Afrikan

We have a 35cm boy, loves earthworms and all sorts of live goodies... he's about 1.5 inches thick in body.. gotta love em.

Yeap definately halfbanded spiney, we used to keep them some time ago, neat fish and definately safe in a smaller fish community... they might take the odd baby guppy etc... they love blood worms, mysis shrimp etc.... Be careful as they are great escapers, as most are... they will slide through any gap they can manage to find, so make sure you have a nice safe lid on your tank. They are a very peaceful fish and relatively shy, definately wouldn't keep them with semi aggressive cichlids.

Yep top pic looks like a JD to me too 8) Hells teeth.... breeding pair of Brichardi, what ever is going to be next on TM.....

I was the same Jasmine, had taken over my mums house at the age of 17... as she lived at another property... not all teenagers are the same, unfortunately there is a stereotype set in place where teenagers are all from the same mould :lol: :lol: However, it is understandable, due to the fact that many teens do go through the stage of being self absorbed and so on, I am almost 29 and after looking back at when I was 19, even tho I did leave the nest by 17.... I was still immature in some ways, even tho then I would have thought myself very mature :roll: :lol: Maturity is a gradual thing, and we all reach it at different rates, depends on our makeup and character. Maybe the young lady that works in the shop is going to be one of those hatchlings that eventually needs a nudge out of the nest... to grow up :lol:

Gee what a disaster to work with, I am not sure I would cope, hubby has the same trouble with his boss/owner of where he works, he's full on with ideas, but doesn't keep fish... :roll: :lol:

Love your tank markoshark, it's going to look great as time ticks on... and love that emperor angel Good ol' Bry aquascaping aye, you can come and do my marine tank if you like Bry since you're coming home for xmas (won't have much to do since it's having a Niger Trigger however) :lol: :lol:

Awesome pics rcon, looks to me like they are getting the practice in anyway

They actually do well in african tanks, as dither fish, might add a few to mine oneday, would love to keep rainbows again 8)

Have you got a good close up shot of the fish? Maybe that would help folks decide 8)

Definately evil, I would go with that :lol: I started with 18 but the darn dominant male picked other males off at his leisure... :lol:

Tell ya what Gannet, I will leave it up to the Mekong natives to catch you one...

I would definately buy as many as I could possibly get.. they do far better in big numbers and with a heap of hidey holes and rock work....

They are brilliant fish, rather slower growing, alot of Geophagus are... love a sand substrate as they are sifters... sand is alot better due to the fact that stones and tank pebbles can graze and damage the insides of their mouth... They can be territorial... we have kept them happily with other cichlids however, do far better with less aggressive species, they can be kept with Jurapari, we kept both species together and they looked great together. Larger tetras and some catfish do well with these fellows. They can also be kept in a tank with robust well rooted plants... as long as you leave enough room in the tank bare sand/substrate so they can happily sift away. HTH

Yeah I would say Demasoni are more aggressive than our Neolamprologus tretocephalus.... and that is saying something lmao :lol:

Sounds like you may have a Royal Blue Oscarboy...

Those Steve Irwin jokes are rather distasteful and disrespectful actually... :-? the man is a legend (IMO)... Freshwater Rays are gorgeous, have seen a few in the old TFH mags that we have stacked away, but yeah I have read they can pack a nasty punch... Anyone got a tank big enough for this species: :lol: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/photogalleries/giantcatfish/photo6.html

Nice snookie, I love a good tank of Rainbows Gorgeous fish and always busy, busy, busy :lol:

I fed mine Sera product for algae grazers, like Ryans get, and heaps of Spirulina, regardless of green tinge to water, it wasn't that bad, the water was still crystal clear but with a slight green tinge, however, that didn't bother me as it kept the fish in tip top condition and they loved to chow down on the Spirulina flake, the stuff off TM is excellent.

very nice smidey 8)

Yeah try some dither fish... I think anything would turn top feeders having to compete with Oscars :lol: :lol: :lol:

Once mature and sized up, in all honesty, peaceful wouldn't be the word to describe them... my mothers cracked everything in her tank... there were larger ones brought into where my husband works, and they had aggression issues with that lot also... you can always give them a whirl but bear in mind that there are cases of aggression when they mature and adopt territory.. unfortunately my mothers and other keepers I have spoken to, theirs adopted the whole tank as territory, not just an area.

Awesome pics, very nice 8)

They are breedable, don't know about crazy, never been overly fussed on them, so never kept them 8) They are at times on the suppliers lists up this way... so they do get brought in. Not sure if they end up down your way often or at all.. depends who the lfs deal with as in fish wholesalers and what they order in

They would do ok, however, could end up with fights, thats what happened in my mothers tank... the festivum started smacking everything.. including angels, trial and error, every fish is different, however they are known to get snakey 8)

Alot of african keepers overseas use the baking soda and epsom salt method and it works well if measured out properly and right amounts added to water for tank water changes etc... beats those products on the shelf at lfs that are hideously expensive... I have heard mixed reviews over aragonite substrate... apparently the aragonite substrate can get a coating of grime etc (as all substrate does after a while) of which inhibits the buffering process, who knows, we use aragonite as tank substrate for most of the african tanks, looks nice too, however, crushed shell or coral in an external filter works well.