seamonkee

Cyathopharynx foai are described as one of the most vibrant freshwater fishes (male) in the world.... They are a rare oddities here in Singapore... I got mine from Cichlid Forever... these 8 babies cost me $300+++ because they are F0 (meaning wild caught) fishes (direct import from Africa). Best of all, they all come in juvenile so u won't know if u sua sua got all 8 females (drappy silver colour) or if u are lucky u get one or two males in the group of harem (that's the best combi)... Thank God out of the 8, I suspect 3 are males... their colours are starting to show )(as above)...

Thanks... I prefer the natural feel... when it comes to emulating ecosystems... I am a real sucker when it comes to having something close to the system's natural habitat and surroundings... My wife says coral sand ok what but I still find it too "white" as compared to the fluvial river sand... haha... my wife said I "crazy" for I rather took out the coral sand even though it was an arduous task... Tanganyikan lake (in Africa) is one of the largest freshwater lake in the world and with its own unique species and all... They are amazing in behaviour! The tank setup I have is a community tank... with occellatus (bottom shell dwellers), cyprichromis (taking the upper strata) and foai (taking the mid strata)... The rocks and caves are there more for aesthetic reasons... and yeah, in an event I want to add a calvus (one of the most coveted cave dwelling fish in tangyikan setup).

Yes... I have converted my marine sometime back in June to African Tanganyikan... most reefers here know about it and they have been asking me for pixs when the conversion is done... Hardly hang out here these days... but now over at petfrd.com more often... and cichlid forum...

This is what it will look like when it becomes a full male.... cool! I can't wait... The female are more drappy and silver in colour...

Here's a close up of one of my fave fish... the Cyathopharynx foai... now in juvenile stage... so look a bit dull.. but the male colours are starting to show.... Sori... lousy pix... cause lousy digicam

Under actinic lights...

Another close up...

Here's how it looks like now... just to share.... with tanganyikan fishes... I have removed my skimmer, change my sandbed from coralsand to fluvial river finesand.... Sold my live rocks and bought this granite pieces.... hehehe... other than that, equipment still the same... I have in my tank (for those who knows tanganyikan fishes): 1) 8 Cyathopharynx foai 2) 16 Cyprichromis leptosoma 3) 8 occellatus (or known as shellies... interesting behaviour cause they live in discarded shells in the wild)....

Hi folks... it's been a long time really since i have been "tokking" fishes.. Ahh.... now that I switch from marine to freshwater tanganyikan setup... less headaches.... less ich problems and stuff... less sticky floors... Anyway, here's how my previous five footer marine looks like (for those who dunno...)

D&D is the night where all my board directors are coming... I have to "stand out" mah.... so cannot dress too sloppily or overdress also... Agree with kelstorm about lounge... but where is a good place to get?

Ok folks... no jokes please... I really dunno what to wear for my company D&D... it is supposedly "Oscar Night" theme where everyone dress nicely a.k.a hollywood style... Thinking of suit but geez, my suit like very business like leh.... Thinking of just shirt and pants... but similar to my office wear leh... So I thought of something "lounge"... probably some black jacket, white shirt without tie kind of stuff.... What's a good place to shop? I left like two weeks or so.... Alternatively, I may just go as Darth Vader... I want something that makes the ladies' knees wobbles and my board of directors to scream... "GIVE THAT MAN A RAISE!"

Hahaha... u are welcomed.... That's my "powerful" sailfin who went through 2 episodes of ich and a 8 week cycle of cupramine treatment... he's now super immune to ich.... was my prized fish... Hope u take good care of it... Cheers bro.. happy reefing... My Tanganyikan setup turning out quite well... will post pixs shortly...

Probably true... but you have to consider that there are some who gave up due to valid reasons... Example such as new commitments..... new baby? To me, for most I knew who gave up, time and new commitment is always the factor rather than money...

Uppzzzz....

Here's a pix...

I got a MAK4 in good working condition for sale. Got it at $280 but now selling at $200.... This was used for my skimmer EV240.... Given up marine and converted to freshwater.... so skimmer not in use... skimmer already sold.... now selling the MAK4... Please pm me with contact no.... ONLY FOR SERIOUS BUYERS.... The price above is a good price.... so no more bargaining...

