Tom,

If you don't want to give your sources, I can buy them of off you also. I just wanted to buy some altums from reputable dealer. And since you have obviously bought from him I'm sure he is very reputable.

Thanks.

They are not my sources.
They are a wholesaler and the client.
I do not sell fish to my clients.
They go chose what fish they want directly, and they get the wholesale prices/pricing.

I charge a lot, since I charge by the day, but the end result is pretty fair because they get most everything at cost.

So if you have a wholesale license, you can buy them.
Ask your wholesaler(LA area).

The client has plenty of connections and is willing to pay and buy direct from SA.

So........

I do not want these fish. Yes, I like them, but they really are poorly suited for aquariums.

I keep things that will live and do well.
The client can get whatever they chose.
But did so on their own accord.

But that's their thing, not mine.
I'm not selling fish, so you need to look elsewhere.

Ask around, they generally are available in the late summer, Fall, when the dry season is in full swing in SA.

Good luck, you better be good at quarantining, and acclimate very very slow and well.

With good care, they can be a good fish once you go through all that.
I'm not wiling to for a client, the client was.

Until they are tank bred, I likely will never have them.
I do like them more than Discus though.


Regards,
Tom Barr

Two curiosities on this beautiful tank, and WOW on the work of tank this size.

What are the thread-like plants to the right of the pillar driftwood (to the right of driftwood near center of tank)? Are they bunches of needle leaf java fern bundled together, then each bundle anchored?

To the left of the pillar driftwood is an upsloping anubia forest. Basic question, but please educate. How do you do this - how does one get such height? Are the anubias tied to driftwood we can't see, which is leaned against back of tank? Or do you have a special backing/net material into which anubias are fitted?

I see these vertical elements in other tanks also, and I'd like to understand how they are achieved.

thanks,

Nothing special, I just cram the rhizomes into cracks and/or drill holes for the plnts where I want them.

Then just some time and the plants grow onto the wood nicely.
One of my main request style wise is not an ADA style tank.

Very few clients want that actually.

I don't either.

I'm a fish hobbyists first.

A small school of a few fish is not my idea of a nice tank. I like more diversity and community effect.

The clients often want a "wall of plants".
If you design a tank with a lot of plants, the only way to open space is to pull the plants back from the front edge and also run them up the back of the tank.

This also provides lots of cover and hides most equipment.

The old 90 gal that's my avatar used cork siliconed to the rear wall and then planted with all sorts of low light epipihytes. You could not see any or flows, tubes etc and it was an open top tank with any drilled holes.

You use this wall of plants as your base. Then you go to work grouping the midforeground and front of the tank's plant groups/designs.

You sort of get chaos + order. I'm very much into that.
Blending the two together will give you a nice scape and also a nice place for high fish loads.

I've gone entirely the other direction also.

Then done decent stuff in between:



this is a 55 gallon here:

and

the other side


In other words, you do not have to add plants to the entire surface of the wood, leave some spots open, or most of it if you like.

Regards,
Tom Barr

Here's the 90 that's like, 15 years old and example of EI and PO4 dosing:


Hard to see any cables etc or hoses .

Regards,
Tom Barr