Hi. I have an adult male peppermist bristlenose and a adult female albino bristlenose in a 4ft community tank. Is it possible they can breed, and if so, what sort babies would they produce? Further - does anyone know how the genetics of these animals work? I would assume the albino trait a simple ...

I have a male peppermint bristlenose and a female albino bristlenose in a community tank. I've noticed the female becoming more plump recently and suspect she may be reaching sexual maturity. Ignoring for a moment the unlikelihood of fry surviving in my community tank, is it possible that these two ...

I have a brand new 4ft tank and am looking at getting 1 or 2 small pleco types, mostly for algae control, but also because they're gorgeous. I am also getting a few yoyo loaches, and probably a couple of schools of smaller fish. Of the species that don't grow above 5 or 6", I've only seen the ...

my god that's a gorgeous tank.

ok, i called today and found out, he is a black lancer!

i would get him, but he grows to about 9" - a little big for my tank, unfortunately. dang.

i have always planned on getting a bn, but recently the clown has been legalised, becoming the only small pleco available here, as far as i know. the fact that it's new and somewhat rare attracts me to it, plus it's so pretty. maybe i should get one of each

two questions for you fine folk

what are the differences (temperament, requirements, ease of keeping etc) between a common bristlenose and a clown pleco?

is there a difference, apart from colour, between a normal bristlenose and an albino?

oh, i have a 48g, and it's not stocked yet, but am planning on some small loaches, a bristlenose, and some small- to mid-sized schools of top-dwelling fish.

i really prefer the slender body types, and the eupterus seems to get quite chunky as an adult. that said, i don't mind them, i like synos as a group. i've heard that the raphaels are extremely shy? i really like cories, i might just end up getting a bunch of those, but i so love the big catfish ...

what is a small catfish (no more than 5 or 6" adult size) that can be kept alone, and is active during the day? it seems all the ones i like are schooling, and though i could have a school of one of the catfish i like, it leaves little room to do stuff with mid- and top-dwelling fish. alternatively ...

no again. sorry, guys. i'll see if i can make a trip out there sometime and see if he's still there, and ask this time! he was gorgeous. *sigh*

no on the first.

no on the second - he didn't look like a pleco, and wasn't armoured, but that's almost the right markings, except the tail wasn't tipped in black. he was quite sleek.

I've seen a catfish at the lfs a few times now and always get dragged off or distracted before I get a chance to ask what it is. It's about 4" long, but looks like it would get to a reasonmable size, with a pure black body and white tail. Body type is slim, almost but not quite whip-tail-like. Each ...

unfortnately we have a very limited range of loaches available in australia. prior to a few months ago, it was only clown and khulii. just recently they've legalised yoyo and dwarf loaches. i considered the dwarf loaches, but they seem to be a bit more sensitive, shy and prefer a quieter environment ...

thanks for all your help, guys. i'm going to have to think on this some more before i commit to anything. i saw a huge syno at the lfs, about 20cm, it looked like a featherfin to me, but i'm no expert. it was FAT! not lithe and slender like the little ones. they also had a eeltail cats about the ...

ohhh, i don't know what to do i really want some pictus, but to keep them successfully they seem to need to have a BUNCH in a big species tank. maybe my community idea just won't work for them should i abandon this and just go with the s. nigriventris?

yoyo loaches only grow to about 6", i'm safe ;) i completely agree with only getting fish that suit the tank they're in - which is why i am (much to my chagrin) not getting clown loaches. or a big pleco *drools* i'm not sure my tank would be big enough to give 5 pictuses enough territory, but i had ...

i am (still) planning out a 4ft, 48g/180L tank. i really want some pictus cats, but am worried about their community-ness (or lack thereof). how likely are they to take a chunk out of a peaceful fish that's the same size as them? i would like the bottom dwellers for the tank to be: 3 pictus, 3 s ...

thanks guys, that's just what i was after.

i wouldn't be able to fit in more than 2 or 3 along with the other community fish i'm looking at - would they be happy in such a small group?

What does everyone think of S. nigriventris? Interesting to watch or lack of personality? Attractive or dull-looking? Do they come out much, or hide most of the time? Any experience with these guys would be helpful - I'm thinking of getting a small school for a 50G community tank.

Katy

oooh! thank you so much for that, i will definitly hold out then!!

i see you're in queensland, but i don't suppose you have any idea of a good lfs in greater sydney that might look into getting them in?

well, it seems that the only loaches available in australia are clown and kuhli. all the others - including yoyo - are illegal to import or sell. crapola!

guess i'm getting clowns then! and yeah, i'll go with 3.

i'm aware that clowns can get big, though they apparently rarely go over about 6". obviously, though, i would need to look at a bigger tank - or a rehome - if that happened. yoyo loaches grow to about 5" max. they are my preferance, it just depends what i can find. i'm aware the inch per gallon rule ...

I could have 12 4-inch fish in that tank?? That seems overcrowded to me... but hey, I'm the bigger here. Anyone else agree or disagree?

I have the panaque maccus listed in my "small plecos to look for" list. Which one, or ones, I get will depend entirely on what I can find.

I've got a brand new 4ft tank (approx 48 gal, footprint 4ftx12in) that I would love to fill with catfish and loaches, but am driving myself absolutely NUTS trying to find a group of fish that are compatible, and will fit with their minimum schooling requirements. I LOVE pictus cats and upside-down ...