I would go with Noturus gyrinus. Igsignis will work as well, but they tend to prefer slightly more current (they'll still thrive in slackwater, however) and are more aggressive than gyrinus.

This is a very good project, I can't wait to see how it turns out! I'm also going to be attempting to spawn a difficult (to spawn) cat soon, being an Amblydoras sp.

Very nice Doradid! If you get a group they'd look even better.

Agreed with Viktor, we need more pictures.

Sometime in the future, I will definitely attempt breeding some species in this pond. But for now, it's not an option because I already am growing out my striped raph, Gibby, and larnaudii in a different tank which is the entire reason I'm being allowed to have something this large inside :). I'm ...

Any other suggestions guys?

Yes, I know that thread, I made it :) and I'll be breeding some Acanthodoras or Amblydoras in a 30 long soon enough (or at least try to). The idea of a pond full of Doradids sounds amazing to me, however, my fear is that the Pangasius will gulp up any eggs at the sight of them so I'll save that idea ...

So due to budget issues, instead of a 180 gallon tank I'll be making a DIY 540 gallon indoor pond (72"x72"x24") for my large catfish and am looking for some stocking advice. The fish I already have that will be going into this pond include 1 Gibbiceps Pleco, 1 Striped Raphael Catfish, and 1 ...

Yes, I wrote that. It is clear to me they spawn in marginal vegetation.

Jools

Must've missed this post before. Would you recommend a plant such as java fern or would hornwort be better for vegetation to make a bubble nest, Jools? Those are pretty much my only two candidates (mother than java ...

Would a pH of 7.6 be acceptable for breeding? I'm guessing not but that's what my tap is. I can always age the water via peat and/or oak leaves if 7.6 isn't low enough.

I have the opportunity to buy (steal it seems like!) a used but in good condition 480 gallon (96"x48"x24") acrylic tank for only $2000, $1000 less than the original price. My concern is, one of the fish that I'm buying a bigger tank or pond for is a Gibbiceps Pleco (currently 9") that spends a lot ...

drago and eacoll, that is a very good idea to start with more whitewater species such as Amblydoras. For these species, would the addition of a powerhead be a necessity to condition them to spawn since they're found in whitewater environments?

Nearly all internet sources that talk about the captive care of Doradids state that it's near impossible to breed Doradids in the aquarium. However, I theorize this may be because no one has extensively worked with any of the species with an objective of breeding them.

Talking with some guest ...

Well, regardless of whether or not dithers help, I'll be having them either way due to me having to shuffle some tanks and fish around. This is he new stock:

6 Giant Danios
1 Asian Bumblebee Catfish
1 Striped Raphael Catfish
1 Gibbiceps Pleco
1 Yellow Bullhead
1 Channel Catfish (growout) or 1 Brown ...

Well they seemed to have stopped doing it today. I doubt it was an O2 problem since I have a sponge filter for aeration and I do 33% water changes 3 times per week.

My paleatus all seem to be staying at he surface for longear than usual and it looks like they are attempting to build a bubble nest which never lasts more than 3-4 bubbles before popping. Is this just them taking an extended gulp of air or some odd behavior? Sorry for the crappy pictures.

Anybody? Also due to current finances the tank will be more like 180-240 gallons instead of 240 which means the temp may fluctuate a bit more but it still shouldn't make much of a difference with a tank that large.

Most Noturus species would fit the bill if you can find one where you live. Especially Noturus gyrinus.

Ok. Believe it or not I've been keeping my 8" natalis with 2.75-3" giant danios for about half a year and he hasn't made a move on one yet. Not to say that a channel cat wouldn't though. I'd be willing to make the lighting very subdued, just not absent all together.

I'm wondering how active catfish tend to be in a tank with just catfish in it and no dithers or other fish in the rest of the tank to make them feel safe or distract them. I'm still going over stock lists for the 180G I'm setting up in 1-4 months and one of the options I was considering was 1 ...

Well apparantly the box doesn't work either. A week ago I had 6 fry and now they've all disappeared. Not dead just gone completely, not in the main tank either. Plus at least 90% of the parents eggs don't hatch so if the group doesn't start laying fertile eggs within a month or so I'll be taking ...

I'd leave the eggs personally. The only thing I can think of that would happen would be you get some cool looking fry. I plan on purposely crossing the different color types of Ancistrus for next tank I setup for them to try and get uniquely colored fry.

Thanks. That's what I moved them to. I couldn't find a splitter so I could hook up another air line to it to I just used the one from my sponge filter which works pretty well since water entering the box first is filtered. I just hope there's enough aeration now.

I just realized what's been happening, I'm an idiot. I've been finding tons of small black fish in the breeder net but since I have guppy fry in the same tank I always assumed that's what they were so I'd take them out of the net and put them into the main tank then they'd die. Apparently they have ...

Oh maybe that's why then. After removing the eggs and putting them in a fry tank they're also in a breeder basket (so guppy fry don't eat the eggs) and tiny fry might be hiding in the undercut corners, I never thought of that, I'll check in a few days. I remove the eggs from the main tank by gently ...

I've been trying to breed paleatus since the beginning of last month and since then I've had countless spawns and hundreds of eggs. Not ONE of those eggs has gone on to hatch and I've given many of them 6-7 days before discarding them. Some eggs they lay are yellow, some are grey, and some are white ...

How low temperature wise can you keep a Gibbiceps and still keep it healthy? I'm alright if it slows down and doesn't eat as much as long as it's still healthy and comfortable with its environment. I'm asking because the 240-300 gallon tank I'm getting soon is going to house my gibbiceps and all the ...

I cut feeding back to twice a day instead, to much waste feeding three times with trying to keep nitrates always under 20. I'm doing two 33% changes a week, is that to often or am I good?

Bullheads are pretty much invincible in my experience. I have a 6" yellow that was caught out of dirty, stagnant, muddy water in perfect health and unfortunately had to go through a nitrate spike in my 75 gallon which he survived just fine. Not saying y sold expose them to dirty water but they'll ...

Not a problem at all! I just treated my 75 gallon for ich and an internal parasite and used aquarium salt and API general cure (99% metronidazole) and this is he second time I've done it with my raph in that tank. He takes it just fine and that's what cured his internal parasite a few months ago.