flatfish

Hi Firenzenz, I brought them originally to try and breed them. However after losing my second one I'm just trying to keep them happy at the moment. They can be stressful to keep - especially if they ever develop pale blotches on the skin. To be honest I prefer my Panaques. Their far hardier and a pleasure to look after.

Hey Mincie. How many do you have? The problems I've had were with 4 individuals in a large (Aqua one) 3 foot tank (high filtration Fluval 205 + fluval 3+ internal) and no other residents. In both cases I had four and shortly afterwards three. If you've only got a pair then I think you'd be fine. Currently I have five in 2 groups. I'm also wondering what the best options is for feeding as well. They love bloodworms and will eat a home-made ox-heart based mixture, and at a pinch a home-made shrimp/vegetable mix. As for the Novopleco, Hikari algae wafers, zuchinni, etc. i'm not convinced. Any ideas???

I've lost two medusas a year apart and I'm almost certain it was due to stress from dominance issues. They are delicate and die easily if they get stressed. If you change the dynamics of the tank, i.e. add more medusas or change the number of hiding places or the position of them after they've got used to it, then the dominant fish may hassle the others. That seems to be enough to lose a fish or two over a couple of days.

this might help. heres a mature male flash with long odontodes (spikes) on the tail. (In maturing males the spikes will be a lot smaller). and a male Iquito tiger plec showing the same thing

Probably stating the obvious, but according to the experts at Planet Catfish, when flashs (L204's) grow to a mature size (around 9-10 cm - same for Iquitos but they seem to do it at a much smaller size), the males start to grow odontodes (small clear, thin spikes off each scale) on the back half of their bodies. If they have these they are definitely male. If I've got my sexing right on the smaller flashs: the females will have a more slender profile when looking at them side on (especially through the head area) than the males. The males will look chunkier through the head area (slightly broader when looking down on them and slightly higher through the back portion of the head when looking side on. Odontodes (clear spikes) are usually visible through the tail area in maturing males but you may have to catch them and look hard at them in good light to see them.

Awesome looking fish. Goodluck with the breeding :lol:

Congratulations Faran. That's awesome news. You might want to trade some babies with mister pleco to get some unrelated young together for the future. Any idea what the trigger was?

Dont cook the ox heart, but you do need to cut out all the outer covering, fat, tendons, valves, etc. to only leave pure meat. There are a lot of "discus tucker" recipes around, but I make up a discus food as follows (the recipe was passed on to me by someone who breeds a lot of discus): 1.5kg ox heart (the pure meat as above) 250 g fish (I use salmon) 250 g cooked frozen prawn tails (use the small ones) 2 tsp. spirulina powder (you can buy it from the supermarket) 4 cloves garlic. I roughly mix it together and then double mince it through an ancient old mincer that I got from a second hand store and then freeze it in ice cubes trays covered with gladwrap. When feeding it out cut it finely when frozen with a sharp knife.

cheers guys. They are cool looking fish so i eventually talked myself into it.

I use quite a lot of native hard woods as the plecs eat plenty. I get mine from rivers as wood from river mouths/beaches can have a lot of sand in it. It's easy to find as it looks dark, sometimes almost black, is relatively heavy, and often has a sculptered look to it (I assume from years of water running past it). It can take a while to sink so its useful to have extra bits sitting in a bucket somewhere until it begins to sink. The shop stuff seems to sink immediately no matter how dry it is. Also both sorts will usually leach a lot of tannins into the water for several weeks. The fish seem fine with it, they may even enjoy it, but your water may look like weak tea for a while if you use a lot of it.

that's a good point Wok. Shipping can be very expensive. But check with the supplier via email as many places only offer the expensive option on their website. However, when when you ask them via email there is often a much cheaper option, i.e. by sea, you just have to wait a few weeks to get it delivered.

Not sure about test kits or water conditioner, but it may pay to check the customs website as to charges that may apply on some objects. I think there is also a price limit beyond which you may get stung for duty. I've purchased fishing gear from the states (bibbed lures, game swivels, reel handles, etc.) in the past with no problems. I've also purchased a small amount of aquarium gear (small powerheads and CO2 diffusers). I'll state the obvious but just remember that with electrical gear the US runs on 120 volts, so you'll need to buy an adaptor. Also if your thinking of buying a CO2 regulator, the fittings can vary depending on the country, and the US one is the wrong size.

I've just got hold of a small amount of giant bamboo that I've cut into sections for breeding caves. It's been drying in a shed for several years. Do I just use it straight away or do I need to boil it or treat it somehow?

The common bristlenose seems to be of uncertain taxonomic status. http://www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/cotm. ... cle_id=112 One of the synonyms uses the species name dolichopterus, so its an understandable mistake. However, given you've let them know they should change it. I've also seen Echinodorus brevipedicellatus used on Trade Me which is apparently a synonym for E. amazonicus - the Amazon sword.

There were a few Corys (i think about six) taken of the list. Bandits (C. metae) were one I remember that are no longer allowed. So those people with bandits need to make sure they keep breeding them or they'll be gone for good.

I make up 'discus tucker' that's oxheart based. I double mince it then place it in ice cube trays in the freezer. Before I mince it, I cut the heart up and remove all tendons, valves, skin, etc. to just leave the muscle of the oxheart.

This is probably overkill but I brought a set of stainless measuring spoons with stainless wire handles (shaped like a U) from the supermarket (about $5). Then I smashed the spoons of in a vice (they come of easily with a hammer). I then simply push the stainless 'staples' into the courgette or whatever food I want to sink and its easily sinks to the bottom.

Can you post a good photo?

Sorry to hear about the losses. It never nice to lose fish and its difficult when your moving such a big distance. Goodluck with the remainder of your fishes and with settling into Hamilton. It's sure to have better weather in winter than Wellington.

Hi Warren, Not sure if I'm right on this one as it isn't my area, but isn't it: 1.46 x 0.64 x 0.62 - 0.215 x 0.24 x 0.62 Each front "corner" has a triangle missing thats 24x21.5x32 cm. Two of them makes a 24x21.5 cm rectangle and then add the depth.

What awesome looking babies and dad looks like hes doing a great job.

Thats a pretty good price for a gold nugget. If you're a member of a local aquarium club you could ask them for a club discount. Some shops offer discounts to club members. There's three main gold nugget species and they grow pretty large. Awesome fish though.

I've never had a problem and was unaware of the bad batch. Hopefully they've recalled them all and sorted the problem out.

I have found Jagers to be fantastic. Its easy to have a fair bit of money tied up in fish (much more than the price of a heater anyway) and I don't think its worth going cheap on heaters. In my 6 foot tank I use 2 x 300W Jagers. It may be overkill, but I figure if one heater ever dies the remaining one should go a long way to heating the tank, and each heater doesn't have to work as hard. I've found the temperature remains very stable throughout the year and the heaters last for years. I threw one out a couple of years ago that was working fine but was almost 10 years old, and I figured it was due for retirement.

congratulations, that's awesome news. You may be the first person in the world to breed these guys. Clown plecs and flash plecs have been done, but I haven't seen a reference to Iquito tiger plecs (Panaque changae).