fishyNZ

Thanks! Yes they were. I saw some with black markings on the belly, some without. But they are still quite small/young so perhaps we'll know in a couple more weeks/months. Thanks!

Some photos of my apistogrammas (testing image attachments): Apistogramma agassizii male Apistogramma trifasciata pair Apistogramma cacatuoides male Apistogramma panduro

thanks. mainly, hollywood's; some from rodney's. got some female cockatoos off a lady down south (advertised over trademe), quite young though. yes, shipping is a big pain (in the pocket).

I am setting up to breed some apistos, at the moment I got these: A.agassizii Got free-swimming fry last April but then suddenly they all disappeared. My bad for not separating them. A.trifasciata My last remaining pair (out of 3) seemed to have breeding behaviour, so far nothing came out of it. A.sp "Steel blue" / Wagenflecken Were sold as "viejita", got several pairs, still waiting for an outcome. A.cacatuiodes Acquired several individuals/pairs, some as recent as this morning.

Beautiful fish... what are their sizes?

super green

Thanks David. That fern is just for the photo-op. Tank is barren at the moment; still soaking some driftwood and some rocks.

Grow-out tank:

After about 6 weeks in a quarantine tank, I finally moved them into what will be their grow-out tank. Current tankmates include several eartheaters (Steindachneri and Brasiliensis), as well as a trio of Silver Dollars. This group is mainly fed with Omega One and Fluval veggie flakes 3-4 times/day, with NLS Thera-A+ once a day and some frozen mysis a couple of times (as treat). Here are some pics in their QT tank:

Got mine yesterday, after several weeks of being treated at HFF Mt Roskill for some ich and fin damage. All seems okay now, initially were quite shy and looking gloomy and sulky when put into the QT tank; even thought one was dead/dying due to being lying horizontally, motionless. After leaving alone for a few hours things changed, they are now all actively swimming around and eating as well. Most are dark-colored, a couple might be lightly colored but that maybe just the lighting. Some have easily visible spots (not whitespots). Have not kept this before so we'll see how it goes, hopefully well.

Congratulations! First in NZ?

Good luck. Had mine since March, only added about 1.5 inches (approx 4.5inches now).

I have a male Cuban and my LFS has another male. No female on this part of NZ I think.

Good on you... keep us posted please. Cheers.

At first glance, the first photo do looked like a female. At closer look though, the edge of the dorsal fin does not seem to be solid black (orange or reddish?). I believe it is the same thing that got me wrong. When I visited the LFS a couple of times, the fins were folded so it seemed to me they were solid black (dorsal fin). However when I took it home, and put it with the male, there I could see the dorsal fin in all its glory (expanded). Which wasn't solid black. So I suggest you confirm if the dorsal fin is solid black when expanded. Also, online sources say Cuban females are a little bit rounder (or plumper). Here is a photo of a Cuban female that HFF Albany sent me when I inquired, just before the Easter break: Unfortunately (for me), someone local put a hold on it right after the break and eventually purchased it. Hopefully it was you.

If you are really keen, contact the upper hutt pet centre. They still have the Cuban male I returned (replaced) a couple of weeks ago. If they can't ship, I can volunteer to do it. Though I should warn you, I have not shipped any fish before.

I bought one initially and then another one several weeks after, both from the same LFS. The second one I really believed was a female; took 2-3 visits to make sure. Both were put in my main 550L cichlid tank. However every chance they meet, they fight each other. This led me to believe the second one is a male. I compared various online photos and made the call that the second one was definitely a male. So after a few days I had to return the second one. Anyway here are some photos of my only Cuban male:

This looks more like A.rivulatus (GT) rather than a Blue Acara due to the orange color on the dorsal, caudal and anal fins. Based on the face and body markings, red colouration on the dorsal fins, I agree it is a JD.

Given that a lot of people still getting confused, asking questions and mistaking one for the other, I believe having more than one way of identification provides more certainty. So excuse me if I continue to identify fishes besides their faces.

If less than 2 inches (5cm), it is definitely hard to distinguish them. However the orange colouration on the dorsal fin points to the Aequidens family, which includes the Blue Acara and Green Terror/Gold Saum (though GT are now Andinoacara rivulatus). JDs have darker colouration and markings on the body are more consistent/spread-out and pronounced. Also, the dorsal fins on JDs are usually red (edge). Blue acaras/GTs usually have one or two dark/black spots on the body. Adult GTs definitely have brighter orange dorsal fins and males usually have nunchal humps. JDs are more aggressive than acaras whilst GTs, as the name suggests, are the most aggressive of the three (based on personal experience). Can you post any photos? Cheers.

Thanks for the responses kiwiraka and blueether.

It is about 3 foot wide, so I am thinking a couple of bullies and perhaps other smaller ones... I live in the Hutt valley but not quite the outdoorsman so not sure where the nearest "hotspots" are. As for keeping the temp down, probably easiest path is to get a 2nd hand chiller if I can. Otherwise, a battery of brushless fans might do the trick. Using peltier modules is an alternative albeit fancier route. Got an electronics background anyways so I might try that as well. Thanks and appreciate the response.

Hi I am relatively new to this hobby, started about a year ago. Currently have a 350L tank, stocked with American cichlids. This year, I am looking to "expanding my horizons" and thought, why not natives? Anyway, planning to start small, got a spare 130L tank I bought off TradeMe. So basically, what can I do with it? One thing of concern is how to get native fishes. They don't seem to appear in LFshops (illegal?). Should I start begging around here? Appreciate any comments.