acara

Hi Hayley Do you know what the latin name for them is?From what I've read on this forum,you guys back home there seem to use some different common names to what we use over here. Generally with corys,the females are a bit plumper than the males.There are other differences though. Dave

Be careful using any surge protectors with aquariums,if a surge hits it,it will cut power to everything,and won't come back on until somebody notices and turns it back on.Many folk caught out by this and lost a lot of good tanks full of fish. I think there may be models on the market that can reset themselves.

My mate keeps them here in Dublin,they are amazing to watch,many times we have sat there watching them until the end of the bottle.... I beleive you do have to be careful,dont know how true it is with the barb,he stirs the sand with a wee fork as he was told not to run his fingers through it in case he hits an old barb. Motoros are quite common here,but go for about 180 euro,they are quite sensitive to water conditions,so for experienced keepers.I hope to get one as soon as I can get a tank large enough.

well looks like I was right,I do know very little about africans. :oops:

no problem keeping them together,but keep an eye on long finned species,my females used to get a mouthful of guppy fin and get towed around the tank

from someone who knows very little about africans,could it be a female pseudotropheus lombardoi?

The thing with fishkeeping is that nothing is written in concrete,what some people have success with,others have nothing but disaster.In my experience,and from talking to others,mixing betta and gourami is asking for trouble,it may work in a well planted larger tank,but I wouldnt do it in 90ltrs. As I say,others may well disagree with me,only telling you of my experience. Kuhlis should be kept in a group of at least 6 IMO,they will be happier this way.Don't forget they really appreciate sand too. Good luck and keep us posted.

I'm not very clued up on lighting,but 1 trick I used to cut down on algae growth was to set my light timer to come on twice a day,with about an hour between the 2 times.Its something to do with breaking the cycle of growth for algae.For example,lights on 10am-2pm,and again from 3pm-8pm. Seemed to work for me. Shrimps are also great for the job,many species,they all seem to do the trick,and are an interesting addition(make sure your fish aren't big enough to scoff them!)

Heres a couple of sites I use to id plants.Have used java plants and they're very good,but I guess not much use to you all down there!A good reference though. http://www.java-plants.com/ http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_all_gallery.php http://www.plantsalive.co.uk/index.php

Like adodge says,they should be ok.If you want someone to feed them,the pill boxes are a good idea,put the right amount per day into each compartment and the person feeding them wont get it wrong.They are usually marked 7 days.

still setting up tanks,but at the moment, common plec LDA31 (orange spotted panaque) LDA23 (ottos) L134 leopard frog plec L137 rusty plec L264 sultan plec LDA25 bulldog plec Ancistrus temminckii Corys; c.adolphoi c.aenus c.sterbai c.arcuatus c.axelrodi c.incolicana c121 just picked up 2 C04 (c.virginiae) c.fowleri c.weitzmani c.elegans c.guapore c.concolor(?) c.caudimaculatus c.seussi c.sodalis c.nattereri c.davidsandsi c.oiapoquensis(spawning pair)

IME octopus are just like Caryl says.They are extremely inteligent creatures.They will learn and remember all manner of tricks. By the way,if anyone can raise paua and figure a legal way to post them to Ireland,I will pay handsomely!

Actually none at the moment,The last I had were sheepshead(laetacara curviceps)which were spawning flat out when I lived in Sth Dublin,but after buying a house in West Dublin I lost them before I could get the water sorted.Its very hard out here,limescale is a nightmare.I now get RO water at my lfs and buffer it with tap water from mates place in Sth Dublin.Only cichlids I have at moment are sajicas.I have grand plans for the 7x4m concrete block shed in garden,but to get that to fish house state will cost me at least a ring,probably a wedding too!!Still negotiating!

Its all lads that work there unfortunalely

A wee bit about myself. I'm a kiwi living in Dublin,been here 6.5yrs,was in the Scottish Highlands for 3.5yr before here. I kept fish in NZ in my mid-teens(mid '80's),and have just taken it up here again a little over a year ago.Things have changed a lot since the '80's,and it seems that there is a lot more species available over here,but in saying that I havn't checked out the NZ scene in a long time,(my local lfs has a stunning shoal of 9 wild caught red belly pirhana for a mere 500 euro).Theres also a good selection of freshwater lobster and shrimp here. My current main aquatic interests are,Sth/Central American cichlids,L numbers and corys.Currently have corydoras sterbai,arcuatus,incolicana,axelrodi,adolphoi,aenus and c121(which I hope to breed soon).Juwel are the most popular tanks here,from what I see in NZ,they don't seem to be too common. Also mad into scuba diving,been to a good few spots around the world,Sipidan and Mabul,off Borneo,being the best for aquatic life.There is a 'no-take' policy over here,so scallops and lobster are there to be looked at only(I am actually subjected to a full search when leaving the water,the paddys dont trust kiwi divers!) Well thats enough rambling from me.