dambarwa

Darn, :lol: I was hopeing for an extra clue!!!! Annie

It's great to have somewhere to ask ANY question. Everyone is friendly and helpful. I enjoy coming here. NOW TELL ME: Why does he/she only catch the elevator in the rain?????? Annie :lol: :lol: :lol:

Thank you Shilo, I'm more than happy to share what I know, and I'm happy to stand corrected. That way I'll learn something!!! BUT it's nice to know I'm on the right track. Thank you! Annie

Hi All, I have heard from LFS Man that White Spot travels through the water. For every tiny spot, there is thousands of White Spot spores. These then travel through the water for more fish to 'live off'. The good news is that it's very, very easy to cure. BUT it should be 'attacked' with meds straight away. Also do extra partial water changes to remove the spores in the water. This worked for me. If my information isn't right please tell me. Annie

Hi dumotel, Please do!! email me [email protected] Annie

Hi dumotel, It's good to see you here!!! There's heaps to go and find out. Give the "Name that fish" Game a go. (Under FUN!!!) Annie

Hi there Rob, If the male 'sits' on 1 batch of eggs, it takes 10-12 days. When he comes out he is ravenous!! He doesn't seem to eat while he's 'on' eggs. I'm wondering how he would eat to keep up his strength if he had 2 or more females' eggs? Does he eat? He NEVER leaves his cave ("Catfish Castle"). I'd be scared of him starving to death. I put 1 Algae Pellet in "Catfish Castle" his 10-12 days confinement. Do the females leave batches of eggs at the same time or are they scattered about? Sorry so many questions. TIA Annie

Hi Cat, I only have a breeding PAIR, but I have heard of breeding Trios where the females will lay a batch of eggs each but in the same cave!! This is so the male can look after both!! Experiment!! I'm not sure what Hoplos are but my BN breed in with Mollies, Platies and a variety of Tetras. BN's like to spawn in a cave so, your Hoplos are bubblenest builders, if you supply a very enclosed 'cave', I mean 'enclosed' only a 2cm x 2cm sizeish opening with room to move inside - they'll get in, and it should work!! Good Luck Annie

Congratulations Cat!!! Well done on ALL your baby Angels!! Annie

Hi leeves, In Aust. it sells for AU$20.00 for 25 tablets of 400mg each. I've taken to adding some salt anyway, just because warm salt water is a basic 'cure' for everything. I've also heard that it doesn't change or affect the water parameters or medications!!!! So, why not!!!! I don't know about your platies, I thought they were pretty hardy but I could be wrong. :lol: Annie

Hi Kriber, The brand name I'm using is Aqua-Cure. Well, I can only let you all know if this treatment cures "Mum'n'Dad". Here's hopeing!!! As for Discus, beautiful fish they are, I think I'm better off learning to stabalize a basic tank with hardy fish first!! :lol: Annie

