Afrikan

I remember reading somewhere that a guy in america was laying on the floor and watching tv, and got smacked on the noggin by his black shark, the lid was left off the tank and it decided to jump... it dazed him a bit, they actually grow rather large 8)

They can quite happily be kept on sand (normal or coral sand) with limestone rock or the existing rock formation you have and you could buffer your water bicarb and epsom salts... however, if siphoning takes all day to get the sand out, then take the existing water out.... scoop the majority out with a strong plastic scooper, then flush some water back in and syphon out the small amount of sand that is left.

Another african fan huh 8) Definately sounds like Brichardi (aka Pulcher.. and yes Ryan what a peeved off moment over that one huh!) haha Anyway... they are a good fish to start off with, great little breeders normally and love watching them raise their young ones, real family unit.

Definately looks like a male I got from a maleri shipment Ryan 8)

Great pics Ryan

Yeah the first pic is a Red Oscar

:lol: :oops:

Ooooo new car aye hopefully you have it by the weekend if all goes well then 8)

It was no surprise fishy_t :lol: :lol: :lol: I love my frons too. Chocolates are nice but they aren't as responsive as Oscars (imo) I reckon you can't beat an Oscar

Definately fishy-t, would be awesome to catch up!!

Thanks ants 8) 2nd pic is a male Nicaragua Cichlid and the 3rd is also the same species however female, they are looking at breeding shortly

Here are a few snaps to share of some of our babies.. Have to get some shots of the Peru Black Cats, they are an amazing catfish with the true catfish look, chunky, huge wide mouth and big pumpkin head. And silver spots down their body.. almost like they have seams that have been sown into them :lol:

I love that term "the blue slugs" :lol: :lol:

Ever thought about giving Jurupari a go? They have been bred before however they are a bit of a challenge... fabulous fish... A bit of a wait for them to sexually mature but well worth the effort.

Thanks guys 8) Beardie_Guy - It is actually a Brooklands made tank that we have him in. Most lfs can order them in if they deal with Brooklands, yet there are cheaper options out there, however, if you already have the tanks then may aswell make use of them... It actually is a nice and tidy tank and looks nice as his set up. Port Nicholson glass down there in Wellington makes fabulous tanks... Peter made our 8ft Frontosa tank and I would have him make our tanks any day. repto - I was actually referring to Albert, however, if it makes you feel any better then you are close running in second place to Albert hahahaha :lol: Just so glad to finally twist someones arm enough to be able to get one of your chaps... he is really tame and he has so much personality. He is so nosey when we are doing things in his tank, comes right up for a hand fed gourmet snack.

:lol: Good on her for freely adopting 8)

Here is a link anthony 8) http://www.worldcichlids.com/fotm/june2004_uraru.html They have been bred here in NZ and are a very nice fish, aswell as the Frontosa, are you wanting something that hasn't been bred, something that is somewhat of a challenge? Will email you a breeding report from the net of sexual maturity of different bichirs... so you can check out the senegalus

We have our new addition finally... Albert our beardie... Here are a few pics of him, he is a great young man, loves his live food, and hand feeds really well with treats, gutloaded crickets etc... loves his carrot, and chicory... Just got a new bulb for his set up since pics and now has his reptile tube since too, he certainly loves his afternoon sun too 8) What does everyone else feed out for greens? Oh and a big thanks to repto.. he is just fantastic...

Hence why I said "long term"... Dats take years to reach maturity.. however the leopard ctenopomas that are for sale in the stores recently being so tiny it could be a problem, depending on how big the Dat is. Dats are majorly predatory... I have seen what the big boy we had did, and he did some damage to fish that weren't able to fit in his mouth but that didn't stop him from trying..... :roll: Oh and this boy was very well fed...

Yeap, long term that big mouth likes to inhale anything small enough, the 40cm plus one we had for a while just loved dining on reasonable size fish... 8) Long term, your tank won't really be suitable for a Dat... they take a long time to mature to a good size... as in years. So you have some time at least. Large syno species would do ok... decent size plecs...

Umm exactly how big are your ornates and loaches? Sounds like you may have skunk loaches...? Here is a link...

Thanks heaps flatfish, that is a great help

No hoplos aren't nasty, they are very docile generally, only get stroppy when breeding... Dats take a very long time to mature, well over 2 years, we had one that was 40cm or a bit more, and he was WELL over 2 years old. Ctenopoma and Dats aren't a good idea long term... you would end up with no ctenopoma, the big dat we had inhaled decent size fish. Your Ctenopoma would get a hard time as soon as the Dat decided he was big enough to be a problem.

That wouldn't be a good mix, you would end up with no Ctenopoma's