Amelia

Yes they are Cam, can we not get them in from importers anymore? Adrienne, yes, sold them to Blair Culling. I regret selling them now looking at these pictures again!!

I did end up getting some for my 60l tank! Kept my occies for 6 months or so and they were fantastic fun, I adored them. They bred all the time in my tank and fought a lot so I did eventually sell them on to a breeder... unfortunately he hasn't been able to breed them which is a real shame because I'm sure there a lots of people who would have loved some. They are pretty easy to breed really so it would be great if someone would start doing that so we can get more around. I'd love to keep them again in future but would dedicate a larger tank to them, they really do need a substantial footprint despite their size. Hope you manage to breed them Cam. Here's some photos of mine. (Spot the fry!)

Apparently this guy has a shop -- anyone ever been there?

JJWooble Thank you so much for your kind offer!! But now I'm also dubious about the actually identity of these fish. I want Rotkiels so bad I'm almost tempted to buy them even if there's a chance they aren't the real deal. :digH:

Or alternatively pick them up and take them to Hollywood Fish Farm to be shipped.

Is there anyone in auckland who wouldn't mind picking up these fish and shipping them to me in Chch? Happy to pay for your services... And happy to ship fish to you in return if you ever need something from Chch! http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =832654701 Alternatively is there ANYWHERE else in NZ you can get Rotkiel Severums? Never seen them for sale the whole time I've been in the hobby and I am desperate to get a group.

I've acquired a 10l rimless tank and am wondering if there is anything that will actually live in it? I don't think its big enough for a betta. I have a nano filter and one of those teeny heaters which are preset to 26C. Its planted with aquabasis + river sand/gravel. I considered a scarlet badis or 4x mosquito rasbora but even then I feel mean putting them in it. Oh if only we could get fancy shrimp in NZ. :cry1: Any suggestions?

I don't have a problem with my 8 yoyos in my heavily planted tank. blue hygro, polysperma, crypts, etc.

This is lovely, I love those rocks and the juvie dems are just so cool grazing on the algae. Gives me the itch to try a malawi setup.

I was just wondering if anyone knew who had the biggest private tank in NZ (freshwater). Or at least the biggest tank out of everyone in FNZAS?

I know its not something to base a tank off of but I ran everything through AqAdvisor and I came up at like 90% stocking (without the Butterfly fish) and it didn't throw up any warnings except that kribensis are aggressive when breeding. Usually it says my tanks are like 140% stocked lol!! Perhaps there is some other species of african catfish that with work instead of upside downs? Otherwise I am open to the idea of some other African themed stocking. I love the idea of a Species-Only tank with a colony of some type of rift lake cichlid but not having much luck finding out what... Someone said a colony of Yellow Labs may work. Or else there is Neolamprologus leleupi if I can get my hands on some for not too expensive... I do REALLY like the congo river idea though but it may have to wait until I have a bigger tank spare...

I am thinking of using my spare Juwel Rekord 800 (110l and 80 x 35 cm footprint) for a Congo River tank, but I'm not sure if it's large enough. Was thinking of a small group or pair of Kribensis, 4 or so upsidedown catfish, 6 Congo Tetras and possibly if space allows a Pantodon Butterfly fish. The only thing I am ot sure about is if this tank is okay for the tetras? Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

Yikes! I have ONE GBA and there is constantly poop all over my white sand, even running 2x big canisters. :facepalm:

Hi Shane, some suggestions. 2 severum -- keep, and maybe even add more if you like them so much? Have you seen red-spot severums? 2 red zebra -- rehome. will be happier in a proper african tank. 1 yellow johannis -- rehome 4 Demasoni -- rehome 15 krib -- keep if you like them, although this is a lot of kribs! 10 bristle nose -- again keep if you like, but this is a lot! They will be making quite a mess as plecos are waste machines 7 electric yellow -- rehome 8 tiger barbs -- keep if you like, although I had tiger barbs with american cichlids and found what when the cichlids got bigger the barbs couldn't compete well enough for food and eventually died off. Some cichlids which may work for your tank, depending on whether you keep the kribs, bristlenoses and barbs are Oscars, Red-head cichlids, t-bars, convicts, Jack dempsey or electric blue jack dempsey. Also consider Hoplo Catfish (these are great! so active and friendly!), silver dollars, or even a school of clown loaches would be impressive in a tank this size. All the fish I have suggested work well in your water pH and with Severums. Also Severums are a great fish. I just sold my 3 red-spots after 3 years, they were so awesome.

If I need to have someone else feed my fish for a few days I use daily pill organizers and fill them with the right amount of food for each day -- that way they can't cock it up lol. Probably one of my best ever ideas!

