Faran

Sailfin plecos HAVE been bred in captivity, where do you think they all come from? Fish farms in rivers in Asia. Matter of fact, there's even reports of them being spawned in thermal water in the Rotorua area. As for sexing them, you hold two side by side and compare the genitalia and it's possible to determine males and females.

THAT'S MY BOY!!!!!!!! :lol:

I saw these in the USA and they're actual shrimp (not just brine shrimp). The concept is amazing and they charge $$$ for them. Considering the shrimp are only guaranteed for up to a year, it's a lot of money to spend on something that's gonna end up a nasty little paperweight some day...

I actually know someone who just lost his hornet male from his pair after a weekend away... not sure if he's willing to part with the female but it's worth asking. He's in Wellington and so is the female hornet. PM me for more info.

suphew, I think she's talking about the Marina Aqua Minders.... For the record, I have two and they work spot-on. Even dropped one in the tank the other day during a shift and it came right after a quick disassembly to let the moisture evaporate.

Looks like Brazilian Microsword to me - http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 020816.htm Due to the height it seems to be in the pic it might be Mauritius microsword - http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 923285.htm

Hmm.... AR380/980 over here and you DO have to turn them off, remove the spray bar and then play with a lot of muck to get it cleaned up. I quickly resorted to using a canister filter "backup" when I had discus in there and now use that tank for raising fry with a very clogged up filter and sponge filters running alongside the hood filter.It does the trick and with the lack of surface agitation the Riccia loves it!

Agreed. MH only needs to be used in freshwater when intensive plant growth is desired.

Thanks, Paul. I'm not counting on anything until I see them out, about and growing steadily. I had about a dozen half-grown BNs disappear from that tank in the past, so I'm not counting on anything these days! Funny posts above... we must have been replying at the same time :lol:

As anyone that has had a hood filter for longer than 3 weeks knows, they are a pain. A close equivalent of a HOB filter, IMHO. They require constant maintenance and changing of media to keep the water going at an acceptable rate. If it was a canister filter I would have returned mine LONG ago.

Sure can! If you resize it to 640 pixels wide and frame it with img brackets you can even insert it in here

Not an ideal situation. BNs are territorial and female BNs tend to mate with the dominant male. This would mean that your female GBA may end up leaving her eggs with the normal BN (or vice versa) and you'll end up with cross-breeds. Good luck with your breeding! I have some GBA wrigglers at present and I'm sooo proud!

Back to the subject .... here is a pic of my Panaque Nigrolineatus'. The one on the glass (10cm) is already growing odontodes on his pectoral fins while the much larger one on the wood (15cm) has none, so I can only hope for a male and female. Anyways, enjoy the pic and I apologize for the odd contraption in the middle of the pic. My marble swords are stalking all over the place and it's a rig to keep them in the water (for pup plants rather than flowers).

You guys have covered making a DIY hood but I'm pretty sure she's having a stand and hood made professional-like (wood and everything) so she's more asking what to get for fittings and how to wire it and such...

You can DIY it, or I have one of these light units available for $40 for you. Only difference is mine have a white power cable and missing the perspex cover. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... d=48306057

I don't see a problem with it. If it's been recommended on other forums/websites and your gourami is disabled and possibly dying anyways give it a shot. Just be sure and treat it in a proper quarantine tank so no other fish are affected.

I think we all use underwater filters.... Just kidding. Sand is bad for undergravel filters. Falls through the holes and clogs up the works.

Sounds like a ag and cockatoo male, hard to tell with the females. Great deal, looking forward to the pics!

My bet is it being on a microsword. waterplantz has sold two types on TradeMe in the past and I just got his last brazilians off of him the other day. Brazilian Microswords Mauritius Microswords He also sells Glosso and many other gorgeous plants, though I think you snagged some Glosso from a local river last time we spoke

Again? That was fast. Am expecting the other (first) pair to spawn tomorrow. They're actually in the pic right behind this pair. The four of them have taken over one side of the tank and pushed all other fish to one half... wonder if the two pairs would raise the broods together? Hmm.... Your pair are siblings to BOTH my females Looking at the pics a little closer, I think the male in this pair might be a leopard. Some small spots in the pattern. All these fish had poor colouration when first picked up but are coming along nicely. I'll post a pic of the first female soon. She's a full on RSTG and a STUNNER. Too bad they won't care for the young. Bad fishies! Back to the community tank with you! Thanks Paul!!! Umm... comm tank so no big expectations. Strong expectations for the Red Turk breeding pair coming down this weekend tho!

So that pair of discus stopped eating the eggs.... and failed to care for the fry once they hatched... So they've been moved back into the community tank as if yesterday to learn some proper parenting skillz. Last week I noticed two more getting awfully friendly and have kept an eye on them. One of my 300W SS heaters crapped out a few days ago during a water change (luckily I watch temps very carefully those days) so I had to pop a new one in. The new couple decided it was a prime spawning site and started cleaning it this morning. Being a good discus owner and not wanting boiled eggs or burnt lips and bits I switched around the broken and new heater. This was the result as of 7pm. Dad is a red turk (still developing markings) and mom is a RSTGxRoyal Red like the mom in the other couple. Don't expect much from this spawn but have read that it's better to let them spawn a few times in the comm tank to learn to protect & care for them. And to top it all off... I have a proven breeding pair of red turks coming down at the end of the weekend. When it rains it pours....

Caper, you're talking about painted glass tetras. I remember them from the Wal-Mart/PetsMart in Cali. You're exactly right, that's the injected fish Alan has posted about. Nothing like that here in NZ so far.

How did it work out with the Blue Rams? Figure the Goldens would turn out the same...

They're out day and night. Easiest to spot them at night with a torch.

Going back to food, I grew out a batch of bettas on 2 feedings a day of BBS and two feeds of microworms. They LOVE the worms and since they happily feed from the bottom they eat just about every last one. Kept a snail in there for leftovers, but he looked pretty hungry!