Fishful Thinking

Thanks for the info. Is it reasonable to think that I could purchase 20 juveniles and still end up with a colony large enough to sustain itself. What I really want to avoid is those stories of tropheus tanks where they kill each other off until there is one lone male survivor.

I am thinking about possibly getting into Tropheus and I have a couple of questions: 1. If I bought any, they would be going into a 90 gallon. Is this too small for a colony? 2. If the answer to question #1 is "no", then how many should I buy as juveniles? 3. If we are still working on the premise that the 90 gallon would work and I do buy the recommended amount of juveniles, how many of those could I expect to keep around once they reach adult size? 4. Still the same premise as above, decor requirements? Thanks for the help.

Here is another installment of my sub-par quality video. These are the Pseudotropheus elongatus "Chewere" and Labidochromis caeruleus "Nkhata Bay" that were shipped in last week from Winnipeg. Spencer Jack fish

Thanks for the compliments! I just did it to see how my imovie program works, but it definitely gives me motivation to learn more. The main glare was actually the glow off of my laptop screen because I was using that camera to shoot the video, lol. Yes, Jason, it is a male tank except I have one yellow lab that is currently holding (not an intentional breeding program on my part). So far the aggression has been good. The haps rotate who is boss each week. To answer your question, Boom, the piece of rock on the far left hand side is actually three rocks stacked together. They aren't lava rock, but something I found in a bin at a landscaping place. The surface is not as sharp as the lava rock. The petricolas and BNs love hiding in there.

Here is my first attempt at publishing video on Youtube. As you can see in the video, I made it with my laptop to see if it works. Nothing special, just 47 seconds if you are interested. Link

Nice pics. You have captured a lot of personality there!

I had used nerite snails but it was impossible for me to keep them upright as the fish kept flinging them around the tank in an effort to eat them. Now I just have the empty shells in the tank as macabre decoration!

Hey, Brad, just an update. I have kept BN's in both my 90 gallon Mbuna and my 150 Haps tank. I bought them when they were over the two inch range and I added three to each tank in an attempt to diffuse the aggression against any individual fish. I also added some smaller rocks to create hiding places. They have had some torn fins and some fights, but for a month it has been so far so good!

Absolutely stunning! At what size do they start showing the speckling?

The eggs are gone. I am thinking based on the tube it is a female, but it is only about 5-6" at this point so I guess I will wait and see. Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated.

Any theories?

Sorry I don't have a picture to show you, but I think aesthetically speaking rocks in a tank give it definition, even if it is just a few. Even one or two big rocks really break up the view of the tank.

Thanks, Jason! It was scorching when we were in Germany. We walked for 2 hours with backpacks on in 36 degree heat. We'll have to hang out one of these days and I can bore you and Jenn for hours with pictures! The history is amazing in Europe. I was bragging to one of Heather's cousin's that Alberta had celebrated its 100th anniversary a couple of years ago. He brought up the fact that his hometown, Amersfoort, will be celebrating its 750th anniversary soon. There is some controversy about them. Some think that the blocks don't represent anything in particular. They say that the architect didn't use symbolism. He just wanted to make the experience with the different heights of the blocks at the different angles very jarring and disorienting. Some of the blocks were 10 feet tall and others were a couple of feet tall. Others feel that the fact that the perfect sameness of the grid is lost with the varying heights and angles is symbolic of how human logic and reason was lost during the Holocaust. I guess its up to the viewer to decide. Thanks for the compliments, guys. I will try to post some more pictures as I find them/find the time.

It seems to be more towards the terror, but it definitely takes runs at both of them.

Yeah, it's been pretty aggressive and is guarding the eggs quite fiercely.

Here are some pictures from our vacation to Europe this summer. These are from Berlin. The first three are former pieces of the Berlin Wall that have been turned into art. The last is a picture of the Holocaust Memorial.

We have a red terror and a green texas in with it. Pictures are way too blurry with our camera. It has a really long extension on its dorsal fin if that's any help.

Thanks for the replies, guys. BTW, would there be any chance that something else laid these eggs and the red devil is a male protecting them? Essentially, how can I tell how if this is a female for sure? Possibly a dumb question but I have to ask.

What would be the average size of a red devil female? Ours, which we thought was a male, laid eggs last night, thus ruining our theory. Thanks.

Amphilophus labiatus Herichthys carpintis Amphilophus festae

Welcome to AA. Nice to see another Leduc resident on the forum! :thumbs:

I had 2 BNs bite the dust in my male haps/peacock tank. Never did catch the criminal. I was thinking of going with a bigger pleco but I don't have the bioload room. So for now, it's all about me cleaning the glass once a week.

I was just thinking that the female festae and nicaragua are both stunning visually, IMO more so than the males of each species. They also stay at relatively smaller size so less bioload. So my idea is as follows: all female tank! Now, I am not sure if nics and festaes would work out long term, but are there any other SA/CA species that you feel the female is more colorful than the male? If there was a combo of species that worked, it would be like the complete opposite of the all-male haps/peacock tank!

Looks like it will be amazing. Glad to see that the tank is getting some really creative use outside of being stored in my garage! Well done, Deborah!

I actually just got out of plants, but I definately see their attraction. The only warning I would give is that it is like having two hobbies in the same tank, not that there is anything wrong with that. I agree with Flip, some of the best deals are from other members. In terms of quality and selection, I recommend visiting Nature's Corner Store. As for CO2, if you want to save some money you can go to one of the non-pet store shops around. This topic lists some of them: http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=15672 This topic helps with how to put CO2 in the tank: http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=16154 here's another: http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=17130 I have a 10 lbs cylinder, as well as a powerhead and enough flourite to fill the tank that I would be willing to sell. PM me if you are interested.