"Interactiv" fish

[Magnum Man]

I was concerned, because mine came in at about 1/2 inch long, and they were in a tank that had 5 Tin Foil barbs that were 6-7 inches long… Tin Foils were very civil, but the lil Pandas would swim up, and take the food away from the Tin Foils… brave, or stupid, they certainly are interactive

 

[jaylach]

I was concerned, because mine came in at about 1/2 inch long, and they were in a tank that had 5 Tin Foil barbs that were 6-7 inches long… Tin Foils were very civil, but the lil Pandas would swim up, and take the food away from the Tin Foils… brave, or stupid, they certainly are interactive

Ya, the last batch I tried were ~1/2 inch and the cichlids killed all 4 within less than half a day. Actually these beasties will eat external parasites off of other fish. Unfortunately, it they try this with the wrong fish, they are dead. While I hate to do it I MAY end up having to give the cichlids to a local Petco. I would hate to do that but I also hate not having the fish I really want.

I find it a bit odd that my favorite two species of fish are also two of the most proficient escape artists. For both Pandas and Ropes you really have to set up high security.

 

[Velvetgun]

I totally agree with Panda Gara being friendly and interactive. Rope fish can be easily trained for hand feeding and, one I had, would weave in and out of my fingers. Some cichlids also seem interactive. In fact my pair of SA smiling dwarfs show interest in my bird and he shows interest in them.

Interaction between cichlids and bird. This won pet of the month a while back...
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Panda Gara on hand.
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Ropes are just cool! Miniature sea serpents.
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the photo with the parrot is really special!! My mother also had one like that.
What kind of apistogram are they?
I didn't know anything about the Panda Garra, I'm getting some information

 

[Velvetgun]

I find it a bit odd that my favorite two species of fish are also two of the most proficient escape artists. For both Pandas and Ropes you really have to set up high security.

sorry but what is Ropes fish? I apologize for the question but in Italy fish are usually called by their scientific names with the rare exceptions such as guppy, platy, molly. I'm trying to learn the English names but I can't always find them

 

[GaryE]

There is a strange cultural thing among English aquarists that they don't use languages other than English. The rope, reed or snake fish is Erpetoichthys calabaricus .
I've never seen it with any other language group, who seem totally unbothered by scientific names. I come partly from fishkeeping in French, where even the newest aquarists in our local club used Latin names. When I went to Gabon, we used English as our common language, but we had German, Danish, French and Fang speakers talking about fish with Latin names. It makes international fishkeeping life easier, and since it's a dead language, everyone has to learn equally.

 

[jaylach]

the photo with the parrot is really special!! My mother also had one like that.
What kind of apistogram are they?
I didn't know anything about the Panda Garra, I'm getting some information

Actual;y the bird is not a parrot but, rather, a cockatiel.

The fish are SA smiling dwarf cichlids, Laetacara araguaiae.

 

[jaylach]

sorry but what is Ropes fish? I apologize for the question but in Italy fish are usually called by their scientific names with the rare exceptions such as guppy, platy, molly. I'm trying to learn the English names but I can't always find them

@GaryE has already stated that a rope fish is Erpetoichthys calabaricus. In the wild they can get pretty long up to around 18 inches but they don't get that large in a tank for whatever reason. In an aquarium I can't recall ever seeing one over 7.5-8 inches.

In case you missed it in an earlier post here is what they look like. To me they are miniature sea serpents even down to the dorsal ridges or rays. The small ridges are sort of a health indicator. If they are visible as in the image the fish is healthy and unstressed. If they are not visible there is an issue. They are not hard to get to hand feed but I no longer do that as they become dependent and seem to 'forget' how to forage.

 

[Magnum Man]

I had one, when I had my tanks 20 yeas ago, that was between 12 & 14 inches long, and only ate small goldfish

 

[jaylach]

I had one, when I had my tanks 20 yeas ago, that was between 12 & 14 inches long, and only ate small goldfish

Odd... I wonder if it could be a difference between tank bred and wild caught. My current rope was 7-8 inches when I got it going on 2 years ago and is still the same size. I would wonder if they restrict their size according to water volume, like a leopard shark, as I've never had one in a tank larger than 55 gallons but a friend had a couple in a 175 gallon tank and they were the same size as what I see.

 

[Magnum Man]

I would guess mine was wild caught back then… and that was a long time ago, but if I remember right, that is the size I bought it, I had it for 6 months or so, and I think it forced its way out of the tank, where the air lines came through the cover

 

[Nuttawet]

Does panda garras eat algae?

 

[jaylach]

Does panda garras eat algae?

Yes they do, even black beard algae. They DO need a balanced diet though including protein.

 

[Nuttawet]

panda garras eat algae like pleco?
what is panda garras in thai language, because i'm going to get a couple.
Thank you,
Sam

 

[Essjay]

Panda garra is Garra flavatra.

Garra flavatra – Panda Garra — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[jaylach]

panda garras eat algae like pleco?
what is panda garras in thai language, because i'm going to get a couple.
Thank you,
Sam

Yes, Panda Garra == Garra Flavatra. In actual Thai it would be กรงเล็บแพนด้า.

Yes, Pandas eat algae, even black beard algae but also need proteins. Regardless of their appearance they are neither loaches or catfish. They are closer to the minnow and carp families.