Afrikan

What are the actual dimensions of the tank? height etc... You can buffer your water with a bicarb epsom salt recipe, works great. In regards to filtration I would definately stay away from undergravel, Africans love to dig and the undergravel plates will continuously get uncovered all the time. External filter is a good option, some people may suggest internals, however I'm not really a fan, have only ever used them in a tank aswell as having an externa canister running too.

Well I would say go Malawi of course :lol: You can keep some plants with Africans..... Java Fern, Anubias, Vallis.... plants that are robust and hardy.

No worries Duncan7 8) It was a case of having to be edited. That wasn't the reason why it was edited David R, others use this forum and follow the threads also, even tho you took no offense others could have taken offense to the term that was used, it's a case of having to think of all members since it is an open public forum.

When I had my Dragon colony the females definately had a hint of egg spots, nowhere near as large and vibrant as the males tho... and yeap the male had the pointed anal fin where as the females were rounded with signs of egg spots. The info Frenchy gave is bang on tho

I haven't seen them come in on the importers lists since we got our ones, they were around $150 plus each so evils rough estimate was bang on.

According to alot of info on the net, leopoldi were formerly called "dumerilli". Still often called dumerilli and imported as such. My dumerilli (aka leopoldi) look exactly like the cichlid forum pic, nice emerald coloured blotch behind the eye really stands out with salmon colouring in the finnage. Yet the cichlid forums pic doesn't show the beautiful black stripes through the body, obviously the one photographed was feeling a bit vulnerable or not dominant. Will post some pics of our ones later on

Dumerilli were imported into the country last year... were hideously expensive... but well worth the money, they are beautiful. I have 4 that I am looking at breeding once they mature a bit more, they have grown alot since I got them, so hoping to seperate 2 that seem to be love struck when the fish shed is done.

In my experience I have only kept Dumerilli (that being anything else other than Scalare), they are so TOTALLY different in personality... very peaceful. I have never kept other species...

Goodluck with the spawning!

Columbian Tetras (South American) are a larger size tetra, yet don't get too big, a nice school of 8 or more looks fantastic, beautiful blue shimmer to the body with red finnage, once mature their colour is fantastic! I keep my 4 Dumerilli Angels with our Discus, till fish shed complete. However, the Dumerilli are very placid, aren't aggressive like Scalare I have found. Some people have had great success keeping angels with Discus (healthy of course) and yet others don't like the idea. I agree with sharn, Discus can pack some punch, mine can be devils :lol:

Welcome to the forums gill

Ammo Lock binds the ammonia.. however as Bluetom said if you have a ammonia problem you will need to suss out why.

Yeap I use decap for my fish (mainly Africans), brilliant stuff, grow like weeds on the stuff 8)

You shouldn't be sorry for asking, if you don't ask you don't learn Ask away, there are heaps of people here to help and guide you in the right direction 8)

Wow evil where has the "Africans suck" guy gone! :lol: Great to see you have developed a special taste :lol: Brichardi are excellent for people to start out with, fantastic to watch rear their young.. they live in mass families in the wild, hundreds of fish school together in one mass colony... A couple will pair off.. and go off to breed in a selected spot.. they will protect the eggs and young when hatched and once the fry are free swimming and venture from the rocks the rest of the Brichardi will help keep an eye on them while mum and dad go and have a snack. I have had a tank full of Brichardi and they have bred readily and all been as happy as larry in a family unit. The only time the pair will be snakey is when the eggs are laid and the fry just hatched... in a 2ft tank I would always say just a pair.. due to the fact of space and needing space for the fry to grow on, they can have rather a few fry in one go. Brichardi will get nasty with other species of fish tho when spawning. With regards to your question in regards to 3 Brichardi, if you have enough space in your tank, 3 should be fine. I acquired a trio of Daffodil Pulcher adults, 2 males 1 female... they constantly produce and the third male has never been picked on, once babies are up and about, the spare male is included in watching over the fry also. He just keeps his space till the babies are out in the open. Let us know what you start with, exciting!

Oh hell Frenchy, sorry to hear of your mishap...

When we have our UV running the water runs crystal clear... definately clears waterborne algae but doesn't clear it on plants in our experience anyway..

Not too many bottom dwellers IMO for a 4ft tank, just make sure they get good tucker

Welcome dcase.. if you would like some ideas post a thread in the freshwater section, alot seem to surf that section so you should get some really good ideas

Sorry to hear that Surely they should get back to you, pretty rude they didn't email you back. If they had of filled the bag with enough air to keep the bag from going flat and then rubber banded correctly then the apple snails would have arrived fine and dandy :-? The suppliers send their snails wrapt in wet newsprint and sent in bags, and they arrive safe sound everytime.

I feed my fish "little yet often" up to 5 feeds a day... usually that being young grow outs.. and Africans are always hungry I find, so that's why I like to do the "little yet often"... Definately depends on species you keep tho.. Some species fatten up quicker than others too.

Yeah glass companies can buff scratches out, hope you are able to get the scratches out.

Yeah I have seen Bristlenoses in different shades, definately as Ianab said, depends on mood, substrate etc

Definately looks like some sort of hybrid. You only have the one huh, the fish pictured behind is reflection? Was the fish bred here madsaffa or imported?

I have never seen Interruptus on the lists, well the suppliers up this way anyway, not sure on South Island.. What supplier brought in Interruptus? Where did you get your stock from Navarre..? some pics would be cool... 8) I can see the points that Frenchy made.. and he was just being helpful, no offense intended I am sure.