stratos

That green colour you refer to is the core colour or base colour of the scales I think. Most people would consider a Blue Base Gold to be of higher value than a pure 24-K gold base. Right now this fish looks like an emerald base I think? Over time the gold rim colour should work its way to the core creating more of a fusion effect. I am following the development of another similar fish in Vancouver. Any idea what happened with the gill membrane on one side?

I have to say these are the best XB photographs I have ever seen taken in Canada. Congratulations on raising a truly beautiful fish.

I got a copy mailed to me from the UK, came yesterday. The section on the Birmingham Aquarium breeding Asian arowana is interesting.

Thanks Does anyone know if Practical Fishkeeping is available in Alberta? I can't find it anywhere in BC. I may have to arrange to get it sent over...

Thanks

I didn't bother going out of my way to buy copies in Europe (over my baggage allowance anyway), but have come home to find that BC outlets of Petland, Petsmart, or Big Als do not carry Practical Fishkeeping. Does anyone know if this magazine is available in Alberta, and if so, whether you can find any of the September issue?

The September issue of Practical Fishkeeping has a special feature on Dragonfish (Asian Arowana). http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/magazine.php I am in Europe now, if anyone wants a hard copy of this magazine send me a pm.

Thanks for the compliments. My rays are my passion. Theo both are wild caught but have been in captivity for a long time I heard somewhere that wild caughts are more of a challenge to breed succesfully than captive breds, so you must be doing things right.

Wow, congratulations! Are the parents wild caught or captive bred?

Ya that tub is great Jorg. Glad you like the tub, I'm more impressed by the rays.

LOLOL Don't tell me you have plans to com that sucker with Asian arows! Amazing photos as always.

I kept an adult breeding pair of oscars (tiger and blood red) with an 8" motoro and a P.niger catfish in a 135 gallon tank. When the oscars bred, they took over half the tank during the day. If I wanted the eggs to hatch I would remove them. If not, the motoro and niger catfish would eat them duing the night. I recall the oscars doing a bit of jawing or mouthing of the ray, but nothing serious. In the end it was my baby oscars, however, that killed my ray. I used to remove the adult oscars and catfish to another tank when I had to grow out my baby oscars. Then I would partition the 135, keeping the ray on one side and the baby oscars on the other. Unfortunately I lost the ray when several hundred 1 cm long baby oscars bypassed the partition, ganged up on the ray, and took turns to dive bomb it with little nips. Death curl quickly came and that was the end of the motoro. To this day the tank set up of oscars-ray-niger cat is one of my favourite.

I saw a larger one of those when I visited Frank and Nico in Holland. http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/people...Frank_Nico.html You can see photos of it here too: http://www.aquarticles.com/images/Frank%20...co/dsc_0207.jpg http://www.aquarticles.com/images/Frank%20...co/dsc_0208.jpg http://www.aquarticles.com/images/Frank%20...co/dsc_0209.jpg I think I have better close up shots of it somewhere, but I have too many photos to sort now.

Right on Gerry!

But that fish is a juvenile, has WTT, and is in a still shot photograph; I can aspire to take a photo like that if I spend a couple grand on a young fish and photograph it before the WTT wears off (or go through the learning process of doing WTT myself I suppose). Gerry's fish cost only a few hundred bucks, has been raised by him for years under "normal" circumstances like most hobbyists would do, and the photos are action shots. Gerry's photography speaks more about his skill as a hobbyist than it does about the size of his wallet. Sure, Ash David's shots are amazing. But the very fact we are comparing photos of fish that vary so greatly in price speaks to Gerry's mastery as a hobbyist of both Asian arowana and photography. And without stepping on another land mine (I hope), I can tell you a funny story. I was speaking with an Asian arowana photographer, looking at photographs. I pointed out one particularly nice one and he said "Yes, isn't it a great one? I haven't even PHOTO-SHOPPED it yet!". Everyone in ear shot laughed and it was not a tense moment. lol I suppose it is just naive to think that photoshopping is not part of the process for most aquarium photographers? I am an SLR point-and-click photographer myself, so I don't know. I'll have to ask Gerry whether there is a "photoshopping angle" to his photos or not. Finally, the Japanese and Taiwanese have been keeping Asian arowana and photographing them for decades now; it hardly merrits mention these days. To have homegrown talent like Gerry (or Ryan) coming up in our midst in Canada makes me proud. It shows the hobby is taking root here. And so I stand by my assertion that Gerry is top-tier! If Gerry's technical prowess as a photographer is still questioned, these photos should settle it I think: http://arowanaclub.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=1263 (I don't understand why I just made three replies to this thread. Moderator, could you delete the previous two? Thanks)

