280L (61 Imp Gallons) Dempsey Tank

[Verminator89]

Mike actually emailed me today. Although slightly disappointed with the outcome of some of my requests he has been able to help me with some, and even suggested good alternatives to what he can't do for me. Overall rather impressed with his service so far and i'm only emailing the guy. I shall more than likely get an order together in a week or two perhaps, i want to wait and see how this current lot of plants do


Pictures of the tank shall come tommorow afternoon hopefully. I finished work today and went straight out to fish shops around the South East side of Birmingham today and picked up various bits. Including x2 39W Arcadia Plant Pro tubes for my light unit. Some more EasyLife EasyCarbo (for my planted tank), 7 more Mountain minnows and 68" of black backing which has been promptly cut and taped to the back and right side of the tank Once i finished shopping and adding the new bits i've just been to tired to continue for today.


Overall i'm really pleased with the tank. I've also added my remaining 3 SAE's to help move some of the detritus pumped out of the filter as i restarted it downstairs in this new tank. The minnows arent big enough to stir it up enabling it to work its way round into the filter again


I'm more than concerned that my dempseys are going to destroy my arrangement in this tank as soon as they spawn the first time in there, so we shall see how this goes. Its going to get interesting.


So yes, pictures tommorow I love it when a plan comes together! (gotta love A-team)


James

 

[star4]

Mike is a great guy, its a shame I gave up on live plants I miss chatting with him.

 

[Verminator89]

This has been so long coming i shall not hold back any longer. Pictures galore, so enjoy

Before the dempseys were unleashed to reak havoc within their new confines!

Then again afterwards once they were home and settled

 

[Verminator89]

The right hand side of the tank with most of the wood. I've kept the rear right corner as dark as i could to help hide the filter inlet/outlet and also the heater. I plan on adding some Pheonix Moss to the wood at a later date. Also just where the plant is beside it i plan to replace this with Echinodorus Uruguayensis, when i can source it.

A close up of the plant to be replaced, Echinodorus Barthii (i think), anyone confirm this?

The left hand side of the tank which i plan to keep a little more open, although i shall still keep the large Echi here Hoping the vallis will fill out a dense area where i've planted it, with smaller clumps of Sagittaria subulata in the foreground (assuming it stays small).

The large Echinodorus Rose/Red Flame
(its one or the other)

Roughly centre mid foreground. I've used some of the slate flat at the front to mainly try and help keep some of the sand in place. With these brutes liking to dig i'm hoping i can reduce this somewhat by using the stones as barriers.

Last but not least some side on shots of the tank down the length.

I'm quite pleased with how this tank has turned out. Although i know i'll be binning most of the plants my dempseys tear up. So in a few months time theres every possibility the only plants in here will be Pheonix Moss on the wood, perhaps with a large Echi in each corner. Thats all i anticipate surviving

 

[Verminator89]

And some of the inhabitants of this tank. There are no 'planned' changes to stocking, or any additions. However this may all change as the months roll on. I've just bought 4 juvi Firemouths, so once they've grown up i may add them, who knows Exciting times!


Total stocking;

x1 Male Electric Blue Jack Dempsey
x1 Female Jack Dempsey
x3 True SAE's

Immediately after being introduced my male dempsey just sat in the reeds for a bit

He was soon up and about though

Phew! Thats alot of pictures to sift through and post in some form of order/structure.


Comments and critiques WELCOME. Please don't hold back, be as honest as i know you guys/gals can be


Cheers, James

 

[star4]

Looks fantastic when you get chance can you take a couple of pics of the female please, looking at her mine was very similar, just more gold and only blue on the face.
Shouldnt have sold him/her

 

[Verminator89]

As you typed that out i was downstairs getting some already as i realised YET AGAIN i'd left her out and forgotten all about her. Bless her, well shes performed and i'm uploading them now, shall get them on soon as! Stay tuned.

