flatfish

Thanks Cricketman. It sounds like the problem has been sorted. I used to catch heaps of them in the Waikato while fishing for koi and I thought they had to be destroyed, well at least the koi had to be. At least this might stop another auction on TradeMe.

Thanks for the clarification cricketman. Sounds like they might be legal...... although the title is misleading, $80 per fish seems a bit excessive, and I'm sure that MAF doesn't want them sent around the country to establish new populations. Still sounds dodgy to me.

This looks decidedly suspect. http://www.trademe.co.nz/pets-animals/fish/fish/tropical-fish/auction-459681089.htm It looks nothing like the columbian catfish I googled but it does look like a brown bulhead, our very own pest catfish.

very nice royals. It's brave call on your smaller one though. It looks to small to sex. You may have two males.

Welcome onboard and keep us posted on how you go with the cichlids

That would work to but it would probably be easier to skewer a corgette onto a knife and its stainless.

a good friend of mine uses an old kitchen knife and a float. He drills a hole in the end of the handle of the knife and attahces it to a float with a piece of fishing nylon. he then skewers a courgette on the knife and just pulls on the float when they've finished.

peas are great and dont forget yams for your royal

:sml1: :sml1:

Sorry to hear that Josh. Goodluck with your remaining plecos.

+1

They are an awesome pleco. One of my favourites. The generally get on fine, particularly as juveniles. However some adults can be quite nasty towards other king tigers. With two in a good sized tank you shouldn't have any problems.

very cool. I particularly like the aliens.

Yeah they are amazing and can certainly mow through the wood. If you've got any algae covered wood or ornaments you could put them in there for a clean. It should soon get used to the wafers. Royals also love eating yams.

You could soak it outside in a tub for a few months or longer if you are worried. I've taken bogwood from freshwater several times before with no problems (admittedly there'd be no salt issues). I always boil it first for several minutes in a very large pot in case there are any undesirables on it. You may get tannins leaching from the wood. This will turn the water tea coloured and make it slightly acidic but most fish wont mind it, in fact may seem to enjoy it. Eventually the wood will stop releasing tannins and your water will remain clear.

Welcome and good luck with the set up.

What a little stunner.

:sml1: :sml1:

there are a number but Ventuari plecos (Hypancistrus contradens) are one of my personal favourites.

according to Seidels L-Catfish book, "king tigers (Hypancistrus sp. L066) are a very variable species, in which individual specimens can differ slightly, not only in coloration but also in body form and the length of the fins." This seems this is the case with most Hypancistrus, even zebra plecos occasionally have squiggly lines. Until king tigers are officially scientifically described its hard to know what is a king tiger. It may be that a number of the other L-numbers are also found to be just regional variants or sports of a king tiger. For example zebra plecos include L046, L098, and L173. Based on what I've seen some "king tigers" have clearly defined beautiful patterning and others are more blurry. The width of the pale banding also varies from very thin giving them a dark look to quite broad making them look a lot lighter. A few have a yellowish background colour, just as some chocolate zebras also have an almost white base colour. You also get the odd 'sport' with stunning patterning. Theres a lot of variability out there so just go for one that you like the look of. These three fish were all bought together as small juveniles. They may also be from the same parents.

I agree. If the gold spots eating well keep a close eye on it and it may heal alright by itself.

I've just looked up the stats for JBL Novo pleco on their website and it contains the following: Vegetable by-products 46.40 % Vegetables 27.40 % Cereals 7.50 % Molluscs and crustaceans 6.00 % Algae 5.00 % Fish and fish by-products 3.50 % Fish protein concentrate Yeast 2.50 % "Herbivorous plecos need food containing 10 % wood for digestion, the exact amount these wafers contain." This is particularly important for Panaques, i.e. your royal, and probably Ancistrus. So it looks like 3.5% fish meal.

That diet should suit your Ancistrus, sailfins, royal, polkadot, and phantom. My king tigers only rarely touch algal wafers although my cactus and sunshine plecos (both carnivores) eat plenty. You probably still need to add more meaty foods for your carnivores and therein lies the problem as royals and other vegos love meaty foods. I now keep my cactus and goldie/sunshines in their own tank.

Thats a nice sized cactus and a great pleco lineup you've got in mind. It should be relatively easy to get hold of a nice king tiger. Medusas are a tricky species to keep well and probably not ideal for a bigger pleco tank. You've also got plecos together with very different diets which can get tricky. I lost a royal because I had it in with my cactus plecos and I think the high protein diet eventually killed it. you're not the only one thats pleco obsessed.

yeah you've got some great plecos. Leopard cactus are one of my favorites. How long is yours?