C. gladysae looks like a paleatus got rogered by a Lepthoplosternum!

Bit short notice this, but realised it's not on here! On Sunday, June 6th Preston Aquarists Society are holding a one-off Convention Day which will be held at The Mill Hotel. Sponsors; This event is sponsored by Steve and Julie at Aqualife and Neil at Pier Aquatics. Venue;- The Mill Hotel, Moor Road...

I don't think they're Bryconops caudomaculatus either (or at least not the fish I've seen as B. caudomaculatus), body shape looks very wrong, and if they behaving as you say then that doesn't fit either.

If you have an animal feed merchants near you, it might be worth going looking at what they have from Skrettings aquaculture feeds, but go for a freshwater feed pellet rather than one designed for marines. If there's an Asian supermarket nearby, it's worth looking through the freezers there for bulk...

As in the subject line, we've got two elliptical metal halide bulbs, Philips 125W.

Anyone still using the wonderful old Hoffmann air pumps (which subsequently were marketed by Rena if I remember correctly) might find use for a diaphragm, metal case and rubber sleeve that we've got spare.
PM me.

The blue line I've seen is sort of like an iridescent flash. The fish that does this hovers in front of the others and kind of wiggles and the blue blinks on and off like a light. It's right below his spine, going the full length of his side. Our group show this all the time, I think it's just an e...

I've always found them to be peaceful and compatible with everything from small tetras and pencils upwards!

So far everything has worked out perfectly, he has been in with the the tankmates since kitten, and I havent lost one fish to him yet "Yet" is the operative word. This has been said many times, in similar situations and has never ended well. The overwhelming evidence (albeit anecdotal) po...

The fish filmed were not that deep, 80-100m

We have quantities of slate, other rockwork, sand and gravel FOC, all it needs is collecting from Bolton.

We use Algarde airline connectors tapped directly into a drilled hole in the main air feed, this gives a very tight fit and we don't get any leakage. We can then use whatever air valves we see fit (although again, we normally use Algarde).

That not cheap! Great idea though. The Horniman Museum in London used to have a similar thing but set out in stepped-linear fashion.

The description makes me wonder whether it might actually be a Heptapterid.

Jools wrote:As they say in a certain favourite film of mine, "We shall redouble our efforts"! Jools

I'm guessing "Best of Ben Dover"?

Cheers HH. Few people can have brought science and the hobby closer together. I'm sure you'll be back.

Martin S wrote:
Actually, am really glad I called them today - the fish were given to Neils as a sample, but someone had already put their name down for the lot - I'm guessing someone at GLEE.

Guilty as charged, your Honour....

Under what legislation? Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 which prohibits the â??intentionalâ?? killing, injuring or taking, the possession and the trade in wild animals listed on Schedule 5. All UK native amphibians and reptiles are listed in Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, ...

In addition to the other companies mentioned I would thouroughly recommend my good friend Giles Barlow, who has built all of my fish house tanks to my sizes and criteria. Giles can be contacted at his shop on 01254 388815 I'll second this, Giles has built aquaria for friends of mine and they've all...

I'm under the impression that it is actually against the law in the UK to feed live vertebrates (fish) to animals. I came across this when looking at info with regards to feeding terrapins. It's also against the law to feed tadpoles to animals.. Can anybody back me up on this? All Amphibians are pr...

We have a small group of Blue-eyes, and one thing that strikes both my colleague and myself is that this fish is noticeably different in appearance to our specimens. It's already been suggested on another forum that this might be due to age or size, but I don't think so. It's hard to pinpoint exactl...

Bichirs are not aggressive, but are efficient predators. Any fish under 3" would be under threat from 8" Polypterus.

Re: the oxygen generator. I had a look at Ads book and he uses a lead or silver thread as a catalyst. Also where do you buy "lead or silver thread"?: Any craft centre, jewellery repair workshop, bespoke jewellery workshop etc. etc. should be able to provide you with a tiny piece of silver.

Is there an agreed way of raising TDS in a tank after it has been put through a "wet season" without the nitrate increasing to much? I don't have to worry about it as the TDS in my normal tap water is fairly high, but I have been asked the question by some friends that have very soft wate...

Good to see research being carried out on fish like this, but I think I'd like to see more evidence of this occurring in nature (not the publication...). The quotes in the media drawing comparsions with Tiktaalik seem a bit gratuitous.

In a word, no. Conductivity meters are always a good idea, they are usually fairly cheap and reliable. pH meters on the other hand are a pain, they need very regular recalibration and in my view are more trouble than they are worth (at least the models that are commonly available). There are no Nitr...

Should you have to be away from home for any length of time, I'd at least partially cover them to cut down on evaporation losses. I've used shallow glass trays like this on numerous occasions, they work really well but you either need to be there every day or have someone else competent around to ma...

Peroxide reactors can be very effective at raising DO levels. One commercial unit is caled the Oxydator http://www.growell.co.uk/p/1113/The_Oxydator.html The Oxy-Plus they refer to is just Hydrogen Peroxide. You can also find details on how to make one of these in "Enjoying Cichlids" from ...

Next Sunday you not only have the British Cichlid Association Convention at Amersham http://www.britishcichlid.com, but you also have the Preston and District Aquarist Society Spring auction at the Royal British Legion Club, School Lane, Leyland (for more details contact Sherri Byers on 01772 321743)

Silurus wrote:The asymmetrically forked caudal fin made me think of Lasiancistrus.

I agree, looks somewhat akin to Lasiancistrus tentaculatus, but appears shorter in the body.

It's very unlikely that this slight lowering of the temperature will impact your filter in any significant way. It's also very unlikely that there will be any parasitic outbreak unless you have recently added new fish to your aquarium. Just keep an eye on the fish, feed lightly for a few days until ...