Thanks... I'm just worried, I don't want to waste my time and tank space on hybrids or poorly bred fish if I have a choice

I know that the mixed tank does not indicate hybrids but I distrust what mass market breeders are sending to these petstore chains... these stores' Cichlids have become a ...

I am generally horrified by Petsmart's cichlids, but got this Gibbiceps cat on impulse... I just wanted a nice active, attractive, algae eating, fast growing, hardy Pleco, like I always liked when I was a kid... but see no decent ones from LFS in years

...so do they breed these in ponds? could they ...

Are the quality of Zebras for sale the same nowadays as a decade again? the recent ones I've seen for sale at $80-120 seem dull to me, not very impressive to me, compared.

as for breeding them in their native land... if they can do it thats great(and helps the pressure on the natural population ...

just wondering how many and which species are bred for the aquarium trade. in ponds? any tank raised?

when or will smaller Plecos like the L46 Zebra and other attractive ones ever be commercially viable? i'm sure many have tried/are trying. any predictions?

they remind me of A. adonis?

even if they lose a lot of the white markings, wouldnt they still be a nice deep black, still attractive

I saw a group of large group of small L200. the ones with bigger spots were acting like the dominant fish, the ones with smaller greener dots were acting submissive, and were darker. the three most dominant were the yellowish of the bunch and had the distictive dorsal fin, with bigger yellowish ...

5 should be a nice group. Just depends if you want more catfish, or more cichlids.

info for L200 is kinda sketchy. i see a group for sale thou now.

how big do they typically get (in reality)? do the "shark fin" ones get bigger than the others?

I've seen a group of small ones and the dominant ones seemed to have the "shark fins" and much more yellow color in the fins, also bigger ...

a LFS told me that they stock and sell Rhino Plecos because they are "armor plated and tough like a Rhinocerous", and they are the best Pleco for cichlid tanks because of their tough Rhino skin.

sure they may be tough and hardy, but so are other similar Plecos which are not as ugly.... anybody ...

Adonis Pleco is suppossed to get 3 feet long with a fin (wing) span of 3 feet also... at least from what i've read. I've seen a pic of a giant Adonis on the web... but, alas, I can't find it now.

just wondering, cause I'm always looking for a nice Pleco, from experience ... what Plecos usually show the best personality/ the least shy/ the most out in the open?

i've been thinking of maybe a nice Gibbiceps for my 125g if i find one, but they get so big so easily.
i wanna look at all the ...

it does look like a couple of the large spot pics of galaxias Vampire. mine gets pretty black with ivory white spots when relaxed, i thought that Vampires were more brownish with yellowish spots

shouldn't it have small bristle whiskers at the tip of its nose, or is that only males cause mine doesnt ...

just impulse bought a "Snowball Pleco" Saturday, but this one has huge white spots on black, about 3.5"

doesnt look like what is usually sold as "Snowball" at all, but fits the name much better.

looks like Baryancistrus LDA33 pic from this site (L142?), which is called "Big White Spot Pleco" (it ...

is your tank crowded and busy? or rather laid back and quiet? maybe they like a crowded busy tank.

i've also noticed that Tang. synodontis are often unactive and hide at the aquarium store, even in groups, so maybe they don't like the outside (of the tank) activity.

i've noticed the multipunctatus ...

don't know what you have tried ... but the advice to contact Ad Konings at cichlidpress.com seems like very good advice. Ad must know alot about travel in the area around the lake, and/or knows others who are quite experienced, and he would, i think, be very sympathetic about your desire to see the ...

i have had a group of three Syno. multipuncatus for a year. i know that they form pecking orders, and the alpha can be rather mean to the omega catfish. my alpha makes the lowest one in the pecking order hide behind the heater at times.

a LFS has some 1.25"- 1.5" smaller juveniles that are half as ...

are similar fish, but of possible different species, sold as "vampires"? or is there differences in the spots, some with many small spots, some with bigger spots? is there taxonomic confusion? its just that i've seen some variety in what is sold, usually what i see for sale is not very impressive ...

zucchini and cuke are not the same thing.


both zucchini and cucumber are of the same family of plants, Cucurbitaceae, commonly called the Squash family, both are heat loving plants, originally vining plants.

"zucchini" is a type of "summer squash", of the widely varied "squashes" which come ...

thanks!......

one thing that i have learned since i was a kid... a lot of the common fish that are sold as peaceful community fish, and was told that they prefer/don't mind being alone ... actually can have quite interesting animal social interactions when keep in a proper group in a proper tank ...

Corys seem so inoffensive, but it has been a long time since I have had them (so many cichlids to try, only one lifetime to live...)... but I bought some Panda cories for my nieces... cories and a common pleco are the fish that remember best and most fondly from when i was 5-6 years old.

(1) Do ...

Tanganyikan Synodontis get along fine with loaches, as should most more day active Synodontis I would think.

Don't get the cheap "Lace" Synodontis, it is very crabby for the most part, and probably the least attractive. S. ocellifer, S. gresoffi, S. eupterus are fine community species.

I bought a ...

why not a classic like a school of Cardinal Tetras... two of the most spectacular freshwater fish with contrasting color schemes... can't believe they would or could bother the Zebras very much

lots of types of fish like blanched Zuccinni... it always disappears completely after about 48- 60 hours... i'm not sure who cleans it up completely among the Plecos, Tanganyikan Synodontis and Loaches, but it always disappears... lots of Cichlids love to eat out the centers, even if they would ...

Caril... how long has your Gold Nugget been established in the tank, did it have a heathy period, or is it new? sometimes the imports seem in pretty bad shape to me when they get to the dealers tanks




well, on the subject of Gold nugget type health (big spot, little spot, Vampire, Goldie sunshine ...

just meant by "relatively available" that the fish were imported/sold in the aquarium hobby currently on a regular basis. i'm aware that there are a lot of beauties that demand premium prices, and stores do not always stock. Alot of the small pl*cos seem rather gaunt and unhealthy when they come in ...

I can only assume that someone got some broodstock in and found they were just as easy as 'Gibbis' to breed in ponds
Apparently they are. Back when I was in Singapore, you could get <i>G. joselimaianus</i> for almost the same pice as those ugly <i>Liposarcus</i> fellas (a little more than US$2 ...

any opinions on which (relatively available) mid to smaller pl*cos species are fairly active and which species are very shy and sedentary?

would it help if there were 3 or 4 pl*cos of the same species? would 3 be enough to defer intra-species aggression to a reasonable level?

its kinda hard to ...

lately (last couple of years in the USA), i've been seeing baby catfish sold as "sailfin" or "gibbiceps", and they seem to have a vague or softer spotted pattern compared to the more Fantastic Four "Thing" type reddish circular grid pattern that you see traditionally. in addition, some fish seem to ...