Mel1708

http://www.axolotl.org/requirements.htm#other The above link is really good for information on Axolotls. I once had a comet in with my axolotl and after one night it had chewed the axolotls filaments to a stub. IMO if you care about the axolotl (or the fish depending on its size) I would resist the temptation to add fish to their tank. In saying that though I did have borneo suckers in my axolotls tank for a while and they seemed to live together peacefully. Mel

It sounds like the Nutrafin Co2 kit, have you found any bubbles yet? I find it can take a while after setting the mixture up for the first bubbles to appear but they eventually do. Mel

Not really unless you want to feed them to the axolotl. Goldfish chew on their filaments which isn't a very nice experience for the axolotl I imagine :-? You could try a borneo sucker, I don't think it would hurt the axolotl but theres a chance it might be eaten? Mel

Ok then I will keep a lookout for a nice female then I got him from HFF Mt. Roskill, you can have first dibs on any offspring for sure Hummingbird! Mel

Ok thanks for clearing that up for me Might focus on finding Agassizi a mate first then. So should I be looking for a "double red" female too? Or would any colour form be suitable? Thanks, Mel

Hi! On the weekend I bought this Dwarf Cichlid from the LFS. He was sold to me as Apistogramma Agassizi? Is this correct? I googled the name and the pictures that came up were different but I wondered if this is another colour variation? I would like to find him a female as his other half did not make it to sale according to the LFS Also I would like to know if anyone has seen any Apistogramma Trifasciata for sale or knows who might have some? My lonely young male is looking for a lady friend also Thanks for your help, Mel

I had the same problem as Sharn with the shrimp pellets and stopped using them a while ago. I have started using them again now but I feed them sparingly as they can be really messy! It sounds like you might be overfeeding your fish IMO? Mel

Someone has been selling them on trade me recently too! Mel

I've been trying to sex my five also - no luck yet. But I did read on the net somewhere that males have a brighter line of red dots above the black lateral line? Not sure if that is true or not? I can't see the ovaries in mine either - so either I'm not looking in the right place or they are male? Apparently it is the males that croak at each other too - so if you catch them in the act that might give some clues as to sex. Mel

I bought 5 Sparkling gouramis a couple of weeks ago. They are in a planted tank with other small fish and I really like them. They have beautiful colouration under the right light, red & blue spots and stripes and little green emerald eyes - very cute! They sparkle like glitter almost - hence the name I guess. They make a strange croaking noise too - at first I couldn't recognise the noise and thought the glass on the tank was stressed and creaking a bit!! They get along with all the fish in my tank - small shoaling fish, plecos and corys. The only one who doesn't like them is the little dwarf cichlid who has issues with everyone :roll: Plus I wouldn't keep them with any other anabantoids as they gang up on them - they picked on an adult siamese fighter who had to be removed from the tank within 5 minutes of arrival! But that is a general rule for most anabantoids anyway. If you have any specific questions I would be happy to answer them if I can Mel

Hi there, I left my female in the tank inside a plastic container until the male was sufficiently interested and had built/started to build a nest. This could take two hours or two days, so you need to put the female in a comfortably sized container. I used one of those blue simese fighter containers attatched to the side of the tank. The female will get hurt a little during breeding, you just have to decide when its too much and take her out. You will find that some males will not like the female they are put with and will never breed with her - very frustrating! Some male fighters are also too old to breed (low libido) or just not good fathers. You just have to find the right combination of fish. As long as the female has somewhere safe to hide once she is left with the male you should have success. I bred mine in a plastic fish bin which was really good because the fish couldn't be disturbed, the nest didn't disentegrate and a tight lid stopped the fry breathing in cold air later. Good luck! Mel

I have two of these garras too, got them about 3 or 4 months ago and couldn't find much in the way of info either! http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php ... sc&start=0 This forum had some interseting information on them and really good pictures too! So far I know that they are great algae eaters and very boisturous (sp?) they tend to run over plants and corys when they are playing. I had them in a planted tank but have moved them in to my turtles tank now - and they are loving it! (BTW my turtle hasn't a chance of catching them they are way too fast for him!) They are much happier. They can jump quite high though so be careful of that! They go best in a rocky river tank and I think they like a strong current - others might disagree? As for sexing them apparently it is by the tubercules on their faces, like goldfish I beleive. Also I think you will find that the female will have a thicker abdomen - one of mine is quite short and stout the other is long and lean. They do get larger then 2 inches or 6cm - there was a huge one at Jansens Botany not so long age! Some say the red markings mean the garra is a male but I'm not so certain of that. Good luck with yours, you will find them to be really cool fish with very playful personalities! Mel

