The PlanetCatfish coolwall thread

[wrasse]

ooo, ooo, I godda bite! strike, and reeeeeeel 'em in!

[Richard B]

Hmmm difficult.... totally stunning looking, kept by some real enthusiasts & some idiots with too much cash (not referring to anyone on PC here). Too pricey currently but small, not difficult to keep ....oooooooooooo Cool!

[DJ-don]

i think people would only go for these fish just because of how they look and they do look amazing
i have heard from other people that these fish are very timid compared to other fish but i dont think anywhere in my lifetime i can keep these or afford them atleast
they cost around $2k aus

but i find the look is the only cool thing about them
im one of those people who wouldnt do species only tanks just because its so plain!! but then again i will probably will when i leave home etc.
and because these fish are smuggled around the whole world-its another reason why they are uncool

I hate all that hype about them, and how some folk are obsessed by them, stopping at nothing to get hold of more and more overpriced wild-caught specimens, regardless of any environmental concerns.

People justify their illegal removal from the wild by saying that they will be killed by the dam anyway, and we are doing them a favour. This is nonsense. If we really wanted to do the species a favour, we would be joining greenpeace and campaigning/rasing awareness against the dams in every possible way, not buying illegally smuggled fish!

an this literally makes up the rest of the uncoolness

[Haavard Stoere]

Hypancistrus zebra is to small and to shy to be cool.

A lot of fishkeepers would be much happier with other species, but it is the H. zebra they think will make them happy. The H. zebras are uncool. A group of cheap and readily available L75s would maybe give more pleasure to most catfish keepers.

[racoll]

A lot of fishkeepers would be much happier with other species, but it is the H. zebra they think will make them happy. The H. zebras are uncool. A group of cheap and readily available L75s would maybe give more pleasure to most catfish keepers.

Exactly.

H. zebra = status symbol = uncool

[Borbi]

Hi,

H. zebra is like spending a fortune on a Bugatti Veyron and never driving faster than 1st gear.
Something boasters need to feel cool.

Hence: totally uncool!

Cheers, Sandor

[wrasse]

If its a status symbol (I don't think so), does that make a lotus or a porsche uncool? But its not a high speed/racey-looking cat.

I like its graphic black and white pattern. Subzero.

Its exotic-looking and represents the hobby in the same way as the guppy, neon, angelfish and discus do. Cool.

Cool. Just. I think.....

[Carp37]

Seriously uncool- overpriced, downright odd-looking and garish, not to mention far too shy and requiring specialised conditions for proper care.

[L number Banana]

Zebra pleco = cool of course!
If it was cheap, we would all want one at least AND that would take away the status symbol aspect too. The fish shouldn't be judged on price.

If I had one, it would be in a tank beside my bed so I could gaze upon it's symmetrical and elegant beauty without anyone ever knowing I had one.
Like having a little DaVinci.
Do we slam tigers because they are so beautiful?
Tsk.
If you'd never heard of it and saw it in the stream, you would be amazed and tell all your friends about the stunning fish you saw.

Cool

[Richard B]

Like having a little DaVinci.

Somehow i would say it is like having a little Versace...http://www.handbagcom.com/images/versac ... 0black.jpg

H. zebra is like spending a fortune on a Bugatti Veyron and never driving faster than 1st gear.
Something boasters need to feel cool.
Hence: totally uncool!

Whilst i agree with the principle of the above statement (& know this, Simon Cowell has one!) No-one ever will convince me the Veyron is anything other than sub-zero. This car just needs a decent owner http://www.malaysiaminilover.com/bugatt ... n-accident

Back to the fish - They say there's a fine line between genius and madness, well i think there is a finer line here between cool & uncool - i am sticking to this side of the fence, cool, but i hope the wind doesn't start blowing too strongly

[Haavard Stoere]

Sorry for my ignorance, but could someone please explain why the coolest wall is called sub zero?

[MatsP]

Sub-zero is "below zero", which for us here n England means "VERY cool/cold indeed". I know that to someone living in Sweden, Norway, Northern parts of US or Canada, that "just under zero Celsius" doesn't seem that cold, but it is considered very cold here.

--
Mats

[Bas Pels]

Many in the UK still think in Fahrenheit - and 0 F = - 16 C or so

Not a temperature to get even near the door let alone go out

[bronzefry]

Haarvard,
I'm still a little lost on that one, too. Must be all the snow outside.

Hypancistrus zebra was cool before everyone wanted them. Now everyone pesters the daylights out of the thing. Not at all cool. Leave the species alone. So many other beauties worthy of our attention.
Amanda

[MatsP]

Many in the UK still think in Fahrenheit - and 0 F = - 16 C or so

Not a temperature to get even near the door let alone go out

Well, yes, that too. But officially, we should be using Celcisus/Centigrade scale.

--
Mats

[RickE]

Hypancistrus zebra is to small and to shy to be cool.

