Oh and it is likely to appear on European labels as "contains EEC permitted preservatives" rather than be specifically named.

Matt

A food manufacturer only has to declare an additive (including antioxidants such as ethoxyquin) if they have added it in their recipe. They do not have to declare it if a supplier has added it to one of the raw materials. Therefore, just because it isn't stated on the label doesn't mean it isn't ...

My barbatus spawned on a weekly basis at 66-68F, they really are a cold cory. In my experience they do not last more than a few weeks above 76F. I had to keep them in a tank on the floor of the fish house to get them through the summer in the UK and considering our usually bad summers, that is ...

My adults frequently lay upside down under filters or wood but not attached by their mouths. They actually lay on the gravel on their backs.

Perfectly normal behaviour as far as I am concerned and nothing to worry about.

Cheers

Matt

And then there are the ones who argue with you because you refuse to sell them fish at the same time as the tank. They then go to another shop the same day to buy fish and are then back a week later wanting you to sort the mess out for them............ Has happened to me on more than one occaison ...

You can't beat a trip to NHA, fabulous place. If you get the chance to go, never refuse. It's been 12 years since I was in the trade and was able to go. I always enjoyed pouring over the stocklist as well.

Matt

Hi

4cm long including tail means they are still a bit on the young side to sex, but looking at the top picture in particular, the body profiles indicate you may have a mix of both. No guarantees at the moment though!

Matt

Hi According to Ian's book, he has spawned C. sodalis on more than one occaison. However his spawning frequency chart shows these occasions to only be in July and August. This, to me, indicates that C.sodalis is one of the species that will only spawn during the times of the year it spawns in the ...

Hi

You only have to look at the liverbearer world to see that hybrids can be viable, swordtails and platies for instance. Also the molly species can easily hybridise with each other. There are even viable Skiffia hybrids.

Matt

Hi I can echo Bas Pel's comments. A friend had a common plec which was bullied by a chinese algae eater (sucking loach in the UK) for several years and only stayed around 4 inches - 10cm. It started to grow again once the loach was removed and went onto being alomost a foot in length. This was just ...

Hi

Look like normal finned Ancistrus sp(3) to me.

I'd love to know where the name Bulico has originated from.

Cheers

Matt

Hi

I agree, a young tank bred Ancistrus sp. (3).

Matt

Hi

The Bulico bushynose longfin ancistrus that I found on Aquabid was simply a brown longfin Ancistrus sp(3).

Like Mats, I first thought that bulico might be a distortion of calico ie the marbled / piebald / red and black (delete as applicable) variety, but it appears not to be.

Matt

Hi I have never had any problems with normal and albino fish of the same species not recognising each other. This in my tanks has applied to C. aeneus, C. paleatus, C. sterbai and Ancistrus sp(3). it has never stopped them shoaling together (where applicable) and certainly not stopped them breeding ...

Oh thinking about it, there is one other possible cause and that could be fish TB - mycobacteria. That can cause wasting of the fish and is pretty much untreatable. The usual route is to euthanise the fish to stop the spread to other tankmates. However in the case of this internal bacteria, the ...

Hi I agree, I don't think it is your water. I suspect that your botias may be the culprits for the dorsal fin damage. I had skunk botias, Botia horae, do the very same to some of my corys at night. They never showed the behaviour during the day. This means that the fins damage may not be directly ...

Hi Your pH is not too high, my C. sterbai live and breed at 7.6. That would not be the cause otherwise all the shoal would be uncomfortable. I fear that the fish have internal damage from some source. This could be backed up as cories don't get split fins and damaged fins for no reason, it's usually ...

Hi

I'm scratching my head now as I wouldn't say 40ppm is an excessive level of nitrate. I suppose that it is possible that they are simply old fish now. They were wild caught so could have been a ripe old age before you got them.

Is there any chance of posting a photo of the affected fish?

Matt

Hi

Darkened colour and loss of appetite are syptoms of high NO3 in my experience. How exactly high is your NO3 reading?

Different specimens have different tolerances to nitrate, even different specimens of the same species. It is possible that high nitrate is your problem.

Cheers

Matt

I am inclined to agree with Dutchfry.

Matt

Hi Adam

It is a commercially line bred form of C aeneus to give longer fins, much in the same way as longfin danios, barbs and tetras. There are also longfin cichlids. You can also get longfin C paleatus as well. C aeneus are not found with fins like those in the wild.

Cheers

Matt

Well done Larry, good acheivement.

L134 are on my wish list for 2008, so I hope to follow in your footsteps with them.

Cheers

Matt

Hi I often wonder if rarely bred is merely a function of the species being unfashionable rather than difficult. You hear about the fashionable ones being bred frequently, sterbai, panda, adolfoi etc. because these are the more commonly kept due their good looks. The more subtle ones like sodalis are ...

Hi

That's about the right price for them in my part of the UK.

Ian Fuller (Coryman) has bred them and there is an account in his book 'Breeding Corydoradine Catfishes'.

Matt

Hi Sounds like you have a good set up there with regular spawnings. Like Mats said, as long as there are males and females of each species, then hybridisation is unlikely to occur. The problem comes where you have a single male or female who gets the urge to spawn, this is where he/she will mate ...

Hi Can I ask why you are worried about cross breeding? A 7ft tank is rather large for a tank set up specifically designed to breed corys in, so it is presumably a mixed community tank with other species in? If it is, then the likelyhood of any hybrid fry surviving would be small anyway. I have kept ...

Hi Larry is correct with the minimum age for breeding, I was wondering if yours are younger than 9 months? An increased level of protein will bring the females into condition, as Larry points out with the earthworm sticks. I always had cucumber available for the females to browse on as well and I ...

Hi

I agree with Haavard on fish 1 and 3. Really not sure about 2, looks more like a underdevloped male to me. I certainly would not bet any money on it.

Looks like you have a pair though!

Matt

Hi

Can you supply us with a little more information, such as

How old are the fish?
How large are the fish?
What are the water parameters, pH, GH, KH, NO3 etc.?
What are you feeding the fish on?

This should help us to help you out.

Cheers

Matt

Hi A few of my own.... Microworm cultures in the airing cupboard Annual killifish eggs in peat in the airing cupboard Asking for every old butter tub to be washed out so I can use it for microworm Trying to re-use old microworm tubs by washing them in the kitchen sink when they really had gone a ...