Fishful Thinking

Ok, I scrounged through my photos and actually found some beach related pictures from Ireland, not that it would compete with any tropical island. Enjoy! :thumbs: http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd293/g...um/IMGP0957.jpg http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd293/g...um/IMGP0959.jpg http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd293/g...um/IMGP0960.jpg

I am thinking it a peacock too. How big is it?

I made the deal with my wife that 3 would be the limit, and to be honest, I am happy with the 150 and the two 90s. I may trade in the last two for a 300+ if the price is right, but for now the upkeep on what I have keeps me busy!

Sorry to hear that. What happened? Another tussle?

Just don't drive after smelling too much, ok, Ryan? lol I've found that Melafix works well, but the main factor is clean water. Now I only use Melafix if I am really worried and it looks serious. For sure use the smaller tank to save some money if you are using the Melafix. Good luck!

Glad to hear the fish are doing well! They could not have gone to a better home. Those vics are just going to get better with age. Whatever you said to that rogue tropheus must have worked, lol.

Wow, Ryan! How long did it honestly take you to write up that post!?! Well done! Seeing as some of the fish on my list are now on Boom's list, I thought I should update: In the 150: Protomelas sp. "Spilonatus Tanzania" Copadichromis azureus Protomelas sp. "Steveni Taiwan" Labidochromis caeruleus Cyrtocara moorii Julidochromis marlieri Altolamprologus compressiceps Altolamprologus calvus (black) Dimidiochromis compressiceps Pundamilia nyererei Placidochromis phenochilus Pseudotropheus sp. "Elongatus Chewere" Nimbochromis fuscotaeniatus Nimbochromis venustus Protomelas taeniolatus "Red Empress" Metriaclima elegans "Gnome" Sunburst Peacock Aulonocara masoni Aulonocara stuartgranti (Cobue) Sciaenochromis fryeri Copadichromis borleyi "Yellow Fin" Fossochromis rostratus 2 BNs 4 Synodontis petricola 8 Syndontis multipunctatus In separate 90's: 22 Tropheus sp. "Red" (Chimba) 22 Tropheus sp. Black (Kiriza)

Thanks, Ryan. I want to grow them out for a bit just to make sure they are ok for my haps tank. The long term plan is to have them in the 150 in a large group so they can just go nuts! If they want to then baby snatch in an all-male tank, they can go right ahead.

Those pics make me want to visit the mountains again! Very nice.

Has anyone successfully mixed synodontis petricolas with tropheus? I am looking at this to grow some out before I move them into my haps tank to join the group that I have in there. I was thinking my chimba as they are 1.5", but with the BN just going down, I don't know if I want to risk it. Then again, the petricolas seem to move a lot quicker than the BN and do not just sit there as much. Also, what is the growth rate for the synos? Thanks!

Thanks, I like the reds too. I am watching them right now and 7 of them are scraping the algae off the back wall! I have not measured anything in my tank in a year. I converted to the "jvision school of testing" where if things look right and you are following the rules, you don't test. I "test" by looking at the fish. Normal behaviour and great colors are an easy way to tell if things are good. My tropheus right now are small, 1.3" for the reds and a mix of 1.5 to 3" for the kiriza, so I have not maxed out my filtration yet. Right now I run a Cascade 1200 and a Rena XP-4 on each. My plan is to possibly buy a larger (230+ range) tank with a large sump and join the two colonies. But yeah, I would say the nitrates are kept under control. I do 40-50% every 7-10 days and my tanks are thriving (knock on wood). I am not sure what the oxygen content of the the Rift lakes are. IME Rift lake tanks do not necessarily need added airstones unless there is not enough surface agitation.

That 450 is a jaw-dropper!

Update on the tropheus: things are going well with the two tanks. However, in each tank the BN that I had in it has been killed. With the kiriza, I could almost understand that because some of those fish are over 3 inches. But the Chimbas cannot be 1.5 inches yet and they took down a 3.5 inch pleco! Mean little guys...

Nice looking fish. How big are they?

It looks absolutely stunning, Ryan! Glad to see those fish found such a good home. I wouldn't worry about the filter media for a heartbeat. I've done the same thing many times. From the stand to the filter to the tank to the rocks to the fish, you've done an amazing job.

I have two tropheus tanks right now. One has a lot of lighting to try to create algae growth. My theory was that they could graze on the algae while I wasn't home, thus giving them a constant food source. The other has regular low lighting. For the tropheus keepers, has anyone used algae growth as a source of food in their tanks? Do you think there is any benefit to it?

Can't wait to show them to you! Maybe mention the requirement for a better video camera to my wife when you stop by tomorrow. She won't believe me if I tell her, lol.

Have you moved him out of the tank for a while or put him in a net for a couple of nights? I find that sometimes helps knock an over-confident fish down a peg or two, lol.

That should be a sweet tank when it is fully stocked. I agree with geleen. Over-filtering (within reason) is always the way to go. To give you some perspective, I have a 150 gallon with about 30 fish in it. I currently run an FX-5 and a Cascade 1500. I am planning on getting rid of the Cascade and putting on either two Rena XP-4s or one Rena XP-4 and one Eheim upper range. In reference to jewels' awesome picture, wow. Filtration with a planted tank, however, is far less demanding because the plants take in so much of the nitrates.

Here is some video of my 22 tropheus sp. black "Kiriza" from punman. Dwayne has a lot of really beautiful setups and he seems to have a fish farm quickly developing with lots of babies including some nice looking cyps. As always, these are done on my laptop. This was taken tonight about 1.5 hours after they were put in the tank, after a 2.5 hour journey. I just love the activity in the tank! Link

Africans allow you to overstock. If you want to breed, I would stick to that species. With a ton of different fish, especially ones that look similar, you risk interbreeding and a lot of interruptions of the breeding act. I have something like 30 fish in my 150 rift lake tank and they do fine, and keep in mind that some of them are 6"+ range. With the Malawi's you have to be ready to remove a fish that is going to town on one of the others or remove fish that are too weak in temperament to survive. Good luck with the mix!

To be honest I am still not sure exactly what you have in each tank (admittedly I am easily confused), but I find the more haps and peacocks in a tank spreads out the aggression. Like any mixed lake tank, you just have to observe, be careful and be able to move a fish that is not working for one reason or another. Best of luck!

I could understand going to Jamaica too! You would definitely get a better tan than we did in Ireland! lol

You could always start out with some black calvus or some other type of alto. compressicep and grow them out for a long time and, if you need to, eventually move them into a bigger tank. Keep in mind they grow very slowly.

I am sure I am forgetting some... Protomelas sp. "Spilonatus Tanzania" Copadichromis azureus Protomelas sp. "Steveni Taiwan" Labidochromis caeruleus "Lion's Cove" Labidochromis caeruleus "Nkhata" Julidochromis marlieri Altolamprologus compressiceps Altolamprologus calvus (black) Dimidiochromis compressiceps Pundamilia nyererei Placidochromis phenochilus Pseudotropheus sp. "Elongatus Chewere" Nimbochromis fuscotaeniatus Nimbochromis venustus Protomelas taeniolatus "Red Empress" Sunburst Peacock Sciaenochromis fryeri Fossochromis rostratus Tropheus sp. red "Chimba" To pick up next weekend: Tropheus sp. black "Kiriza"