ryanjury

Yeah you can it has it's associated risks and is more successful in younger fish but can be done.

They have been around for years they get imported all the time.. I had a really nice female but for some reason she would never drop for me, the males cannot breed if their gonopodiums are extended so you need to breed the females with a normal male and do some breeding around to get more..

I went in and saw these at HFF yesterday they are awesome fish, with the quick look they do match fish labelled as viejita on google images, does anyone have a sure fire way of telling if they are mcmasteri/viejita.. Joe the fish are 99% the same to me so either way they would be awesome if you can get males/females

If a fish is getting bullied to the point of getting damaged or it hiding all day then it isn't really a good life for it so I would remove it.. Unfortunately this is what cichlids do probably 2 the same sex and the biggest one is trying to chase the smaller one out of its turf.

Sounds like an awesome meeting! A bit too far for me to travel to attend unfortunately

You have cichlids they will fight the only ones that get along are compatible pairs but even if things go wrong pairs fight too.. What sexes do you have and how big is the tank?

That is completely incorrect you don't need to spend money to have healthy fish it is amazing how many people believe this and buy tons of stuff they don't need. You can keep big tanks perfectly stable and very healthy fish with just water changes if you wanted to, people have been keeping all sorts of fish with just bubble filters or undergravel for many years with no issues.

Unfortunately Protomelas fenestratus is the only allowed Protomelas species on the list.. Mind you empreses and taiwan reefs aren't on the list and they both got imported so you never know what will come in, spilonotus is a nice fish as well.

Celestial pearl danios - they breed in a tank that is mossed out and heater would be set low (I have read on some sites that they go down to 7C in their natural environment but 20-22 is good).

Good work birdbarn, it is a shame that they couldn't have spotted the sick fish early but at least they are standing by their fish and doing the right thing.. Stores are only as good as who supplies them sometimes and we tend to get some rubbish imported into NZ at times

Cool pics, that Monaro is pretty awesome

If someone has stuck filter wool in the filter that is why it is cllogging up.. It is good for polishing the water but it is so fine it clogs fast.

Something that is coarser, does it have the standard media in it still?

Lol maybe it clogs because the media is too fine..

Have you read up on cycling and what filters actually do? Use the existing filter for biological filtration and the bubble ones for mechanical.

Just chuck a couple of these http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 284148.htm filled with filter wool and your existing filter on the tank.. If you want it to stop clogging up then remove all the filter wool out of it or use coarser wool..

What sort of fish do you have in this tank? There is no reason why you can't filter it with a couple of bubble filters and an airpump if you are just stocking with smaller fish, I do this on my tanks with big africans and have no issues.

They would probably be good in a harem in the 150L tank, your food sounds good, NLS is good as well if you wanted to add some more variety. Some live food in there and they would be loving it.

There is nothing wrong with good quality flake foods as well Fish food manufacturers don't spend all that money developing foods that are bad for fish and they may well contain vitamins and things that your live foods don't. I do agree that live foods are great for condition a fish but I still believe in feeding flake and pellet foods as well. Harems V pairs depends on the nature of the fish and the size of the tank, if you have a big enough tank then a harem is good, in a small tank the female that doesn't spawn first gets a hiding.

Just standard apisto stuff I would imagine, soft acidic water, good food etc Last time I had them the issue was getting a pair! Both myself and a mate who got them got sold 2 males as pairs from the shop and because we had them shipped we didn't get to choose ourselves by the time we were sure they were 2 males you couldn't get them anymore

Too true good spotting Callum..

They worked for me Cool pics everyone, keep them coming..

I don't think the fish would go downhill that fast it looks like it has been rotting away for a while.. I would talk to the birdbarn first and see what they will do to help you out, I am sure if you are reasonable they will sort it out. I would be pushing to return the affected fish and get a new one.

There will be plenty of information about it soon, the fish committee is working on getting the information together so that everyone knows what is involved.. But in short fishie123 you need to get in touch with an importer and convince them to do it. Because of costs involved and their regular suppliers probably don't stock them you will most likely have no luck but you have to try.

Nice list The fronts would love to eat the demasoni and may go for a few of the smaller fishes females as well.. I am very jealous of you diving in the lake and visiting Stuart Grants old businesses, it is a dream for me to do one day I have seen some amazing footage, do you have any pics from your trips? P.Fenestratus are not in the country atm they are on the allowed list though so it is only a matter of time before someone imports them..