I was reading through Esso Mobil Smiles Driver Guide 2005 and was looking at page 32 where it says "8 Places to Explore by Car". Under Sungei Tengah Farms, it claims there is a pet fish named "Ju Long" measuring a scary 20 ft??!? 20 ft is a ridiculous claim... has anyone seen the fish when they are there LFSing? Even the largest Freshwater fish the "Arapaima Giga" can grow up to the most only 13 ft.... so 20ft is a bit "impossible" or exaggerated"... Even if it is truly the Arapaima Giga, the largest recorded is around 16' if I am not wrong... Are they overstating their claim? can anyone verify or seen the fish before?

From the looks, the owner looks like a "Chao Beng" who honks at anyone and cut into people's lane while holding a ciggy on one hand outside the window while driving... maybe as what bro. kschew said, I believe he must have step on someone's toe or someone see him "buay song" with that attitude car of his.... Morale of the story, never over dress your car w decals... esp if you have long ah beng hair...

I am taking a slack now really.... from preparing the Training Business Plan....wah lao... boss want thick and comprehensive one... I like got 20 pages loh of training action plans I want to implement over the next one year... (The Financial Year here starts in Jul).... mostly his inputs and what he wants to see happens... my job is to materialise them... Probably overwhelmed with the workload and decided to "stray away" for a little while into SRC... hehe... Also to catch up with everyone since the day I gave up reefing.... BTW, my Tanganyikan Cichlid Tank Setup has just began... Got the granite rocks last Saturday and will be picking up the Fluva river sand this weekend... heheheh.... 1.5 hours more to weekend... yeah... yeah... yeah...

2.5 hours more to weekend... Here I am sitting in my office... two weeks into the job and I am already filled to the brim with work!!! Probably the result of bumming too long.... I am always feeling sleepy after lunch hour.... mind you, sleepy for 1 hr ok lah... but since 1pm until now.... damn! I DEFINITELY MISS BUMMING AROUND....

GOSH!!!! WE ARE REALLY IN GRAVE DANGER!!!

Never ever ever buy IKEA furniture esp the sofa and table... so far, I have heard of two incidents where the sofa gave way... But the small items, accessories, rugs and decor stuff can consider.

stainless steel panels & stuff for kitchen are very nice indeed... but when it comes to maintenance and cleaning... boy.... you got a lot of hard work, trust me on this... unless you got a maid... My plan for my kitchen stove area was to use stainless steel panel for back splash... Then was advise against it by a few contractors. Then someone came up with this brilliant idea... the wall tiles over there has a dimension of 30x30cm so he advised me to change to BIG tiles of 90cm x90cm... rather than using stainless steel panels... by changing to BIG tiles, the number of grouts were also reduced.... trust me, oil stains on grouts can be a nightmare... And yeah, $30k is quite a tight budget for a five room if you ask my honest opinion (somemore you are throwing in a tank).... So keep a close watch on the frills... My wife and I spent around $60k for basic reno for my five room alone (129sq meter).... maybe because I have parquet flooring for all the rooms.... that's why the price a bit jack up... BTW, this does not include my $5k 5-footer tank... a bit siong.... Last advice, In anything, think of practicality... bro. tayhonglee is right to suggest cabinet and drawer spaces as possible... it's always better to have more storage space around... really... As for the butt spray... I have that too... cheap but please get a steel one.. those plastic ones crack very easily... I used it often to clean my fish tank skimmer cup then my butt actually...

TOTALLY AGREED... My original plan was to plaster the walls too... then I found out if they do a terrible job.... the plaster may crack especially in our kind of weather condition.... not advisable...

Mine is a five-room flat as well... My advice would be: 1) Try not to "hack" or build too many walls. Leave the flat as its original configuration as much as possible. Otherwise, next time you sell will have problem. If the next owner wants the walls back in its original place, you will have to bear the cost of building back those walls and hacking away the new walls you build. Remember, it is cheap to hack a wall but not cheap to restore one. 2) Try not to go for too many "fixed" furnitures except for kitchen lah. Fixed furnitures are non-returnable costs... Also for a practical reasons, if you are a newly-married, kids will mean that you will definitely change furniture and making the house more child-safe. 3) Parquet floors are nice to the feel. Laminate floors are a cheaper alternative and more scratch resistance. 4) If you are planning a tank for your new house, make sure it is over a floor area that is non parquet or laminate. Best on tiles. And yeah, if you are DEAD serious about your tank, you can incorporate your tank in the reno and build your furniture "around" it. One thing I could have done (which I did not) is to extend water pipes to my top-up tank (Dun have to carry pails of water). 5) Lastly, have fun! Respect the contractors... buy them kopi + snacks and they go all the way for you...