David R

Asian food markets are the place to go for cheap stuff [not that I'd ever eat any kind of meat from there!] I usually pay $6-10 for a 1kg bak of broken prawn pieces. Foodtown is more like $10-14 for a 3-400g bag!!! Silver bell in Panmure is where I usually go.

If you're talking about bichirs, then its usually the other way around. Pleco's will often develop a taste for the bichirs slime coat and rasp it.

Have a look here and check out the "Polypterids an introduction and primer", loads of useful iinfo, and some on sexing and breeding. There's been a few threads about breeding, so doing a search would also be a good idea.

Senegal bichir? Possibly ornates depending on the dimensions of the tank. They do take a few years to reach maturity tho. Uaru's could be considered oddball, and [for cichlids] aren't that commonly bred, same goes for frontosa.

I've also kept ctenopomas with dats. I think it would take a long time for a a dat to get big enough to eat a full-grown ctenopoma, in fact I doubt if a well fed full-grown dat would even bother trying...

:-? can't remember what they're called? AFAIK clowns are the largest growing loach, and most of the others will stay to small to be kept with ornates, so keep an eye on the size difference.

Probably best to ring them for price, they were about 2-3cm, they were tiny!!

HFF Mt Roskill had some small ones last weekend.

yeah, but why? There's better food to feed them and goldfish are expensive. :roll:

It will work if the loaches are big enough to be obviously (to the bichir) not snack sized. If they're not it may work for a while, but as a friend found out when the bichir gets hungry it will start to push the limits as to what it can swallow and those loaches its been living with for ages suddenly become potential meals!! Also the loaches will grow much slower than an ornate, in 12 months a 3" clown loach could go from being the same size as an ornate to being its dinner....

I've had my largest for 2.5 years and its only around 8-9".

Nice looking fish!! Phil I'm sure you could do with another one..... :lol:

I'm still using the very first pH test kit I bought in about January 1997!!! Still seems to work (well it turns the water pretty colours anyway). I just bought a pack with nitrate, nitrite, ammonia and pH, so I'll do a comparison and see if its still accurate.

Haha oscars aren't as bad as bichirs!!!!

I doubt you have a "lung fish", it will be a polypterus of some sorts. A big fire/tyre track eel could do alright in that set up, but he's not going to stand a chance if the jardini turns nasty...

Something else about parallel imported stuff that no one has touched on yet... Where do you go to buy fish and fish food? Where do you go when you need to ask an experts opinion about something? Where are you going to go when it breaks down and you need parts in a hurry before your water starts going bad because of lack of filtration? You can't parallel import any of that stuff, you need good local shops with knowledgeable staff, quality livestock and a good selection of food, parts and fish. Screw all the people on tardeme who are just doing it to make money, support those who support the hobby!!!

BTW the genus cichlasoma is no longer in use. I know one of the parents is now Amphilophus trimaculatus (formerly Cichlasoma), not sure about the other. I haven't got one, I'd rather have a boring old trimac any day, but we don't get them here...

Actually ate it, or just beat it up?

Didn't know him personally, but seemed like a good sort from what I knew of him thru this site. Will definately be missed, had the best sense of humor out of all the mods! :lol:

Are they all the same sex, or are they going to start breeding and causing trouble? :lol:

I'd say keep them and buy another 2-3, they're awesome fish, and you'll be so hooked by the time they get too big for your tank you will have upgraded already... Have you tried them on shrimp yet? Frozen discus tucker has garlic in it to help with internal parasites, could also try that.

Can't see that working too well with the meaty foods those fish need. Depending on how big they are 5 days should be fine. I left my bichir, dat and loaches for 2 weeks last xmas, although I won't be doing it this year as the size difference between the loaches and the dat/bichir is bigger now and the only thing that stops them becoming snacks is that the big fish are well fed!

My sister keeps hers with corys and kuhlii loaches. How big is the tank?

If you didn't do this would the scoria make the water very acidic??

Whats the prices like for the lowest grade rtg, gold and green he can get???