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I've returned from a trip to Maidenhead Aquatics in Bold Heath (cylced there and back with the shopping - not recommended in this heat!), and it's been a LOT of fun browsing the fish there!

First of all, the Cichlid fans will like what I saw there. African Rift Lake species in abundance - some VERY expensive juvenile Tropheus duboisi, likewise the Frontosas, several Cyprichromis leptosoma with a coronary inducing price tag, and a brace of commoner species (including about 25 different Mbuna species) which are a good deal more affordable. Among the Rift highlights were:

Aulonocara baenschi
Copadichromis borleyi "Red Fin"
Nimbochromis venustus
Cyrtocara moorii
Melanochromis chipokae (some playmates for Bayou's psycho fish!)
Pseudotropheus lombardoi
Metriaclima zebra (three different morphs including a nice tangerine one)
Pseudotropheus williamsi (don't see them often!)
Labidochromis caeruleus (some top quality specimens)
Pseudotropheus elongatus (busy beating each other up!)
Neolamprologus brevis shell dwellers
Neolamprologus brichardi (nice solid yellow ones too!)

Then, the Central & South Americans. Quite a selection! The ones present were:

Cichlasoma salvini (surprisingly peaceful given their reputation)
Thorichthys meeki (biggest ones I've ever seen)
Aequidens rivulatus (juveniles but still VERY feisty)
Parachromis managuensis (several juveniles, plus some STONKING huge adults - one of the males was 14 inches!)
Heros severus (a gold variety)
Aequidens pulcher
Archocentrus octofasciatum (juveniles, but still big and tough)
Cichlasoma nicaraguense (first time I've seen these)
Vieja synspila (juveniles)
Cryptoheros sajica (again the first time I've ever seen these)
Geophagus surinamensis
Mesonauta festivus

Then among the smaller Cichlid species were:

Laetacara dosrigera
Cleithracara maronii (Keyholes - almost adult)
Something called Apistogramma sp. "Blue" (any idea what these might be?
Kribs (surprisingly few of these)

And ... to my ETERNAL delight, they had Anomalochromis thomasi in stock! Think I might go back and buy a few of those!

Oh, they also had no less than fourteen different Discus colour varieties, which included some GORGEOUS iridescent lavender ones that came with a £60 price tag (sigh) ...

Next up - Loaches. Seven different species of Botia (I couldn't identify them all, but the ones I CAN be certain of included:

Botia berdmorei
Botia almorhae
Botia striata

There may have been some hymenophysa in there too, along with a brace of oddly marked Kuhliis that are causing me to scratch my head, but I can't be absolutely certain if that's what they were. Sadly no sidthimunki, but I was told that they could get some ... at a price!

Catfishes next. Surprisingly few Loricariids, though there was a Baryancistrus that I think was listed as L-47, some Leopard Plecs (I'll look up the ID later), and a really lovely black and white spotted one with yellow fin edges (I should know this, but the name escapes me for the time being).

Corys were somewhat thin on the ground too, but they DID have Corydoras haraldschultzi in numbers (spread across two aquaria) along with some very nice looking juvenile trilineatus. No real exotics though, unlike last time when they had guapore and sterbai.

Barbs - oh, quite a selection here - pentazona being a particular highlight, along with melanampyx (Ember Barbs), four different colour varieties of Tiger Barbs (Fallout would have been SO happy seeing 200 of those together!), some very nice conchonius (Rosy Barbs), some lateristriga (Spanner T Barbs) and a brace of Barbus ticto. Oh, there were some nice oligolepis (Checkerboard Barbs) in there too.

Characins, on the other hand, were present in almost ridiculous abundance. Golden One-Line Pencil Fishes, Nannostomus unifasciatus, were among the star exhibits, along with:

Rosy Tetras
Red Phantoms
Black Phantoms
Lemons
Rummies
Garnet Tetras (first time I've seen them in the flesh!)
Diamond Tetras (some LOVELY specimens - Bruce Moomaw would love these!)
Columbian Red Blues
Buenos Aires Tetras
Silver Tip Tetras
Translucent Bloodfins (Prionobrama filigera)
Flame Tetras (in a tank mis-labelled 'Axelrodia rasboras'!)
Emperor Tetras
Penguins (thayeria boehlkei)
Red Eyes
Bleeding Heart Tetras

And ... wait for it, Cochu's Blues! They've arrived here at last, and what's more they're changing hands for just £1.50 each, or 5 for £6! I have to agree with CrazyRed that they are hyperactive little fishes, and NEED a decent sized long aquarium, because the ones on sale gave me a facial tic watching them ...

Not only did they have Cochu's Blues, but they had something else I've been looking for high and low for ages - Hyphessobrycon amandae, the Ember Tetra - and £1.25 each, or 5 for £5!

Oddities - these included the tiniest freshwater Puffers I've ever seen (Carinotetraodon travanicorus perchance?) and some real rarities among the Labyrinth Fishes - Parosphromenus deissneri!!!

Now for the marines. Sadly, WAY beyond my price range to even hope of ever owning, but lovely nonetheless. Highlights included:

Royal Gramma sharing its home with a Strawberry Dottyback;
HUGE Lionfish sharing its home with something called a "Hush Puppy Puffer"
Flame Angels in numbers;
A Chaetodon paucifasciatus Butterfly Fish (how rare are THOSE?)
Dascyllus reticulatus Damsels
White Tailed Humbug Damsels Dascyllus aruanus
Pretty Damsels Dascyllus reticulatus
Juvenile Neoglyphidodon melas with the yellow back and black-lined electric blue pelvic fins
Copper Band Butterfly Fish
Wimplefish, Heniochus acuminatus
Something called an "African Angelfish" which I've now identified as a juvenile Pomacanthus chrysurus from the Mini-Atlas
Bluering Angel Pomacanthus annularis (£120 ... weep)
Spinecheek Clowns Premnas biaculeatus
A huge Naso vlamingii surgeonfish (!)
Six Line Wrasse Peudochelinus hexataenia

Plus, something called - wait for it - a Pink Spotted Flymo Blenny! Can't for the life of me work out what this is, because I can't find it in the Mini-Atlas at all ... anyone know what this beast could be?

The big display aquaria these were quite a sight too!

First, the freshwater display aquarium contained - wait for it - twenty Denison's Barbs (you'd have to remortgage the house to have that shoal in your aquarium!).

The Rift Lake display aquarium housed a similar number of Tropheus duboisi sharing their quarters with something that looked as if they should be Malawi Peacocks, but can't be because it's a Tanganyikan setup.

The marine display tank featured a Picasso Trigger living alongside a Black Trigger (for how long I wonder?) and five different Tangs/Surgeons including a Zebrasoma desjardinii, a Zebrasoma flavescens, a Regal Tang )Paracanthurus hepatus), a Naso tuberosus and a Lipstick Tank, Naso lituratus. they were sharing their quarters with a dozen Chromis opercularis Damsels and one of those "African Angels" I mentioned above.

I've probably missed out a brace of other interesting fishes, but with 250 dealer aquaria to browse, can you blame me for not remembering them all?

That was two hours of fun and frolics watching all of those fishes!

EDIT : Forgot the Jade Eye Cichlids! How COULD I forget those?



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

The blenny is Istiblennius chrysosopilos.

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

Now I wish we had a place like that near me! There were some good finds there Calilasseia! I bet that cycling trip was worth it, even in the heat.

There isn't one LFS near me that has that good of a tetra selection..not to mention the other fish you mentioned.

And a big school of Denison barbs....wow. I bet that was awesome. Those are really some beautiful fish.

*Kristin*

GirlieGirl, I suspect I'd have to drag you away from that place with a 4x4 powered by a meaty V8

Seriously though, they have an amazing stocking level. They carry on a regular basis fishes that most other pet stores haven't even heard of (all those Rift Lake Cichlids for example - I suspect quite a few other shops would look at me as if I'd jsut stepped out of a flying saucer from Mars if I mentioned Copadichromis borley ). And, they have Anomalochromis thomasi in stock on a regular basis - a fish I've spent 30 years yearning over!

