Raven

cool, where would i get one? Don't recall seeing them in the pet stores much....

It doesn't have a spray bar like Rena filters do. I'll try moving it up later... What's a surface skimmer?

I've started getting the larger 50G up and running. It's being filtered by a Fluval 305.... and I'm so not used to the water not being dropped on water. It's developing a surface slim on the water and I'm not sure how to adjust the Fluval to break the surface tension. It's not making it look to pretty right now..... Suggestions??

ok thanks for the info, i'll google the two.

how are there prices?

I am going to try keeping some guppy fry in my grandmas pond. She has some plants but nothing to give good cover on the surface. Does anyone know a good place to get some? I'd even take peoples duck weed thats over run your tanks please and thanks.

Had a bit of a disaster happen. After fishing the one fry out i had been watching for others to show up in there, but i hadn't realized they could get trapped under the plastic that would of held filter media. Lost 4 of them when i did a deep clean instead of a water change and discovered them 2 left now. They are getting real big almost 2 cm or more. And having learned my lesson i bought a new filter for the fry tank so i don't need to worry about things. Its going to replace the old empty filter i've been using to air-rate the water, and the submersible 3G filter. On a plus side, i had one of my guppies give birth. 15 wee ones or so that have been hanging in a 4 inch fish net in the parent tank. Working on transferring them to the fry tank with a new breeding net ( still holding the sick tiger bard in the other, plus i think the one none pregnant female is sick, she's gotten really skinny) to protect them from the older cichlid fry since they are smaller them when i first saw the cichlid fry. also going to put more substrate in the tank, it's been pretty bare with just a bit of gravel to anchor some Java moss. Also there seems to be a lot of brownish slim on things in the tank, is it harmful? I try to rub and clean most of it out regularly but i want to make sure it's harm less. No pics this time, will work on it later

thanks for the info!

Didn't see anything there, yet. Spent 30mins fishing one fry out the filter, still don't know how it got there. Seeing a bit of a difference in there sizes now.

I've upgraded then to finger crushed tropical flakes, the staple fry food seems too small. Where would i get a pipette?

I have one, just really hard to tell what the heater is set at :s Must change it tomorrow then.

Been watching the thermometer like a hawk, slowly increasing it since i noticed a on indicator light works. Really hard to tell what its at since its only options are lower and higher. Been a long time since I've ran a tank this small. It has about 7G worth of water in it, when should it be changed?

I think he's doing better, been eating regularly, but is still really pale.

The fry are about 3 weeks old, almost thought their parents had cannibalized them as dad was suddenly on the same side as mom, and she was flashing him her pink belly and i couldn't see the fry anywhere. Searched for 30 mins and found all 6 of them, and they spent some try hanging in the fish net. All the while i was setting up and Jerry rigging a 10g for them. One filter i'm using basically to aerate the tank since it has no filter, there's a 3g submersible one in there that creates quite a current that they seem to enjoy. I'm not sure the Elite heater is working yet, so i used the mercury thermometer from the other tank and put it in for a reading and it was only a couple degrees off so i moved them in. I can see so many things going wrong right know that i'm accually really worried. I fed them for the night and really hope they survive till morning. I'll check the temp again in a bit, and probably pretty regularly till the paranoia wheres off. :S

Here's where it all started. I did the 7 days of the natural based API product, seemed to be helping the worst affected tiger barbs even seemed to be regaining some weight thought everything was going to be fine, till i found him belly up. The remaining affected Barb was being so heavily picked on by his healthy buddy that he was nearly white from the stress. I've separated him in a netted breeding cage with some java moss. So far seems very twitchy. Today is the only time i've seen any real interest with food, but his twitchy swimming isn't making eating easy for him. Bites seem to be healing but his coat still looks clouded. Switch to treating with fresh water salt(1tbsp/5g h20), temp was already above the recommended 80F wondering if i should still bump it for the 36 hours or so, not wanting to kill the 3 week old fry. I'm not sure if they can handle it. Plus i just read the salt/pleco thread so that's another thing to worry about, but he/she seems fine for now. I just wish what ever the Barbs started with would F off already, 3 weeks is long enough!

Everything is going good. Fry are double their size, illness almost 100% gone once i switched to a natural based API product. Dad is still in exile, hides so good i thought he was dead, didn't even budge till the bed of the gravel cleaning where i was lifting stuff. Moms pretty fierce makes my think all her babies are going to live.

Have read that some moms are kid hoarders though, just don't know what to do....

