Fishy

Personally I wouldn't add anymore Red Empresses to that size tank unless you plan on getting rid of all your zebras. The Red zebras would be a good choice to get rid of if your worried about them cross breeding with your labs. Try to stick to 1-2 males at the most per group, depending on how many females you have for that group. I'd also stick to only 1 Male Red Empress with 3-4 females. Caves and/or rockwork for your mbunas and some open space for your Empress. Allan

Great looking fish Neil. Allan

Hey Tom, Glad you had a chance to see Gold's and Riverfronts in Calgary. Two of my fav LFS to visit while in Calgary. Look forward to hearing about your new tank set up, lemme know how it goes. Allan

Sounds like they weren't healthy coming from this store. I don't think they died from chlorinated water if she already had the other oscar in the tank already. Could have been a combination of things, were they new oscars in the store and sold right away without being quarantined. If the other oscars she bought from a different store are doing well, it would certainly raise questions about the other stores fish and their health. I would ask them to do the water test in front of me, if they do not I probally wouldn't go back to the store. I personally do not buy or rarely buy any livestock from stores for personal reasons that I will not get into here. Allan

Some Mbunas F1 Yellow lab male Group shot of 3 male mbunas put in quarantine for pictures.

Here are 24 Dolphin juvies that I am growing out. These have a very slow growth rate. Allan What looks to be the Dom male of the group.

:welcome:

:welcome:

Very nice stand Brad! Im about to build stands for a 45, 55, and a 110g myself. Allan

Ah ok, I was just wondering because from the way your last post was written in sounded like you were breeding Peacocks in that 1 55g with 4 different species of Peacocks in there. Was just curious to how you would not have them cross-breeding with 4 different species in 1 tank unless it was all males.

Just out of curiousty, why would you use carbon at all? In my humble opinion a 30 FW refugium would only put a dent in the huge bio-load that the big fish going in this tank will produce. I am also not a big fan of HOB filters as I feel their polishing capabilities are lacking hence 350gph of carbon. I would negate the HOB's and the rena for 2x fx5's though. My experience with the Fluval FX5's have been very positive. Hope this helped Kevin I agree with you on a good quality cannister, I do however love AC's and yes they can be great polisher's as well with the right media (floss). I feel a good quality cannister like the FX5 and a AC110 would make a great combo for filtration. Either way I guess it all comes down to what the user wants. However I wouldn't use carbon at all and have never used carbon in any of my filters unless you wanted to take medications out of the water, which a water change can do much better in my opinion. Allan

Just out of curiousty, why would you use carbon at all?

I would scrap the bio-wheel and the Rena myself. Just sell them and you can buy AC 110's at PJ's pets right now for 59.99 I believe until Oct 4th. With a 30g sump I would run 2-3 AC 110's but thats just me cause I love the ease of Aquaclear filters. If you want a cannister, I would go with a Eheim or FX5 like already mentioned and run 1 AC 110 with it. I agree with Doc on the powerhead. Also make sure you have some quality heaters to go with it, I personally like the Ebo jagers but there are other great quality heaters on the market as well. Keep us posted on your progress, I wish i was setting up a tank like yours. Allan

yes he did and is keeping piece over the tank too. thanks again for all the help and ideas and of course the fish. the jack has really tailed off on aggression now that he has a friend in the tank. might be calling you on ideas to set up that 225 gal tank when i get it on sunday sure thing anytime Allan

Are you breeding Rubys, Sunshines and Eurekas in the same tank?

I have removed females that are breeding non-stop. Its a good idea to do if they look rather thin. After a female has spit her fry, I usually seperate her right away into another quarantine tank and let her feed on her own for 3-4 days before putting her back in with the breeding group. Allan

Fish are looking good Tom! Looks like the Oscar has settled in nicely. Allan

Nice photos, I like the look of the tank. Allan

I might have to go in there tommorrow and check it out.

Love those bass as well. Just need to get another big tank for them.....lol Allan

Agreed, don't waste your money on something that is not needed. Allan

yes epsom salts to relieve fish of their bowels I agree. Have yet to do that with any fish of mine though. Cough NLS Cough Allan

I would use neither. The water that come out of the taps here in Edmonton is perfect for raising and breeding cichlids. The only thing I add to the water is Prime and I have breed a ton of cichlids over the last 3 years. Allan

Try here BC Site Or Another

Its alright for grow-outs but it won't last long. Fronts will grow quick up till the 5 inch mark and then about an inch per year after that. Adults can get to 12-16 inches in length. Allan