I've now got at least 15 little blue neons swimming around and another 2 ladies pregnant...[crazyeye] The guy just doesn't take "no" for an answer it seems... :D

BTW: Another species has learned from this splendid example, 'cause my pair of Juldichromis ornatus have started breeding too. They are substrate (cave) brooders and they have spawned at least twice already. Though the catfish ate most of the fry, I was able to save 7 of them (one from the first group and 6 from the second batch), who are now in my breeding tank. They're about 2 mm big, so my 7 cm catfish obviously thought there was an extra dinner session...

I got a picture of the J. ornatus female too, but they're extremely active fish, so the quality is pretty low. They just can't stay still for 2 seconds in a row... :(


http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/up...8_Jornatus.JPG
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The male is at least a third bigger and he has much more yellow colour. He's also probably the most aggressive fish I've ever kept. [eek] He literally chases the other fish from left to right in the tank at times...

So, over the weekend I redecorated my entire tank... My girlfriend thinks the current set-up is a vast improvement and I like it a lot as well. I'll post a picture in a couple of days.
To keep my girlfriend happy I also bought a new fish. Her favourite colour's blue, so I bought her a blue fish. :)
Now she actually spends more time watching my fish than I do.... [crazyeye]

Is there much work in looking after fish, i'd like to have a fish tank myself.

After set-up period it doesn't take much time at all.

When you start you have to do a lot of things before you can get fish (buy a tank, figure out if the fish you want to keep are compattible aggressionwise/waterconditionwise/foodpreferencewise, instal the technical parts (waterfiltration, pump, heating), buy sand/stones/wood/plants and get them in the tank).

But when you've finally got your set-up complete and a stable fish population it doesn't take a lot of time...
I've got three tanks: One showtank in my livingroom, a small showtank on my desk next to my computer and a breeding tank. These three take me about a total of five to ten minutes each day to feed the fish, check for strange behaviour/illnesses, and check the water temperatures. And on saturday I do waterchanges/cleaning for all my tanks, which takes maybe 45 minutes total...
So, IMHO, it doesn't take much time at all!

what about when go you go holidays?

When it's only a short period of time, then they can do without food for a while (one week maximum), with the exception of newly born fish, who need to be fed daily.
When it's longer than a week, I ask someone to feed them for me about three times a week and then I leave carefull instructions on how much and what type of food for each tank...

And finally there's a picture of the blue fish, a.k.a. Bluey...

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/up...tocephalus.JPG
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She's a Neolamprologus tretocephalus, and she's about 6 cm now (but she'll grow to slightly over twice that size)...

The next one is my favourite fish, an Eretmodus cyanostictus.

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/up..._Eretmodus.JPG
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My catfish, Synodontis petricola "dwarf", have started spawning too, unfortunately the do not only eat other fish's eggs, but also their own... [rolleyes] Maybe they'll learn with a few more attempts...
Here's one of them:

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/up...Synodontis.JPG
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And here's the proud Paracyprichromis nigripinns "Blue Neon" dad, with two of his kids (BTW, mom is carrying again, and I already have twenty of the little guys)...

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/up...igripinnis.JPG
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And last but not least: after my vacation I also redecorated my smaller tank, and it sure pays off! Now I get to see my rare catfish a lot more often, and he ven sat still long enough for a decent picture:

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/up...22110_L134.JPG
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He (I am fairly sure it's a male but it is very, very difficult to see with South American catfish) is a L134 Peckoltia sp. Rio Tapajos, and although he's the most expensive fish I've ever bought (though he was only 35 euro's, and that's nothing compared to the prices of fish I have seen in other peoples' tanks), he's so good looking that he's definately worth the money, IMHO...

They're not exactly fish, but I wanted you guys to meet my new flatmates anyway....


http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/up...zzyandRaya.JPG
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They're 15 weeks old. Both are ladies and their names are Raya (on the left) and Izzy (on the right)

They're sisters, crossbreeds between a European Shorthair and a Norwegian Forestcat.
Somewhere along the line I contempleted calling one of them "Paali", but since they re both female I decided against it... ;)

They look cute! :)

Make sure your fishes are out of their reach though. ;)

We have a cat too. Unfortunately fleas too. [cry] Make sure they always have a flea band when leaving the house!
http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/up...13_Liggend.jpg
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Nice cat Matrix...


All the tanks are closed, so the fish are quite safe.

We live in a flat, so they will stay inside...