Aquatopia

And the wood will possibly counteract the required pH - do others have BN's in an african tank ? Personally I reckon you should get rid of those horrid blue fish (I will give them a home if i must, :lol: :lol: ) and add more bristlenoses,

Ok, yes, there is info but I didnt want to skew the results of my enquiry till I had a couple of replies They are listed as Kenyi for sale elsewhere, and i thought the same thing about the intensity of the stripes but was not sure. There is a pic of another one which is a lot more washed out and closer to how I have seen Kenyi before. I would imagine kenyi and dems would interbrede - can anyone else verify this ?

Hi guys, just wondering on the expert opinions for the ID of this fish please:- Thanks...

Lol, I might be the type of babysitter who runs off with the babies when it comes to all those dems and yellows, lol.

Yes but you have general hardness and carbonate hardness and the two are not the same. I cannot encourage you enough to read the following links which RYANJURY kindly put on one of my posts when I was researching the same subject - I found the information invaluable, the articles will answer all your questions and stand you in good stead for understanding preferential water chemistry maintenance for African cichlids (note the comments in them made about addition of salts, which are considered elemental in helping the fish maintain their mucousy coating) ;- Seriously phoenix, is it worth the risk ? Personally if you go that route I think you're mad, lol, but hey, its your tank . . . . I just think you can get more suitable stuff for little money. You have set up a tank for most to be jealous of, so it would be a shame to have a wipeout because you used a dubious product. Keep the pics a-comin though, cos its looking awesome.

Better still, ban kids from the cafe then the adults can enjoy the tank in peace, lol. :lol: :lol: :lol:

who sells dems at < $6 ? I could do with that price for my tank ! hopw your new tanks settling down

You are dead right Caryl - I was shocked when I went back last Christmas.

lol as are other costs - houses, food, power (18p per kwH opposed to 18c)

beware - some people have used concrete and lost all their fish. there are MUCH better solutions than concrete.

OK, the water in the bag is not an indication of what they came from necessarily- its a low volume and they would have been peeing in it. Remember these are fish that are recommended for 7.8 and above. But I guess if they are not dropping like flys then it cant be too bad.

meanwhile those fish are not swimming in 5.5 are they ? how come its so low ?

nooooooo tell us all if its a funny story . . .

Thanks Caryl - wow !! Prices have gone up over there for some fish thats for sure. Torpedo barbs - ouch ! My choice would be for 10 red bellied pirhana - nice deal

Dont you WANT algae on the rocks for them to graze or are dems not algae grazers like a lot of africans ?

Will that tank support them when they are bigger (i know they dont get huge, but add that to the labs thats a lot of fish) or are you setting yourself up to go bigger deliberately now that you have the bug, hehe ?

Looking fabulous ! can never have too many dems - another 15 ?

alternatively buy organic ones - but still wash them. some people peel them too

Cheers - is there any mileage in insulating each bag with a wrap of newspaper ? Do the heat pads go at the side, on top, or where, and can they come into contact with the bags or should they be separate ? Trying to work out the very best way of doing it -

Already looking good - hope they make a fast recovery from their journey - how long from when they were packed, and how many heat pads were used? Was it just in one box, and what size was it ? Just asking so I can consider making arrangements to ensure the water does not get so cold when I have mine sent down

Lol - no pulling the wool over your eyes huh ? My tank is is NEARLY ready, lol - thread will be up soon I hope.

Ive had the shipment re-routed (via Christchurch, lol) - there may be an empty bag on its way to you

What does "health standard" mean ? either an animal is healthy when it comes in or its not - and a MAF vet or expert vet should be able to ascertain that surely ?

Is there no way MAF can be encouraged to allow them into the country if they are already here ? Whats the issue with them not coming in ?

How can we prevent this ? If that were to happen it would be a tragedy (not of epic proportions, but a tragedy nevertheless).