I reckon the Rift Lake fans on this Board would be goggle eyed at the stock ...

By the way, they keep their Shellies in a tank with sea shells. Now there's something I'd never have thought of - when pondering the possibility of shell dwellers, I've mused upon the possibility of importing Neothauma snails and cultivating them for the purpose, but when you think about it, sea shells solve several problems at once, namely providing homes for the fishes, and buffering the water. OK, it looks artificial, but it works ...

I'm now having to make a decision whether to go for the Anomalochromis thomasi, or go for a big shoal of Ember Tetras. Never thought I'd be in a situation where I had to decide between the two!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I'm now having to make a decision whether to go for the Anomalochromis thomasi, or go for a big shoal of Ember Tetras. Never thought I'd be in a situation where I had to decide between the two!

Get both! IIRC, you told me in chat that the A. thomasi is small and peaceful. The two species would make a pretty awesome tank.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

I agree...I'd go with both. That way you don't have to make a choice! Or just get another tank and then you could have both. Maybe thats how I feed my MTS.

You are right, I'd have to be dragged away from a store like that. I'd have to make sure I had alot of money to spend on more tanks, so I could have the fish I wanted. I would be happy if rummynose tetras were available locally. That would be great.

I went to the measly local Petsmart today and it took all I had not to buy one of their gorgeous crowntails (the first I've seen in person). I did good though...I didn't buy the betta or another tank.

*Kristin*

Well if you WERE over here, you could avail yourself of Rummies from that place at a reasonable price. There were something like 40+ Rummies in the dealer aquarium there, so you would be able to put together a sizeable shoal - if I recall correctly, the Rummies were £1.20 each or 6 for £5, something like that. A shoal of 12 would thus be within your reach without remortgaging the house.

Yet another reason you'd want me to take you.

Hmm, if I was going to have BOTH thomasi and Ember Tetras in the second aquarium, I'd have to spend time building up the numbers. That would require several round trips. Might work though.

However, if I was going to turn what was the panda nursery into a full blown second community aquarium, I'd also need Otocinclus. Ah, more expense. Even more so if the place ever acquires those sky high desirable Zebra Otocinclus ...

EDIT : Identified the Plec I saw there. It was a Gold Nugget L-18 (Baryancistrus species). Any idea how big they grow? Plus, are they decent algae eaters or are they one of the more carnivorous Plecs? Paging Cup_of_Lifenoodles!

Now all I need to have identified is the Apistogramma sp. "Blue" ...


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

hehe, sounds like taking a walk through my lfs. working there for over a year now, I don't realize just how great a store it is. Instead I end up picking it apart on the details. We've had about all those fish you mentioned in the last couple months. We have about 320 tanks in the retail(including one at just under 2000 gallons) and over 400 in the wholesale. If you are ever in the buffalo/niagara falls area, you should check us out. Besides, who wouldn't want to come visit me.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

You'll have to pay for the air ticket first Matty

It's quite something though, to pop into a fish store and find something like 70 Cichlid species waiting for me. Not to mention all those Characins, and rarities such as Parosphromenus deissneri. Mind you, that little gem is proving to be a double edged sword, the more I research about it - not a fish to be taken on lightly unless you're prepared to cultivate live foods for it on a regular basis.

I really will have to set up a Brine Shrimp hatchery sometime. Perhaps I'll buy a bigger quarantine tank and convert the current one into a Brine Shrimp hatchery.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I've been to that store a number of times, but not in a while now, I was always impressed when i visited. Is that huge puffer still in the display tank?

Gold nuggets hit maybe eight inches, though some websites list a maximum size of over a foot. I've never actually heard of one that large. They are not very good algae eaters, and prefer meaty foods.

As for the Apisto, was it A. panduro or a blue A. borelli? Can you describe the colors and any patterns?

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

The Apisto was basically a pale white fish with a single line along the side, and a hint of a red edge to the dorsal. Because the specimens were juvenile, I suspect they'll undergo some significant changes from that ...

The giant puffer they used to have is, sadly, no more. He's gone to the great aquarium in the sky.

