alexyay

So, I know someone who has some small freshwater Amphipods in their tank - does anyone have any info on the behaviour of these guys in freshwater? They don't appear to be too common - however I'm keen to find out whether they predate on fry/small fish at all, and whether anyone uses them as a food source? Has anyone attempted to cultivate these guys?

I believe they are Badis badis, not Badis ruber (Although I appear to have gotten a Badis assamensis in with my lot too, lol).

Hmm - Nitrates are very rarely (only in some cases, and pretty much isn't going to happen in an African tank) 0ppm. Are you using the API test kit? This might be of some help (it is likely the test is being performed wrong, or the kit is a dud/expired) - http://fishwise.co.nz/index.php/articles/item/35-fishwise-s-fishy-faqs#what-does-it-mean-when-my-nitrates-are-0ppm Are the spots on the gill cover or under the gill cover (coming from the gills themselves)? If they are under the gill cover, and have a fish pass away, can you lift the cover and perhaps get a photo of the gills themselves? It may be a bit gruesome, however cutting the cover with a pair of fine scissors can help to see the gills underneath. Admittedly I've never seen something develop around the gills in that kind of pattern. The white on the rest of the body could be excess mucus production (slime coat production, can be caused by lots of stressors or external diseases), or the beginnings of a bacterial infection. If it looks like it's "eating away" at the skin/scales/fins, or looks like ulcers, it's likely to be bacterial imo.

Oh my gosh, that is super cute! It's been yonks since I've tried to use fondant, but my attempts have made me appreciate cakes decorated with it 100x more

She laid some more eggs a couple of nights ago, so I'm picking the fry are no longer :'( How long will the female look after the fry, and do you prefer to remove her at some point?

Foods the best, most efficient application if the fish are eating :thup: Figuring out dosages is pretty difficult, but it's also pretty hard to OD.

In all honesty, I wouldn't even bother try them on dry foods. They are strictly carnivorous fish, and a diet of pellets probably isn't that great for them. Snails make an excellent staple - red ramshorns, brown ramshorns and pond/bladder snails are enjoyed by mine. Most puffs won't touch MTS. Bits of shrimp, frozen/live Daphnia and BBS, and live Blackworms & White worms are also all good. Blackworms also make for a good staple. Bloodworms are good treats, but aren't particularly nutritious and usually a gutloaded snail and some Blackworms work wonders Personally, mine wouldn't touch Microworms. They were too small to eat, so they just let them sink to the bottom :roll:

Looking awesome :thup: The plant at the front looks like it might be Dragon's breath (Hemigraphis repanda) - unfortunately this isn't a true aquatic plant so you'll probably find it rots over time Edit: same goes for what looks like might be another Hemigraphis species - both are sold as aquatic plants for some reason, despite not living in an aquatic environment

I'm not sure whether my Trifasciata fry are still around :nilly: About 5 days in of them being free swimming, she's decided to get anxy and won't let them come back out. She's still coloured up and protecting something, so am treating them as though they're still there. Haven't changed any variables - she was placing them all up the foam wall before, happy to be out and about when I'm there, and suddenly she's all nervy. Haven't even put the siphon in her bay Though I was testing having the male in there too (heaps of moss and hiding places) - he doesn't seem to have made any moves against the fry, but obviously that could be a factor. But yeah - hadn't tried spawning them again since I last talked to you - so this is the first try as of late. About 10 days in, now. Redwood used to do I think $60 a pair for Trifasciata - shipping made them more expensive than getting them here in Auckland, but it seemed like a decent deal (Y)

Unfortunately the packaging doesn't specify what kind of cichlid they're good for, but personally I would suspect it's for American and Dwarf cichlids. Many African cichlids require a lower protein and more vegetable-based diet (of course every fish species is different and some protein is required), so something meaty can lead to conditions like Malawi bloat. Hmm - I once bought a "fish dinner" product from them which seemed to be more vegetable-based but they don't appear to sell it any more. A good option may be the Repashy series of foods (http://www.repashy.co.nz/collections/fish-products) as they have some good foods for herbivorous fish. I've found lots of "algae" or "vegetarian" fish foods contain more carnivorous food than they do herbivorous - so Repashy was a god-send when it came out (of course, it came out just after I made several litres of frozen vege mix ). Their foods are gel-based, so are really handy for something "fresh" and for variety. I love my frozen foods but NZ just seems to be lacking in some specialist fish areas :dunno: (I want frozen blackworms!)

