syno321

Could be she is, but just before she wants to drop her young she'll head for the peace of the plants.

Physically, she will be at her greatest girth, looking especially full, and "boxy" around the ventral part of her abdomen(?) when she is at full term. Behaviourally, the day or two before she drops her young, she will be looking to find a secluded spot, away from the main activity of the tank, probably in some plants, where she can have her brood in peace.

You take such good quality pics! Have you ever thought of composing a quick primer for submission to this web-site, or for that matter a presentation at one of the ACE meetings? If you haven't, I think you should.

Chocolate Gourami Any help is much appreciated,

For information on Chocolate Gouramis go to the next ACE meeting and ask if any one has bred them lately.

Anentome helena

There is hope! I just read on an international wholesaler's web-site that they just acquired a species of snail that eats snails!

You are an excellent photographer! I am especially impressed with the landscape(?) shots. Spectacular colour, content and subject!

loaches.com is absolutely brilliant. Here is a link to one of their articles, scroll down to the breeding heading or read it all if you like.

http://www.loaches.com/articles/weather-report

I know that asian supermarkets breed them for use in asian cuisine, but I do not know what their methods are. Replicating their wild habitat (which you have done it sounds like) would be your best bet, that is definitely breeding behaviour. Remember that the Weather Loach is a very adaptable species, so conditions should not be too crucial.

Anyways, best of luck to you,

Taylor

Try to find a breeding article by Sally Boggs of the Pittsburgh Aquarium Club. Her article may have even appeared in FAMA or TFH. She is an accomplished breeder of unusual fish, the only person I know who has bred them. If I remember the article accurately, she let the water levels drop with evaporation over an extended period and then raised the level quickly, adding a power filter for the flow. Temperature was not significant and the water conditions were described as quite mulmy before the water infusion. Always search for the practicle experience of those who have accomplished something, before settling on the guesses of those who haven't.

I don't know this person or their set-up, but after reading this, I wonder if the fish you bought hadn't had enough time to purge before you bought them and then transported them. If you saw them and bought them the same day, then they wouldn't have had time to reduce their waste products through fasting, and consequently may have polluted their transport water.

Synodontis multipunctatus - 17

I've bred a trio of them by the hundreds in a 3.5 gal. tank, so a pair in a planted 2.5 would be fine. I used to feed mine bbs and white worms. ( white worms 1 a day ) If you can't feed similar size food see what they're feeding them at the store. They are absolutely gorgeous and easy to keep.

I really doubt it as the cyp fry tend to school at the surface, and the petricola tend to stay on the bottom and definitely do not move into the open water if at all possible. 99% of the time petricola move from one location to another with something solid ( ie: rocks, glass ) in very close proximity to their ventral surface.

Red/orange is the species natural eye colour.

I once had a female red crayfish escape a floor-level 15 and had managed to exit the fish room walk down the hall and was on the other side of the basement near the floor drain when my wife discovered her. Thank God she called me using her controlled cautious voice instead of her blood-curdling, glass-breaking panic scream. I picked her up ( the cray) and put her back in her tank, and of course secured the cover.

This is an extraordinary species that can detect food items on/in the gravel with the ventral pointing extensions of their pectoral fins. I was lucky enough to have them breed a couple of years ago. Sexual differences are non-existent, as even when breeding, they exchange care of the eggs and young. The females don't show any signs of being gravid, and their secretive behaviour prevents prolonged observation of their habits. If you're lucky one day you'll spot fry and begin feeding bbs or microworms, from there the fry are relatively easy to raise. The tank I had them in had at least 3" of crushed garnet gravel which they will definitely move around to their liking, with some 6-8" sections of 1.5"PVC for them to use as tunnels. They are very shy, especially at first, but will eventually let you approach without hiding once they know you. It would also be advantageous to house them either in a very wide tank, or one that is situated so you're looking in the side as this allows them to retreat to the back to get away from you, much like discus.They also seem to prefer subdued lighting, probably due to the niche of Lake Tanganyika that they inhabit. They seem to prefer smaller food items, and I don't remember them being picky as to what they get fed. Hope this helps.

I kept this species 15 years ago in a tank set-up like previously suggested and, if I remember correctly, they ate frozen foods as well as pieces of earthworms. After viewing the lionfish eating the pellets on the NLS promotional video, you may want to experiment with some NLS. OK Neil you can send me the cheque now.

Do as Tanker says and enjoy your holiday!

Fans are great for ensuring that all of the moisture is removed.

I am personnally NOT interested in how cheap the prices are. I would not want to know if this store sells a certain product for pennies less than the next. I would want to know the number of varieties of species they carry and how many of them are rare, not neccessarily bread and butter. This tells me that that store caters not only to the general hobbyist ( they need to to stay in operation ), but also has taken the time and effort to develop a client base that is interested in the more unusual. This client is also willing to pay more for the unusual, and VALUES the effort that that store went to to provide something out of the ordinary for their clients. As the prices for these more unusual fish are dearer, to avoid losses, these stores have usually developed a certain level of expertise amongst their staff in keeping such rarities. These are a couple of the more important traits that I consider when evaluating a store, healthy fish and knowledgable staff.

Years ago I experimented with a kiddie pool of approx. 150 gals. in our garden. I measured the temperatures on a semi-regular basis and found that the span was from 58 - 85 F. The temperature swings did not affect the fish ( which were all tropical: S. barbatus, Callichthys callichthys, Odessa barbs, etc.) I think because the thermoclines weren't rapid and because most species I used were known for tolerating lower temperatures. My own kids were small at the time and they got a thrill out of wading in the pool and the fish tickling their feet while nibbling for possible food.

Temperature requirements of both prohibit their combination.

Double dose a product called Aquari-sol. I've used it with all kinds of fry, with no ill effects, but you might want to research the effective ingredient ( copper, I believe ) and it's effects on shrimp.

Indian Flasher Barbs

The Baensch atlases, The Cichlid Aquarium by Dr. Paul Loiselle ( great reference even for non-cichlidiots ), Labyrinth Fish by Helmut Pinter ( best book for atmosheric air breathers ), Corydoras, anything by Ian Fuller, and I would also say that the Barrons books ( the ones I've read ) are spot on in terms of the info provided.

thanks wendy,

more like 100eggs now, I was going to move the adults in to a new eclipse that i just set up and discovered them on the driftwood...

so in a few days I will remove the adults to a 30gallon eclipse tank.

i hope i can raise some.

The fry easy to raise on bbs. The parents can get very nasty defending their clutch/fry, so I'd remove the other inhabitants. As well, in my experiences breeding this species, the parents can sometimes get nasty with each other, so be aware! Isn't it neat the way the eggs are attached to the surface by the short thread that makes them "blow" in the movement of the water!