David R

Kinda OT but how long should it take them to give birth?? I broight a large platty from the fish shop that looks like she's about to burst but its nearly been two weeks and she's still fat and my compressorceps are still hungry!

I guess you can only try. How hard is the water in your africans tank? Just acclimatise them slowly in a seperate tank.

I've been in contact with hollywood about them, and theyre expecting some more ornates in soon. It would be nice to see more exotic fish available [bichirs, rays, or even some more of the less common species of cichlid] but there's not really a huge market for them here so I cant see it happening...

What size tank are you running, filters, livestock, etc etc???

...and the platties?? :-?

Got fish?

Thanks for the info. I think I'll try to get the tank set up soon-ish and see how it goes over winter, and if it's still going well when summer comes I'll look into buying a chiller. Does anyone know of any websites to identify local fish?? *edit* also, would it be a good idea to run a skimmer? [i'm guessing it would be as it's still salt water]

^as subject says, anyone?? I'm interested in setting up a rockpool tank with local fish and want to know a bit more about them first. I'm guessing a chiller would be essential for summer... Also what are the legalities with catching fish to keep?

If that's a serious suggestion then it has to be one of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard. If not then n/m....

He's going to buy the lot and sell them to us at double what we paid for them [jokes...... hopefully........]

when will the fry be available? any idea on a price, and will you be willing to ship them???

How big is an AR-510? I presume it is a tank of some sorts... :-?

No 21mm coversheets I was also considering making a stand out of 4x2 and using thin ply to cover it [already made two of these, one for a 4'er and one for a 5'x2'x2'] but I thought I'd try making one out of customwood as they look a little nicer. I've also made one out of tri-board for a 3'x18"x18" tank, I put about 5 coats of paint on it and after 3 years and a few minor floods I havent had any problems with it.

The only problem with that is the customwood comes in 8'x4' sheets, so buying a whole sheet for two uprights is a bit of a waste.

I'm building a customwood cabinet for my 270L 4' tank, like the overpriced ones you see in the shops, and I'm wondering if 18mm customwood will be thick enough or if I should go for 21mm. The stand will be a three-sided box with doors on the front and a piece of 4x2 running accross the front with a leg in the middle to stop it from sagging. 21mm customwood is a bit cheaper than the 18mm stuff at work [carters] but its quite a bit heavier so I'd rather not use it unless absolutely necessary.

Losing fish is never cool, and its worse when there's no obvious reason for it. Sorry for the OT, but whats the fish in your avatar??

Thanks, I've just seperated them into their own tank. Do you think they'll be OK sa part of the comunity when theyre bigger?? I might try the guppy thing too.

I recently lost my largest compressorceps (not sure why/how, didnt seemed picked on or beaten or sick), and I've noticed my smaller two dont seem to be eating very much, or growing (I know they grow slowly, but I'd swear theyre almost shrinking!). Theyre in a slightly overstocked 3' tank (the 4' is being set up very shortly) with some leilupi, birchardi, a 6-bar lamp, julidochromis and a couple of duboisi. I've been feeding them a range of prepared foods as well as some greens and bloodworms, but they either dont seem to be interested in eating or they are being put off by the other more aggressive feeders. I'd really like to keep them as part of the tanganyikan community I'm setting up in the bigger tank, so does anyone have any tips/ideas on feeding them/fattening them up?? Thanks

Sumps are definately a good idea with big fish and big tanks. IMO the good points far outweigh the downsides. Just go price up a couple of big canisters

My advice would be get a young one and feed it pellets/prepaired foods right from the start. Maybe give it feeders occasionally as a treat [i gave mine feeders twice in two years]. IMO that makes them less aggressive, I never had a problem with mine being kept with all sorts of other fish.

How long have you had it and how fast is it growing? Any pics? What size tank, tankmates etc?

I noticed hollywood had a few of these for sale [well they'd already sold] last time I was there. Does anyone know much about them, or does anyone on here have one? I tried to persuade them to give me one but they wouldnt. They also had a few albino ones, but IMO they'd look pretty ugly when they get bigger...

I've ordered my new tank, 4'x20"w x18"h (around 270L) and was all set to turn it into a bigger home for my tanganiykan cichlids until I went into Hollywoods in Albany and saw a large Tiger Dat [C. microlepis I assume]. I've always wanted to keep one/some of these fish, but had kinda forgot about them until this large one reminded me of how cool they are. AFAIK they get quite big, but are fairly slow growing. How long do you think I'd be able to keep ~3 of them in a tank that size? For those that have one/some, how big are they and how long did it take them to get there? I dont want to commit to a fish that I wont be able to keep. Should I just stick with the tanganyikans or will the dats be ok in that tank? Thanks

Whats the water like?? I didnt think they'd like the harder water like the african cichlids.

Good idea, actually, er, no, um dont do that, its not legal, bad for the environment etc, yes. go get some!