Hi Mats P, Just missed your reply while typing other reply! I've played with the slate a bit already and it's nice to work with so it's good to see that weight isn't a problem. Also I've got the safe silicone too. Cork is not only very light-weight (and thus wants to float), but also sensitive to wo...

Thanks for the link about Milliput, we've got something like that here. No problem. Natural cork bark is fine but just so bouyant :irritated: What if I stick it to the glass? Worth playing with in my little tank to see how that would work. Since I live in what the tourists call "the limestone c...

Thanks Richard B, What's milliput? I'm sure we'd have something similar here. Looked at the stunning tanks of Haavard Stoere, whoa! I could spend hours just mentally floating around in there. I've got a pretty heavy horticulture bent so I'd need to mix it with plants. There's lots of lava rock/pumic...

Thanks RichardB, Thanks for the tip, I'll take a look. I adore the Amano tanks but I want something a little less 'peaceful'. No, I'm not a millionaire *because* I have a fine arts background :lol: I'm one of those women that drive my bigger half crazy because I'll make him stop in the middle of the...

Thanks HX67 :thumbsup: Like your raccoon by the way :) Maybe I'll take a look at the wood pile in the shop and make a wooden background? I suppose I could just tie plants to any flat areas. I haven't done any serious carving for a few years...hmm. I've got oak, and hard fruitwoods like cherry. This ...

Hi Matt,
Hate to be so dense but wouldn't the wood eaters eat the wood instead or are they more likely to nibble on anything really hard like the resin?

Don't want to limit myself before I'm even set up

I'm in AWE! Bee-oootiful! I'm just in the process of starting my first catfish tank and there couldn't have been better inspiration than your pictures. Thank you for posting them. Do you use CO2? The plants are as nice as the communities! Wow. I now have a goal to shoot for. Your tanks are incredibl...

Hi, I'm creating a background for my 36" long x 18"high x 12" wide tank. This is the plan but feel free to poke any holes in it if needed. I'll make it, let it cure for 72 hrs, put it in place and have it up and running/soaking/leaching whatever for a long while before any fish or pla...

Thanks, as usual you guys are great. I looked up that one at my LFS about an hour ago and couldn't find it in any of their books. I'll be going with a little shoal of S.nigriventris and Rineloricaria lanceolata or Farlowella vittata. They have the F. Gracilis in stock now and get them in frequently ...

Hi, I noticed there's one person keeping this fish but there's not so much information included in the Cat-elog. Does anyone know if this fish is ever available in stores or have any specifics concerning food, compatibility, etc? Apparently we share a common name :lol: so I guess that means I was me...

Thanks Jools, Really helpful! I've started to raise the temp and added a few different old driftwoods. I'll try the darker background and sides to see if he stays out a bit longer. With the tips in the description, I may even be able to figure out if he's a she :) First cucumber was covered with ama...

Thank you Sandor! You guys are gooood :thumbsup: I looked in the cat-elog at the one you mentioned,the size looks right but I'm guessing the colouration varies? There's not much info there but if that's him then I'd better warm up my tank a wee bit. I'll take a look through the other posts to see wh...

Oh thank goodness!!!! I guess I shouldn't rely on anything else in this book if they make mistakes with the photos! Any tips on which family etc I should start searching to find out what it is? Sorry but I'm very new to this and can only identify a few catfish. This really looks like my little guy s...

Hi, I've been bringing home loads of books for my new tank and came across a picture of a fish that looks like the one I have in my little tank. Please tell me there's something else that looks very similar :shock: I couldn't find anything in the Cat-elog that seemed close. It was recommended as a c...

Thanks for the heads-up Birger! I was stung by a Great Lakes catfish when I was a teenager, right through the side of my thick leather workboots and the pain was evil. Effective for the fish though, I got out of the his water fast :shock: I've been trying to come up with 'gardening', cleaning tools ...

Thanks Mats, I'll do that.
I just found all the articles: basics, water chem, oxy etc and printed them off. I'll be able to get a better handle on things with these. Then I suppose I'll be back with more questions...

You guys are really good for the hobby.

Cheers!

Thanks RichardB, Just spoke to the LFS people and it looks good for s.nigriventris. She said that they get almost all of their cats in September and will be getting those in particular. That will give me lots of time to get the tank into good shape before they arrive. I was also told that they only ...

Hi Birger, I was looking at Synodontis contractus and Synodontis nigriventris as the main guys but I'll have to see which my LFS can get. I like them both and the conditions seem to be okay for a beginner. The farlowella is in the running but I keep flipping back to one called Synodontis lucipinnis....

Hi Jools, I was hoping you would chime in with an idea, I like your hot anubias tank. I also like the "show tank" description better than 'tall tank'. I was looking at both the Pseudeutropius but I'm not sure about the low light needs and the flow rate. Still learning about soft/hard water...

Hi MatsP, Thanks for the info wrt registered keepers. Not quite ready for the for sale page but someday.. As far as the "good thing I don't have room for another tank" bit, I'd be too broke to set up the tank I'm about to receive :) I found the advanced search page and it's wonderful, narr...

Wrt Synodontis nigriventris, Yeah now your talking....they will also sit under the leaves of broad leaved plants, such as Anubias barterii. Sounds wonderful, the banana plants have nice huge leaves too. I still have to look up the lighting issues re the 30" deep tank. I may have to build little...

Thanks so much for all the input, very helpful! I'll be taking a long time to get things right before I introduce any fish, I can help cycle with some danios from my plant tank (temporarily) but since I'm still learning, I'll take my time. I will be using the DIY co2 so the oxygen balance will take ...

Thanks Mats, you've made my day! Locar should have read 'Loricar', oops.. Your descriptions are very helpful. I'll start going though the lists for sizes. 6" is much bigger than I had in mind but I've found a few that say the average size is smaller. This one is rather incredible: Panaque sp. (...

Hi, I'm very new to 'real' aquariums and love the whole catfish family. I'm getting a tall tank for B-day soon and would love to be able to have cats of some kind. I'm worried that I may not be able to house them properly in this tank. I adore all the L number cats but may have to keep dreaming for ...