Search found 66 matches

by fat meloe!
10 Apr 2017, 22:26
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Fish artificial selection ethics (why are albinos apparently not hated here?)
Replies: 34
Views: 7358

Re: Fish artificial selection ethics (why are albinos apparently not hated here?)

Genetic manipulation via selective breeding has been going on for thousands of years. Selective breeding of wolves produced the great variety of dogs we have today. And most of the crops and farm animals we have are the result of selective breeding. Selective breeding, which is a slow process, is n...
by fat meloe!
10 Apr 2017, 22:12
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Fish artificial selection ethics (why are albinos apparently not hated here?)
Replies: 34
Views: 7358

Re: Fish artificial selection ethics (why are albinos apparently not hated here?)

I have a 2' blind iridescent shark catfish, a free and non-stop swimming species. It does tend to spook easier and run into stuff (this is common in the species anyway) more than my other iridescent sharks but overall I think it's coping just fine. Blind ambush predators like TSN usually do just fi...
by fat meloe!
08 Apr 2017, 23:25
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Fish artificial selection ethics (why are albinos apparently not hated here?)
Replies: 34
Views: 7358

Re: Fish artificial selection ethics (why are albinos apparently not hated here?)

Well going back to the main focus of the topic (albinos) certain albinos, such as chickens (not necessarily fish though), are certainly not adapted well even for the average chicken yard. If you click the study near the top of the page, it says they have difficulty finding food and water and needed ...
by fat meloe!
08 Apr 2017, 19:19
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Fish artificial selection ethics (why are albinos apparently not hated here?)
Replies: 34
Views: 7358

Re: Fish artificial selection ethics (why are albinos apparently not hated here?)

Fish with harmful-in-the-wild traits that slightly affect them in the aquarium, like the roundbody goldfish which cannot swim well, may be happy and mostly unaffected by their phenotype in a tank. But we are not them, so perhaps they would be even happier if they had a normal shape and swimming was ...
by fat meloe!
08 Apr 2017, 18:27
Forum: South American Catfishes (Callichthyidae - Corys et al)
Topic: Time to Euthanize??
Replies: 7
Views: 2206

Re: Time to Euthanize??

Well, first I would try to figure out why the fin rot refuses to leave before any euthanasia happens. As an imaginary example, your fish may be unable to fight off the infection because its immune system is too weak. In that case, check the water parameters, feed it extra nutritious food, etc. Also,...
by fat meloe!
05 Apr 2017, 19:17
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Virtual evolving microscopic "fish"
Replies: 0
Views: 530

Virtual evolving microscopic "fish"

Visit swimbots.com and do investigate their other creations too!
by fat meloe!
05 Apr 2017, 19:11
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Fish artificial selection ethics (why are albinos apparently not hated here?)
Replies: 34
Views: 7358

Re: Fish artificial selection ethics (why are albinos apparently not hated here?)

My comment was more along the lines of testing the above. In the aquarium, I've not noticeably observed any quality of life detriment attributable to poorer eyesight. The quoted links don't suggest this either. Hypersensitivity to sunlight appears undocumented. On a personal level while I'm not gre...
by fat meloe!
05 Apr 2017, 18:39
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: "Common pleco" popeye, feeding, and other issues
Replies: 12
Views: 3397

Re: "Common pleco" popeye, feeding, and other issues

It does have a sunken belly. Luckily it isn't too bad, because the fish has been eating goldfish sinking pellets.

Thanks a lot!

However, I did notice an orange dusty patch around the fish's vent, which wasn't there before. Is it a bleeding area from some disease? See pic coming soon
by fat meloe!
04 Apr 2017, 22:57
Forum: South American Catfishes (Everything else)
Topic: Cetopsis orinoco
Replies: 1
Views: 1525

Re: Cetopsis orinoco

Never had cetopsids, but since you have no replies, I advise: why not ask/research about Cetopsis as a whole? C. orinoco is likely too rare, so few people have kept them. Surely its behavior is similar to other Cetopsis, probably, but do use caution.
by fat meloe!
04 Apr 2017, 22:44
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Rehoming
Replies: 6
Views: 1395

Re: Rehoming

Innes also says something along the lines of "Goldfish almost never encounter lettuce or steamed fish in the wild, but since their composition is similar to natural plants and protein it's not a bad idea". Exotic Marine Fishes coauthored by Herbert Axelrod also recommends lettuce, but says...
by fat meloe!
04 Apr 2017, 00:22
Forum: African Catfishes
Topic: Safely introducing smaller Chrysichthys ornatus to conspecific experiences/advice?
Replies: 7
Views: 4069

Re: Safely introducing smaller Chrysichthys ornatus to conspecific experiences/advice?

Although I am not experienced with catfishes, you could try using a glass divider to separate them (but allow eye contact) and carefully watching the big fish's reaction to the small one. I got this idea from a story in Herbert Axelrod's Exotic Marine Fishes book, in which a pike and some perches we...
by fat meloe!
03 Apr 2017, 23:23
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: What age did you start?
Replies: 9
Views: 2555

Re: What age did you start?

