New fish galore!

Wow! What a weekend! On Friday I went to visit the (amazing) fishroom of Nigel Roberts, who is perhaps the most successful hobbyist breeder of tropical fish I have met to date. He's breeding red veiltail fighters, marble angels, kribs, a number of killies, ruby barbs, congo tetras, golden-eye dwarf cichlids and a whole bunch of others. And all in a space the size of a bathroom!

It was, admittedly, a bit of a trek to drive out to Worthing to see the fish, but it was well worth it. I came away with six medium-sized angels, a shoal of ten large congo tetras, an adult pair of kribs and a trio of golden-eyes. And the price of all these fish? Well, let's just say I definitely got my money's worth.

As if that wasn't enough, I went to the TA Aquaculture fish auction on Sunday with Simon M. and his mate James, who is a Tanganyikan fanatic. I was like a kid in a candy store all day. Never seen so many gorgeous fish at such insanely cheap prices. I went a little bit OTT, I have to admit! The killifish were outstanding, as were the specially brought in WILD Tanganyikans, which were auctioned for peanuts and still had no takers (most people were there for the killies, bettas and livebearers).

I think I did very well in the end. The only fish I dearly wish I had bid more on were the pairs of Betta simplex and Betta albimarginata. And part of me agrees with Simon's opinion that it would have been worth picking up half a dozen Julidochromis marlieri for £5 each to sell on. Thankfully a lack of tank space prevented me from doing this!

So, what did I come away with? Two pairs of Fundulopanchax gardneri 'P82'; two pairs of Aphyosemion striatum 'Cap Esterias'; five Limia nigrofasciatus; about twenty Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor; a pair of Aplocheilus panchax; and a huge pair of Heterotilapia multispinosa.

I was in a bit of a daze when I got home...

Shame...

Lost the female cutteri.

Got crazy plans to get hold of all sorts of fish now (mostly for resale). All very 'hush, hush' right now though. If I told you I'd have to kill ya!

Panic sets in...

So, Amber tells me that she can't see any baby jags anywhere today. This is clearly not good news. I find it hard to believe the parents would simply have eaten them - there were so many! I'll be gutted if they have.

Also, the pair of cutteri fell out big time. The male has battered the female to within and inch of her life. Sadly it doesn't look like she'll make it.

Bad day for the fish room.

Went to visit Chris's fishroom (bruciethefish) this evening. I was keen to get some snaps of his gorgeous Pundamilia nyererei. He has two varieties:



Makobe (I think!)


Python Island

I have found a source for these fish, so I will definitely be getting hold of some soon. They are stunning!

Cutteri Update

The cutteri eggs didn't make it unfortunately, but the male wasted no time in pairing up with another female, so I switched them into the 10" x 10" x 12" tank that had the male sajica in it. They didn't look too impressed with the move, but now I know they're compatible I can give them a 24" tank to themselves.