I have over a dozen Asian arowana coffee table books I picked up in Asia. Gerry's photos are equal to or exceed the quality of any of them. Along with the Taiwanese fellow Nathian Chaing (who collaborated with Derek Goh on Awakening of the Dragon) and the Indonesian fellow Hendri Leong (of the Indodragon series), Gerry is in the top tier of Asian aro photographers I think. Gerry has some other photos of aro tank mates that are equally mind-blowing...

Same fish as in previous photos: http://arowanaclub.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=1009 http://arowanaclub.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=951

Here are some amazing photos from a fellow in Manitoba. He's done an awesome job raising this Panda Gold! http://arowanaclub.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=1194 http://arowanaclub.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=1264 http://arowanaclub.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=1286

I am saying you better know what you are buying, and trust the seller

I've had some communication with an Asian arowana farmer in Singapore who is very experienced. I pass on some of his advice to anyone looking to get a "cheap" Asian arowana, or perhaps one from a less than trusted source: And so as always, it is a case of buyer beware...

Dragonfish Canada can get you fire eels direct from Indonesia - any size and number you want - at a very affordable price. Typically we sell the larger ones (12-14 inches) for around $40. The extra cost for you would be the shipping of about $75 (for an entire styrofoam box) via Westjet from Vancouver to Saskatchewan. Thus, were you to want a trio of larger fire eels, it would cost about $200 even. For the same price we could get you six smaller ones (6-8 inches). Ideally you would find some other people to go in on a purchase with you, since you would have extra shipping space in the box already paid for, but not used. If you are near Regina or Saskatoon there may be some people interested in going in on an import with you. We also cooperate closely with Charles of Canadian Aquatics, so it might be possible to piggy-back fish (South Americans are his specialty) from him too. I'd think a 120 gallon tank should do perfect for a trio of larger eels or 6 smaller ones; I wouldn't think they would get much longer than 18-20 inches within a couple years. As for how to keep fire eels, they are super easy and hardy. Provide some hiding spaces (anything from pvc tubing to terra-cotta pipes work well, and of course driftwood). They are quite peaceful but will eat smaller fish. I have never tried mixing invertebrates, so can't say whether they would snap pieces off them. Fire eels do not grow especially fast, so buying them when they are larger can represent decent value. You can go through the trouble of earthworms, but cut up market prawn or beef heart will be taken readily; I have never tried any kinds of pellets with mine so can't comment on them for feeding purposes. One warning: Fire eels are escape artists, so make sure that you have no holes they can sneak out of in your lid/canopy system. Here is a link to some photos of fire eels we brought in a few months back (at the bottom of the page): http://www.dragonfish.ca/current_stock_list.htm Do a youtube seach of Denmark's Aquarium and you can see some nice videos of the ones they have there; they keep a couple 18-24 inch monsters along with high end Leopodi rays; pretty neat combination.

If you are importing commercially, and will be selling these fish for profit, then you need a business number through Revenue Canada. This business number is available by calling up Revenue Canada. If these fish are for personal use (which it sounds like), then you do not need a business number. It has nothing to do with whether your fish are farm bred or wild caught; so long as they are not CITES 1 you do not nee any special paperwork on your end. Just make sure the company you are dealing with in the USA knows what they are doing (regarding the paperwork on their end) and you should be fine. I am a serious hobbyist who has overseen almost 20 imports of fish and aquarium plants from Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Denmark and the USA.

Really, if the shipper does his end of the work all we do is pick up the fish and pay gst? No more no less? Yes, but you still have to take the fish through customs unless you let a brooker do it, and they will charge you additional fees. If you import using a business name then you need a license, otherwise there should be no problem. Just check up with customs in regards to importing WC fish, it's not the same as tank raised. Also, the shipper may charge you for US Fish & Wildlife fees. See link below. http://www.fws.gov/news/NewsReleases/showN...A3A8434A509D59D You don't need a license; just call up Revenue Canada and get a business number for an importing company. It takes all of 10 minutes and you are all set to import. Trust me on that one!