Hey guys! So I'm considering selling my New World cichlids and overhauling my 450l 5ft tank into an African tank. I haven't decided which type of Africans yet, but I'm not a fan of mixing fish from different areas so it would either be Lake Malawi or Lake Tang. Probably swaying more towards Lake Malawi. I have never kept Africans before so I know very little about them. Basically I would just like a tank with a lot of colour and activity! I love my SA/CAs but they are very boring to watch. Would love it if people could throw some suggested stocklists at me? I really have no idea what's out there or even where to begin. Also I'm not wanting to spend a fortune so fish I can get from breeders would be great.

I would personally go with a bigger filter if you can manage it. I tend to take the ratings they put on filters with a grain of salt. Very very rarely do they actually do as much as they say they do. IMO you should go for something rated up to 300 or even 400 litres, considering it is an african tank so it will be heavily stocked. You cannot overfilter a tank so don't worry about that.

I sold my 8 Dwarf Chains to people who now keep them with a school of clowns, they say no problems so far.

Thank you! And hopefully my spare male will be making fry with your leftover female that you sold to g.eagle. :thup:

Good spotting! :slfg: YES, mumma and pappa are very busy making babies. Have just got my fry tank set up so I can start growing out a few to sell. Watch this space! :gigl:

PHOTO UPDATE!! 450l New World Cichlid tank: - I got a new big chunk of driftwood for the middle. Its leaking tanins like mad so tank looks a bit like tea at the mo. - replaced the white silica sand with gold sand -- well it was supposed to be gold. In the tank it looks more like creamy off-white. Oh well. - lost my male T-bar. So upset, no idea what happened to him. One day he was fine and the next day he had a huge gash on his side and was drifting listlessly along the bottom. He deteriorated very rapidly and I had to have my partner perform the coup de grace. Will probably sell the female to someone who has a male now as she looks miserable on her own. So stock is now: - 1 juvenile Red Oscar - 3 Red Severums - 3 Blood Parrots - 1 EBJD - 1 [lonely] T-bar 240l Planted Asian Community: - I FINALLY found a bit of driftwood I like for the left side. The rock on it is temporary, it doesn't feel like sinking on it's own yet. Stocklist is now as follows: - 10 Kuhli Loaches - 7 Yoyo Loaches (will be selling these soon) - 6 Angelicus Loaches - 6 Striata Loaches - 20 Harlequin Rasbora - 3 Irian Red Rainbows (all they had in stock, plan to add 3 more) - 1 Platinum Gourami 53l Tanganyikan Shell-Dweller tank: - tank has started to LEAK so I am on the look out for a nice new one, preferably bigger as these guys looove to argue amongst themselves. Looking for a Juwel Rekord 800 or Rio 125. Thats all folks.

I also have to recommend Severums. They are an excellent entry-level fish for beginners to New World Cichlids. Not very aggressive but attain a nice size, cheap and easy to find and pretty hardy and tolerant of water parameters. You could also combine a severum or a couple of severums (they get on well in groups) with a school of larger tetras like colombians or congos, and some larger cories or hoplo catfish. Severums come in three common colours -- green, gold and red-spotted. Apart from Severums, I would recommend a solitary wet-pet fish like an Oscar or Midas as mentioned earlier.

920Ts are not great tanks as they are tall instead of long, whereas horizontal space is much more important to fish than vertical (fish swim and make their territorials horizontally, not vertically, so tall tanks give people the impression that they "fit" more fish than they actually do). Regarding the loaches, it sounds normal to me. My Yoyos always gorge themselves to the point I think they might pop at feeding time, especially the dominant ones. As long as everyone is getting some food it should be okay. How many loaches do you have? Large numbers help to decrease aggression. Also when you say "nibbling on your other fish", please elaborate? Are they nipping your angels fins?

Angels and rams are fine together, but keep in mind that angels can be extremely aggressive to conspecifics. You may be better off just getting one angel, unless you want carnage. If you get a number of angels 2 will likely pair up and wreak havoc on the rest of the tank. If you are talking about Tiger Barbs I think these are too nippy and aggressive to be kept with angels. Tetras will be fine, although avoid nippy species like Serpaes and keep in larger schools to reduce aggression. Harlequin Rasbora make good tankmates for angels, as they are very peaceful and too large to be eaten. I would recommend rehoming at least 1 redspot, as they are known to become territorial and also will contribute a large amount to your bioload. Kribs you will have to keep a close eye that they do not bully the rams.

Research is best done BEFORE you buy the fish. Bala Sharks and Clown Loaches are BOTH schooling fish that get up to 30cm long and need a 6ft tank. The plecos will also outgrow your tank. You would do best to rehome your clown, balas and plecs to someone with the appropriate housing for them.