 

[Verminator89]

As promised, a few of the queen in the tank. I have to stop leaving her out during photo time

Making it more worthwhile posting, another of the SAE's

And an 'action' shot of 4 out of the 5 inhabitants playing easy to get. Hopefully i'll get one of all of them sooner rather than later

Hopefully this gives you the angles your after Lesley. And yes, you should never have sold your JD lol! Nevermind. If i have fry your still top of my list

 

[star4]

Thanks James, she is just beautiful, mine was similar, but more gold and only blue on the gill plates with a tiny few specs in the dorsal fin. I let my heart rule my head when I bought mine, it was lying on the surface being bullied by the other one in the tank. Sadly then I had to move harry the red spot severum out of the tank with the 2 oscars as he kept beating one up. But I will have room for one in the future

 

[Gvilleguy]

Thought I had subscribed to this thread, but I did not get notified of the new pics! Glad I spotted your updates. Stunning tank and fish. Really impressed with the JD coloring. They look so much bigger than the SAEs (what does that stand for?) - are the little ones not in danger of being eaten??

 

[Verminator89]

SAE stands for Siamese Algae Eater


And no they are in no danger of being eaten beacuse they themselves are 4"+. I've kept both my dempseys with rummynose tetras without issue for a year or so previously. It seems to only be foreign fry or shrimp they take an instant liking toward as a meal. So far so good.


I'm concidering adding my four firemouths to this tank once they grow up a little bit, due to the fact i just bought Duke today. A thread for Duke shall open soon enough with a picture of what he is (i wonder)


I'm very happy with my Dempseys colouring also, he seems to have come out of his sulk he has been in for a week or so now. He was looking quite miserable, now after being released into his new heaven he has coloured up well. A happy fish is a healthy fish, so i'm happy also

 

[hamfist]

Lovely tank. Still can't quite believe how lovely your male JD is.

 

[PDSimon]

stunning tank! looks great, the fish are stunning too...good job

 

[Verminator89]

Well, its been a little while since i updated how this tank is going (my my october!). Well the tank has gone through a slight direction change, after having had to shuffle stock around with my Oscar growing quite rapidly. So the tanks stocking is currently as follows;

Stocking

x1 Male Electric Blue Jack Dempsey
x1 Female Jack Dempsey
x2 True SAE's
x2 Angelfish
x1 Female Sunset Platy (sole survivor from my old brutal Blue Lobster)
x1 Archer Fish (shamefull impulse buy)
x1 Magnum Plec
x1 Orange Spot Plec (L024?)
x3 Juvi Firemouths


So the 'biotope' idea of this tank is currently getting looser and looser, but it shall get back on track sooner rather than later. The stocking will hopefully be narrowed down to just the Jacks, SAE's and 2 plecs over the coming weeks/months. They'll be cropping up in the classifieds soon(ish) So keep an eye on there if your interested

Picture time.


FTS

Right, so the tanks plants started growing and i realised i had to move them as they looked so unatural. Also the hardscape was really bugging me, the wood just wasnt right and created such a huuuge dead spot i nthe back right corner. So i moved it all around and 'plonked' the plants where they are. The centre is now quite dense and all the residents love venturing through it. The scape will change again for final once i get rid of the intruding stock, so a few new plants will crop up.

The Echindorus Barthii which was only temporary i've grown to like, because it too has grown - well. A cutting will pop up in classifieds shortly

The Sagittaria subulata isnt fairing quite so well. Its surviving, but not thriving. Neither here nor there with this plant currently.

The Vallisneria i simply got sick of. Its a weed, a real menace. It just spreads and spreads in my tanks, so i binned the lot Kept a plantlet to keep my stock in hand if i want to put it back in ofcourse.


Jack timmeee....

The loving couple, who are still yet to show signs of spawning since putting them in this tank. They are very much still a pair, they are constantly nuzzling each other and follow each other almost fin-in-fin around the tank.

More updates as and when things change

James

 

[star4]

Now he is a bubba

They may take a while to get jiggy with it, my rotties took a couple of months or more when I moved them.