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Balzani


gexemp

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well just got back into fish and it seems my beloved balzani are rarer than hens teeth these days

does anyone know where I can get some from ?

any help would be greatly appreciated

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just think yourself lucky you had the oppertunity to keep these fish :p

a thread pops up every now and then looking for gymnos but no one really knows if they're here anymore, i think if they're anywhere it will be perth or qld

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Hi Gexemp, welcome mate!

Try this place, its here in NSW Sydney, it's called Clearwater Aquariums Ph -02 4283-1926, this guy has had some before, back in the days, but he might be able to give you a lead as to where? or what's happened to them?

Not promising anything! but hey worth a shot! Uknow !

I know that there are some around here in nsw & perth , But those that have them will not part with them, its sad I know!

I have been looking for them myself, I have even heard that some people breeding the Balzanii just keep the fry for themselves, or are just keeping them as display fish & dont want to part wit them !!

All in all, I wish u the best of luck, & really do hope you find them.

Cheers Mark.

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i ordered these from a qld supplier, 18months to 2 years ago, for the moorebank shop in syd

we only received x6

they went in a flash

these arnt for the beginner i say i suspect there very scarce in the hobby

goodluck mate

as for peeps keeping them for them selves i bet that happens :grrr: but why would you do that :dntknw:

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Hi Gexemp, welcome mate!

Try this place, its here in NSW Sydney, it's called Clearwater Aquariums Ph -02 4283-1926, this guy has had some before, back in the days, but he might be able to give you a lead as to where? or what's happened to them?

Not promising anything! but hey worth a shot! Uknow !

I know that there are some around here in nsw & perth , But those that have them will not part with them, its sad I know!

I have been looking for them myself, I have even heard that some people breeding the Balzanii just keep the fry for themselves, or are just keeping them as display fish & dont want to part wit them !!

All in all, I wish u the best of luck, & really do hope you find them.

Cheers Mark.

Tony (Clearwater aquarium) and i brought 50 over from perth, where the guy breeding them, was feeding the fry to his catfish :shock:

That was probably 10 years ago now.

Nobody wanted them then(or new what they were) so they just died out. Tony hasnt had them since. they were quite difficult to care for and were prone to desease. We lost a lot of em.

We brought them over here and put them into warm water when they were wintering and i think this was half of the problem. They have to be able to get down to about 15 degrees, from memory, for about 8 weeks of the year. we didnt know this at the time.

The guy that we got em from was named Terry Rowlands and he had a nursery of some kind.

His number was 08 9244 4000.maybe it still is???

now that was a long time ago but you might be lucky...... see how you go :thumb let me know..

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Terry doesn't keep Balzanii any more the the last juveniles were from the female I sent him

to breed with his male

the story from Melb of the recent ones appears they were all female or what

survived were

haven't heard anything from QLD contacts so ..................

the problem is with the males as they don't handle heat well and need a wintering period

so the tank temp lowers to 13-15*C

other wise you get the males developing Hole in the Head from keeping them at 25*C+

maybe they need to attempt to rise again

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  • 4 weeks later...

It's a female Pat and yes there are known to be females in Victoria

but it takes 2 and with no boys being acknowledged it will make things

difficult to bring them back again

maybe there is someone with boys or fry growing that might appear

in the near future again :wink2:

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before that photo was taken, i had 4 balzaniss, and i swear there was a nice thick male amongst them - I lost "him" the day after i added rathbuni tetras. "he" was thick, had a steeper head profile, and bright yellow on his pectoral fins/lower body/belly... the fish in the picture has died since, it wasted away when i shut down her tank (full of river sand)... they are a funny fish, they just wouldnt eat & hide alot if kept on their own, but when i added other fish (like baby GTs and robertsoni) all of a sudden they were more comfortable to swim around and eat... all i can say is there are 10 fish in WA from this batch; and these were perfect with no tail deformities.

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  • 10 months later...

Yes well I think the Gymnophagus types need a focused breeder giving special attention.

They aren't a fish that can become de-conditioned and nursed back to health.

People treat them like hardy Geos ,,,, I have never kept or bred them myself,,, but Im guessing they may become more hardy as a well matured fish with its head structure as a older individual shows.

I think a large number is needed to let them sort them selves out with appropriate partnering.

Pulling one male from one place and a female from another has a slim chance of reproducing.

Coming from a climate that cools of and warms up,,,, it's said they need a seasonal cool period in the tank.

Failing to do this they will not breed,, and even more bizarre start to waiste away and lifespan becomes well shortened.

The ones I saw not long before they died were only 12cm and real paper thin,,, basically dead fish swimming.

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Males are the main problem in Balzanii as they develop holes in the nuchal hump

if not maintained correct

the females I had no problems with and found it best to spawn them young around 7cm

and yes I took it for granted they would be around whenever I wanted them again

I sent my last female to Terry years ago and he had spawns from her and re supplied

the hobby for a while but that was just before I got out of the hobby

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