fishy_t

I'm guessing cause he's scared! :lol: Have you tried tempting him out with food? Mine doesn't just sit there under the full lights but he's swimming around most of the time.. often fish hide if they feel they aren't scure enought/have enough places to rush and hide in if they have to - could that be the case?

I like whale sharks the best

I've got a Leopard Syno and I know they look very different from a network (a friend had one that I looked after for him for a few months) so I know they both exist and are different... But that of course doesn't mean the 'Leopard Syno' I've got is the same as yours!! Here is a pic of mine a few months back: (sorry its from my phone so its not the best!) http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/thomas1983/10072007005.jpg?t=1193208732 You can get the gist of the pattern though, he has grown heaps but his spots haven't... Is that the same type as yours peteypleco??

yeah the giant kokopu ones are brilliant!

Thanks Stella

Good job dave

This is pretty cool!! http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1429 Has anyone on here ever got close (or thought they got close) to getting their clowns to breed??!

Thanks for the pics vonfluffy Wish I could be there but it's great to be able to see some of the 'talent' anyway! And congrats Paul, you seem to be winning everything at the mo - thought about trying out at a bikini competition??!! :lol:

But that’s how it works in taxonomy - if a paper is published (like that one was) it means it has been 'peer reviewed' by scientists in the right fields (ie in this case fish - probably even cichlid - taxonomy) which means that people in the know think that it is right which means that its pretty much decided... Saying that common names always hang around - just look at 'kribs'!! So the two names will stick around in the trade I'm sure...

Well - when I say that I mean they have now been named as one species in a published paper, as far as I know it now means that this is what they will be called from now on, but it takes a while for the general scientific community to accept any name/genus changes as someone might argue some other case (i.e. that they could all be called bricks) One of my Prof's at uni is going through the process now - he and some colleagues have just re-classified all of the NZ Hebe's (plants) as Veronica's (its a long story!) and although it is now sort of official, it take a while for it to move down through the system till people actually start using the changed names, does that make sense??!

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/neolamprologus-brichardi-and-pulcher-vt25256.html That’s what that was about! They have officially been classed as one species now called N. pulcher (they used that ones name as it is thought to be the ancestral form)

Doesn't look like it! What are the conditions like in your tank?

I've got one in my cichlid tank with a featherfin syno, frontosa and a few julies... pH at about 8.4 He's out most of the time swimming about, especailly when there is food around!

Spot on Ira - If you are worried about the fish you'd just whack it on the head and get it over with quickly... If however you want to pretend to yourself that the fish won't feel being burned to death by backing soda or clove oil then go for it! - The smell might put you to sleep but remember it will be in contact with their gills - have you ever put any kind of aromatic oil on an open cut on yourself? It stings! Now imagine having stinging oil all over the inside of your lungs... I would defiantly prefer an unseen smack on the head personally!

Ohhhh! Nice pics thanks feshwest

2 words: FISH ROCK!!! Thanks for that jolliolli

Even though in the UK they come out about 2 weeks before the month starts! when did they send you your copies reef??

Thats good well done! Convicts are cool fish, would be a shame to waste him!

So gutted I can't go I expect lots of photos though!

Yeah maybe!

I've got some from as far back as '96!! Love PFK - especially Mary Bailey!! (she's the cichlid person so I probably shouldn't say that here! ) Ask your local mag shop if they are a good one, cause I'm sure there is a shop in Welly that has PFK and isn't a borders... Unless they only recently got the sole rights to sell PFK that is.

yeah for sure

Yeah I vote for hitting it hard on the head, I grew up on a trout farm and that’s how we dealt to them, sometimes they quiver after but they aren't alive, its just their nerves firing... It’s by far the most humane way as people have said. Reason being their brain is pretty basic and all positioned along the top of the head, a decent belt to it will take them out REALLY fast and they will hardly feel a thing – it’s not like they have a large complex brain and thick skull like us to get through so they really don't feel it coming. Saying that I would of course find it hard to do i to a pet fish! Good luck

Thought cichlid people might want to see this, blueandkim just pointed it out to me: http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1426 It doesn't mean we should cross them though cause they are still distinct lines!!

I would recommend any made by Stellar, they seem to be a good brand and have always been quiet for me... I know how ANOYING a buzzing air pump can be!