If you're after a catfish with in-your-face personality then I'd go for a regular male Hoplo cat. It won't be long until it's splashing at the surface every time you open the lid, giving you a whack if you don't give it food quickly enough. I suggest male because in my experience they have always be...

I love underwater footage from ponds and rivers and this video is wonderful! One of my first fish books was an old British book that had some of these fish as line drawings so it's great to see them for real, as it were. Question: What are the pair of fish that appear just after the one minute mark?...

I never had a chance to go and visit the fish, but today it visited me! That is, it was brought to my doorstep in a bucket as a last reprieve - apparently there were too many customers complaining about the sick fish swimming upside down so they were going to put it out of its misery... don't get me...

Thanks for the replys. I have been able to find out a little more about the fish and the tank it is in. This fish has been in the tank for about 6 months and was moved in with another S. eupterus of the same size, the other fish has remained normal size, ie. a typical healthy fat syno. The tank is a...

Adult S. eupterus, age and sex unknown. Has swollen to this size in the past few months but behaviour appears normal.

I may be missing something, and please don't take this the wrong way, but what's your hurry? Why don't you just wait for the pond to cycle at its own accord? Putting the chemistry aside, this is the crux of the matter to me: Before moving on to nitrite, you should know that dosing Prime or Amquel+ t...

The red would most likely be from physical damage but without seeing the fish that is only a guess. Keep the water clean and it should recover if it is just mild damage, I'd suggest carrying out water changes at least twice a week until you go away. No need for antibiotics but if you are concerned a...

There are four species of Plotosidae that are semi-regularly seen in the local Australian trade, availability appears to be based on seasonal collecting. I don't know if any farms breed any commercially but I doubt there is enough of a demand. Neosilurus ater Neosilurus hyrtlii (N. glencoensis) Poro...

I've had success with black mollies (I suppose any colour molly would do, but black ones are less obvious in the tank). They eat most filamentous algae except red or blue-green types and when they have done their job they are much easier to catch out than Crossocheilus. Mollies are also great for ke...

It depends on the behaviour of the fish in question, if it is using the heater as shelter then a guard would be wise as some fish seem to stay and get burnt rather than moving out into the open. The ripples of heat convection from the heater are unlikely to hurt the fish, but pressing up against the...

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...