BREEDING BRISTLENOSE CATFISH - Ancistrus species I've been breeding BN Catfish for a while now. "Mum'n'Dad" (obviously the breeding pair) first spawned when they were only 4cm long!! (3.5 years ago) There is one survivor from this spawning. ("Tippy" is doing very well in my friends' tank) "Mum'n'Dad" are now 4years old and 10cm long!!!! The males develop a wonderful set of bristles around his top lip and straight up the middle of his face. The females, however, keep a smooth nose. There is an exception to this. Some females will grow short bristles around her top lip but NEVER down the middle of their face!! Bristlenoses are excellent at clearing up algae. I've never had an algae problem. I popped a couple into another tank (owned by a 9 year old) because it was looking revoltingly green. ewwwww It was totally cleaned up in 2 days!! Bristlenoses like to breed in caves!! The male will pick out HIS cave for permanent residence. when the female is ready to spawn she will chase him out of his cave (Looks a bit like a "love-dance"). This is the only time I've ever seen "Mum" dominate "Dad". "Mum" will then spawn her eggs in "Dad's" cave! Then "Dad" does ALL the work. He will keep water flowing over the eggs, to prevent them from going to fungus. He does this apparently by feeling the water flow with his bristles!! "Dad" also chases away all and any other fish that come too close. But he only chases, he doesn't attack!!! Once the eggs are laid it takes 5-6 days for them to hatch, then it takes another 5-6 days for the babies to eat their egg sacs, then they'll become free-swimmimg and independent. They are about 1cm when free-swimming and can take up to 4 or 5 months to grow them to 3cm (selling size). They like to eat blood worm, algae pellets and also peas, lettuce, zuchinni, pumpkin, beans etc. Bristlenoses get along with pretty much everything - as long as THEY don't get eaten!! They are great for any type of tank. Also if you're thinking of breeding them - make SURE you have a tank ready for the babies. Once they start to spawn they WILL NOT stop. I use a "Castle" an ornamental -from a LFS- cave. This is a feature of my tank and doubles as a very convenient cave!!! I've heard that others use pvc pipe. With "Catfish Castle" I have only seen the eggs once. Some people like to see the eggs, I reckon that if I can't see them, then "Dad" must be more relaxed!!! An old ceramic flower pot (even a broken one as long as no fish can cut themselves). A friend of mine uses a mug, yep, an old coffee mug with a larger rock over it. There's heaps of ideas!! The entrance to "Catfish Castle" is only 2cm wide x 3cm tall with tiny windows (.5cm x 1cm) and all the new babies come out the windows!!! It's so cute!! But there is plenty of room inside for "Dad" to turn around/move etc. You are only limited by your imagination -and be aware of what your cave is made from-ie; a plaster ornament will disintegrate and your fish won't be very happy with you!! You can 'make' caves just by arranging your driftwood and rocks. By the way I did forget to mention that it seems as if Bristlenoses need some driftwood to munch on too. Opinions differ on why, (fibre???) but it is generally agreed that they do need driftwood in their diet. Driftwood is very cheap at LFS. There are basically 3 sizes, small, medium, and the rest. It is unclear as to why BN's 'munch' on driftwood. I have noticed that there is ALWAYS baby BN on the driftwood. -Small pieces of driftwood make excellent "bait" for catching little ones. Just pop the whole piece gently into a container and lift out!!! "Mum'n'Dad" are on the driftwood at least once a week and have a great time!!! Back to why do they need it? I've never kept BN without driftwood so I don't know what becomes of them without it. I personally think it's for fibre as they are herbivores. If you think about their diet and what they like ie;peas & lettuce etc. then suplementing their diet with fibre makes sense to me. I may be totally wrong. Annie

Hi leeves, Yes. After I had purchased Tetracycline over the counter at the LFS, I read a small article in a paper which stated that Tetracycline is an old medication that new discoveries have curing some forms of human cancer!!! So, I'd say yep it is for humans, but note that LFS sell it over the counter for dropsy in fish!! I have no idea whether it is needed in different doseages or whether the ingredients or whatever are sightly different or the same. I am not a scientist!!!! :lol: So, I hope that helps. Annie

Hi leeves, I was using Melafix temoprarily when I was out of Tetracycline. It didn't hurt but I don't think it helped much. I've always added Rock Salt too. I'll let you know if/when "Mum'n'Dad" are better. Dropsy is difficult, NOT impossible Annie

Hi there, I recently lost a favorite fish ("Leo") to dropsy and then to my horror I saw it in/on my BN breeding pair!!! After some advice from another forum, I tried Tetracycline. This has seemed to work!! I, stupidly :oops: , did a water change with every dose, not every treatment so I have underdosed. After a week's rest from medications, I've started one last course of Tetracycline. This one won't have daily water changes!! The dropsy can only be seen from really close not even from 1/2ft away! I did hear though; "Dropsy is difficult, NOT impossible" All the best Annie