Luke*

Yea I highly recommend the AquaClear filters, cheap, quiet, durable, and the best part easy to clean, oh yea and not 'in' the tank. Fenris I just bought a jebo 508 and it's fine, just a low hum but still quiet. Not enough to keep me awake or anything. It's best to have over than underfiltration that's for sure, but not so it's blasting your fish out of the water or anything. 5x your tank volume per hour is recommended.

Definitely recommend AquaClear, I think they have rebranded are now called AquaOne, I have the biggest (AquaClear 500) and the smallest (Aquaclear Mini) and they are both virtually silent. Just got a jebo one too that's working well but a bit noiser.

That was not that cool that video aye.... definitely animal cruelty.

So those tales of them ripping apart cows are probably false. The locals actually fear the sting of the freshwater stingray more than piranha.

Congratulations. Kinda weird isn't guys how the LFS can sell them for ..what $5+ ea, and then others can't but give them away.

Caryl you sit back and watch diggers to do it for you while sipping g&ts, you should know that Coldwater fish? I urge you to try heating it and have it well covered/insulated. First choice discus, then arowana, pacu etc if you get a big pond or tub.

That sounds cool, how do you get given a proposition like that? Walking down the street? Left yourself at the zoo and they thought you actually worked there?

Sometimes the male will get a bump on his forehead (so i've read), and sometimes they will get a wispy long bit off the edge of their dorsal fin but sometimes these can be girls too. Also sometimes two girls lay together, so the only way you can proven boys and girls is to at least get the eggs hatching and have some wrigglers. In my experience the girls are a bit smaller, and the males are more dominant, but like Blue said, nothing's 100% HTH

We'll save that story for a rainy day

LOL

You're dead right Keri Anne, even raising one fish, whatever it is is an accomplishment. Breeding is another whole side to fish keeping that always keeps me interested in it. Refining methods, getting more fry to adulthood, breeding different fish that have different levels of difficulty. Although I breed discus the biggest novelty for me is breeding rummy-nosed tetras. I got 15 to teenagehood. Breeding neons and killifish is exciting too. Still working on the cardinals. Oh I think you meant ovipositor Alan, and privileged.

CatBrat why did you sell your coolest catfish??

Good if you have clown loaches... *looks at my 14 clown loaches* hmmm *runs and buys JBL pleco chips*

When they spawn a male slides up against a female, and they roll over. This action causes a few eggs to shoot out and they are simultaneously fertilised by the male's milt. You will see the eggs if they are spawning and the other hungry neons enjoy the caviar.

Yea the bristlenoses are no doubt very good at algae eating apart from getting lazy like most fish when they get older (e.g black line flying foxes). There's a brief article on breeding otos (as yes $15 ea is rather expensive and they like to be in schools of at least 6). There is a brand that make algae tabs that have wood particles in them Mystic, can't remember what it is.

They've got some good aquariums there, was there not that long ago. One tank has a huge clown loach. Just like the Butterfly Creek.

I have: 5 x Bristlenose plecos 1x 6cm redspot pleco (very nice and actively eating lots of algae) 4x Otocinclus 3x Corydoras Trilineatus 3x Corydoras Bandit 8x Corydoras Adolfo 3x Corydoras Panda 5x Corydoras Peppered

snails are scavengers and can harbour parasites as an intermediary, e.g between birds and fish so beware.

These freshwater shrimp are probably the best, from what I've read, but don't have any first hand experience. Biggest problem is stopping them being eaten by other fish. http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/shrimp ... 14384.html

hi aquab - arr welcome aboard me matey. I remember finding this site and it was, and still is a great find.

Hi Doug, great to see another Hamiltonian aboard. Come along to our next meeting, advertised in the clubs section. What sort of fish do or are you going to keep?

It is just peat and mud, leaves, silt, maybe some sand in the Amazon I believe. I use brightwater gravel it's called, small grade. It's pretty close to black, dark grey really. Or you could use a thin layer of black fine grade pool filter sand. HTH

There's redspot plecos, normal plecos, and royals, they all get big

Well pH 14 (top end) is oven and drain cleaner, so not many fish would survive that. 7 is neutral, most fish can handle it a degree either side with no problems. South American fish come from very acidic waters, I think it's pH 3-4 because of all the peat in the water.