Richard B wrote:As there is only a preserved specimen pictured in cat-e-log would you consider sending pics to be included?

Silurus wrote:It's a member of the H. planiceps species group, but it's easier to identify if I knew where it came from.

drako57 wrote:I want to talk in detail bout fishing trips.

drako57 wrote:And bout your aquariums too

drako57 wrote:And which plecos do we usually get in aquarium shops ?

drako57 wrote:Is it okay if my tank is exposed to direct sunlight ?

amiidae wrote:Tocantinsia piresi.

Martin S wrote:Good list!
Martin

nvcichlids wrote:Oh, and on aquabid, F1 Tatia strigata have been for sale for a while.

Since you just conveniently ignored the max and min statements on a guaranteed analysis and reworked the ingredients to suit your own agenda.

Question: Do fat and vitamins have a lifespan? Answer: Yes once the food is cooked the oxidation clock begins ticking. I have been told by both a chemist and biologist that once the food is cooked there is only a six month window before the fat has become rancid and the vitamins lose their potency. I recommend only buying what you will feed in four months.

At the same time, we also raise new questions about the upper limit of feed levels of carbohydrate in this species. Depending on the source and quality of dietary carbohydrate, the aquaculture industry standard of 20% carbohydrate represents a "conservative" value. We documented outstanding growth performance of trout receiving 24% (mostly wheat flour) or even 30% (mostly purified starch) fed aquaculture rations or to satiety, respectively.

The nutritional value of carbohydrates varies among fish. Warm-water fish can use much greater amounts of dietary carbohydrate than cold-water and marine fish. No dietary requirement for carbohydrates has been demonstrated in fish; however, if carbohydrates are not provided in the diet, other compounds, such as protein and lipids, are catabolized for energy and for the synthesis of various biologically important compounds usually derived from carbohydrates. Thus, it is important to provide the appropriate concentration of carbohydrate in the diet of the fish species being cultured.

she said the same thing to me that they produce less waste, get bigger quicker and ship easier with not being fed grains.

The commercial fish farmer whether they are producing ornamental fish or fish intended for human consumption has only one goal, growing fish to a salable size as quickly and cheaply as possible.

The routine of feeding beef heart and other red meats to Cichlids can ultimately give rise to health problems. Poultry meat is also suspect. Red meats, including lean meats such as beef heart, contain the wrong sorts of fats - these harden within the cold-blooded fish, leading to blockages and fatty deposits around the liver.

Also, the relative proportions of amino acids within the mammalian proteins are different to those required by fish. Hence, feeding red meats will cause the cichlid to excrete more nitrogenous (ammonia) wastes, thereby placing an extra burden on the biological filter."

I've moved in a new direction regarding the feeding of discus, and after many tests feel that a top quality flake or pellet food formulated especially for discus is perhaps the best direction to take. "

"Intestinal prolongation, although indicative of specialization on diets with low nutritional value, such as those of epilithic algae and detritus, has been shown to be highly plastic (Sturmbauer et al.1992). In Tropheus moorii the intestinal length of domestic fish measured only 50% of the length found in wild individuals (Sturmbauer et al. 1992)."

i know my tanganicodus has a very long intestine because its an F1 so it would be very similar to its wildcaught parents.

"This species feeds predominantly on algal periphyton, fine organic detritus, plant matter, and small aquatic invertebrates."

"The alimentary canal of Symphysodon is characterized by a poorly defined stomach and an elongate intestine, some 300 mm long and 3 mm wide (in a 180 mm SL specimen). This intestinal morphology is typical of a cichlid with a dominantly vegetarian, detritivorous, or omnivorous diet."

The presence of endogenous anti-nutritional factors within plant feedstuffs is believed to be the largest single factor limiting their use within compounded animal and fish feeds at high dietary levels. Table 11 summarizes the major groups of anti-nutritional factors present in plant feedstuffs with more specific examples given in Table 12. Although these factors vary in their individual toxicity to fish, a large proportion of them can be destroyed or inactivated by heat treatment processes (Tacon & Jackson, 1985).

Unfortunately toxicological studies have not been performed on the majority of these anti-nutritional factors; on a general basis however their presence in untreated foodstuffs normally results in anorexia, reduced growth and poor feed efficiency when used at high dietary concentrations. For review see NRC (1983), Hendricks & Bailey (1989) and Lovell (1989).

Replacing marine ingredients with plant-based ingredients exposes fish to a series of "foreign" components, for example, starch and anti-nutrients that may upset natural processes occurring in the intestine. Plant components such as lectins, saponins, phyto-oestrogens, phytic acid, tannins and others, which do not exist in the natural feed of wild fish, may disturb digestive processes and affect health. Plant ingredients also introduce proteins that may stress the immune system of the intestine.