CatBrat

Haha Mystic, I'm not selling my Polka-dot Syno (well not in the near future anyway). They were in a 4 foot tank. I know is was overcrowded, but most of them were only ment to be in there for about a week, until I build my stand and then move them into to species/breeding tanks! Cheers, CatBrat.

Thanks for your thoughts guys The survivors so far are: 2x Port Hoplo Cats 1x Yellow Black-eyed Bristle-nose 2x Crocodile Whiptail 1x Clown Loach 1x Butterfly Pleco 1x Polka-dot Syno 1x Clown Pleco 1x Common Bristle-nose At least some of them are alright. Cheers, CatBrat.

Well only one dead fish this morning... My brand new Blue Phantom Pleco The others a looking alright, a few of them are even eating, which I think is good. Will keep you posted... Cheers, CatBrat.

Thanks guys! I have already treated them with Melafix and Stress Coat. Cheers, CatBrat.

It could be a Common Pleco (Pterygoplichthys pardalis)? Can you get any better pic's? Cheers, CatBrat.

I woke up this morning to find my main 4 foot tank completely empty, and all my fish sitting on top of my gravel!!! This was made worse because I had only just moved all my pleco's (apart from a large pair of Bristle-nose's) into that tank while I waited to sort out my new stand (12' long x 2.5'wide with 3 shelves). What had happened was that the center brace had popped off which in-turn caused the front edge to pull away from the side. So far I have lost.... 3x 9cm Clown Loach's 1x 6cm Clown Pleco 1x 6cm Matto Grosso Ancistrus 1x 6cm Queen Arabesque Pleco 1x 17cm Feather-fin Syno 4x Glass Catfish 1x 13cm Elephant-nose 5x Pristilla Tetra's and 1x 300watt Heater I'm not sure if my other fish will make it as they are all covered in a 'peeling' white slime, which does not look healthy, and they are very stressed! Will post some pic's later.... Cheers, CatBrat.

Hey Tropheus, Have you tried raising them in a floating breeding trap in the parents tank? That way they would have food right there in front of them the whole time, but they would still have the water volume of the parents tank and therefore there would be less risk of polluting the water. Just a thought. Cheers, CatBrat.

What have you been doing to raise the fry Tropheus? (ie - what have you been feeding them, how much, how often, have you been leaving them in the main tank or putting them in a breeding trap etc). What sort of Whiptails have you been breeding? BTW, Congratulatios . Cheers, CatBrat

Where have you read that Pleco's can get up to 6 foot Carrie? The largest pleco's that I know of are Acanthicus adonis and Acanthicus Hystrix, which can both get around a meter. I would be interested to have a read of the info you mentioned. Cheers, CatBrat.

Welcome to the site Brendan So what sorts of fish are your favorites (ie - catfish, cichlids etc)? How long have you been keeping fish for? Cheers, CatBrat.

Looking great Kim Are you sure you have enough? Cheers, CatBrat.

The Dwarf Hara hara Cat's (or Moth Catfish) are neat....tiny, but a neat little fish. They stay very small (around 4-5cm or so), so I don't think they're suited to living with bigger fish such as large Angels or bigger cat's as they may be eaten. They behave just like tiny Banjo Catfish (ie. they don't move very much and you have to careful that you don't suck them up when cleaning the tank). I have read that they prefer slightly cooler water, doing best at about 20-22*C. They have been bred in aquariums as well, so they would be a neat fish to try. I don't know if they would sell that well in your shop, as I don't think that many people would want them, but it depeands on the people that come into the shop. Hope this helps a bit... Cheers, CatBrat.

Kyle, I'm not asking I'm telling you I WILL take some, lol.

I'll take some.

Lol, yeah there not cheap!!! You could try breeding Gold Nugget's, it has been done before. Cheers, CatBrat.

Yes they are nice. They aren't that common, but if you look around you will find them. The only Hypancistrus spp. I have seen in NZ, are Queen Arabesque Pleco's (L260), Chocolate Zebra Pleco's (L270), Snowball Pleco's (L102), what I think is L136c (it looks like the Snowball!) and rarely Zebra Pleco (L046). But you could probably order in diffrent species. They are usually around $180 each (about the same as Discus), but youcan sometimes get them for a bit less. Another species you might like are Clown Pleco's (Panaque maccus, L104), these still aren't that common, but only cost around $50 and are eaiser to breed than Hypancistrus spp.. Cheers, CatBrat.

There are a lot of Pleco's which can live in planted tanks, without disturbing the plants! I don't think they have been bred in a tank, and if they have they would need a much larger tank. I think they breed the same way as normal common pleco's, which dig cave's into clay bank's and spawn in them (you can see that it would be quite hard to do this in a tank). I was thinking more along the line's of a group of nice Ancistrus sp. or Hypancistrus sp., which stay small (less than 15cm) and are very attractive. Cheers, CatBrat.

Lot's of Pleco's :lol:. There are quite a few species of them that you would be able to breed, given the proper conditions and care. They would need the same sort of attention as the discus would (sometimes less) and shouldn't be too hard too spawn depending on what you get. Cheers, CatBrat.

There are some species of pleco's that will eat snail's although I'm not sure if we can get them in NZ. Some species of Leporacanthicus will eat snails, but the only type of Leporacanthicus that I know of in NZ is the Vampire Pleco (L007), which costs about $199 (but it's very nice!!). A lot of species of loach's will eat snails. Clown Loach's are good, but they do get very large, (they grow slowly though), and will eventually out grow your 2' tank! They are a lot cheaper than most pleco's. Cheers, CatBrat.

There's no knowen way to sex them. Why do you think you have a pair? Cheers, CatBrat.

Are you sure there not the same as my ones? Female: Male:

Thanks plecs, I will do. I have been feeding them Bloodworms, Brine shrimp, Flake food, Zucchini once a week and every so often shrimp pellets. Cheers, CatBrat.

Well, I found a thermometer and checked the temp. It's down to about 78*F and it feels much cooler than this morning. I have also done a 30% water change with fresh rain water (warmed up) and I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens. Will keep you posted.... Cheers, CatBrat.

The Pictus are a schooling catfish and do best in groups of at least 4. I'm not sure about their personality, but the are very active and you should be able to see them heaps. Cheers, CatBrat.

I didn't have another thermometer in the tank (I should have though), but I'm not sure that was even the problem. I removed the sponges from the old filters and put them in the new one, so that was fine. The recommended pH is 6.4-7.6 so that was also fine. They were the only fish in the tank. My remaining female seems to be breeding very fast and seems to be lethargic. I don't know wether I will be able to save her. Cheers, CatBrat.