? I'm shocked it hasn't already been done ...

Of course, you also could actively seek out rare fish dealers. There are several in the United States that traffic in South American fish, and sometimes receive single specimens from their exporters. The key is patience, establishing a good relationship with those dealers, and a willingness to pay p...

Thank you!

I acquired this syno some time ago - it was sent by a reliable African shipper as Synodontis cf. koensis - is this still what it is considered? Sorry for the bad pics; they are an acute combination of bad lighting, bad camera, bad photographic technique, and an atrocious photographer (me!) b-) : Top...

Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous.

When/if economic meltdown arrives, it won't be because of any nefarious collective bent on undermining American values. It will happen because of simple, inexorable, undeniable human greed; a motivator for almost all economic development just the same. I think we in the United States have forgotten ...

My dating may be a little off, but the general tenor of the photo makes me think Alfie is going to walk by any minute.

Great shot, it makes me smile for my own fish-catching childhood.

I can stumble through an EPL season and look pretty creditable in the end, but World Cup action will prove me for the dilettante I truly am.

Bring it on.

Another league I'm part of is using Yahoo!Sports, but your link looks much prettier (kinda like a reverse Big Mac package!).

Doesn't look like a true fungal disease at all (besides which, they are pretty rare in fish); rather a bacterial problem. I assume all of your tank's water parameters are in order? No ammonia spikes lately? I would execute quite a few water changes and treat with salt, and avoid antibiotics until yo...

Bring back Pierluigi Collina!!!!!!

Pimelodella gracilis?

If his first name is "The Rancor", is his last name "Monster"? Make certain he steers clear of Jedi masters.

Very nice collection! Good luck with any breeding attempts - any idea at what size they are physically able to procreate?

For me, the easiest way to determine if it is cool or uncool is to think of its human analog. It has a huge mouth, grows to excessive weights, follows food blindly (or via the sense of smell), seems to be everywhere, is represented in collections overmuch by neophytes, and its red fades as it gets o...

Great color on that specimen.

Victory! And with nary a trace of any of those accursed Red Devils all year ...

Predictions for next year: Manchester City Top 5 finish! And James' fantasy Prem team: bottom half finish. I can live with that in exchange for real European competition in 2011.

Last year I did pretty well 'til Man City's totally predictable late-season collapse. That and refusing to hire those ManU players did me in. Well, I'm back. And, yet again, will prove a total fool by sticking to Man City and refusing ManU. But this year: DOMINATION. Especially if domination is libe...

I'll have to try to regain my mojo, as my fantasy Premier Leauge team suffered horribly from the (apparently) unwise choice to NOT field any Manchester United players. Seeing as Man City is in the pits (again) ... I can choose a team unencumbered by the yoke of "ragdom". I'll throw the gan...

Vulture cats - I like bagre de machete personally - are very hard to find. An East Coast (US) importer had small ones about 3 years ago, and those were the last I've seen of them at that size, and I've looked high and low. I finally found a big one from said importer, but it is already about 17"...

I'm in and ready to defend the title! I'm fairly certain this year I will lay a tremendous egg, and my team will stink (kind of like Man City, I'm afraid!).

J

While 8 days (or longer) is an unusually extended time for a parasitic infestation to linger unnoticed/undeveloped - rapid breathing and shimmying can sometimes be attributed to protozoa parasitizing the gills. Does your plec have any fine "dusting" on it? Even if not (hopefully) you can i...

Generally I find cats biting everywhere I cast! The only thing more likely to hit it are rays ...

J

Yes, I go fishing sometimes round here. What cats specifically are you looking for? There really aren't too many species in south LA.

Where do you go fishing? Welcome to Planet Catfish, and it is good to see another southern soul.

J

Nitrate-kits: They are prone to failing due to age - there's more than me that has wrongly thought that my water was "near perfect", when it turns out that the test-kit isn't showing as much as it should do. You may want to take a water sample to your LFS and see if they can test it for y...

I wouldn't sweat the test kits. All of them suffer from one serious deficiency - our own eyes' color rendering capability. 50 ppm nitrate is obviously not better than 20 ppm, but as long as your water changes keep it at that level I think you'll be okay. Nitrate (over the long term) can suppress fis...

The hypnotoad appears to have a small issue with spelling his name in his sig

J

Ultimately, if all the tank's parameters are in order and the royal is eating well and doesn't appear to be suffering or in discomfort, I'd just leave it where it is. It is pointless to medicate or treat the creature without knowing what is causing this discoloration. Piebaldism is a genetic trait t...

Does it look like pitting in the tissue - is the discolored skin "sunken" in? Or does that discolored tissue retain the texture of his normal skin?

Piebaldism? The pic makes it difficult to tell if the change is just color or definition as well.

J

Wow. That will some sharp-looking tank. I've not got much to add. Ones I've kept in the past did great on a vegetable heavy diet, with frozen shrimp thrown in twice a week. I'm not certain how much grazing on driftwood they do, there was always uneaten algal growth in their tanks that they would not...

CuSO4 = copper sulfate? My inorganic chemistry is not what it should be. I'll assume the phenol green is some form of victoria green/malachite green. Yes, this should have "some" effect on the white spot, if the spots are parasitic. I recall a thread on here quite some time ago concerning ...