DCallele

Congratulations and a *great* video! David

Thanks

Managed to catch all but 2 inhabitants of my bottom dweller tank, in one photo, near feeding time. A) Tiretrack Eel B ) Peacock or ZigZag Eel (I'm not sure :-) C) Weather Loach D) Black Spotted Eel E) Weather Loach F) Tang Leopard Eel G) Fire Eel H) Peacock or ZigZag Eel (I'm not sure :-) I *finally* figured out how to make the flash work reliably on my digital camera - now I am taking lots of pics. David p.s. Missing: one weather loach and one tang eel.

BTW, I forgot to mention that these fish are all fed with NLS :thumbs: David p.s. Where do I sign up for my endorsement fees? Just kidding.

Snagged this picture of one end of my Rift Lake tank. Mostly Malawi, with some Vics (spare Chromogynos) and a pair of Partilapia Polleni that I am growing out and hoping to breed in their own tank. David

These are 2 male Paralabidichromis Chromogynos and a Steatocranus Causarius. The dominant Chromogynos is having a friendly disagreement with the Causarius. His colors were so intense, I had to try to capture them, even though the glass on the tank was wet from the water change I was doing... The Chromogynos is one of my favorite fish David

Thanks for the complements - they look better in real life, of course, because the color balance is better. They are freshwater "spiny eels" which means they are actually fish that have evolved to look like eels. The smaller one is eating brine shrimp, regular shrimp, bloodworms, etc. but the larger one is being picky and tends to want live food. I'm trying to get them to take both but it sure does take patience... Once they finally start eating 'anything' then they go in the big tank with the other eels and weather loaches. Can hardly wait to see them cruising across a 180! :thumbs: David

Pic #3.

Pic #2.

My Tang eels have started to settle in now - here are a few pics of them in one of the quarantine tanks now that my flash has started to work again. They are about 8" and 11" respectively. Some fry were released into the tank so they are starting to hunt... David

Got a cute pic of one of my spiny eels the other day, thought I would share it. He was just hanging in the plant, watching things go by, hoping for a shrimp or fry to appear. David

"Some" garden style hoses are treated with mold inhibitors so that the water that is left in the hose doesn't start growing between uses. I suspect that these are what people are concerned with... That said, I use a garden hose all the time, just flush it until I get the right temp coming out the other end and all seems to be fine. Most aquarists that I know go and buy the RV potable water hoses instead, just to be safe. HTH, David

I can't really tell from the photos, but they might be the infamous "spirulina spots" that seem to show up once in a while. If you are feeding them spirulina only, perhaps try cutting over to something else for a while and see what happens. Had the spots show up on the lower gill plates once... 40% water change twice a week for a couple of weeks and change of food and they went away. My personal theory is that is imblance in the diet (pure spirulina isn't natural - if they were grazing they would get at least some other stuff too) coupled with nitrate buildup. But then, I am just guessing here... Good luck! David

I love 'em too. I have 3 right now, have another 6 "Paratilapia bleekeri Fianarantsoa green spot" coming in in the next week or so. Then, to try breeding them : I have my current 3 in 2 rift lake tanks, one in a 75, the other 2 in a 110, and both tanks are doing fine for now (they are about 3" to 4"). The largest are starting to show some territoriality and I expect that to continue as they grow toward their peak at around 10" to 12". However, almost all their tankmates are about 6" haps so the haps can currently hold their own. I must admit that I am turning into a bit of a Madagascarn fan, I also have 6 Ptychochromoides katria on the way in the same order. Now *that* is one unusual looking cichlid... Here is a pic (bottom right): http://www.cichlidae.be/cichlidengalerij_overige.htm Now, if I could just find some Paretroplus menarambo at a reasonable price, my Madagascarn short list would be complete... Hope you continue to enjoy yours as much as I have enjoyed mine. David

Just a thought re sterilizing - I always bake my rocks at 400F for a few hours then let them cool in the oven, rinse then add to the tank. Haven't had any problems yet (knock on wood, er, stone). David