However, I think 70 Cichlid species and a display tank with 20 Denison's Barbs in it makes up for there being no giant puffer

EDIT : Unfortunately www.apistogramma.com didn't have an illustration that matched my fish. However, The Cichlid Room has one illustration that is a potential contender ... namely this picture of Apistogramma caetei. However, the fishes I saw were not quite as blue, and appeared to have slightly more red to the edge of the dorsal than this fish. Of course, with Apistogramma species, quite a few are still awaiting description, so if by chance they've got one of the underscribed ones, then pinning an ID on it will be a waste of time until someone gets around to describing it


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

You'll have to pay for the air ticket first Matty

I would if I could! Maybe in exchange you could fly me out there.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Only trouble with that Matty, is you'll want to take half the marine stock of this place home with you, and I suspect that a Transatlantic flight would be a tad stressful on the Butterfly Fish you'd want to take home!

Mind you, I'd probably want to do something similar over there if your workplace stocks such exotica as Corydoras weitzmani or Taeniacara candidi Cichlids


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I'd love to visit that shop, only problem is it's about a 2 hour drive away from me and i don't think my dad would be too happy about that

Could go to one of the other maidenhead aquatics, but even the closest at derby is still a good hour drive away. If i end up in derby for my uni course i think i'll spend a good about of time there

Whenever you get chance bonny, believe me it's worth the effort.

For me, it's a 40 minute cycle journey. Then of course whe I get there, the fish room is like a steaming section of Amazonian jungle conditions wise - so I come away from there with waterfalls of sweat poruing off me in the weather conditions we're 'enjoying' at the moment ... but when you DO get the chance, you'll probably want to move into the place and sleep there overnight

And of course, having spent time there being hypnotised by all the fish, I forgot to check if they have Hikari wafers in stock ... bleh. Still, gives me the perfect excuse to go back and have another squint at all the fish.

Some of the aquaria they have for sale are HUGE ... with fairly hefty price tags to match. But then, £1,000 isn't THAT bad value for money for a complete system ready to fill with water and go - aquarium, stand, lighting, filtration system, heater and all the technology included, and a capacity of something like 200 gallons for the 'wish list' model I saw there. Only trouble with that one is that even if I had the money to buy it, I have doubts as to whether my living room floor would support the weight without my ripping up the floorboards and building brick columns under the joists. Mind you, once that task was completed, and the joists were supported by brick colums set in concrete, I'd never have any loading worries ever again. Only worry from that point on would be the running costs electricity wise (sigh). Not to mention where I'd put the rest of the furniture. But as I live on my own currently, at least I'd have no worries about a wife and children complaining that I was deevoting more time to the fish than to them!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

There are some pretty nice looking tanks on ebay, 6'*2'*2' with sump and all pumps etc.

Like thisone.

But i suppose from a shop that isn't a bad price at all lol.

My 2 favorite LFS are an hours drive one way....but its worth it.

If I was 2 hours from that place, you bet I'd be going there. Seems like a very cool place.

*Kristin*

ahh confusion sorted - I thought you'd cycled from Liverpool to Maidenhead

My favourite LFS is in Salisbury, well Porton Down to be accurate. I'm sure it's all the old atomic testing, the fish are some of the best I've ever seen, with a beautiful collection of plecos.

Actually, they have a parrot that was adopted from the old testing labs, he was retired to the pet store after he'd served his time!

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I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions

Actually Porton Down is the biological warfare lab - Aldermaston is the nuclear weapons facility

Oh, "Maidenhead Aquatics" actually has branches all over the place. About 50 of them at the last count.

Now if I could cycle to Maidenhead from here in 40 minutes, I'd leave the entire Tour de France field for dead ... that's five miles per minute, or 300 mph ... I think the traffic police would have a lot to say if I did too, especially as it would mean I would be able to outrun every police helicopter in the land

Back on topic ... you can find your nearest branch here]http://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/[/link]. Basingstoke looks like the closest to you if you're near Porton Down (cross referenced with [link=Streetmap UK for your convenience).



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002