double tube hoods and a 5ft single hood but nothing in 4ft unless I strip down my old wooden hood for parts and they're honestly kinda rusty and just I-bars rather than light hoods...

Every suburb around here is a bit different. Best to get a kit and test the tap water yourself. As I said, I have spare Master Test Kit. Better to get mates rates than pay retail. I'm pretty sure they're still $70 in LFSes but that could have dropped to $50 by now. I know when I bought mine I had a hard time getting it for $50 so I ordered off TradeMe.

Oh wow, what a horrible thing to happen. Sorry Caryl! K, you've probably heard of water going bad and killing off fish and this probably is the case here. The best thing to do is replace all water and start from scratch, including the filter media. Rinse the filter media from the 404 and dump the gooky water into your cichlid tank (with fresh dechlorinated water) to kick-start the cycle. Put a light load of fish in there and you should be up and running in a few days. Just be sure and get all the dead fish and fish bits from the tank and filters... That's just a suggestion and feel free to do whatever you want. That's just what I would do...

Just did a quick check and 4 out of 5 websites tell me that Firemouths indeed prefer a pH of 6.6-7 but can tolerate pH up to 8.5... also should be noted that these fish come from many different biotopes but mainly rivers - muddy or clear. So mineral-rich water is unlikely in the wild.

Hi Caper - you're in Canada where the amount of chlorine is MUCH higher than NZ and you have chloramine in the water, as well. The advice given above was intended for Kiwis and you should always test the chlorine ppm of your water to determine safety before adding tap water to your tank.

Nope, just be sure and avoid water changes over 40% with chlorinated water and keep your filters turned off until the water is dechlorinated.

Can somebody recommend a good testing kit? pH ammonia hardness etc I have a spare Freshwater Master Test Kit here RRP$50 used a couple times that you can have for $30 (avg TradeMe price 'used') - no hardness test tho. Ended up with 3 of them over the years and I'm not one to test water unless something is SERIOUSLY wrong. I have been using Proper pH 7.5, but I read I shouldn't be, so whats the situation with this? Who said you shouldn't be? Everyone has an opinion and if you're keeping fish that like a high pH that's fine. Keep in mind your firenouths are a South American cichlid so will prefer pH >7 Also it hasn't been working, and I realised this might be due to the carbon I put in the filter?? Carbon shouldn't have any affect on your pH at all. Be sure and toss or replace after 6 months tho. What effects does driftwood have on an aquarium? lowers the pH?? Driftwood releases tannins that turn the water a browny colour and lowers the pH. Why do my fish think cheap flake food is fantabulous but cichlid pellets and tubiflex worms are the devil? They've probably been accustomed to flake and you can try fasting them for a day or two and then introducing the new food to get them to switch over. Before my last water change my tank water had a slight green tinge, but there was no algae growing on anything, what does this say about the water? Brown/green could be due to driftwood. Green water means that you have lots of nutrients and light but no plants - basically a water-borne algae bloom. This can be combated with a UV sterilizer if need be. My tank is 288 litres, and I'm using a Jebo 810 900L/hr, would adding undergravel filtration be a beneficial accessory or a waste of time? There's no such thing as too much filtration, but adding a undergravel filter to an established tank is a bit of a pain. I'd say it's not worth the effort. Does anybody have a link or three to good information on Whiptail Catfish, and their water preferences? Planetcatfish has suprisingly little info. Jake (CatBrat) recently bred tham so I'd have a chat with him. As they are harvested from Peru you're looking at warm soft water. I reckon 25-28 and ph of 6-7. Fish are 5 Firemouths, 4 Convicts, and 2 Angels. Warm soft water - all of them. No reason to have a pH over 7. HTH!

If you look lower on the list of threads in the catfish section you'll find Keri Anne's post on this same subject. Seems that Asian Moth Catfish is the common name in the rest of the world and I put a link in that thread with a good site for them. Enjoy!

That was fast! Gotta love those cheeky males from my tanks, always ready to breed Two weeks from spawn to male kicking them out. They'll come out on their own.

They're currently on the wholsale price lists and should be able to be ordered in via any LFS. I recommend the Para pet shop as they put less of a markup on fancy fish than others (though Hutt Pets is doing similar deals these days) and the Para shop has some rare and interesting fish at times - ask Billaney

did you happen to buy them new plants off TradeMe? Sounds like a batch I shipped out not too long ago What size tank do you have? I have some lights here in new and lightly used condition. If you meant you were going to get a new bulb then I have advice for that too.

Found this on the Brooklands website for ya. http://www.brooklands.co.nz/tropical/zebra_eel.htm I have a fire eel and it's a treat. Highly recommend them and will be sad to see him go when I have to sell him.

Stop feeding the clown loaches.

Feed them plecochips, it has wood fibre in it to keep them regular, like prunes for humans :lol:

I really hope you're not charged for water in your neck of the woods. With the dozen or so empties and refills.... wow, that just boggles my mind on how large that bill would be.

Caper - you got it! Chinese are agressive, Siamese are not. False Siamese are solitary, true Siamese are social (enjoy others of the same species). I have one Siamese Algae Eater in my 460L tank that I can't get out for the life of me, though his 4 similar tankmates all fell for the same capture technique. Cheeky little bugger sits there and watches me until I go for the nets, then disappears for the day. :bounce: I'll get you someday!!!! :bounce:

Just an update on the Gold Cloud as he's now a very active and social member of the tank he lives in. Proper feeding, water conditions and temperature have really improved his spirits.... and the fact that all the decent hidey holes are taken by much larger plecs sure does make him very visible! A website with some info on L048... Planetcatfish L048 And yes, I've decided to keep this wee beasty for myself as it's such an odd find. Not sure what I'll do with it in 5 years when it gets to 30cm, but I hope it gets along with similar sized Royals!

Good looking out. I chipped in with my recommendation. Been a while, vapo, where u been?

So over the last few months I've put together a bit of a collection of random catfish. Some of them I'm in love with but others I'd like to see go a home where they will be bred. L027 - Royal Pleco (x2, 2 more on the way) L048 - Gold Cloud Pleco (x1) L102 - Snowball Pleco (x1) L104 - Clown Pleco (Pair? - trying to breed) L128 - Blue Phantom Pleco (x1) L270 - Chocolate Zebra Pleco (x1) BNs and GBAs (L144) with nice breeding colonies.

LOL, I asked that but accidentally made it a PM. Here's Jakes answer - Good luck with this batch and no prolonged vacations this time!!!

Well, they've never beed bred in captivity yet so no one knows for sure. You're making a perfect attempt, though!

LOL, acquired? 'Twas a gift, and I'm glad it's brought good tidings Name one of the babies after me :lol: