Birger: Thank you for your concise explanation - I understand it fully completely.

When you're counting the "rays" in those pectoral fins, is a "ray" the transparent part between those opaque "raised" bars, or are you counting those "raised bars"? I find it a bit confusing to know what is the actual "ray".

So to recap ... I had 10 Lophiobagrus in a 20-gallon high. When I came back from winter vacation in March, I lost 4 of the 10 the day after I got back due to unknown problems. I gave up on the "species tank" idea and just threw the six adults I had remaining back into the 80-gallon Tropheu...

Video: My Ancistrus sp. cf. Cirrhosus (Brown Bristlenose) juveniles at the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet! Here's a 3min 30sec video of my Ancistrus sp. cf. Cirrhosus (i.e. Brown Bristlenose Plecos) juveniles eating New Life Spectrum H20 Stable Wafers. I have one male and five females in a 20-gall...

Manitoba, Canada.

Well, it's 10 days after the initial discovery of the egg sack. I have about 30+ wigglers with about 50% of their egg sack left. They swim in a school except for one lone wiggler. They tend to swim against the current, and huddle at one end of the breeder trap. I had 2-3 escapees into the main tank ...

I wonder if something like that is covered on a homeowners policy? You can insure your car, life, house, pet but not sure about fish. Our homeowners policy has a "ornamental aquarium fish" (sic) clause for $1,000 CAD; I don't know if that is hardware, livestock, or what ... I've never ask...

To start off, I lost 4 of my 10 due to some unknown problem the day *after* I got back from winter vacation. The remaining six, I ended up adding into my Tropheus setup. While doing some cleaning in there, I moved the "pizza pocket" style cave two of them have lived in forever, and voila, ...

Before I risk making any bad blood by my assumption, I did not ask the importer explictly if it is the valid name ; he states that H. richter is the name when I ask him if it could possibly be another species (Oresti?). His *exact* reply was quoted by me earlier in the thread. I just don't want to r...

When the importer referenced in this thread was linked to profiles on site, and I asked him if it was perhaps H. Oresits he imported, his reply was: very similar to that species but is richter coming just north of it in Guyana (Where the other is Brazil) they are a super cool cat fish which really d...

Two other local hobbyists who bought from the same batch have spawned theirs so I also await their replies on my local forum. I think maybe the Tropheus were too much hustle and bustle, so maybe the species tank will make a difference.

All from the same importer, who confirmed the Brevispinis, even though his supplier shipped to him as Cyclurus.

I've been doing the chopped shrimp, I will keep on the same path then. ;)

Hello: I have owned seven (7) "wild caught" Lophiobagrus Brevispinis for about 3 - 4 weeks now. I acquired two, about a week later another two, and three days later another three. All fish average about 2.5" (7 cm) in size. I have two that appear to be a M/F pair, as they stay togethe...

MatsP: Don't worry about that. I live in a semi-rural area and our water is "liquid rock". The driftwood and blackwater extract have had little effect on the water parameters according to the test kits I use (Hagen "Master" Test Kit). However, the Ancistrus seem to be enjoying &q...

apistomaster: Nothing else is in the tank. I will be patient and allow them to do their thing.

Doing some maintenance this evening, I found a female in the bottom tank of my rack that I *thought* I had, but didn't see her for a long time. It could be wishful thinking, but in my eyes, she even appears to be gravid. I moved her to the 20 with the "pair", which should hopefully become ...

I bought a new piece of Malaysian Driftwood that is definitely the "focal point" in this setup, spanning 16" at its highest point, 20" at its longest point, and 12" wide at its widest point. I want to take advantage of the tannis in this "fresh" wood from the LFS. ...

MatsP: I was watching them hatch. It was all for not, as within 24 hours, all were gone. I think either Mom or Dad ate them. No HOB filter running, only a sponge.

Oh! I have wigglers coming out of the log, and holy smokes I never realized they would be this small! I know now that if I had left them in with the cichlids, they would have been lunch in a heartbeat! I've counted about 27 to 28 so far, and there still seems to be quite a few eggs inside the log, b...

Last Thursday, I bought two "spawning logs / caves" from a local importer. By Friday evening, two of my Ancistrus sp. had spawned! I setup a 20-gallon I had in storage and moved the spawning pair with their log and eggs (careful not to get air on the eggs!) to the 20. I used 100% water fro...

What size do Bristlenose Pleco (i.e. "Ancistrus sp.") usually begin to breed at? I bought six specimens from forum sponsor about January 2008 that were in the 1.5" range then, and now appear to be 3" size. I am 99% certain I have two pairs moved into a 80 gallon with some Tropheu...

How many 2.5" (6.5 cm) S. Multipunctatus could be successfully kept in a 4 ft. (1.2 metres), 80 gallon (300 litres) setup? How many could be kept at adult size? Assume they are to be the only catfish species, and will only share substrate with a couple of smaller Bristlenose Ancistrus. The cich...

Has anyone seen Synodontis Pleurops on any mail order lists recently? The closer to Canada, the better. Please let me know. Thanks!

What is this behaviour my Synodontis Lucipinnis (a.k.a. "Dwarf Petricola") are doing here? Are they fighting? I have about 20 of these guys in my 150-gallon. All are approximately two inches total length each. I've lost about 5 in the last week? where at first I thought it may have been du...

On Saturday, February 24, I overhauled my aquarium. 1. Removed the fluroescent lamps off 2. Removed glass lids, and cleaned 'em 3. Filled a 25-gallon container with tank water 4. Removed all my fish to the above container 5. Drained 100% tank water 6. Removed all rocks and contents of tank 7. Remove...

Well, I decided to do my second video, again of my Tropheus Duboisi "Kigoma".

There's much more action in this clip, and instead of a stationary camera, I moved around this time.

I hope this video is better than my first one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8JRxMCvCAY

This is my first attempt at a "video" of Tropheus. This file was captured using a Canon PowerShot A540. I captured it at 640 × 480 resolution, 30 FPS, but I don't know what YouTube site does to the quality once uploaded. The video is 8 minutes, 16 seconds in duration. My aquarium now has a...

This is my first attempt at a "video" of Tropheus. This file was captured using a Canon PowerShot A540. I captured it at 640 × 480 resolution, 30 FPS, but I don't know what YouTube site does to the quality once uploaded. The video is 8 minutes, 16 seconds in duration. My aquarium now has a...

Well, I decided to do my second video, again of my Tropheus Duboisi "Kigoma".

There's much more action in this clip, and instead of a stationary camera, I moved around this time.

I hope this video is better than my first one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8JRxMCvCAY

On Sunday, I overhauled my aquarium. 1. Removed the fluroescent lamps off 2. Removed glass lids, and cleaned 'em 3. Filled a 25-gallon container with tank water 4. Removed all my fish to the above container 5. Drained 100% tank water 6. Removed all rocks and contents of tank 7. Removed all "sil...