Tracey

Ocean, is there any reason you're after a breeder rather than buying one from the lfs?

I have no personal experience with them, but everything I've read leads me to believe that a single discus is a miserable discus When you're looking at a fish that is a naturally schooling fish, then you really shouldn't consider buying just one. They've been designed by nature to be in a group and if you take that away from them, you're asking the fish to survive in a situation that it has no idea how to cope with and its not something that the fish can learn to cope with.

A sharp knife has always been my preferred method when I've had to euthanise. Not the easiest thing to do, but quick and (I hope) painless.

I agree, three Cockatoos (Apistogramma cacatuoides) "Triple Reds" would go great in a tank that size. They prefer to be in harems, so you'd probably want to look at one male and two females. You can't beat them for colour 8) http://www.apistogramma.com/cms/index.p ... &Itemid=44 The ones that I've seen at lfs's recently look much like that.

I'd guess both are P. gibbiceps. The patterning can vary quite a lot between different fish. I hope your friend has a big tank, these guys will get to 18 inches plus......

Three would be great. It might take me until a weekend to get up there to pick them up, as I am vehiclulary challenged and would have to bum a ride off a friend, but I'd definitly get there!!!

CST, I am definitly interested. I have 2 already and I've read that they prefer to be in groups. If you could let me know when he next gets some in, that would be cool

Awesome!! How big are they and where did you get them from?

Offers over $300!!!!! A bit over 2 years ago, when I got my Clown Knife from the Hutt Pet Centre, they had a Royal Knife there as well, about the same size, for $75. And they get big, TeeCee, very, very big..... up to 3 feet under idea conditions

Good choice of fish!!!!! Oscars are very cool. Intelligent, responsive and so much fun to own. Your tank would only be big enough for one, as you said. Like Caryl has already mentioned, lots of filtration is a neccessity, turning over your tank about 10 to 12 times an hour is good. They are absolute pigs at meal times and tend to spray a lot of their food out their gills. They're fairly well behaved when young, but it doesn't last. Be prepared for monumental amounts of destruction when he/she gets to about 8 or 9 inches. Ours went through 3 heaters, 2 filter outlet thingies and innumerable plants before he started to settle down. Be warned that from a very small size, they will try to eat any other fish in the tank that will fit in their mouths and sometimes, even ones that won't fit. They tend to bang around their tank without much regard for their surrounds, so smooth rocks are a good idea, otherwise they will scratch themselves up on a regular basis. I hate to be a traitor here, but the guys at this site http://www.worldcichlids.com/yabbse/ are the best for oscar questions of all types. They helped me a lot with mine

Lucky dog!!!! Living in Palmie, so close to Wet Pets I drool everytime I think about that shop. Welcome!!!

I'm afraid to say the convicts are destined to be clown knife fish food. I'm trying to train him to eat other things, but i just don't have the heart to let him starve until he does. :-? i'm sure i can fit more tanks in somewhere...you don't really need a couch in the lounge do you?

Thanks for the welcome, guys. I hear ya, Suemack, my friends don't get the whole fish thing either. They think I'm just ever so slightly insane Its nice to hear that there are still some clubs running, my bf was a member of one years ago when he had his first tank. We have three tanks a the moment, but I'm always trying to figure out how to fit more in 210L assorted Malawis mystus catfish albino plec 570L oscar 2 g. altifrons tiretrack eel clown knife fish mystus catfish chocolate talking catfish 3 clown loaches assorted corys 5 baby red devils (looking for a new home for these if anyones interested) 3 bristlenose plecs 680L 4 turquoise severums 2 firemouths 2 convicts and their first lot of fry oscar blue acara fire eel syno catfish common plec So far, just the convicts have spawned sucessfully, but one pair of severums have laid eggs, but they vanished one night Damn catfish Will work on pics, but I'm not so great at driving the digi cam yet, need lots more practice. Sorry for the long post, I tend to ramble a bit

YAY....a fish forum for Kiwis My names Tracey, I'm from Lower Hutt, and I have to admit to being cichlid addicted. Its great to meet people from the same timezone that love fish too. Can't wait to get to know you guys better