cichlids, essay

Question
Hi Karen!
That information on Oysters was extremely helpful! Thanks a ton! As for the essay contest, i havent decied on what fish to write on. The last date for giving the entries is 25/5/06. So there is plenty of time.

I am not sure whether i have the time required to breed plecos. So thats not on my mind. But what really IS ony my mind is whether i would be able to get that discus into my tank with 2 angels safely and whether the angels would tolerate the discus.

Wow! you have a 12 inch oscar? The biggest oscar i have seen is around 10 inches. As for the largest fish that i have had...I had a pacu who was about 15 inches in length before i gave him to a farm. He got too big for his tank and killed his tank-mates. His tank required a lot of water changes(50% every 2 days).

In my Concrete tanks the fish that are large are:
1)Arowana (20 inches,he was imported from the U.S)
2)Pleco (10 inches)
3)Koi Carps (14 inches)
4)Giant gourami (i don't exactly know, but i think she is about 10 inches long)

About chocolate gouramis, i am not so sure as they are sensitive. I would feel more confident if you had had them.

Once again thanks a lot for your efforts! :]

...srinivas

Answer
Hi Srinvas,
You're welcome...
I would say the Angels and Discus would be fine. My angels just don't bother other fish it seems. I would try it. I know how delicate Discus can be... But I read of many aquarists whom keep the two together. More angelfish would be better of course, because then they have an actual group of each-other to mingle with. I'm not sure, your setup might work out just fine. Like i've said, I've yet to have any of my angels consistantly pester any of my other fish.

You said (I had a pacu that was 15 inches) I love Pacu! I've always avoided them because everybody claims they grow to like 3 feet and need like a million gallons of water and daily 80% water changes...(I know I'm exaggerating!) I do love their cute faces and their neat shape and color however.
So do you keep the Arowana, pleco, koi, and giant gourami together. Just how large is your Arowana aquarium? And how much do you change the water. I'm asking this because I've heard so many opinions of what size aquarium Arows should be in and how many water changes should be made, I would like to hear from the pro!

(Chocolate gouramis)
I believe these fish would be easy to keep as long as their care requirements are met. I hear they must have very warm temperatures in order to be happy. Perhaps too many people have tried to keep in in a typical "community" tank or try to treat them like the hardy Blue (Trichogaster species) gourami and it just doesn't work out that way. Maybe warm water, driftwood, lots of plants, and maybe water filtered through peat is the trick. Keeping them in a tank to themselves probably also helps.

Well, I guess that's all for now. Best of luck with all your aquariums and the Contest!

HAPPY FISHKEEPING!
Karen~
ps: How's Shadow?