David R

How do you define 'normal behaviour'? One could argue that desexing an animal is in breach of this as breeding is the function (or 'normal behaviour') for which animals exist. Does that mean I have to let my dogs hunt live animals because it is 'normal behaviour' for that kind of animal? Should all arowana be kept in open topped tanks with branches handing above where they can jump and grab live insects as that is their 'normal' method of feeding in the wild? Is it wrong for us to keep unpaired fish so they have no chance of reproducing therefore suppressing their 'normal behaviour'? As I said, if the water is clean, the fish healthy and the tank appropriately sized for the size of the largest fish, then where do you draw the line with how many fish you can fit in there? Its not my cup of tea, but the fish in those first two tanks all look very healthy and well cared for, its not like 4 big oscars in a grotty 120L tank with a single HOB filter and infrequent water changes...

Only the Asian Scleropages species are protected by CITES, but they are still not illegal to breed them. It is illegal to trade them without the proper paperwork and certification to prove they are from second-generation captive bred parents.

I would offer but we're restricted to two dogs because of the councils laws (have to ask neighbours permission etc for more than two). If you don't find someone I would highly recommend Bethells Farmstay, thats where our two have been while we were away and they've absolutely loved it. They even post pics on facebook so you can keep track of what they're up to while you're away. As long as your dog is well socialised and enjoys the company of other dogs it will love it there! http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/pages/Bethells-Farmstay-For-Dogs/74657146459

AFAIK there are actually different coloured forms from different locations, but as usual ours have all been muddled up. Every female I've seen has had the yellow dorsal stripe, but none of the males do. My biggest male got to nearly 6", and they're nearly on-par with cons when it comes to breeding aggressiveness (solo males are pretty placid though) so you might want to watch them with the rest of your fish...

JBL or JDM? :-? The last one with the arapima is fake for sure. The others, I'm 50/50 on them. If the fish are healthy and the water is clean then is it really an issue? I could think of far worse scenarios than a heavily stocked and well maintained tank. Hows this for over-stocked; luckily thats just the 4' wide end of the tank (not the length!)....

Yeah there's plenty of man-made and well stocked fishing ponds throughout that part of asia, everything from aros to big catfish, pimas, etc. Would love to have a go at it but will have to settle for browsing the fish shops and zoo instead!

I think that aro tank would look great if there were a couple less aros and either a group of rays and a group of big bichirs. Just needs something else to balance out the top-heavy stocking. I agree with Ally, in some cases having a minimalistic look to focus the attention solely on the fish can look great, with the right fish. Not really comparing apples with apples. A more socially advanced and complex animal like a tiger or monkey would suffer badly if kept in a bare cage with no social stimulation. Fish on the other hand are far less complex and don't need such stimulation. A single arowana will live a long and healthy life being kept by itself in a bare tank of appropriate size so long as it has clean water and food.

I wouldn't use a flash unless its a remote one firing from above, The best thing is to have no light coming from infront of the tank and all of it coming from above. You could possibly make something with a spotlight and a polybox to act as a diffuser to temporarily increase the lighting in your tank, but the fish might freak out from the extra bright continuious light. Here's the link I mentioned before; http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?349072-MFK-members-Basic-photo-sessions-from-Prep-to-finish

http://www.aquatic-photography.com/ or have a read of a couple of the Sticky threads in the Monsterfishkeepers.com Photo Lounge forum, there is one detailing start-to-finish a photo session.

A large wide tank with rays would be one of my 'holy grail' tanks, something like this 8x6x3' would do... http://youtu.be/TJyyivy19Y0 I visited him when I was in London a couple of weeks back, pics and video just don't do the fish justice, they truly are massive. Might post a couple of pics of me feeding them when I get back... His old set up with the Uaru fernandezyepezi is also pretty close to another of my 'holy grails'.... http://youtu.be/ta8aahOu2hc

goldfish [or any carp] are really lousy feeder fish, I wouldn't waste my time or money on them unless you have a fish that will only take live food...

:oops: :oops: :oops:

The 30" red I was looking at has never been tanned or put under intense lights and still has really nice colour, obviously not as intense as it could be if it had been, or as deep red as the tweaked photos you see all over the internet of fish under very specific lighting, but still very nice. The genetics are what will give it good colour, lighting will only improve it. I don't think it matters how the fish eats them, if you're stuffing shrimp with pellets or feeding them by themselves, but a good varied diet will be key to a healthy fish. I'm not sure how many mealworms I'd want to feed, the ratio of hard shell to good stuff seems pretty poor to me. Larger superworms would be a bit more juicy, but I certainly think there are better foods [than mealworms] for fish. 007; what do you feed the centipedes etc on to get good amounts of beta-Carotine in them (more than pellets) to improve the red colouration of the fish?

Based on what factual information or studies? Any particular pellet or every single pellet food on the market? Why only reds? Are pellets ok for gold, rtg, green etc?

maybe pellet training is over rated, the ~30" red I saw yesterday eats nothing but superworms... but yeah, post some pics up!!

no, no, and no. The first two are fairly new to the hobby and weren't really available when 'The List' was made, and the parrots were around but quite rare and have most likely never been imported here. tis a same, they're all really nice fish and there is no reason why any of them would pose any more risk that any of the other cichlids currently allowed into the country...

I guess "new" isn't really the right word, most tanks are made from offcuts which are new but a lot cheaper than buying whole big sheets and cutting them up. Thats why it starts getting expensive if you go wider than 600mm as its pretty rare to have offcuts that big. I was lucky that Greg had a piece of tinted 12mm glass 2400x977 for the base of my big tank, otherwise the price would have nearly doubled!

yikes! Must have been new glass.

How much of that was labour?

you could use your smaller tank to test them, probably better than just a bucket of water. Put each individual heater in there one at a time with a couple of different thermometers and see which one holds it closest to the desired temp.

I'd get another thermometer before calibrating anything. I don't know if heaters lose their efficiency over the years, can't see how they would. Maybe the thermostat is less accurate and its allowing the temp to drop more before switching it on?

Has the temp dropped?

You'd want something more accurate than a 45 thermometer to calibrate it with I reckon, I'd be more inclined to trust the thermostat in the heater than the cheapo thermometer. Maybe get a digital one from Dick Smith? By calibrating it all you're doing is making the numbers on the dial correspond with what the temp is, so I wouldn't worry, just adjust it so the tank temp is right.