Panda/rainbow Garras Are Amazing!

[N0body Of The Goat]

These three guys are so full of life and look so settled. They are continously playing; exploring the nooks and crannies of the Korrall 60 QT (hence using Koi top filter wool to block the rear vents where the lid meets the tank, these guys are well-known escape artists) and eating like you would not believe...

They've practically "licked" the glass clean of a fine layer of algae; had two small helpings of Tetra Prima Discus; a bit of Tetramin chips; bit of bloodworm in enriched jelly; even munching on the broken up algae wafer in there and the crab suisine pellets that were meant for the Rabbit Snails!

One of them climbed above the waterline and into the breeder net containing the six young Pearl Danio fry and the two Rabbit Snail youngsters. I was panicking about the young fish being a snack, but this Garra was much more interested in the uneaten algae wafer and natural algae! It took about five minutes to gently coax him/her out of the net, after lowering the setup below the waterline, which then let loose at least three of the fry... Even more panick, but thankfully the Denisons Barb and other Garras were not interested plus the fry avoided the dreaded "suck" into the filter (thank goodness its only the Juwel Compact with 280l/hr pump).

They've started playing a "game" which involves jumping above the waterline onto the top of the Juwel Compact container (above which is the biggest vent, which I wanted to prevent opportunist escape attempts at) for several seconds before plopping back down into the water again!

Really glad I got this Myanmar species, can't wait to add them to the Rio in two weeks time, they are like an Oto/Cory cross, so full of beans.

(Will add pics tomorrow, I don't want to risk this great start, especially for the Denisons' sake as they have lost most of their red stripe... which is to be expected, these poor guys don't enjoy moving, but I'm sure they will settle. They've had a bit of the food too, which is still very good for 6 hours after acclimitisation)

 

[hamfist]

Cool. Not even heard of these before. They sound a bit hectic for me, but then I am very much into peace and tranquility in my tanks.

Did these come from Aquajardin ?

Just had a look at a write-up on the species online. It said "There's little point in purchasing Garra flavatra to combat problem algae as it's only consumed in relatively small quantities."

Yours had obviously not read it !!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Their speed at being inquisitive and playful is not manic, like the Pearl Danios when they turbo across the Rio 240 in 0.5 seconds!

Its just a nice mid speed canter. Their appitite is incredible, I shall have to watch out they don't get overplump like the Synodontis shoutendi (marbled squeaker catfish on a fiver clearance at Aquajardin)!!

Yep, they came from Aquajardin. Sam (the manager) was looking at my list with me and we initially decided to bring home the Garras and the Bushfish into the QT, but after at least three weeks of being the last Bushfish, someone beat me to him/her by literally 10 seconds!!

However, it was not doom and gloom, at three Denisons (Redline Torpedo Barb) came home instead and they look a bit redder this morning.

The other good news Sam told me was that they are expecting a batch of Congo fish this Friday all being well, including Bushfish; several species of Steatocranus (can't wait to see these guys and choose a pair); plus "Pelviochromis nudiceps" (perhaps he really meant Nanochromis, as nothing on google for the former) which he reckoned would be a good second cichlid species for my tank.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

A few basic photos, before I go off to Brighton for the day...