DCallele

Does anyone out there have any comments on this pump, or Dolphin Pumps in general? http://www.dolphinpumps.com/ then choose Pumps on the left hand side, etc... Thanks. David

This is an excerpt from "Jewels of the Rift", an incredible show to watch if you ever get the chance! David

I have a dedicated tank for them and I can almost guarantee that they will eat any fish that they can fit into their mouths. The good thing is that they are really bad hunters so most can get away :-) They prefer worms (earth and red) over anything else although some of mine also appreciate pickerel! David

I discussed these with a local supplier and he said that they would dissolve within a few months... However, yours may be a different brand so if it was me, I would put one in a pail for a few weeks or months first to see what happens. Then, if that works, try adding a fish that you don't really like (just in case there is something nasty in the water).... David

Exactly.

Check out aragocrete around the web. A good place to start is at http://www.garf.org. HTH, David

Adult males reach between about 6 and 10 inches (in the body, not counting the tail). Young ones can be found relatively cheaply: $10 to $20 with the price growing with size to as much $80 to $100 for really nice specimens in the 20 cm range. They generally ignore other species but will sometimes bite chunks out of smaller fish during feeding or if the smaller fish attempt to interfere with courtship. If you want to breed them, a 6 ft, 120 gal tank is minimum - and that will require careful monitoring once the eggs are laid. Breeding is better in 300 gal and larger tanks and (I am told) quite easy in a pond If you have just one in a tank, you can probably get away with a 4 ft, 72 gal tank. You can even have a few other fish in there as long as you give him a cave to go and be grumpy in... For (a lot) more information, you can check out http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquai...a_bleekeri.html That is what you see in the video. I also have about a dozen of http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquai...ia_polleni.html and their babies are doing well. I'll have 10 to 100 of these available in a few months if you are still interested at that time. Thanks. David

Well, I just had another round with him as I tried to feed that tank. This time there was a little more blood (mine) and a lot of water on the floor. However, we did come to a bit of a stand off by the end because he has to learn that I am there to feed him and that I have to be temporarily tolerated. Ahh, the care and nurture of grumpy middle-aged fish who aren't able to convince their 'mate' to spawn. David

I've finallly joined much of the rest of the world and created my own youtube channel. I've put up 3 videos, two of Paretroplus maculatus spawning behavior and one of my Paratilapia polleni attempting to take a chunk out of me (watch this one with the sound on :smokey: ). http://www.youtube.com/dcallele Unfortunately, the youtube conversion process seems to dim the videos quite a bit... the originals are significantly brighter. Hope you enjoy, David

Very cool! :thumbs:

So, last Friday my Paretroplus maculatus spawned and I got practically no sleep all weekend - every 2 to 4 hours searching the eggs for fungus, changing water, treating water, etc... Today, I got home quite late from work and my Paratilapia polleni (small spot), from the same tank, had spawned elsewhere in the tank. Makes me wonder if the good ole City of Saskatoon hasn't added something to the water lately! Froggie and Ellie were kind enough to come over and help me rescue the eggs, thanks guys!!! Well, no sleep for another weekend, I guess. Here they are. The first person to guess the exact count for the eggs wins 10 (heck, why not 100?) fry! David p.s. Please don't fill my inbox with guesses, I'm certainly not going to count them to determine a winner :smokey:

I would also like to suggest that you consider purchasing sandblasting sand as an alternative. It is 'graded' in that it is sorted by particle size and it is usually much cleaner than most other sources. Depending on your tastes, you can get it in an off-white (dolomite, calcite, quatrz sources) or a play-sand beige (usually garnet or related sources). Just make certain you aren't using an iron or coke slag (just ask them and tell them what you are actually going to use it for). I use it now in all of my tanks and I don't think I would ever go back.... At the local retailer/distributor: 88 lb (40 kg) for $8.99 or so. Just a thought :-) David

Thanks Luke. Endangered and "extinct in the wild" species are what I tend to concentrate on these days, at least for breeding; the species from Madagascar in particular. I managed Paratilapia polleni (large spot) about a year ago, the maculatus now, and I am hoping to do Paratilapia polleni (small spot) and Katria katria (formerly Ptychochromoides katria) over the next year with Paretroplus menarambo (once they reach breeding) soon thereafter. All really cool fish, at least in my opinion. :thumbs: David

It's a Minolta Dimage Z3, 4 MP with a 12x optical zoom and super macro to less than 1 cm. Not quite Froggies camera (in fact, not even in the same league) but it is pretty good in low light and it has a great movie mode. David