I don't think temperature played a part, the tank is very stable in this regard and for it to have warmed sufficiently to cause problems and then cool back down to the regular temperature overnight seems unlikely given it is in a climate controlled appartment. However low oxygen levels does seem the...

Apologies for posting a non catfish question here but I was hoping the many decades of combined experience of Planet Catfish members might be able to shed light on this subject. I look after a large community tank for a friend of my mum's, it about 1,200l and contains a great mix of species, not ide...

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts. I will move the Dianema into the 4x2x2 after the next batch of Sturisoma eggs hatch and keep an eye on them, I'll report back if it becomes apparent the flagtails develop a taste for them fry.

cheers all

I have a 4x2x2 with sand substrate, leaf litter, some moss and driftwood, and miniature water lillies. In this tank I have a breeding group of Sturisoma (sp?) royal whiptails, the fry are successfully raised in the same tank. I have a group of Dianema urostriatum in another tank that I would like to...

My error then as I didn't check what was already in the catelog. I compared it against a photo of a dead fish that does resemble Steve's fish more closely than the catelog pics.

Do you think it is a Plotosus species or something else?

Photo 1 I am not sure what it is. The closest plotosidae in appearance is Tandanus bostoki. The colour is similar as is the mouth shape and the secondary dorsal appears to carry further along the body as in Tandanus. Based on this I don't think it is a Neosilurus species. However T. bostocki is reco...

I don't think the first or third pics on the previous page are N. ater. The body is not tall enough nor is the snout as angular as in N. ater. N. brevidorsalis is a more likely choice for the second but that is just a quick guess. I have a couple of books on NG fish which list quite a few of the cat...

My inclination would be to keep the metal halide but to replace the 14,000K bulb with one around the 6-7,000K mark, 10,000K max. In a freshwater tank lighting on the blue side tends to wash out the colours of the fish & plants. Likewise I would replace the actinic T5 tubes with ones intended for...

He's done a great job there, excellent effect. I only wonder if any of the organic materials used might decay over time, though I don't think it would cause much problems. My only suggestion would have been to use a larger diameter PVC downpipe to hide equipment in, in place of the water bottles. It...

Thanks for that link Shane, I will save that for reference. In Australia we do occasionally see Jewel tanks and a few other imported brands, but for the most part tanks are either Aqua One or traditional all glass tanks measured by the foot. The most common dimensions for these all glass tanks are 3...

Beautiful fish Mats, I hope you manage to find some companions for it. A group of is at the top of the list of cats I would like to keep.

Sidguppy, how long have you been keeping your group for?

Non-US forum members have probably caught on by now that, because US tanks are mass produced, their sizes are standardized. This is why European, Asian, and other hobbyists will typically include their tank's measurements and water capacity while US aquarists will simply list their tank as a 20 lon...

Thank you for your reply Shane.

I have been wanting to test melafix on it as it seems a great way to give it a knock without causing much disruption to the tank, but I haven't had any growing in any of my tanks for years.

I think it is just light refracting as the fish undulates, not something the fish can actively control. Under good lighting I have seen all the colours of the rainbow shimmering from them. White / opaque patches I once read (somewhere on this site) are possibly areas of nerve damage, which sounds pl...

If you are worried about stress on large tanks then perhaps dropping the water level to half would reduce risks, but unless there is a pile driver in operation I wouldn't be too concerned. The glass and silicon joins are flexible enough to take up most vibrations. I would be more concerned about the...

Always rise out all maintenance equipment with tap water when you are finished - hoses, buckets, nets, etc. This prevents mould building up inside the hoses (visible as dark patches) and eliminates the musty / fish tank odour, not to mention reducing the chance of cross contamination between tanks (...

fwiw my tip for when paint or other nasty things are used in rooms with aquariums is to cover the tank with towels as has been suggested and run an airstone from an airpump that is located in a safe part of the house or on a window sill outside with several meters of airline.

A similar thing has recently happened to a hobbyist in Australia, albeit on a smaller scale. Nevertheless just as upsetting to the owner and a disappointing trend.

http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showthread.php?t=14375

Wow, they are awesome tanks!

My god they are big pacus!

Would I be correct in guessing those Arrowanas are the South American ones?

With approval of the admin / mods, I thought this might be of interest to anyone who will be in or visiting Australia in September this year. The Australia New Guinea Fishes Association will be holding its 2009 Convention on the weekend of September 11-13 in Sydney, NSW. It will be a weekend of fish...

Melanotaenia lacustris Thanks nvcichlids, OOo, aah :) Turquoise rainbow, nice! Are they native? Nope, they are, I believe, australlian M. lacustris are actually from New Guinea, as are M. boesmani. They looked like the one in this link but I didn't see any red stripe. It says Crimson spot rainbowfi...

If there's one when I get back from os in a few weeks I'll make a donation :beardy: Now, THAT'S an incentive - however the only Plotosid I have is black... I will see what I can do. Jools an ater would be perfect, they have a lovely head, snout & wisker profile. forget the stripey salty one :P ...

bah boring Loricariidae, how about a

If there's one when I get back from os in a few weeks I'll make a donation

Thanks for the info Shane. That pretty much confirms what I suspected. I am slowly in the process of setting up a fish room so I may get a few more and give them a tank to themselves with some wood, mops and marbles and see what happens. They sure are good at gorging themselves when food is abundant!

I recently acquired three small Mystus vittatus . They were only a few inches long when I got them, but already have grown a bit. I have them in with a large variety of what I consider to be peaceful cats - mostly eeltails & synodontis - and they seem to be getting on well with everything so far...

Likewise I don't think the difference in pH should be an issue as far as the fish are concerned. I do weekly 20% changes on a 1,000l tank, the water going in has a pH of 7.4 - 7.8 and the tank is kept at 6.8 with a pH controller using CO2. It is a planted tank with discus and they handle the change ...

If you can get a good price for the 2217s perhaps consider getting nine filters so you have an extra one ready to swap over at cleaning time, as well as for spare parts.

Live black worms in the fridge pale into insignificance next to the forgotten white worm culture that fell down behind the veggie cooler... And my precious collection of daphnia & other things that bite when they hatch has been witheringly referred to as "bucket city", sometimes in con...

Very impressive, I really like tanks like this with a specific theme. And it's so much more satisfying to know where it all came from and to have collected the inhabitants yourself

If you can store fish-ready water in the roof or otherwise above the tanks (either collected rain or filled from the mains), it will mean you don't need to use any pumps when refilling tanks. I know it's not always possible, but it's always good to use gravity in place of expending energy if the sit...