BikBok

hmmm I just had a quick google, and I think the band is too dark to be an affinis. .. and it's also not the Macrospilus that HFF recently had in their German import (darn, that would be too easy!) Just having a browse on planetcatfish... could it be a Otocinclus vestitus http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/im ... age_id=511 ..this pic has diamond type pattern in the dark band near caudal, just liek mine. or maybe an Otocinclus vittatus http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/sp ... ies_id=107 what do you think? one of the "V" otos ? I'm thinking vestitus because it doesn't have the lighter colouring above the dark band.

i don't mind what they are ... just need to know so I can get the right ones as friends ! They really are very cute and especially come to life in the evenings, zooming around the tank together and hanging with the kuhlis when they do their thing.

well she's still hanging on to them but I've noticed the area around her birthing tube is getting lumpy and she's resting a lot on plants and driftwood. Is there anything I can do to help her or is she going to die?

anyone know where I can get some more otocinclus like the ones above?

lol, mine was ISTJ yep, pretty much sounds like my analytical self.. but i can add a fair dash of emotion and intuition to that too.. hehe I'm a thinking female with a good dash of intuition. my college match was: haha , no wonder I ended up keeping fish .. even if i did start late , very late! It's strange though, the test did not at all reflect my creative side... I play saxophone, violin, flute and have been in a few bands in years gone b, and love to experiment in the kitchen. My daughter picks up the art side of things (she is very good and my son carries son with the music. I did another one of these thingees another time and it came up as melancholic phlegmatic.. ... which covered my musical interests and deep thinking, and totally introverted (unless I'm with people I know really well!) Like someone else said ... all taken with a grain of salt. Incidentally, although I did a couple of lab jobs when I left school.. I now work as a teacher aide with special needs/learning needs and behavioural kids.. nothing at all to do with any of the sciences haha.. (maybe some psychology)

I've got two cute otos but would like to get more so they can be happier in a small group. I read somewhere that otos don't from groups with other otos that aren't the same species. So if anyone can help me identify what type of Oto I have , that would be great. Also, are there in fact different species of oto available in NZ.. and what is the most common type? Seems pointless me going out to get just any Otos if they are not going to group[ together anyway. here's some pics of mine thanks if anyone can help

here's some pics.. first one was in January looking full of fry and the next one taken yesterday , still no fry born and she's starting to look very square from front on ..like a box! see how she is tail down, that's her usual swimming position now.

hope it's them!

you can put free adds on trademe lost and found.. and also www.petsonthenet.co.nz just say you've found a small parrot and don't add the photo.. that way people will have to tell you what they've lost and not just claim a free bird! Good luck with finding the owners.. they must be feelign very anxious.

yep.. you have to fill it up

maybe an airstone and plants to help oxygenate it because it's tall. I also have a hexy and I do find that the flow isn't quite as good as my recatangular ones. ... but that just might be the brand I have.

strange, i wonder what's going on. I hope you can get it sorted before you lose any more fish. how upsetting not to know what's wrong.

I see they've removed the David Bain reference and have a few unanswered questions.

I don't think I can name the specific auction here so I won't but i found the wording on the auction for an aggressive fish rather strange and a bit upsetting.. am I overreacting? here's the last part of the add: I think the David Bain reference is inappropriate but more importantly the part that bugs me is the threat to release it into the avon river. The fish looks tropical to me but i can't be sure, but even if it were coldwater surely you are not allowed to just release fish of unknown species into the wild? the seller themselves do not know what species the fish is, they bought it from animates. If Mods say I can name the auction I will.. or if I've said too much already then I expect they'll remove my thread. Not meaning to break any rules.. but the add is a bit concerning in my opinion and I don't know whether I should comment on the auction(about release) or not. I wonder why they just don't take the aggressive fish back to animates.

it's been almost a month and I'm not quite happy with the guppys progress although he seems perky, eats well etc. I'm not sure if his tail is healing at all or if it's even getting worse. He also seems to have some whitish smudges/discolouration on his body. I followed an acriflavine treatment but he's now back in plain water with a little salt added. I do have meth blue and furan but other than the tail ripped he seems in good spirits. pics I took today:

Found these in my gravel today , bright red wiggly worms with a forked tail. My guess is midge larvae or bloodworms but not sure where they could have come from. The only thing i can think of is I soaked a piece of driftwood in a bucket outside for a week. I cleaned and scrubbed it thoroughly - or so i thought. The guppys have been nosing around in the gravel the last few days so obviously it's something they want to eat but i just want to make sure they are not harmful. Will they eventually die out with water changes /gravel vacuumes?

the black pelvic fins threw me, I thought rainbows had all red fins.

saw this shark on trademe and was wondering if it's a redtail shark with extra red.. or a rainbow shark missing some red.. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 039598.htm

i use the tea strainer method too and only feed prior to a water change! (once or twice a week)

Just how long can a female guppy hold out ? My tuxedo girl has had belly full of fry since December.. yes December and she is so huge now but i really do expect to find her burst open sooner or later. Meanwhile my golden guppy has birthed every 30 days and my neon tail has remained flat and infertile lol.

that photo really helps.. thanks for that.

ok, I'm a bit confused between Siamese algae eater and a flying fox , these are different fish right? .. and if they are different - which is better and why? are they compatible with a rainbow shark, dwarf gourami, guppy, kuhli, female betta? I would still like a small group of Ottos but am beginning to wonder if I'm up to keeping such a sensitive fish - just how sensitive are they? what are their needs?? I do fortnightly 25% Water changes and 10-20% on the offweek - more or less depending on nitrate levels etc.

I've attached the fern to the driftwood with thin nylon .. but i eventually want to take the nylon off . It's not that obvious but I know it's there and the fish are pecking at it! I'm worried a kuhli might wiggle under and get caught or cut. How long should I wait before the roots on the fern are well established? .

that sounds cute Moya! but think I might wait till the tank is well established and try Ottos.

what's a good algae eating fish? I was thinking of getting 3 ottos to put in my 160L community tank but not adverse to cory or flyign fox.. although the fox might get a little too big they need to get on with guppys, kuhli, dwarf gourami and a single rainbow shark. Any suggestions or advice? I don't want a bristlenose becuase the last two bothered the kuhli loaches and they're a lot happier without the BNs. I do have malaysian trumpet snails which i'm trying to weed out, and a few ramshorns (the ones that survive the femalle fighter)