Despite the dangers of speculating on the subject of "key innovations" in the evolutionary sense, I feel it is worth pointing out that phytophagy is often considered to be a key innovation. The ability to consume cellulose as a carbon source could be what is behind the success (in # of species) of ...

Hm. Honestly, those two fish don't look terribly alike. If that's typical, then most of the L200 pics I've seen have been "high fin."

BUT, my original question remains: Has anyone definitively shown that there are "high fin" males and females?

BTW, it makes it difficult, to say the least, to take ...

What's the deal with the L200 and L200 "high fin"? I find it almost impossible to believe that two species so similar morphologically would be sympatric...so does anyone know the real story? Has anyone found definite M&F of both varieties? Even that wouldn't prove they were different species, but it ...

No, I just don't want to suggest keeping a protected species. Actually, they might only be a "Species of Special Concern," but I think that still makes them illegal to collect. What I do know about them suggests that, like another SPC, the mangrove rivulus, they are more elusive than rare, but until ...

Stonecats like cool water and a HIGH dissolved O2 level. I'd say go with some tadple madtoms or maybe...a snail bullhead*.

*don't, no matter how gorgeous they look.

True that. Java fern and Java moss will tolerate a good deal of salt in the water. If you're going for a tank with a S.G. of 1.010 or higher, most plants will kick off on you, but for most "brackish" fish there is no need to go that high.

Nah, an oscar would find any but the smallest tadpole madtoms to be a a painful lesson - they actually have (mildly) venomous spines. But the temps that would keep an oscar happy would be uncomfortable for madtoms and would surely lead to health problems down the road. Short term high temps would be ...

I always quarantine, LFSs never do, with one exception I know of. I COULD buy 10-15 of them, but at $10 a pop, I'd rather wait until the ones that are already in sad shape kick off at the store. Thanks.

After a shipment of otos arrives at a store, assuming the store is providing a decent diet, what's a good time to wait before purchasing any? That is to say, how long before the hopeless cases have mostly died off? A shipment of zebras arrived recently at a LFS, and there are quite a few sad-looking ...