SUCCESS!!!! Finally, after almost a year, and so many spawns and all the guarding I've finally seen fry! And the so TINY! PIC! So i have a few concerns..... I have a fungal something or other going around with some of the fish in the tank. A combination of mouth fungus, body slim/eye cloud, and fin and tail rot. Just finished the 4 doses of treatment of an anti-bacterial fish medication by API called Triple Sulfa. Started treating a few days after the guarding started after the spawn. Wondering if its going to effect them or not, also been wondering if it will effect my suspect pregnant live bearers. Most heavily effected fish in the tank are the tiger barbs. One died a couple weeks ago, looked aggression related since it was the only female out of the 4 of them, no signs of illness seen. The males have been beating each other up pretty bad since then so i believe the fungus started with them. Its also on the mouth of my male Ameca splendid. I think he got it by nipping the tigers since he's been protective of his mate lately (a suspect pregnant fish). Everyone else including some newbies (put in after signs started, before i thought it was illness related) is fine, so far. Since today is the last dose, and so far it seems i may have to treat the tank again, i don't know what to do with the babies. Oh and the Mom kicked Dad out of the cave, he's been one the opposite side of the tank for 2 days, at first from the way he was acting ( lots of hiding) i thought he was sick too, nothing really seen yet but because this isn't normal for him i still consider it a possibility. Food for the enter tank is mainly by Nutrafin. Consists of flakes( tropical and spirulina) sinking tablets (spirulina meal) and pleco logs(all of before mentioned is 'max' and now 'basix'), tubifex and blood worms. And in prep for babies i've a staple food for fry. In rotation, 2 or 3 items sometimes just flakes once a day, no food if i plan to clean gravel, do water changes, etc. Should i increase for the kiddos? Speaking of water changes, tanks due for another tomorrow, and i don't to suck them up. I've a spare 10g fish/reptile tank but fish related equipment hasn't been tested/run in a long time. Any info would be awesome since i wasn't really expecting anything since the parents have a horrible track record. Thanks!

Sounds like this could be adapted to be home made sinking fish food

Well, i'll try to when the time comes. As for the amecas buddies, anyone know of other mexican fish?

Ok thats good. Where did you get yours from? are they picky with water chems?

Trying to try for mainly West african, might get one other type of fish from mexico to give the amecas some company. Found lots on the Alestiidae tetra, boy some get huge, some seem really rare. and again i hate names. Anyone ever keep congo tetras? that common name is used for... 3 different species though :s i'll try and sort it all out.

Found lists of apparently every species of fish thats a cichilidae from Nigeria and Cameroon. Didn't say anything about what rivers they came from in most of them so i've been limiting the search to fish of about 13cm and under which varies a bit and their names are confusing seems to change alot. Sometimes the only info i got was their size. Nigeria Astatotilapis bloyeti - 3" Gobiocicnla wonderi "Goby Cichlid" - 6-7 cm Hemichromis-bimaculatus-(varying sizes)5-6" 10-13, 15 cm quttatus"common jewel"- 4"11cm/15cm elongatus"5 start General"- 15 cm 6" (aggression noted)lifalili"blood-red/Red Forest"(from congo)- 4" 10cm -cristatus"Red Forest"- 9cm-fasciatus-15cm Sarotherodon galilaeus sanagaensis- 13.3 cm Thysochromis-annectens- 8.5 cm -ansorgii"5 spot krib"- 8.8cm 13 max Tilapia cameronenis - 13.3 cm Cameroon(some species may not be listed as the as also be from Nigeria) Astatoreochromis alluaudi-6" Bentichromis-conjunctus-6-7cm -finleyi"mungo"- 10cm -nigrodorsalis- 12-14cm -ufermanni (endemic?)-<4" riomuniensis- 4-5" Chromoidotilapia- guntheri guntheri "Guenther's mouthbrooder"-14.5 cm -linkei-7.4 cm Parananochromis-brevirostris-5.1 cm -caudifasciatus- 10.5 cm 4" -longirostris- 6" 11.5 cm Found no info on the following Sarotherodon -galilarus -caroli Tilapia- deckerti -kottae Bentichromis batesii Chromoidotilapia guntheri loenbergi Other fish/ names i found but have yet to look into Pelmatochromis Steatocranus Alestiid tetras Anomalochromis thomasi Aphyosemion spp. "killifish" Any other sugestions?

i read that about the nicholsi, are the multicolor victorae the same? does anyone else know any of any river fish from west africa?

Blah, wish there was a more easy way to find info, Seems every website google come up with has something different. would some pseudocrenilabus species work? And again, what to do for a clean up crew?