A lot of fishkeepers would be much happier with other species, but it is the H. zebra they think will make them happy. The H. zebras are uncool. A group of cheap and readily available L75s would maybe give more pleasure to most catfish keepers.

Haavard - you went to all this trouble: http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworl ... fectionist to show us how they should be kept but you think they are uncool? That fish in that tank is seriously cool. Which of us would not get huge pleasure and be immensely proud to keep and breed H. zebra in such conditions? OK, we can't all do it, but that doesn't make the fish any less special.

[Haavard Stoere]

There is nothing wrong with the species itself, but the idea and culture behind it is somewhat questionable and makes it uncool

[Haavard Stoere]

I have given this thought a couple of beers.

HZ is seriously uncool, and RTC is cool. The reasoning behind this is that I much prefer to drink in the company of RTC keepers than to drink with HZ keepers. This is my personal opinion and should therefore be the correct opinion for all of you

[Jools]

Why are you looking at sites about handbags Richard?

Jools

[Richard B]

well being honest, back in my youth when i had lots of money & a "unique & individual" taste in fashion i had some versace jeans that looked like they were made from an overgrown Hyp Zebra. The handbag was the closest pic to attempt to illustrate the wild 'n'wacky styles of Gianni & later Donatella Versace -i am a mine of useless trivia at times....

[Jools]

I am not sure I am comforted by the reply. Similar to digging up a finger by chance and then not stopping and unearthing the whole corpse.

Back to the fish. Anyone else reckon

Hypancistrus zebra

is the major cause of the Brazilian export ban? Despite being a thing of beauty, it is a fish that brings out the worst in human nature.

Jools

[Borbi]

Hi,

Anyone else reckon Hypancistrus zebra is the major cause of the Brazilian export ban? Despite being a thing of beauty, it is a fish that brings out the worst in human nature.

Nah, they were forbidden (and that ban was executed) quite some time ago.
The execution of the ban (which was in place all the time) was just the point that the person in charge of IBAMA changed from someone incapable of telling a Peckoltia from a Hypancistrus to a dedicated hobbyist.
Its like buying a used car: you should pretty damn well know these things, otherwise, the salesman will have a hell of a day.

And with respect to the worst in human nature: I believe it´s more the "I want that Ferrari for free"-thing you see in people frequently buying L 173/L 236 for twenty bucks and then whining if you tell them it´s most probably something else.
And it´s my pleasure to tell them!
I guess, we should send them all to Ingo. He would have fun!

Cheers, Sandor

[Bas Pels]

This is my personal opinion and should therefore be the correct opinion for all of you

I do like this way of reasoning

[DJ-don]

personally i think they should allow all exports on all banned export fish because this will just boost their economy up.
abnd maybe do some tourist sites for the bold people to the rivers in brazil for economical reasons too-but i have no idea what awaits people in the forest with poisonous animals and bugs etc.

but i certainly dont think the hypan zebra is the major cause of the export ban
i dont know how to explain why but someone might be able to for me ;)

btw why is it coolest or subzero etc the best?
why cant it be hot boiling or something like that? personally i think hot makes more sense

[Birger]

Not a temperature to get even near the door let alone go out

What...if a person did not go out the door at that temperature I would spend a good portion of the winter stuck at home...mind you on a minus 30 day nothing better than spending it tinkering on your fish. ( I would lock myself up at any temp if all I had to go out in was Richards striped pants and...handbag )

So far the RTC and the Zebra coolness comes down to the image of the owner of the fish instead of the fish itself.

[DJ-don]

well its a new month so lets start again!
how about L104?
im not sure whether i should say its cool or not but i dotn keep these species (yet )

[Marc van Arc]

For everyone who's not into L-numbers (and right they are), it's this fish:

Panaque maccus

If this one would have been a car, it has to be a VW Golf/Rabbit or a Vauxhall/Opel Astra with so many registered keepers.
And therefore - obviously - uncool.

[Richard B]

If we are doing P Maccus, i'm going with cool.

Small, cute, cheap, available, easy to keep, requires a bit of effort to breed, very rewarding, often the first non-common pleco which people keep...i feel like going out to get some

[MatsP]

Yup, cool as Richard says - I have three (not that all the fish I keep are necessarily cool in everyones view).

--
Mats

[Carp37]

Middling for me- neither cool nor uncool, just shading towards cool:

cool attributes:
peculiar backward shuffling method of locomotion rather than swimming anywhere- maybe characteristic of "Panaquolus"
quite an attractive "bulky" shape, even in males
pretty but not overstated colour pattern
seemingly quite benign in temperament, but that might just be becuase mine are (I think) both females

uncool attributes:
just a little too nocturnal for me- I do see them if there's a treat on offer for them, but they prefer to wait until I've gone to bed to come out and play. Bizarrely mine also stick their heads out of hiding places to "watch" a gravel vac session.
eat too much wood! This isn't an uncool attribute for them in the wild, but in tanks they've caused me problems by making the substrate anaerobic.