Aquatopia

Cool, thats interesting stuff - they sound like resilient buggars

The more I see and read of them the more I know I want them Ryan. Like you I am doing as much homework about them as possible first though, as I recognise they have their quirks and deserve a good understanding before a) spending the $$ and b) taking on the responsibility. If you have not found it already, I think this tropheus forum could prove worthwhile checking out. ( I hope I am allowed to link to other forums - since its a specialist forum I see no conflict of interest ).

I will leave the answer to that from one of the BTS owners as i have not kept them. I do recall that particularly with my Yemen Chameleon when it was a baby I had to be careful with feeding.

Congrats Vee - there are a lot of members on here who really know their stuff so dont be afraid to ask questions. As you may be aware, reptiles have very specific environmental and feeding requirements, so make sure you read up on what they are. Hopefully you will have been given advice from the previous owner, but unless they were a real expert/breeder I would not necessarily take what they have told you to be the full picture - google as well as the search facility on here should be a great help too

I've found it - seems they are Tropheus Moorii Moliro (red) and here is another lovely variant, Tropheus Moorii Kasanga (looking somewhat photoshop enhanced) ;- Gotta love 'em :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

OK, so its not secret I love tropheus, though I have none yet and am still doing a lot of research before taking on that responsibility (though I will do, thats for sure). But now I am just in love !! And I bet they are not available here, lol. But here goes - I know theres a few out there who will know what these ones are;- I believe they are Moorii of some sort but not sure from what reef/region. Images from Practical Fishkeeping Magazine UK - anyone recognise them ? Hope so .. .. ..

yeah they looked pretty cool - think they were expensive too

Im not sure its quite that extreme Alan - Ive been to NYC several times and never seen any crocodiles on the sidewalk, other than wrapped around people's feet. It is legal to keep a whole array of exotics and dangerous animals over there though - and that disturbs some people. I dont agree with some of the animals which can be kept there by your average joe, but then the opposite extreme is equally undesirable.

what are the air pumps that have little discs/wheels that spin round ? am i showing my age here ? :oops:

Lol, but thats not necessarily the point And after all, theres no guarantee of success either - lots of variables that could contribute to failure.

As i said, i dont know the ambient requirements of this particular species - do they get in the water to warm up if the outside temp is too cool ? or dont they need warm ambient anyway ?

I personally cant see heated water heating the ambient environment too - but then i dont know the ambient requirements of australian water dragons.

Whereabouts is it in chch - i will see if i can go and take a look and find out for you if you like. PM me if you prefer.

Thats fair enough - not sure your post really implied that in the first place, so its good you explained it a bit further, as from that angle its a bit more understandable. I like those King Tigers Mr Pleco, and in the absence of my favourite plec the L270s are a close favourite

Thanks Paul - have been thinking about it for the past month or so, and I will check em both out

Thats a disgraceful mark up, even considering they may lose some. Could you not negotiate payment as store credit instead ? Even if it meant store credit for other fish at retail price - it might be a way of encouraging some of the LFS's to ask for some of the rarer / more expensive fish we all want and love.

im sorry to hear that mr plec - i guess im a bit naiive at times as i had no idea anyone would be that low :evil: And I take your earlier point that some people just wanted to keep 'one' of a species and not breed it. Its a shame that everyone gets tarred with the same brush often enough though, because there are those out there willing to try and breed and keep things going. Perhaps this is a good juncture to make a suggestion that anyone who is genuinely interested enough in the hobby to breed and contribute back, should consider joining a club ? At least that would be an indication of real enthusiasm - I'm even contemplating doing that myself. Having said that there will be those who feel they should not have to do that to be considered genuine. But the NZ Herps Soc wont give out information about sourcing herps unless you are a member. Maybe thats the way fishkeeping will go too - or at least for the serious stuff.

After a rant like that good job too :lol: (just kidding) - but I do think a lot of what you have said is somewhat out of context and unjustfied. And it stands to reason that the people asking about things are the ones who dont have them - or else how would they acquire them ? There are a lot of people concerned about the state of our hobby at the moment, and willing to try and help it, but who face obstacles all the way because others, for whatever reason, seem unwilling to be involved. Its the reason why such a big chunk of what we DID have is no longer on MAF's list - because people kept quiet.

Well i want some again, so if anyone is on here and reading this thread and inclined to add even more to the diversity of owners to ensure continuance, please PM me. Here is a pic to remind us all how lovely they are;-

All the more reason those who have them should breed them and get them back out there - give a little back to whats been taken from nature. :roll: :-?

So im guessing they are not imported any more ?

yep - the selection of snakes over there was incredible. some of them went for dreadful amounts though - i believe a breeding pair of diamond pythons would have set you back UK3000 pounds (NZ$8000). If you are wondering... http://whozoo.org/AnlifeSS2001/jacqking/JK_DiamondPython.htm But most of them were reasonable - I was also keen on some of the king snakes and milk snakes, especially the pueblan variety;- http://www.applegatereptiles.com/species/campbelli.htm

Just a thought, and I know very little about fronts at the moment, but what if you were to take out the male getting bullied, along with a couple of girls, and set him up with his own little group ? Have to say though, as Ryan said, if they are breeding (hehe) then the maxim "if it aint broke dont fix it" may apply. Doesnt answer the original question about why do people remove their alpha males though - i suspect there is a variety of reasons - some of the descriptions on TMe of fish being "alpha males" may not necessarily be all that accurate anyway - :lol:

yep - was pretty gutted to get here and realise i couldnt keep most of them.

oh, we can say piss ? hahaha