agoh

Hi guys, whats a good dither fish species that could be used for a Malawi tank??

Curiosity Is food type Live Versus Prepared have a "Major" impact on how fast a fish grows?...if you were to compare two specimens one fed on live foods and the other on high quality prepared foods after 2 years say...would there be a big difference given they are fed the same quantity of food?? and for what species would this have a larger importance try to remove the "quantity" issue from the equation for a second

Now I have your attention Question to the panel: Can Chocolate catfish (platydoras costatus) be kept with aggressive malawi cichlids (i.e. melanochromis etc)? I have two I'm thinking of placing in a malawi setup as the bottom feeders...as some of you who have chocolates know they have highly developed armour on their bodies, I'm hoping this will protect them from agression + they are very nocturnal and only active in the dark

whoaaaaa!.....that was primal!

just be aware that while certain species have been described in the forums or texts to exhibit a certain behaviour (shy/aggressive) each species may have unique personalities and hence react differently to other tank inhabitants....(e.g. you might be lucky and purchase a angel that gets along with gouramis, you might be unlucky and buy an angel that hates gouramis)...its more or less a risk factor rather than a definite in most cases

its sad...its the real world, glad people atleast acknowledge that in this forum....

as long as you have taken the longterm into consideration - but they should be alright for a while if they are bought small...

hey guys...if you have a school of congos or something similar (go figure)...I suggest you try feeding a large fat moth and see a spectacle of Ferocious, brutal feeding behaviour, the whole school went literally nuts ripping at the moth eventually playing tug a war at different ends and ripping the moth into different pieces, they all chased each other for rations like they haven't eaten for weeks!..when its insides opened up...all the other little fishes dined in on the contents (sorry for the graphic description)...BUT it was quite a sight and definitly gave them a moment to express their 'wild' appetite..for entertainment value as the dilma add quotes "Do try it"

thanks....as caryl said...time may tell whether they will continue to thrive as they have for 3 weeks.....but they are growing fast..(had to clip them as they were growing out of the water)....when I can get my hands on a digital camera I'll take a picture of them....(watch this space)

didn't caryl mention something about putting togethor a magazine and asking people to write something they know or would like to share????.....would be nice to see that as a feature article in that mag....she also mentions you get the mag for free too....can't remeber where I saw that but it didn't get many replies

duuhhh oops! www.homereef.co.nz

also be careful of some sources on the net...some are quite false as I have found in a few species profiles etc etc.....mongabay is a good webpage for me, basically don't restrict yourself to one source of information....always followup

networks are slow growing synos?

I haven't set mine up yet so all I can do is describe what I would like. I can tell you I'm a biotope nut as far as aquascaping goes...for malawis...I'd generally have sandy middle...collect alot of BIG FLATISH SMOOTH/NON-SHARP river rocks and without too much thought place them at the edges tank(don't lean them in the glass you know that) ....pile on top of each other so that they are STURDY you'll be surprised how natural your tank will look. note: big rocks first then sand - so no malawi can dig under, but you knew that too Malawis will stand out amongst the rocks when theres less colour clashes with the decor...(i.e. coloured ornaments etc) but I think searching the net (though it maybe not your original idea) is the best resource

like the subject says...they were sold as coldwater plants...and started growing prolifically over the last few weeks in my tank..(3 different species...photo would be more helpful but non at this stage. I think its good...its making my tank nice and green, I can't see any nasty side effects... is it common for coldwater plants to thrive in tropical temperatures 27 degs? - if so...it seems more like a cheap option at the LFS, as they are bigger...have nice broad leaves providing nice shelter for my nocturnals