AMAZONIAN

Oh Dear, Too Bad, How Sad. NEVER MIND. :lol: And it's probably already too late. Swordtails and Platy's will interbreed when they are kept in a community tank whether there is enough of their own kind or not. They are both Xiphophorus species whether it is maculatus, variatus, helleri, or montezumae, "they is kin, and kinship is a big thing with such fecund fish". As a (I think) good breeder I keep all of those species well away from each other even down to keeping colour strains seperate. :roll:

Sorry Loopy, But I think it is a futile exercise hanging on to those deformed fish. It really does the hobby no good by them getting on the market accidentally or people seeing deformities in your fish, as they ask whether or not you have good stock to start with. They are not interested in anything other than; it looks nice , and "I like that colour", and normally they dont ask "can it go in with my other fish? They also produce no return on the investment of your time and feeding.

I did the research and they are Apistogramma inconspicua. :roll: all i have read says that these fish are the hybrid Apistogramma sp. steel blue. The Apistogramma inconspicua colours are not as bright, and they have a slightly differant body shape. Disagreement leads to good discussion and I think that's good. I spoke to several importers (personal friends of many years) and they told me who brought them in and what they were called scientifcally and also what they cost. :lol: I checked my books "SOUTH AMERICAN DWARF CICHLIDS" Page 76 and all my research came up with the conclusion I arrived at. I'm not saying I'm 100% correct, but the facts are pretty strong. So Hands, sorry but I stick by my statement.

Good at Golf as well Alan? :lol: You got it in one.

I have only ever had the malady happen to me once. That was a spawning I did in January this year. Happily I can say it only affected one (1) fish and that was a female. She has to struggle to get to the top of a 25cm tank. It is a swim bladder deformity and is incurable although it is not a congenital defect. My female didnt show the symptons until May this year and she is quite a big fish. If I had seen it earlier my Panchax would have had a treat. :oops:

I had a pair of the beasties, until the male decide he wanted to be single and killed his missus. :evil: They are pretty fish and are sold as "BLUE FACED" Dwarf Cichlids. I did the research and they are Apistogramma inconspicua. :roll: Not really inconspicuous with those marking eh? If you have a pair, good luck with breeding them. "IF ANYBODY HAS ANY TO SPARE" I would be interested in buying a couple of pairs please.

Welcome aboard K0mit3t. :lol: Good have have you join us. You may even join your LOCAL Club which is always on the lookout for fellow hobbyists. Nice piccies. Like your clowns, and good pix of the Pearl / Lace Gouramis. I have bred them and find the dorsal fin on all the species is a pretty good bet as to sex. Confirmation of the Paerl is that the male has all the fin rays on the Dorsal and the anal fin extended to form long filaments.

Hi Tanksman I'd check out the LFS in "RANDWICK", Ive been in it and it's got every available bit of space taken up with tanks. It's certainly not a big shop but good people, and at the time "good Products and fish. I'll try and get you an addy for it , but it's just down the road (100mtrs)from the Randwick picture theatre.

Hahaha I dont think his name was "Bing" though, and that bloke "Bill" (ouh Lord) was COSBY, so it weren't him either. :oops: In fact there was no mention of his christian name in the text, but for want of a name you could call him Bill. 8) That would fit because I believe that every Tom, Dick and Harry is Named Bill. My attempt at a bit of humour to lighten up the end of the week. Cheers Errol

Hi all just looking at a "Very Old" text...apparently (Quote: The Golden Gourami is a colour morph of the "Three Spot Gourami", Tichogaster trichopterus.). From what I understand; :roll: All colour variations ,e.g. Crosby, Opaline, Golden, and all colours in between are colour morphs of the "Three Spot Gourami" / Blue Gourami. :oops: The "Crosby" was developed and the colour fixed in America, whilst the "Golden" was developed and the colour fixed in the Czechoslovakian Republic. I'm only writing what's written as I ain't gonna reinvent the wheel.

If you want to play with fire when you settle in Kiwi, I'm the man. 8) I am one of the few people in the South Island of New Zealand that holds a license to carry out the BIG PUBLIC FIREWORKS DISPLAYS. "Playing with Fire" is my idea of relaxation. Hahaha.

