All right. Thank you, Mats and Bas. My last knee jerk (I think). Longevity is one of the most basic and important features of any creature and usually (unless impossible or too expensive) a dedicated effort is made to get at that info along with other basics, such as size, sex differences, food, hab...

Good points but not enough. I still think that e.g., if it known for sure that at an adequate level of care a fish CAN live up to 18 years, this info would be valuable. After all, when we go to the zoos or read handbooks about animals, there is usually good info about the longevity BOTH in the wild ...

Is there a good reason for that? say, length varies greatly too but the max is still indicated, right? it'd be even more helpful to know at what point in time the fishes turn from babies, to adolescents, and then to adults/mating-capable adults... and then to mating-incapable adults, and then to sen...

Hey man! What a beautiful, spectacular specimen! What unique, striking coloration! I feel your pain having to part with such a precious pet and admire you for putting his interests ahead of yours! You expemlify to us all humane treatment of animals and personal sacrifice even when it takes a chunk o...

Too bad they cannot be shipped to US, too far, can they? Just curious, how much would you like for one?
Viktor

Hey, Jake, thanks!! That's a cute coincidence, indeed, belarussians populating Wisconsin! Send my best to your generous friend and his wife and his tenant and my countryman and "tyozka" (russian for a person having the same name).
Viktor

Thank you, guys, much! I think I was bragging/gloating, sorry, shame on me. This is not the time, neither the place for these pics. Amanda, I was just joking about one of the worst possible outcomes of my new endeavor

ok, I got it confused with Pimelodidae Brachyplatystoma Brachyplatystoma filamentosum, but platynemum is not shabby either at 1.2 m tops. I am still very intersted.

I'd love to have one some day and I am listening intently too. Redtailrob's comments are scary though, hopefully not a showstopper (it's a HUGE, HUGE, long-lived fish, up to 3 m - will need a pond when grown, I guess, not a home-sized aquarium).

One more note, though, Jake: I differ from you. Having lived for 15 years in USA and having caught plenty of catfish, I still like having them in my aquaria; it's fun for me, especially see them grow from babies into monster fish but right now I have only a 5" blue channel and 12" channel ...

ok, one more

a few more

Amanda, what cases do you have on your mind that I have to empty the pond, to fix leaks or smth? Yes, I have three 12-glass-block windows with two sections openable in each. No doors except from the house. I have tubing as well as hard piping. The pond has 2000 gph submersible magnetic pump with a h...

Thanks, Richard! Makes sense. What a mess though. What's aquabid? an action website selling fish?

using less words: exotic is almost synonymous with attractive, desirable; by one definition, exotic means "everywhere but where you grew up".

Jake, I could not agree more. In fact, your concept spreads far beyong fish, clothing, and in some cases, mates. Thus, at this point in life, my wife and I are considering moving to Hawaii because having grown up and lived in moderate climates all our lives, part of our tug to tropics is that hard-t...

is there a spot for these hybrids in cat-eLog with a collection of pics for id-ying?

Richard, I thought that decora x multipunctata hybrid is called jaguar because of the clouded spots it has. Is it the same as valentine?

with a little help from my friends, we will hopefully get to the picture-taking stage ... even if these will be about my basement flooded with 2500 gal of premium-cleanliness fish-tank water and a few big pretty cats hiding under the forced-air heating furnace and water heater ...

To Amanda: Thank you! To Mats: Thank you for the tip about the barcodes, Mats -- why is not anything easy? Oh, yeah, right, right... I keep forgetting that it's a fallen world :( . The reason I said what I said about GE silicone is that even within one home improvement store there are differing kind...

ok. I have just gone to the LFS and got two tubes of Marineland 100% clear silicone rubber, fish safe, meant for aquariums, handles water column pressure. Sure it is 2-3 times more expensive, $12 for a standard caulk-gun sized tube 304 ml or 10.3 US fluid oz, but if I knew it from the get go, I woul...

this forum is quite confusing: some people say any silicone is fine, others argue against it
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load ... 22511.html

another site that appears to be highly edifying
http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/20 ... icone.html

another small piece: http://www.corals101.com/Information/Aquarium_Adhesives.htm Attaching glass to glass There are other adhesives that you use on your aquarium before it is filled with water. One of these is called the silicon caulk. Typically this is used to seal cracks in the glass. It is needs ...

Okay. Can it be that there exist different types of GE Silicone One, made for pet shops and for hardware stores? And can my mistake be that I went to the home improvement/hardware store (Lowe's) to get theirs? Here is a small piece from e-how: http://www.ehow.com/facts_5892414_kind-silicone-can-use-...

Mats, the wording on the tube of GE Silicone I (one) is slightly different from that on GE Silicone II (two) but still unsettling. The last sentence of the instructions reads: "Not for use below the water line or aquariums." Do you think this can be disregarded? Do you still assert that Si...

Ha-ha!!! I will never make Sherlock Holmes. Thank you Bas Pels!! I should have guessed your attempt to help me resolve my lack of understanding. I thought "ichli" refers to some character, perhaps greek. :D Why are some words edited? This one does not appear to be a bad or dirty word?

yeah, "encourages" is a very nice weasel word! It can mean hundred different things, especially when taken to court

Birger, as you hinted these two compounds are very, very diferent - one is an organic polymer and the other is a very highly insoluble inorganic salt - rock dust. Hard to combine them indeed, but not at all impossible: say, one can melt the polymer and mix the melt with the CaCO3 salt powder and the...

2wheelsx2, sorry to be so dense but I still do not get what this forum or website is - it appears you either assume I know it or I should be able to guess easily. Neither do I understand Bas Pels' mysterious comment. No need to explain if you'd rather not.
Viktor