David R

I think its partly just the nature of the animal, and partly how much contact you have with it. If you handle it a couple of times a day it will eventually get used to it. Maybe?

Sounds a lot like my list, altho I'd add Megaladoras irwini, and Uaru fernandezyepezi. If you had to pick just one which would it be?

This forum seems a little slow lately, so how about everyone shares a bit of info on that one elusive/rare/difficult/not-on-the-list fish they'd do anything to get their hands on.... Name: Polypterus bichir bichir Origin: Nile River, Lake Rudolf and Omo River, Lake Chad, Chari and Logone Rivers. Size: 30"+ Probably the largest Polypterus species, and one of the rarest in the hobby. Not on our list, so I doubt I'll ever own one, in this country anyway... :lol:

Seen it, need to figgure out how to transport fish etc up here, I want the dats too!!

I'd quite like a striped midas!!

I use PVC pipes in my tanks and have done for ages. I guess youre talking about offcuts of new pipe, not using old stuff??

:roll: Stupid common names, I said A. festae (red terror), not labiatus/citrinellus (red devil/midas). :lol: Reef: That was another problem I had thought of; the importers here probably have their contacts overseas and don't like dealing with anyone else, so if their suppliers don't have the fish you're after then too bad. I doubt any of them would deal with people in the US like Jeff Rapps or any of these guys.

Despite how it looks, that fish CAN fit in its mouth... and if it cant he's still gonna try! :lol:

I've been looking at the list lately and more and more I'm noticing cool fish that you just never see here, despite being on the list. Crenicichla lacustris (Pike Cichlid) or Cichlasoma festae (now Amphilophus festae, or Red Terror) are just two of them. Both available overseas, but never here. Short of setting myself up as an importer with my own quarantine facility (yes I'd love to, GF's not really so keen), how would one go about importing such fish? I'm guessing the average LFS would put it in the too-hard basket, and I'm not sure how interested an importer would be with a one-off small-time order. Ideas??

I have the photos, but now I can't find the cord to connect the camera to the computer as we've just moved house!!!

Coffee and a fried breakfast until it sobers up?? Seriuously tho, I know the Auckland Zoo has one, but I doubt anyone here will know much about them.

That pretty much sums it up. Genetics is a lottery, and you just need to play Darwin and pick the best ones to continue breeding from and cull the rest. [rant]This doesn't happen often enough in the hobby IMO, and it mostly comes down to money/greed. Fish like convicts, kribs, angels and other easy to breed fish are often bred and sold [and bred again...] with no attention paid to quality of the parents/offspring etc. This is why wild caught fish often have better colouration, bigger size etc. All people care about is the $1.00 they're getting per fish. I would love to do some selective breeding of convicts to get the biggest, baddest and best coloured ones possible, unfortunately I haven't got the space. When was the last time you saw a male con pushing 6"? [/rant]

Must be big-city technology, I'm also in Auckland and I too have a tap!!!

Mine is starting to get nice orange colours around the base of the tail, legs etc. Will try to get pics up soon!

You could use plants like cacti, pachypodiums, etc that don't need much water.

Sump.

Mine goes crazy over beefheart more than bloodworms, even when it was small!

Keep it off sand until its big enough for it not to be a problem. Mine is still on glass at around 6 months old, might look at getting it sand soon. The breeder keeps his adults on the same black grit that I have in my tanks (got it from HFF) so I might look at getting something like that.

Suprised the archer fish hasn't been eaten, doesn't look much bigger than the mouse! I thought it mught have been a fly river turtle, but it just looks like a normal red ear one. I guess its too small to bother any of the fish.

You need a permit to keep them. Not sure on the legalities of buying/selling them.

How old is that pic Duncan!? Seems to have bulked up heaps since I last saw it/him/her.

I might be interested in chipping in for a share of a 1kg pack, depending on cost.

Haha that beardie has a nasty chain-smoking habit!!! :lol:

I got a bag of sinking carnivore pellets from HFF when I picked up my ornates. They're good for smaller fish, but my big ornate wouldn't even notice them, they need to do an XXL version!

Don't even bother with buffers etc. I found the pH in my 4' was dropping off the scale [test came back yellow!!!] because of the large bits of wood. Chucked some coral pieces in the sump and now after fine-tuning the amount of coral its pretty stable. I don't know why the oscar would be bothered by the low pH, they do come from soft, acidic waters... :-?