I've noticed these for sale at one of the LFS. They're being sold as Giant Oto's for about $7 each. They seem to be closest to what's listed as Sp. 2 in the Cat-eLog. Doesn't seem to be a lot of information out there about them so I hadn't decided yet if I was going to try a few of them. I'm assumin...

I agree with Snowball, the benefits they provide to the substrate out weigh the nuisance of them. In fact I've added them to tanks where I didn't feel the substrate was good enough. Failing to find a biological control for them, that control became me. When I feel they're in there a little too thick...

Zebra loaches do a good job and stay small if clowns get to big for your tank. Loaches are like cories in that they need to be kept in groups. What kind of snails are they? If they are Malaysian Trumpet snails the loaches won't eat them. I haven't found anything that will. I've heard dwarf puffers w...

I seem to recall reading about a pond system that was heavily planted with ginger. Ginger is suppose to be very good at cleaning up water. I believe ordinary pond weed, elodea, is very efficient at cleansing water as well.

Dianemas, like corys, prefer to be in groups. His digging and defensive stature may be in response to his being the lone dianema. Mine blow bubbles all the time, its just never been anything as organized as a nest.

Are any of the smaller Doradids like Agamyxis good for snail control?

I keep SAE, Otos, Chaetostoma, Farlowella, Platies, and Mollies. They all eat algae, but the SAE probably eats the most and the most different types. I have to say that the Farlowella are probably my favorites. I use a product from Seachem called Neutral Regulator which contains a phosphate buffer. ...

Thank you for the reply. Do you know if these are common in the trade? I would like to get 5 or 6 more but this is the first I've seen locally. Will it do okay with a group of C. aeneus until I can locate more? Thanks again.

I found this single specimen in a tank of assorted cories. I believe its C. axelrodi but was looking for confirmation. Thanks http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/album_thumbnail.php?pic_id=580 http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/album_thumbnail.php?pic_id=581 http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/album_t...

For my own education, are they both females?

I've found Melafix and time to be a good healer as well. I had special ordered some dianemas from a local shop and received two of them badly battered. Missing barbels, chunks missing from fins (looked like bite marks), and completely colorless due to stress. Two weeks with Melafix and you could see...

My tap water comes out at 8.2 and sometimes higher. I've been mixing distilled water with tap water to arrive at a ph of 7.2. Using all that distilled water is getting expensive. I checked into an RO unit, but, it seems to me that between the cost of the unit and the periodic replacement of the filt...

I've seen them at a couple of stores, all about an inch and all look similar to the photo. I believe they're going for $14.95 US.

I've seen Melafix, good water, and time heal some pretty banged up fish. Yours however has had the additional insult of having taken a dip in chlorinated tap water. I believe chlorine burns the gills, so he's probably having a hard time getting oxygen. Aeration would help. Since madtoms are cold wat...

I was back by the store yesterday and stopped in for another look. From what juvenille pictures I could find of S. longirostris I would have to say that these are in fact the same. I asked the manager about the 6 inch max size on the label. She stated that it was in fact a misprint and that these fi...

I didn't buy, and I don't have any pictures. They definitely weren't eupterus. Could be a hybrid. Didn't have the adult coloration of longirostris either. They were only about an inch to an inch and a half long. Does anyone know what the juvenille coloration of longirostris looks like? If I'm nearby...

I went into a Petsmart last week and noticed they are now selling Synodontis longirostris (SM). The (SM) listed after the name I'm taking to mean small. They list the maximum size as 6 inches. The Cat-eLog doesn't list a size but other searches I've done list the maximum size as 20 inches. Is there ...

I have two in a heavily planted 40 gal tank. One of the two will jump down to the substrate at feeding time and fight for its share of algae wafers; against mollies and platys which I consider to be aggressive feeders. Most of the time they hop from plant to plant and graze the algae. When they do a...

Don't be too discouraged. If I thought about all the fish that died in my tank when I was younger, I would have never tried again. If you didn't make mistakes, you wouldn't learn. Get your tank cleaned up and the nitrogen levels down and try again. This time only add one or two inexpensive (read tha...

Acording to the directions on the Maracyns, they will not affect biological filters when used as directed. I'm not sure I completely believe that but, I have had to use them on two occasions with mature tanks. I had suspected some of the healthy fish were carriers or developed an immunity to somethi...

I try to keep a bottle of Para Guard on hand. Its manufactured by Seachem. I don't know if its available outside the US or not. I use it as a general remedy, primarily in my quarunteen tank. Its tolerated well by both scaled and scaless fish (catfish and loaches), doesn't harm snails or plants or bi...

Take a look at this link,

http://www.scotcat.com/factsheets/r_parva.htm

There is a drawing of the belly plates. From what I can tell the second photo looks very similar to H. parva.

Thanks to everyone for the responses. I picked up a Marineland sponge prefilter kit and a replacement sponge. There's an intake strainer in the kit that's about twice as long as the strainer on my hot magnum. Unfortunately it doesn't fit the intake tube. So I just slid the replacement sponge over th...

I've been thinking about replacing the intake strainer on several of my Marineland canisters with a sponge filter. I was hoping this would decrease the amount of plant detritus that finds its way into the filter, but I'm concerned that it may reduce the flow rate. Has anyone ever tried this?

I don't generally see mine out feeding during the day. They usually become very active after lights out.

I use topsoil as a substrate. About an inch covered by about an inch and a half of fine gravel. I didn't do any sterilization to the soil, but that was on a new tank that was planted and allowed to cycle for a month. You wouldn't want to try this on a tank that was already set up; it would be a mess...

Looks like a Spotted Hillstream Loach, (Gastromyzon punctulatus), not a catfish.

Thanks, it does kind of resemble S. rebeli. I tried to see if I could find more pictures but there doesn't seem to be a lot out there about S. rebeli. I guess we'll see what it grows up as.

I was at an LFS yesterday when I found this. The clerk told me it was a Corydoras. I told him I was pretty sure it was African, not South American. He asked the manager and came back and told me I was right, it was a South African cory, C. jullii. I don't think so. At the time I was thinking S. nigr...

I've had three for about a year now. They're in a heavily planted tank and I find they spend most of the time hiding in the plants and wood. They do eagerly come out for frozen bloodworms. They also are quick to come out when the lights go out. When I bought them they were kind of washed out; their ...