CatBrat

Hey, Are the fry still doing OK? Cheers, CatBrat.

Yes I have read the same thing about adding the cool water at the same time as a low pressure system is over the country. I don't think that the fish would even notice the diffrence in the depth of just a few cm. To get them to spawn try seperating your males and females (if you can) and conditioning them seperatly on high quality foods. Then once the females look gravid place the males and females back in the same tank and perform a 20% water change with cold water to drop the temp, and then let it raise back up slowly. It should work. BTW, what cory species are u trying to breed? Cheers, CatBrat.

Yea the "baffles" would ba a good idea, but even using somethinkg more natrual like rocks or driftwood would work, and look much more naturl too. Cheers, CatBrat.

Your tank is really a bit small (that goldfish will definantly outgrow a tank that small), is there any chance of getting a bigger one? Oto's would be alright in this tank, you will want to get about 4 because they are a schooling fish, but it is not ideal. Cheers, CatBrat.

Cool! Im keeping a pair of these guys too . For info check out the Cat-e-log on Planet Catfish (Matto Grosso Ancistrus, LDA08, Ancistrus claro), and also in the Ancistrine Species Resource (I think thats what it's called), which is also on PC. There is heaps of info on PC about spawning pleco species on PC. Look for the spawning tips for any Ancistrus spp. and use them for your guys. Cheers, CatBrat.

As far as I know there have been no reported spawns in of the Pictus Cats in any aquarium. I'm pretty sure that these are a migratory fish (they spend there whole life cyle migrating through the rivers), but don't quote me on this. I remember reading some where that you could set up a dough-nut shaped tank with a constant current flowwing around you could copy the conditions that they have in a river, and therefore have a greater chance of spawning them. But that seems like a lot of work for only a small chance of a result (compeard to that of spawning such things as some types of fancy pleco's, which you would have a better chance of spawning). Cheers, CatBrat.

What sort of pleco's are you keeping? Pleco's don't need to be able to trun around in their caves, in fact they like it much better if the cave is a tight fit (The ideal measurments of a pleco cave is.... 1.5x the length of the SL of the male, height is just slightly taller the the male with a small amount of space for the dorsal fin, and width is the width of the males body plus 1/2 to 1 times the width of a pectoral fin - this info fromthis link on PC.). hope this helps.... Cheers, CatBrat.

Ok, well 800 liters is much better :lol:!!! Would you be able to get any pic of the Multi's you have seen? It would be nice to know that there are some real Multi's out there! I have seen a few fish being sold as "Multi's", but they have all been hybrid's :evil:. They look similar to the Multi's tho, and I have kept one before (it was very aggrisive!). I think this is the one I had......HERE. Cheers, CatBrat.

If your tank is only 80 liters (or is it 800?) I don't think that there will be many species of syno's that will be able to fit in there. Also the high pH might not be to the liking of many species as well. One Syno that might be alright in a tank that size is Synodontis nigriventris, but your pH is a bit high (they like it at around 6-7.5), they are a schooling fish and here in Auckland the price for the real S. nigriventris is around $50+ each. And no I won't recommend S.multipunctatus because these are rare in NZ, in fact I have never even seen one here, and they would probably get too big for your tank, other than that they are cool! If your tank is 800 liters I would probably recommend some thing like a Feather fin syno (S.eupterus), because they can adapt to a higher pH, and they only cost about $10-$20 each. I hope this helps..... Cheers, CatBrat.

Hi, I think these are the same as the 12 Barred Red Lipped Loach that I use to keep. Does your one have 12 red stripes and red lips? I hardly ever saw it and yes it was aggresive! In the end I put it in a outside pond, where it stayed for around 2 months, and it was looking good, but then it vanished! I have no idea where it went! Anyway, good luck with your one. Cheers, CatBrat.

What sort of catfish do you want to try to breed? Cheers, CatBrat.

Can you give us the dimensions of the tank (length x width x height)? Cheers, CatBrat.

That would probably be the best bet (so long as its one of the plastic ones, I find that the net onescan get cloged up with muck pretty quick). If there are any fry that you catch make sure that you have a airstone bubbling into the trap, and try to have food with them most of the time (with corrgett (sp), catfish tablets, ect) and also make sure you keep any uneaten food out of the trap to stop it fouling the water in there. Cheers, CatBrat.

Tell me about it. I was offered (through a friend who shall remain nameless) 4 of them for about $200 each just a couple of years ago, but due to him not checking his PM box (not on this site) for about 6 months I miss out, lol. Oh well, it happens i guess. Cheers, CatBrat.

Hi again, Have a look at my reply to your question in the Catfish Forum Re-Zebra Pleco's. There were some people breeding them a number of years ago in NZ, but that was before I was keeping fish, and the breeding group has since died (I think) and all the young sold (AFAIK). Gold Nuggets are realetivly common in NZ, But I haven't heard of anyone breeding them here. Have a look on Planet Catfish for info on breeding both of these pleco's. Also there will be heaps of info on PC about breeding cory's. I have only breed Pygmy Cory's so I won't be much help. But the main things you need to do to get them to spawn is to make sure that they are well conditioned by feeding them on good quality foods, and then trigger them with a cold water water change that drops the temp of waterby a couple of degrees, and then allows the heater to warm it back up. Just ask if you have any specific questions... I hope this helps..... Cheers, CatBrat.

Hi, The price of Zebra's has gone up by a huge amount all over the world in the last year or so. The price in the UK is now up around £120-180+ from what I have read. The price here (if you can even find them, I have never even seen one) would probably be $300-600+ each! And no they are not on any of the import lists. You would have to get the shops to ask the importers about it, but it has been tried before, with little result. Cheers, CatBrat.

Hi Stu, I'm just wondering how the babies are going? Cheers, CatBrat.

Go to his photo album, and look under More Fish Stuff. Cheers, CatBrat.

Yes you are right, the Clown Synodontis and Synodontis decorus are the same fish. I was wondering the same thing today when I saw both fish listed on the same fish list, lol (I haven't seen them both yet, only the real S.decorus). From what I can tell the fish in your photo's is the real S.decorus, can you get any photo's of the other Syno? Or can you give ma a description? Cheers, CatBrat.

LOL Caryl. Oh, funny you mention about your fish only eating the cucumber, because my ones wouldn't touch the cucumber, but distroy the courgette....strange. Cheers, CatBrat.

I have used cucumber with my pleco's before, but I found that it went mushy much faster than zuchini does (it may have just been the actual piece I got - too old or something, but I'm not sure). BTW, zuchini and courgettes are the same thing. Cheers, CatBrat.

Hi again, From your description it sounds like you have a baby Common Bristle-nose. These normally have a white band on their dorsal and tail fins, and have irregular spots like you said. Also, the price seems about right, and I don't think the LDA08 have been breed in NZ (I may be wrong though). It will hopefully be able to get enough to eat from the scraps of flake etc that fall to the bottom of the tank, but you should also try to put in a piece of Zucchini and sink it to the bottom for it to eat. Cheers, CatBrat.

Hi, If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for it? Is it a male or a female? Here is a couple of pic's of my pair (does it look like these?).... Male: Female: Cheers, CatBrat.

THIS THREAD on the Planet Catfish forums might be of some help as to explaining the avalibility of Zebra Pleco's (L046). Cheers, CatBrat.

Are you using tap water or rain water for your water changes? Cheers, CatBrat.