herefishiefishie

They are easy to tell apart, Top is a kingsizei, bottom is a socolofi. Frenchy

Well it started with the lfs not knowing. :roll: As the picture isnt the best we are only giving ideas. I am not 100%, thanks for your input looks like you have no idea either. {jok} Frenchy

I use the food & find it great. Fish always eat it, look healthy & they all have nice colours. I use 2 of there products; Cichlid formula & Thera-A: Anti-Parasite. If you want to read peoples views, try here http://www.cichlid-forum.com/reviews/view_product_review.php?id=286&pg=1 ps; I don't sell it :lol: Frenchy

Nice one & congrats Daniel. Frenchy

Congrats & how cool to see all the youngens. Once again, when it rains it pours :lol: Frenchy

I'm a 100% sure it isn't a crabro. Put some photos up again in another month, hopefully by then the fish is completely yellow, be a bit bigger to so easier to photo & Id. Frenchy

I get 75 or 77 :lol: I counted after the first female, 34. Poor girls, all those babies in so small a room, yet theyare able to rotate the eggs around to keep them exposed to oxygen. Frenchy

I had to work overtime in my fish room Sunday afternoon & tonight after work. Stripped 2 Demasoni, 2 Electric Yellows, 2 Acei, 1 L.mbamba{first time for them} All free swimmers. Checked 3 others, 2 yellows, 1 Acei, still only eggs. So I will strip them next week. :roll: As my 2 footers are full, I had to set up a 4 footer for the youngens & compress & pass on some older stock. Still have over 40 yellows 5-8cm to sort out, all in one tank :lol: Here is what I got out of 2 Aceiis, happy counting Frenchy

Sounds like they couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery. Someone should tell these lfs people that cichlids are up there when it comes to types of fish kept in aquariums world wide. If they can't get there act together, people will just keep dealing with private dealers or the dedicated shops, & they will miss out on alot of $$$ :lol: Frenchy

Over here its like once they have been breed & past on not much they can do. Unless of course it is a noxious species, then thats a different story. Frenchy

I am thinking a maturing male lombardoi Frenchy

Seeing as you are form S.A, chances are you have seen more species than any of us lot. As stated earlier, watch out for hybrids. There seem to be a alot floating around in NZ judging by the ID this photos I have seen. Be very careful in buying fish, scientific names are a help. Common names seem to be to common that turn out to be hybrids. Good luck in your search, any questions, fire away. There are a few of us here that have some experience, especially with African Cichlids. Frenchy

The import laws here are over the top too. The ban on Americans is looking more likely here. Which I can understand as the water here is similar, & we do have a problem with Tiliapia up north. Even with big predators like Barra, cod & saratoga in the water ways in varies parts, some introduced species have proved to be a problem. As for NZ, I can't see how cichlids could handle the cold for a start. Then again convicts are banned in South Austtalia as the have been found in the waterways there. I think the bigger problem would be with the catfish species. Now that you have them, dosen't really matter. Best still to call them by there proper name to save confusion later on down the track. Frenchy

Yep I have, to me these are the nicest looking of the julies. That was a while ago now. Interesting to breed as in these guys scatter the eggs more than clump them like other egg laying species. Frenchy

Congrats, when it rains it pours lol. Just a minor thing, red empress is a Protomelas taeniolatus. Frenchy

Yep, the area under the mouth is saggy when they are holding. Frenchy

Man that would of been scary. How long had the filter not been running for? Frenchy

If you have colonies of both in say a 4 footer as an example you should be fine. I have mixed colonies & have done so for ages. As long as each male has he area. The species are diffferent enough not to mix easily. Frenchy

In that case is there a chance something or someone could be spooking the fish. Cat, child..... Another thing you can do is take some of the caves out. The more caves, the more places to hide. I have tanks with just mbunas in it & have hardly had the problem being discussed at the moment. Except when a male wants to breed they others lay low for a while or hang out down the other end of the tank. Frenchy

My first question to this is always...do you have a dominant fish the others may be wary of? Frenchy

I used to have one at the start which I did need to use & it came in very handy. After years of fiddling....finding out our water is stable.....I haven't used one in years. As stated earlier, pay to find out what your water is out of the tap. Carbonate hardness is one that needs to be tested. Ph will vary with wood, substract...especially in new tanks, these levels can be unstable. For me, I would have an el-budgeto one, just so its there. They are pretty cheap. So why not. Frenchy

As I said earlier, you will know for sure when you get your water tested. Ph, gh & kh. Your lfs should be able to do that for you. Don't tell me fish that, they should of died years ago :lol: Just to clarify, the same could be said for salt too. The important thing here is to follow a set recipe. When you take water out, you only add the chemicals for that specific amount of water that is replaced. If you are adding more water back in because of evaporation, then don't add chemicals for that amount. Pretty simple really. I have been doing this for 6 years or so now, no mass deaths..... So the comment above is wrong, unless you go stupid with the chemicals all the time. Frenchy

Congrats Frenchy

I have seen it & yes its very good. I did have the dvd, where it is now? I can't remember who to buy it through legally, Brad{Freaky Fish} should know. Frenchy

Ph up is only bicarb soda. It would take a serious overdose to kill the fish. {Fact} I use the buffer mainly because I have some sensitive Tangy's. Tank water can be very soft, I would get your gh & kh tested first before thinking about anything else. The most important thing is ph stability. If the carbonate hardness is low that will give you major problems. If you want to just use shells, limestone...as it is the easier option. Test run the tank first for a couple of weeks before adding anything expensive fish wise. Just incase the tank isn't buffered enough. I don't know about the quality of your tank water, so it is hard to comment on the need for carbon. You will be the best judge of that. If animals like to drown in the water then its something for you to look at. Carbon removes impurities out of the water, that about it. Frenchy