Maybe the swordtail still out there to eh Alan?

Well Alan I worked out PDQ (pretty damned quick) that he's got two "gg's. (WELL HORSES TO GROWN UPS) :lol: And PEARL / LACE Gouramis are Trichogaster leeri wereas the others are T. trichopterus. What species are the HORSES? :oops:

Hi Alanmin I see you're safe and sound back in civilisation. :lol: You are quite right about the maturity thing. One of my other posts alluded to that very matter when I looked at buying a Black Betta.

Koooooooooooooooooool :lol:

Hi Paul Keep the tank covered until the labyrinth gets functional. Usually between three and six weeks. And don't start the brine shrimp too soon as the growth rates are all different. Good luck. Errol

Yes I have seem a "Black" Betta and also an "Orange and Black" Betta in New Zealand. I was going to buy the black one until I was told the price. ($65.00) But it wasnt in a Breeders Tank. It was in a shop, so no guarantee of age etc. and I thought it a bit high risk in view of the cost. They also have had those colours in Critter Kingdom in Stanmore Road, Christchurch. I recall them being in there about five months ago so they are in the country. but I don't know who is breeding them. I am only breeding Reds and Blues as I cant get an "Emerald" Green.

Just as an exercise then. Try getting an "EMERALD GREEN" Betta. I had a gorgeous male when I was a youngster (40 years ago) but haven't seen one since then. Blue was all the rage and GOOD Blue's still are in fashion, it's just that the colour has to be a real good BLUE. I sell a lot more of my blues than Reds. But it depends on the quality of the Blue.

Sorry about the loss To honestly state why your fishie died is impossible, cause I didnt see it. There are a lot of resons that it did die though. For your education for the future, there are things you have to ask yourself, and this is only a fraction of the questions. Was it swimming Ok in the shop's tank? Did you introduce it to "YOUR" water over a period of hours? Was he put in a Quarantine tank when you got him home? Was he swimming Ok when he was released into the tank? Did he eat well when you first fed him? Was he swimming Ok the next day? The list goes on and on, but it teaches us to observe more and to do things slowly. Again I'm sorry, but good luck in future. PM me; I have plenty that I can replace him with if the freight isn't too much. If it is then it may be cheaper and easier to get one of an Auckland breeder.

FIRST OF ALL........................Turn off the aerator. LOWER THE TANK WATER LEVEL TO NO MORE THAN 100MM DEEP. Now you can start adding GREEN WATER (The greener the BETTA :lol: ) on a daily basis. ABOUT 250ML IF YOU HAVE A GOOD CULTURE or even more if you arent sure. Forget about any other food except the green water for at least a week and then start feeding NEWLY HATCHED BRINE SHRIMP. Labyrinth fish do not like a disturbed surface and the temperature above the water has to be the same as the water temp. so make sure you have a good fitting lid. You can read my earlier posts on FIGHTERS.....SAME THINGS APPLY. Good luck.

Hi Seth, The "Silver" angels you mentioned are just as like my avatar. They are actually my breeders, (Sorry, just the male) and nice fish they are too. :lol: Silver is the dominant colour as that is the wild caught colour, and your silver VEILTAIL should be a good cross.

Well done that man :lol: Nice tanks.

Hi go to the website index, at the top of this page. Scroll down to "OTHER BUSINESS". click on NZ FISHROOM WEBSITE. Click on "STICKY: Posting pics in the forum.

Hi Paul Good luck... :lol: It's easy to find a 18 x 9 x 6 inch tank to artificially hatch, rear and start the growing journey. It's the larger tanks you and I have to keep adding to keep up with the rate of the fishes spawnings. :oops: I mean to say that you wouldn't want to seperate a perfectly happy and compatable spawning pair of fish and break up the happy home, now would you? :lol: Never let it be said that "MTS" doesn't strike us all at some stage in our life long hobby. :roll:

Hi Paul Take the eggs out and artificially hatch and rear them. Since this is their first spawning you will loose nothing as the other inhabitants will make life "Hell" for the parents and they'll probably eat them anyway. But by artificially hatching etc. it will give you a good education on the art of artificial rearing. Go for it and Good Luck. Errol