We have in our tanks: 4 x Adolfo Corys 1 x Blotch fin Aspidoras (Aspidoras Pauciraradiatus) I think that is how you spell it?! :-? 2 x GBA (one male, one juvenile) 2 x Bumblebee Garras (Garra Flavatra) Not plecs or catfish but simillar? I would be interested to know if anyone alse has any Aspidoras? Really cool fish! Mel

I think if you can find a nice female to breed with your male then go for it I spawned two crowntails last year and I have found that most people are not too worried about fancy bettas, they just like the VT variety. As long as the two fish you breed are healthy and well formed there should be no significant problems - you might get a few fish that need to be culled but that can happen with any betta spawn. The results can be quite surprising and unexpected! Thats what makes betta breeding so enjoyable IMO! :lol: Mel

I read this the article this morning and was waiting to see if anyone else would... I have some of these Rasboras and after reading that article I have put them in a species tank and will try to breed them. It is very disappointing what has happened to them in the wild! If as the article says, it is pretty easy to breed these fish then I don't see why anymore wild specimens need to be caught? Breeding from the ones already in the aquarium trade should be strongly encouraged IMO. I believe the rasboras I bought may have been aquarium bred because they were smaller and less colourful when I bought them but now have grown considerably and are fully coloured. I could be wrong though?! On a sidenote, it is alarming how many fish are wild caught these days? I never realised how prevalent it was until recently. I assumed that most fish were bred from initially wild fish and ongoing captive stock, then onsold to retailers. But it can be hard to identify fish that are wild caught. I recently bought an Aspidoras Pauciraradiatus at a pet shop and later found out that it was wild caught. I wasn't told when I bought it and it wasn't written on the tank (most wild specimen's have it written next to their names). Mel

Hi there, Most people feed the fry baby brine shrimp and microworms. In the first few days you feed them green water which is infusoria or NO 2 liquid fry food. Frequent water changes will make them grow faster also, but in most batches of fry there will be some smaller and larger ones. Hope that helps Mel

I've found that they are quite peaceful and keep to themselves But if you spook them or turn the lights on suddenly they go crazy!! Bouncing off the walls and stirring up the other fish - don't reccomend doing that! Very charming little fish though... Mel

Hi! IMO a betta will be more lively and interesting if he has tank mates but he will live happily by himself in a reasonably sized tank. I think for bettas the most important thing is warm, clean water, access to air and room to swim comfortably. If you can acheive these things in a tank then I'm sure the betta would be happy. I have found Bettas to be quite intelligent fish so I believe stimulation is important. Depending on the size of your tank, a few compatable friends for him might be nice Mel

I was told at the LFS that the panda/bumblebee garras are excellent algae eaters and general tank cleaners? Mel

Hi there, Borneo suckers may help with the algae in a cold tank: "Borneo suckers eat the algae and micro-organisms that grow on submerged surfaces (like the slime on your front glass)." http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddball ... Sucker.htm And they are pretty cool fish too! Mel

With my betta fry I used airline hosing with the bendy part of a straw attatched to the end. The flow is slower and a narrower suction area - i sucked up less fry that way. Once I cleaned the bottom I just scooped out water from the surface to make up the amount I wanted to change. Then checked the bucket for any fry before tipping the water out. I used this way and it has been really effective with betta fry (slightly smaller then livebearers). Mel

Wow - great pics! I tried to take pictures of my ones but they were so fast and shy. I added some adolfi cory's to the tank now and the rasboras are becoming less shy - maybe not such a good idea if you want them to breed but looks great! Yours have coloured up nicely and they will only get better - mine have improved so much since purchasing them! Mel

Two of my favorite coldwater fish are Paradise fish and White Cloud Mountain minnows. Many people put WCMM in with goldfish which can look quite cool Mel

Oh ok I didn't realise that the fry didn't make it But even if they don't breed easily they are beautiful fish! Really shy but fascinating!

Thanks for that, that is the one I was referring too.