Are you going to be able to keep the water warm enough in AZ in the winter for the tropicals? Or was this an indoor pond?

Interestingly enough I have a rainbow shark in with my brochis splendens and since moving to that tank , the shark also stands on his ventral fins.

afaik, they aren't a threat, however they have been known as fin nippers. I have never had the problem with my 4. Granted, they are the only bottom fish in the 30 gallon.

Hikari algae wafers are definitely the way to go. With the ponds and all, I get the 1kg size. You were right, they make large bags Now if I could get the carivore pellets in a bag half that large. The carnivore pellets are food all my fish go crazy for.

Probably not for long. The Pims usually eat in quantity not so much regularly so even if fed well, it would probably eat the fish sometime when extremely hungry.

Ditto. Have two in my outside pond and they definitely are predatory. I doubt anything would be different in an inside aquarium.

There are a lot of pl*cos in the waterways in Florida as well, primarily in the florida canal system.

I'm glad I found this board as I'm having trouble IDing my pl*co's. The store where I purchased them called them Red Gibbicep pl*cos. How many did you purchase and what size is the tank? These can be very territorial to their own kind and also get fairly large. I currently have one that is approx. ...

It could be one getting most of the food as previously stated. This could become a difficult situation unless this an extremely large tank. Gibbys can be very territorial with their own kind.

Have you tried looking after the lights are out to see if your spotted raphael (Agamyxis pectinifrons) is swimming about? Doradids are known to wedge themselves very tightly to one spot (which they favor to all others) and are usually extremely light-shy (meaning that they are not usually out and a...

You should have plenty of space. Make sure your have hiding spots for all three.

Great points on the catfishes. They are unique and not for everyone. While I love catfish, the rest of my family puts up with them :) However, the Raphael analogy was great. Every few weeks or so, our Rafael comes out late in the evening before lights out and stays for a short bit. While he is out, ...

That is one monster fish!!! Are they actually sold in the aquarium trade? I don't think they should be.

Sparkling gouramis are generally very peaceful. I haven't seen any that are agressive or even semi agressive. Also they stay quite small.

Neither should bother your plants. I have four brochis and they are among my favorites. I would tend to go with them. I also have a rafael that I like quite a bit. You will see the brochis a lot and also your tank would look pretty cool with the gouramis and the brochis kind of setting each other of...

Possibly they are a little shy. I have had several channels that wouldn't go after food right away due to other fish in the tank. They would go later and pick up some scraps. If your channels stay in one area, you can try feeding the rest of the tank on one side and the channels on the other side or...

I have never had a problem with Raphaels and plants. I've never reallys seen them dig at the substrate. I don't ever see mine during the day, but he is very active at night.

I've had several small ones (very small) and they generally eat a lot. Mine have eaten flake, carnivore pellets, shrimp, bloodworm, almost anything, particularly meaty. If you have only had them a few days, it may take them a little while to get used to the tank. You may want to feed them at lights ...

Black Sharks get pretty big. We have one in the pond that is about 18" so you will need a sizable tank. Our black is only a little over a year old, they generally grow very fast. Whatever you do, don't put two black sharks together. At least one of them will die, generally the smaller one. We d...

They are quite prone to ich. I had two a while back and both contacted it twice. Unfortunately, I think playing dead got the best of them. They were in the pond outside and I think a bull frog got them. As much as they swim, a pond wasn't the best for them anyway. I also have strong feelings about s...

Can anyone tell me where i can find a site to build my own pond i would appreciate it. Just google pond building or pond construction. You will find a lot of places. Maine is a tough place for a tropical pond though. I have a couple down here in south florida and most of the fish can't go much belo...

I use a 55 gal for a grow out tank for my pond. Since I have some fairly large fish in the pond (24" Giraffe Cat, couple of 18" Pacus, 16" Black Shark, 16" Common Pl*co and few others over 12"). A few months ago I purchased 4 channel cats (about 1") they grew quickly an...

I would be tempted to take it off your hands, however I don't even feel my 4000 gal pond is adequate. They are big and among the most active swimmers.

I have several brochis splenden and they do fine in ph 8. However, I am able to use canal water here in FL so I don't use any chemicals. It will depend on the type of cory.

I have a large gibbiceps (18") in one of my ponds outside. He seems very aggressive when I put other catfish in there. I tried two leiarius pictus (about 7") and at a different time one a auchenoglanis occidentalis. Each time the gibby chases them constantly. Both times, I put the others i...

In addition to the hikari algae wafers, mine really go for the hikari carivore wafers (as do all the other fish).

What food would that be? He eats everything from the bottom, just nothing from the surface.

Mine's favorite is sinking shrimp pellets. He scavenges a lot at night, so you may want to watch at night. It doesn't have to be completely dark. He will eat flake if really hungry but rarely. He will also eat most any kind of worms. Mine doesn't eat every day usually one or two times a week in quan...

Well, I think I solved the problem. I moved the brochis into a 120 with a couple Ancistrus, one Blue gourami and some bosemani rainbow. They have been all moving about at all times and not hiding all the time like before. There is driftwood in that tank as well as a number of caves and some plants a...

I have had mine for about 5 months and he as gone from about 2.5" to 6.5". He definitely has an affinity for shrimp (both frozen and pellets). Also, he does a pretty good job on zucchini.