stribbelldk

Hey just a dumb question, Is the bristle nose pleco that we buy here at LFS the same as the Paraguay bristle nose that Spencer Jack has on his fish list?? I am intrested in some but I don't really want several different plecos in the tank! Any input would be greatly appreciated. Derek

Awesome. :thumbs: Thanks for the advise. I think I might try some in my tank but I need a spare tank incase we have a feeding frenzy. My fish room should be set up by aug or sept. I might have to try then. Derek

Well I have some Electric blue babies that I plan on keeping so I can let You know on those. I am guessing about a yerar to a year and a half with those. And I was told about 2 for Blue dolfins so I guess I got a long wait ahead of me :shock: Derek

Hey, I was wondering if there are people with plants in a cichlid tank? If so what plants? I have 6 Electic yellows , 6 Electric blues, 6 Red empress 7 Petricola and 2 BN. Ph is 8.0, Nitrite, nitrate and ammonia is low or at zero. I have a 90 gal tank with the Coralife Lunar lights 2- 10k halide, 2 10k atinic and 4 small lunar lights. More than enough for most plants I am told. My temp is consistanly around 80 F. Whole tank set up for appox. 8 months. I was told I can put Java fern in and one other but I forget the name. Any other Ideas??? I wound like one plant that is kinda big and some low lying plants Derek

Hey all, I have a tank that has a small dribble from the top plastic piece. It then runs down the front of my tank looking like I have bird crap on my tank. My question is: If I lower my tank water a couple inches from the top and remove the top plastic piece, clean it really well and re-silicone the top and put it back on, would i risk the health of my fish? Or would my tank burst at the seams when I took it off? It is a 80 gal (48 x 16 x 24) with 18 Malawi cichlids in it. I don't have the option of setting up more tanks to hold these guys ....yet, so that is not an option. Ideas??? Derek

Hi Guys and Gals, I put a really ugly pic in here but you can see what I am asking. This is one of my Red Zebras but his tail is slowly disappearing. I had her in my main tank but took her out. It appeared to me that there is another zebra picking on her. I removed that one a few weeks ago but have recently put the aggressive one back in the main tank. While separated the one that is losing her tail seemed good, she was swimming around and seemed like her tail was coming back. Now she won't swim around and her tail is a stump. Is this fin rot or just a case of bullying?? Will her tail grow back? Should I add anything to help her out? I am already using Prime and Stability. Thanks for any input on this, Derek

My passion for fish started off with me wanting to find something to take my mind off other issues in that were happening in my life. Now I enjoy the work of cleaning my tanks and water changes and testing because it keeps me busy. I have come to realize the beauty in fish. The beauty is not the prettiness of a fish or a tank but the amount of time and care it took to raise. The rewards are countless. Just being able to sit back and really watch my tank relaxes me. I can sit there and reflect on my day. After a few minutes of watching the fish, I all but forgot about my day. Then there is the breeding part but that is a whole new area that my OCD (obssisive compulsive) mind is getting into......lol -roll- -roll- Derek

Any plans on breeding that beauty...... if so I wants dibs :smokey:

Congrats on the fry. My cichlids only spit 10 -15 fry at a time -05- , but it was their first brood. Derek

I have 2 male Blues and 4 female 2 male Yellows I think and 3 females 2 male Zebras and 4 female And the red empresses I,m not to sure 1 and 1 i think Was thinking of getting rid of the red zebras and adding a few of the others. 2 more red empress female and 3 yellows or blue females Derek

My tank is 48 x 16 x 23. I do believe it is a 80 gal. But it does have lots of rock and caves and fake plants in it that I change around monthly.

I am thinking about changing my setup. I have 6 Red Zebras, 6 Electric Blues, 5 Elecric yellows and 2 Red empress currently. I was thinking of eliminating the Red zebras and getting more of the others, but I want to minimize the chances of hybridization. And no, Species specific tanks is not an option I am allowed to explore at the moment. Other words, the boss said no more tanks. If I got 7 each of the others, will cross breeding be as likely and will this cut down on my tank aggresion?? I dont plan on selling any of my fish, except as feeders, till I get species specific tanks. I know there are cichlids out there that won't or don't cross breed. I just want to lessen the likelihood. Thought?? Derek

I would agree with jvision. A good quality food, some epsons salt and a nice lighting system and the colors seem to *POP*. Or at least my cichlids do. I never heard about magnesium in the tank, but I am new to this too. If you do try it let me know if you notice a difference. Derek

Well I would have to say tes but the stripes have faded so it is hard to tell. They do however have brownish dots on the tops of their heads. About 3 dots. But I would say you or correct in that they are cross bred and I got feeder fry. Thanks all. Derek

Please ignore the bad pics. Still learning: Right side of tank Left side with cheap nursery;(has about 15- 5 day old Red zebras) Electric blue holding (1 of the 2 ) Daddy blue The rest of the guys Sorry about the quality Derek

well I tried some more and this is what I got I know my camera sucks but damn them guys are fast Derek

ummm I tried but those little guys are fast. So all i got was little orangey steaks in the pics

I have som e Red zebra fry about a month old and around an inch long, They are kinda orange now but they have vertical barring. Is this normal for the age of them or did I have a little cross breeding in my tank. I have separated my Kenyi that was in the tank but not till after these guys were born. Are they pure Red Zebras or do I have feeder fry??? Thanks :well: Derek

very nice. Do you find your cichlids like those pre-formed rocks?? the whitish one in the front with the two holes. Derek

I have a common pleco that is about 5 years old. George has gone through some wild moves and some lonely times. I got him in my original 15 gal and is olny 4 inches long. when we moved up here form southern Alberta I thought for sure none would survive but he did.I even lost a heater in his tank and he was the only one in there so I didnt notice for some time. Long live George :guns:

I found a 15 gal tank for my fry and grow out tank, but the silicone was all staianed green. I decided to re-silicone it, but how long should I wait before adding water to it? I was thinking 48 Hours. Also I bought a under gravel filter for it, but was thinking that it is not enough for cichlid fry. Should I have something else to help move and clear the water? Thanks Derek

When I woke up this morning, I went directly to the tank. There most be 20 -25 fry. Is that normal for her first time?? Derek

Well I looked again and now there is 4 in the net and still some in her mouth. I think tomorrow I will try stripping her of the rest if she didn't spit them. Any suggestions??? Derek

I thought my Red Zebra was holding about 3 weeks ago but I wasn"t sure. (new to the breeding thing). Then about 1 week ago I saw something that looked like an eyeball. So I tore down half my rocks in the tank and caught her today. I don"t have a fry tank and the better half said no to a second tank. So I had to get a floating fry/ hospital/ grow out net. As soon as I put her in there with some low lying plastic plants, she spit two babies but looks like she is holding more. I will try to get some pics tomorrow. Hopefully she spits more??!! If anyone has some ideas to better the chances of survival that are cheap and doesn't include more tanks, PLEASE let me know. Thanks to Harold for selling my such beautiful fish. :thumbs: Derek :drunk:

I was doing 20% water changes for 3 days trying to bring tank to 80. It was at 88. But it was a good thing the fiance dont like the heat. We broke down and bought 2 window mount ACs. Now my temps are at the 78 mark again :thumbs: It was either the ACs or see if I could find a water cooler for the tank. My brother in Saskatoon has one. I dont know if he bought it or made it but works great.