David R

Angels will be fine with anything other than the smallest tetras. Anything high bodied (lemons, for example) will be ok. Festivums are cool too, but I suspect an adult festivum would be every bit as capable (if not more so) of gulping down a neon tetra than an angelfish.

When I was starting out in the hobby a wise man once told me "a guppy would eat a great white shark if its mouth were big enough"...

I'd look at rehoming the silver dollars and redspot plec in favour of smaller alternatives. Big school of tetras, corydoras, smaller cichlids, angels, smaller plecs, etc etc. Could add rasboras and smaller loaches if you don't care about mixing different localities. Planted or not, with sandy substrate and some good big tangled/branchy bits of wood you could create a very interesting tank.

Awesome pics, must be great seeing your "pet fish" in habitat!

Yep, as-per the pics on the first page, roots submerged and plant above the water.

Bumping this back up, just thought I'd test my water before doing my weekly 10-15% change... Nitrate: 5ppm, Ammonia: 0ppm, TDS: 46ppm Pothos are certainly doing the business! Maybe be able to supply a cutting or two if anyone is interested.

I regret trading in my spare festae after the pair formed too, should really have kept some as a "back up" in case what eventually happened to the pair did happen...

Yikes! Suck losing the whole lot. How long do you think it would have taken for the temp to climb that high? How big was the tank? I know people often err on the side of too much capacity with their heaters, and rightly so to a certain extent, but I guess this is the downside. I'm not sure if my heaters would ever heat the tank that warm if they stuck on, if they did go that high it would probably take 10+ hours to get there from the current 27C max temp based on how quickly it warms up now.

Haha I regret selling those same uaru too! It's just not always possible to hold onto them eh.

All good, they were great fish to keep! Some day I'll have another dedicated loach tank, 8'+ long and lots of flow...

Yeah it does take a looooooong time to arrive when you first subscribe, many disappointed days checking the letter box!

Yep, very much so! I actually tweaked my "favourite" setting the other day, made it a little dimmer and a bit less yellow and it looks a whole lot better.

For that size go with glass, custom made rather than an expensive off-the-shelf unit. Dimensions, bigger is better but if you stick to 60cm high you should be aright with 10mm glass and save some money, if anything go wider, eels, plecs, cichlids, knife fish and loaches are all going to benefit more from a big footprint than a tall tank. for me, I'd go 180x75x60cm, 10mm glass, filtered with a sump running filter socks and submerged media, and set up with a herbie-style overflow so it is nice and quiet.

Just finished reading the big article on Tropheus, very interesting. Nearly enough to make me want to keep some!!

I'm getting the "proper" old-fashioned paper ones! Feels better sitting on the couch [in front of the tank] with a coffee and a physical magazine rather than a laptop...

So does anyone still bother to read these old-fashioned things?? I just got my first issue (plus three back-issues) of Amazonas magazine and I'm hooked. Head and shoulders above the other fish-related mags I've read over the years. I like that rather than attempting to cater for everyone it is aimed at the more experienced hobbyist and specifically fresh-water (there is also Coral magazine for the reef/salties), no columns answering the same old "what is cycling an aquarium" or "what does pH mean", just well-written articles on breeding break-throughs, habitats, taxonomy, new species, all accompanied with great photos. There is a free sample-issue online here if you want to check it out; http://edition.pagesuite-professional.c ... 8308b79697

I think I prefer the long fins on my angelfish and Geophagus.

HA! Very nice Danny, I really am torn, would love to take her back but can't do it with the new stock... For those not in the know, that is my black aro from the old 1400L set up I had in Auckland, currently looking for a new home too.

I put your dimensions in and found with 15mm you'd get a safety factor of 2.9, or 1.9 with 12mm. I guess it all depends on how much of a safety factor you're comfortable with, but 10mm and only 1.3 on a tank of that size is pretty risky IMO. I'd be looking for someone else to build the tank if it were me. My 700 high tank is made from 15mm glass and has a safety factor of around 3.2.

Yikes, 780mm tall and only 10mm glass! Not sure who is making the tank but that sounds very risky to me... http://www.theaquatools.com/building-your-aquarium

Aggressive, for sure. The male was about 10" when I sold him after he killed the female and he got added to a big tank of already established large cichlids, where he continually picked fights with a 12"+ flowerhorn until the FH got sick of it at put a stop to it. However, as a pair they were pretty reclusive after I removed the clown loaches and other fish I had with them so I could breed them. They were shy and would usually hide when I approached the tank. Certainly not an interactive "wet pet" like a large jaguar or midas/red devil.

I'd leave out the dempsey and opt for a group of altifrons instead, as they can get a bit nasty when kept in pairs. The dempsey is also the odd one out in terms of aggression and water parameters (although most certainly tolerant of a wide enough range for that to not really be an issue). As for the pleco, I'd avoid a "common" in a tank that size, bristlenose would be a much better bet, although with the eels and bichirs you may want to leave the sucker-mouth out altogether. Only other thing is the height, 780mm is pretty tall and you're going to need some fairly thick glass, plus reaching the bottom will be quite a struggle!

AFAIK, only one shipment in recent years, I bred them a couple of times but didn't have much luck with the fry before the male killed the female, despite having 800L to themselves. I think there are a few individual fish floating around, but haven't seen any confirmation of them being successfully bred. Absolutely beautiful fish, I've never seen another FW fish of comparable colour to a female in full breeding dress, but disappointingly timid and lacking in that big cichlid attitude.

I used 50mm pipe for my 2000L tank, flowing 8-9000LPH, I think that may be a little overkill for your tank. Get your bulkheads and measure the diameter of the thread before you drill anything.

The right diameter for the amount of water you're trying to flow and the way your overflow is set up. http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... Flow-Rates http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... Viewing%29 https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=herbi ... 8Qez44H4CQ