Are they American or African cichlids?

I'm afraid the Gourami are centrepiece fish Unfortunately it's recommended to not keep Siamese fighters with other anabantoids (Gourami) as they tend to see these as competition. Because the three-spots are quite big and can be territorial, it may be best to keep them as the only feature fish in the tank - if you do get another "showy" fish, it may help to get a species that mostly sticks around the bottom of the tank, as the Gourami stay around the mid-top. Hmm - you're pretty much limitless (other than tank size, temps etc) for bottom dwellers - clowns will become too big, but dwarf chain and kuhli loaches will fit in your tank size. Fancy plecos can make for really interesting fish - they do tend to be a bit more timid but they're very cool when they're out and about. My L140 Big-Banded Tiger plecos are mostly out during the day (I never saw my L129 pleco but it should have been in a group). Corydoras also make for really a cool, active catfish species.

They can eat them, but it's worth considering what your reasons are for wanting to remove them. Snails can be beneficial - they rarely eat plants, and are good indicators of bioload. Typically a snail boom means that you've had a dead fish, dying plants or have been overfeeding. Dwarf chain loaches are very active fish and like Adrienne said, require groups (preferably 8+). When kept in small numbers, like many loaches, they can either become timid or aggressive towards other fish.

Saw the delz yesterday - they really do have nice markings! (from someone who knows nothing about polys)

Same family but different genus, Hollywood Fish Farm currently have Badis ruber in Unfortunately there weren't any females in when I was there but I'm hoping to get some if they can order any :thup: Though these guys are a lot bigger than Dario dario - so not so suitable for the nano tank.

They aren't too common - there looked to be an import of them several months ago where most stores had them, but I've not seen any recently. If you start asking retailers for them now, they might show up in a month or so

:thup: :thup: :thup: Looking forward to seeing what they turn out to be!

Actually - a much more pressing question - does Marbled Bichir refer to Palmas palmas?

Oh my gosh, those Furcatas are a steal!! Can I confirm - are the "Golden Kuhlis" Pangio anguillaris? What sp is the White Ghost knife and any idea whether the Betta imbellis is captive bred or wild caught?

The Burmese Badis - are these Badis ruber? Or the regular Dario dario? Also - what species are "Blue Lace Pygmy Gourmami"? Thanks :thup:

Gorgeous fish. If only they weren't so big on eating plants

Closer pics really would be necessary but personally I'd lean towards bacterial - especially if it's shown up quickly. Unfortunately ABs can be hard to get ahold of now, however Furan 2 may be your best bet. Again - it's hard to tell without closer pictures.

I think the main substrate fertilizers we have are: - Seachem Fluorite - JBL Aquabasis (? on name - I think this goes under substrate) - Dalton's Aquatic Mix (the cheapest, needs to be under a substrate also) I personally am a fan of Dalton's Aquatic Mix - its price being the main thing I like. I've not used the others but a con of Dalton's is that you end up with a mess if you're shutting down the tank and don't want to dig too deep in the substrate when cleaning. However when shutting down a tank and wanting to reuse the substrate I just use the mixed stuff under some new substrate (the old stuff will have a mix of Dalton's, old substrate and fish gunk, so it's still reasonably fertilized). Root balls are another option and are what's usually used when tank's already set up.

I don't know if he breeds, however Ronnie at New Pupuke Aquarium often has a good range of discus

You've got a few different options but it might be worth asking whether you actually want to get rid of them or not. Bladder snails rarely, if at all, eat plants and in my experience don't really get out of control like other species such as Malaysian Trumpets. Snails are really handy, as a booming population can let you know that you're overfeeding or have rotting plants, and they'll also eat dead fish that you may not have noticed, helping to prevent a concentration of Ammonia being produced in that area of the tank. There's some different methods of removal - the least risky being manual removal - just place a vegetable (like Adrienne as suggested) at the top of the tank and remove it to remove a bunch of snails at the same time (they often come out most in mornings or at night). http://fishwise.co.nz/index.php/article ... end-or-foe might be of some help - if you scroll down to the bottom there's some suggestions on getting rid of them.