Does a tank with only one catfish (and plenty of non catfish) count as a catfish tank? :d

I started general fishkeeping from a very young age.

P.S. I'd probably say that such a tank certainly counts. Even feeding a common is fun!
by fat meloe!
03 Apr 2017, 22:18
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: "Common pleco" popeye, feeding, and other issues
Replies: 12
Views: 3397

Re: "Common pleco" popeye, feeding, and other issues

Additional notes: Anyone know of what other precautions to take when moving fish? Edit: If the pleco swims around in the water column frequently like a "typical" fish, is it a sign of anything? Both this fish and a previous deceased one (the dead one probably had disease and was not starve...
by fat meloe!
03 Apr 2017, 18:35
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Rehoming
Replies: 6
Views: 1395

Re: Rehoming

It sounds like you are stuck with them for their and your lifetime and will need to keep upgrading their watery playground. In my ignorance, I've never heard of the diet you are offering to your koi nor do I think that feeding koi only/mostly quality pellet is wrong. As for "might miscare for ...
by fat meloe!
02 Apr 2017, 21:53
Forum: Asian Catfishes
Topic: Pseudolaguvia shawi
Replies: 9
Views: 4243

Re: Pseudolaguvia shawi

Yes, since P. shawi is known as a bee catfish.
by fat meloe!
02 Apr 2017, 18:57
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Rehoming
Replies: 6
Views: 1395

Rehoming

Anyone have ideas about where I can move some of my koi (4-5 in.), which are getting large, and my common pleco (around 2.5 in.), which still has a long way to go but will bust the 50/60 gallon in the future? Main concern is that I need somewhere that cares about them. If the koi get sold to a pet s...
by fat meloe!
02 Apr 2017, 18:29
Forum: Asian Catfishes
Topic: Pseudolaguvia shawi
Replies: 9
Views: 4243

Re: Pseudolaguvia shawi

Hm, the bee cat looks like a small , which is related. Where will sturgeon go when it gets big?
by fat meloe!
02 Apr 2017, 01:59
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: "Common pleco" popeye, feeding, and other issues
Replies: 12
Views: 3397

Re: "Common pleco" popeye, feeding, and other issues

If a common pleco isn't eating then there is something significantly wrong mostly likely with conditions. There is a major difference between having no appetite, and realizing your cousin ate all the ice cream from the freezer! The fish eats, but it competes poorly with its hungry tankmates. I don'...
by fat meloe!
01 Apr 2017, 23:29
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: New guy. Looking for advice on what type of cats to put in my 55 gal
Replies: 2
Views: 1082

Re: New guy. Looking for advice on what type of cats to put in my 55 gal

Avoid common plecos (Pterygoplichthys pardalis), they become huge. R. Collins recommends common bristlenose, Ancistrus sp. https://www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/cotm ... cle_id=366
by fat meloe!
29 Mar 2017, 05:51
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: "Common pleco" popeye, feeding, and other issues
Replies: 12
Views: 3397

Re: "Common pleco" popeye, feeding, and other issues

Oh dear, this was exactly the answer I didn't want. It just goes to show that people still may have a hard time helping you if you don't provide all the info (like not having any quarantine tank :-O to dump the pleco into)! What things can be used as nontoxic quarantine tanks? I swear the info-dump ...
by fat meloe!
29 Mar 2017, 05:39
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Fish artificial selection ethics (why are albinos apparently not hated here?)
Replies: 34
Views: 7358

Re: Fish artificial selection ethics (why are albinos apparently not hated here?)

I may be wrong but there is no official policy on this site that deals with this topic. It appears to me it all comes down to the individual perceptions and opinions, so if people are not treated as well as they wish on this site for keeping this or that fish this or that way, it's not the site but...
by fat meloe!
28 Mar 2017, 02:49
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Fish artificial selection ethics (why are albinos apparently not hated here?)
Replies: 34
Views: 7358

Fish artificial selection ethics (why are albinos apparently not hated here?)

Why are dyed fish, deformed fish (balloon paroon shark as an example) and big fish in tiny tanks scorned by Planet Catfish, but not albinos? Aren't they nearly blind and hypersensitive to sun damage of skin (let's ignore genetic inbreeding, which can be corrected)? I am not screaming or pouring hate...
by fat meloe!
28 Mar 2017, 02:24
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: "Common pleco" popeye, feeding, and other issues
Replies: 12
Views: 3397

"Common pleco" popeye, feeding, and other issues

Hello Planet Catfish, before I type in all the data regarding pH, tankmates, etc. I will ask some questions that probably do not need this data, since typing it in is time consuming. If it turns out they do, please note so. Edit: rapid responses are highly appreciated, because of the fish's unpleasa...
by fat meloe!
27 Mar 2017, 03:58
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Hello from the US
Replies: 1
Views: 573

Hello from the US

Hello all, I have been lurking here for a while (and getting familiar with l numbers, bunocephalus, pangasids, etc) and finally decided to register, mainly for the purpose of dealing with a common-pleco-related issue. Some background: I have been keeping fish (mainly goldfish and koi) for much of my...

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