Hmmmph. Little or no plants? If that's really the case, then a biotope
is indeed out of the question. Not just for aestethic reasons, but
also for oxygen production and nitrate reduction, and so on in a
closed environment as is an aquariumtank. I'll "expand" the biotope
then to the whole indigenious plants of PNG or even include Australia,
then I should be able to fill my tank up nicely :)
Ah that's some bad news about the P. connieae then, I had thought them
to be equal to the furcatus in "difficulty". Live foods would indeed
be a problem, especially in the winter. But even in summer, I almost
always give frozen foods since the black musquito larvae in my
rainwatertank aren't really abundantly present and it's the only
feedable insect i've been able to "keep" so far.
I must say I'm kind of suprised to hear that the furcatus is prettier
than the connieae though, as I always found the photos online to prove
the opposite. But then again, what's in a picture, hey? ;)
And yes of course, should any fry in my mixed tank survive I'll take
the proper steps to prevent from hybrids being spread. However, I
doubt that this will happen any time soon. Since I've only seen them
lay eggs once or twice so far, and those eggs were quickly eaten by
the other fish.
By the way, what is everyone's opinion on keeping M. trifasciata and
M. boesemani in a 240L (gross) tank (120cm length, 50cm height, 40cm
depth)? Too small or acceptable? The storekeeper said it was no
problem, but sometimes I doubt his "expertise". (I also plan on
getting fish from private breeders in the future, and not the local
fishshop)
Thanks everyone for the responses so far.
Greets,
Gunther