Recent content by sir_keith

Seriously? Try finding parts for cars from the 1980's, you know, important ones that actually make the car run. It took me 2 years to find a NOS radiator for my 1988 M3, and that search was only successful because a friend-of-a-friend knew someone at the factory in Munich, where the last 2 OEM...

Received six ~2" Botia dario from The Wet Spot last week to test whether their reputation as MTS-eaters was warranted, and was it ever! I put them into a 75g with a significant MTS infestation, and they got to work on the snails within minutes. Less than a week later, and I haven't seen a live...

Online AI info is rubbish, because it follows that old maxim- Garbage in; garbage out. Botia dario rarely grow much over 3".

I ordered a group of Botia dario from the Wet Spot, largely because they stay a reasonable size. We'll see how this works out.

Anyone know where I can pick up some Botia loaches locally? I'd like to try them in a MTS-infested tank.

Poor deformed little things.

Great turnout, and great response. This wasn't so much a 'how to' talk as it was about the natural history of Lake Tanganyika and the evolution of its cichlid fauna. It made for a long day doing the back-and-forth from Poulsbo, but I really enjoyed it.

An unabashed bump for anyone who might be in Seattle...

I don't see why you're thinking 'African themed.' Cichlids are the dominant fish family in all of Africa, not just the Rift Lakes, so much so that it's difficult to think of more than a few non-cichlid Africans of interest in the hobby. Or am I missing something?

Seems like your criteria are eliminating at least 90% of the African fishes at the outset, which raises the question- 'Why Africans?'

Yes, I'll take these 'atmospheric river' events over the winter weather I grew up with in Nw England any day! Never lost power here yesterday; fingers crossed for today!

Nothing, because I don't want to be in the middle of something if the power goes out, and my neighborhood is surrounded by outages at the moment. Yes, I do have a backup generator, but even so, that's not a good time for fish chores. I do have a lot of rearranging to do in my fishroom, including...

That's more than a bit optimistic. I haven't bought fishes in a fish store since I lived on the Seattle side (14 years ago), and Kevin owned A Place for Pets in Burien. So the nearest place for me is The Wet Spot, and that's a 3-hour drive one-way. Fortunately they ship. So basically all the...

Axolotls are actually salamanders, but they carry a naturally-occuring mutation that makes them incapable of synthesizing thyroxine, a hormone that regulates metamorphosis in amphibians. In the absence of thyroxine, they are essentially frozen at the 'tadpole' stage, but if you inject them with...

Yes, you have to poke them periodically to make sure they're still alive. :oops: