Back Again

[Binge]

So I have not posted on here in about 3 months do to working 65 ish hours a week taking up all of my time. So I thaught I would do a quick update on where my tanks stand with a couple of pics.

55 gallon community tank: It is swarmingly filled with live bearers Mollys,Platys and guppys. As well as 3 albino corys 2 snails and an upside down catfish that will be moving once it gets a litle bigger. I learned a lesson on not useing my hose to change my water with this tank. No being able to control my temperature cost us a couple mollys and guppys . But the tank is healthy again now and thriving.
Full shot of the tank
http/flickr.com/gp/13739571@N00/3h5DuJ
Wifes mollys
http/flickr.com/gp/13739571@N00/Rtaa1s
all of these were born in the tank
http/flickr.com/gp/13739571@N00/7m25Y1


75 gallon Bichir/Ciclid tank: This tank is doing well it is my only live planted tank. It is full of Jungle Val, Amazon Swords, Wysteria, and amazon frogbit. I have 5 mixed african ciclids, a Jack Dempsy, Parrot, and my Bichir. When I started the tank all of the fish in it were very small Like 1 inch small Including the bichir. Now the ciclids are all 3+ inches. The Bichir is over 4, And the Dempsy and parrot are both around 4. Everyone in the tank is getting along well. The Bichir Dempsy and parrot actually share the biggest of the caves in the tank which is odd but cute. There is also a Bristlenose pleco in the tank he seems quite happy and has doubled since we baught him.

The parrot is the only upset in the tank when we baght him he was green and I beleived him to be the non hybrid parrot a month later her turned pink......Guess I shoulda read more there.

Full shot
http/flickr.com/gp/13739571@N00/43oSi1
Ciclids
http/flickr.com/gp/13739571@N00/FkJxM3
http/flickr.com/gp/13739571@N00/jy4015
Bichir
http/flickr.com/gp/13739571@N00/N5XHQ2
The dempsy and parrot were in the cave so no pics right this second.


55 and 29 gallon lobster tanks: My lobsters are thriving like Crazy The first batch of babys was sold of to my LFS and I just had a second hatch. My female seems healthy as can be and molted between the batches of babys. The new ones will start going to my LFS in about 2 weeks with a similar plan for store credit. Thinking another filter and a heater maybe a used power head or two. My male lobster has molted twice since I last posted his lost claw is now back and about half the size of the big one. The male and female shared the 55 till she was egged up then I moved him to the 29 again. This may end up being a regular cycle of things.

Female in her Hidey log
http/flickr.com/gp/13739571@N00/5EN55r
Babys
http/flickr.com/gp/13739571@N00/6XAMn0
Big daddy
http/flickr.com/gp/13739571@N00/m4TG3w


All and all I am happy with my tanks. I may need another for the ciclids eventually if they decide to get more aggressive with my bichir but so far they are good. I have noticed two of them Trying to swim into the filter current recently Should I maybe add a powerhead to the tank? (This is why i may grab some with my baby lobster credit.

Also my wife purchased some seashells she wants to add to the community tank. Is there any special cleaning they would need?

any other comments or suggestions are welcome. Just thaught I would give an update and share since I have been away a while. Happy tank tending peeps.

 

[KittyKat]

Also my wife purchased some seashells she wants to add to the community tank. Is there any special cleaning they would need?

Just a general scrub and a soak should be enough.

any other comments or suggestions are welcome.

Add backgrounds to the tanks, they will look much better. I prefer plain black ones, here is a comparison I've made: http/aquariumadventure.wordpress.com/2011/07/30/backgrounds/

Also, add a lot more plants, especially to the community

 

[Binge]

I am thinking of adding live plants to the community tank. I originaly did the plastic ones because my lobsters were in there and would decimate anything green . They had jungle val at the LFS realy cheap recently 3 bundles for 3.97. Thats why the ciclid tank is full of it. Kind of afraid of it in the community tank since it is not near a window and will have less light for the jungle val. Maybe I can get some kind of low light grass for it taht is taller.

Now my lobsters have thier own tanks and those are all about caves and rock with a few fake plants. I would love to build the walls of slate with lotsa caves in it for the lobsters but slate gets expensive. The only cheap option I have come up with is to by slate tiles from a hardware store and shatter it with a 2 pound sledge. But that would require a bit of luck to get the pieces how I want them. I would also need a ridiculous abount of them so it makes me nervous to try it. Unless it is a different kind of stone people use for that style fo construction.

I would like to get some kind of moss going in the ciclid tank for the background, Maybe do the mesh and xmas moss trick that I have seen the yellow background on it was there when the tank was given to me. So I left it be. Pretty sure it was a snake tank before I got it I cleaned it up and got the filters and lights for it with my baby lobsters.

 

[KittyKat]

I am thinking of adding live plants to the community tank. I originaly did the plastic ones because my lobsters were in there and would decimate anything green . They had jungle val at the LFS realy cheap recently 3 bundles for 3.97. Thats why the ciclid tank is full of it. Kind of afraid of it in the community tank since it is not near a window and will have less light for the jungle val. Maybe I can get some kind of low light grass for it taht is taller.

How much lighting do you have over the tanks and how long is it on for? There are many plants which are suitable for low-light conditions… By the way, what exactly is jungle val? Is it Vallis. spiralis?

Now my lobsters have thier own tanks and those are all about caves and rock with a few fake plants. I would love to build the walls of slate with lotsa caves in it for the lobsters but slate gets expensive. The only cheap option I have come up with is to by slate tiles from a hardware store and shatter it with a 2 pound sledge. But that would require a bit of luck to get the pieces how I want them. I would also need a ridiculous about of them so it makes me nervous to try it. Unless it is a different kind of stone people use for that style fo construction.

As long as the stone for construction is not treated with anything, then it should be fine. Stone from garden centres is also often suitable, but comes in same sized pieces as from LFS.

75 gallon Bichir/Ciclid tank: This tank is doing well it is my only live planted tank. It is full of Jungle Val, Amazon Swords, Wysteria, and amazon frogbit. I have 5 mixed african ciclids, a Jack Dempsy, Parrot, and my Bichir. When I started the tank all of the fish in it were very small Like 1 inch small Including the bichir. Now the ciclids are all 3+ inches. The Bichir is over 4, And the Dempsy and parrot are both around 4. Everyone in the tank is getting along well. The Bichir Dempsy and parrot actually share the biggest of the caves in the tank which is odd but cute. There is also a Bristlenose pleco in the tank he seems quite happy and has doubled since we baught him.

The parrot is the only upset in the tank when we baght him he was green and I beleived him to be the non hybrid parrot a month later her turned pink......Guess I shoulda read more there.

I missed your stock before: African cichlids are not compatible with JDs, parrots and birchirs. Most Africans are small and aggressive, require hard water, while JDs, parrots and birchirs grow very large and require soft water. If the Africans remain in soft water, their health will suffer; if the rest remain in hard water, their health will also be affected. Most African cichlids are almost vegetarian, the others are almost carnivores: if either get an inappropriate diet, their health will suffer and they will have digestive problems.

With time, the two groups will clash and the fish will die not from old age. Please swap one of the groups for something more appropriate.

 

[Binge]

not certain on the scientific name for the jungle val it is the grass in the pics of the ciclids.

As I mentioned the ciclids are probably being moved as they are reaching full size they are getting more aggressive. They will probly be claiming the 29 gallon and I will snag a cheap 15-20 gallon setup as a sanctuary for my male blue lobster when the female eggs up.(he sees the babys as snacks unlike the female she just walks among them and allows them to cling to her.) The diet of the ciclids is not a concern they get a large variety of food in that tank I like to mix it up for them. ciclid flakes and pellets, Shrimp pellets, Algea tabs, Dried blood worms, Frozen blood worms,beef heart, and brine shrimp. Not all at once of course but they are all getting plenty of food because they are growing at around the same pace.

I have your basic run of the mill aquarium flourescents for lights on all of my tanks. I know I can grow the amazon swords and wysteria in that lighting. As well as the frogbit. But the jungle val documentation at the LFS says it needs high light. The ciclid/bichir tank gets a fair bit of sunlight from the picture window in my living room. I am actually going to Aquarium adventure today. (they are the higher end fish store in our area) They are having a big sale on most of thier plants and live stock for the holiday weekend so I am going to see what I can get plant wise.

I have eyeballed the stone in our local garden centers and cant seem to quite find what I want pieces about 3 inches wide four-six inches in length and 1-2 inches tall. I have seen similar set ups to what I want on ebay but they cost a fortune.

 

[CrazyAirborne]

The ciclid/bichir tank gets a fair bit of sunlight from the picture window in my living room.

in almost all situations, we try NOT to let any windows shine light onto our tanks, as it causes algae problems, temp fluctuations, and usually adds more headache then its worth. most plants grow fine with normal average aquarium lighting. some obviously need very high light, but when u have high light, then you need more nutrients, ie dosing, CO2 etc.

 

[KittyKat]

As I mentioned the ciclids are probably being moved as they are reaching full size they are getting more aggressive. They will probly be claiming the 29 gallon

5 Rift Lake cichlids will still kill each other in a 29 gallon, especially if it is not 2/3 full of rockwork, and it's definitely not big enough for the American cichlids.

The diet of the ciclids is not a concern they get a large variety of food in that tank I like to mix it up for them. ciclid flakes and pellets, Shrimp pellets, Algea tabs, Dried blood worms, Frozen blood worms,beef heart, and brine shrimp. Not all at once of course but they are all getting plenty of food because they are growing at around the same pace.

That is exactly why it is a concern: you're feeding meaty foods to a fish group which should be having a 90-95% "vegetarian" diet, they should be receiving foods which are mainly algae and spirulina based, vegetables, plant matter. Feeding them standard cichlids flakes and pellets, shrimp pellets, blood worm, brine shrimp and especially beef heart is like trying to give them heart attacks on purpose. It will kill them eventually.

I have your basic run of the mill aquarium flourescents for lights on all of my tanks. I know I can grow the amazon swords and wysteria in that lighting. As well as the frogbit. But the jungle val documentation at the LFS says it needs high light. The ciclid/bichir tank gets a fair bit of sunlight from the picture window in my living room. I am actually going to Aquarium adventure today. (they are the higher end fish store in our area) They are having a big sale on most of thier plants and live stock for the holiday weekend so I am going to see what I can get plant wise.

Most Vallis. will grow under 0.5-2 wpg T5s, and I have grown it well under everything from 0.75 wpg T8s (low light) to 6 wpg T5s (very high light). Light actually plays less importance than you imagine, but there are some plants which must have high light to survive.

A single full length T5 or two full length T8s should be fine for most undemanding plants which do not require bright light. Also, if you haven't done so already, you can add reflectors to increase the amount of light going into the tank… I estimate that some kitchen foil adds 30-70% more light for my tanks.

 

[Binge]

I didnt realize the flakes were msotly protein I figured that was covering the more vegetarian side of things for the ciclids. They tend to ignore the beefheart the bicir and dempsy go for it The shrimp pellets also get ignored by all butb the bicir. They do also get a frozen ciclid food that is mostly spirulina ect... I will use that more for now while I find them another option for the primary food supply.

As for the light from the window the tank has been up for like 2.5 months (started it with a cycled filter) So far I have zero algea It is not directly in front of a window it is near it but with a wall preventing too much direct sun. Perhaps that is what is helping prevent that.

The 29 gallon will be a temporary home for the ciclids if they do go there. The wife has given me the go ahead to upgrade the 75 at the start of the year to 100+ to give the dempsy bicir and parrot space. They may also claim the 55 my lobster babys are in once they go to the LFS in a couple weeks. I realized there was a problem recently with the 75's stocking unfortunatly the solutions I can manage will take a little time and shifting of stock.

Luckily september is a 5 paycheck month though so I can get the slate I want as well as 2 pieces of driftwood I want and make the 29 gallon a mass of caves and hiding places for the male and female lobsters both have just molted and since I know what to watch for now, they will be getting a 10 gallon molting tank fo safety or maybe one will just home there except fro congigal(sp?) visits.

Basicly I went all in when I dove into the hobby I have pretty much all the livestock I want now. Just need to get my tank decor up to par and the homeing arrangements a little more stable.

Thanks for the advice.

on a side note.
With my limited lighting is there a moss you would recomend to try and grow a carpet?
Also Would basic window screen be an okay mount to try and grow a moss back drop on? was thinkin run it down the back of the tank realy snug and bury the bottom in my substrate with the top folded over the back of the glass and taped down.

 

[KittyKat]

I didnt realize the flakes were msotly protein I figured that was covering the more vegetarian side of things for the ciclids. They tend to ignore the beefheart the bicir and dempsy go for it The shrimp pellets also get ignored by all butb the bicir. They do also get a frozen ciclid food that is mostly spirulina ect... I will use that more for now while I find them another option for the primary food supply.

The veggie ones should contain a fair bit of protein too, but they're easier to digest for the African cichlids. For the rest, the diet you provided was fine though.

As for the light from the window the tank has been up for like 2.5 months (started it with a cycled filter) So far I have zero algea It is not directly in front of a window it is near it but with a wall preventing too much direct sun. Perhaps that is what is helping prevent that.

As long as the sunlight is not making the water temperature fluctuate too much and not causing a problem, it's fine. Two of my tanks get 3-4 hours of sunlight on summer mornings and I have run tanks for years at a time on north facing windowsills. Basically, as long the the light does not affect the tank (temperature and algae wise), there shouldn't be any problems.

The 29 gallon will be a temporary home for the ciclids if they do go there. The wife has given me the go ahead to upgrade the 75 at the start of the year to 100+ to give the dempsy bicir and parrot space. They may also claim the 55 my lobster babys are in once they go to the LFS in a couple weeks. I realized there was a problem recently with the 75's stocking unfortunatly the solutions I can manage will take a little time and shifting of stock.

Luckily september is a 5 paycheck month though so I can get the slate I want as well as 2 pieces of driftwood I want and make the 29 gallon a mass of caves and hiding places for the male and female lobsters both have just molted and since I know what to watch for now, they will be getting a 10 gallon molting tank fo safety or maybe one will just home there except fro congigal(sp?) visits.

That sounds great

Basicly I went all in when I dove into the hobby I have pretty much all the livestock I want now. Just need to get my tank decor up to par and the homeing arrangements a little more stable.

Once the African cichlids are in their new home, you probably will have to get more tankmates for them as aggression with these species is controlled by overstocking. You should read a bit more about it

With my limited lighting is there a moss you would recomend to try and grow a carpet?
Also Would basic window screen be an okay mount to try and grow a moss back drop on? was thinkin run it down the back of the tank realy snug and bury the bottom in my substrate with the top folded over the back of the glass and taped down.

Java moss requires least light and is the easiest to grow, but it doesn't sound like you have what I would call "low lighting". At any rate, I've had it survive in a dark cupboard for a month once, when I was experimenting with how resilient it is.

For maintenance purposes, it may be better to use two sheets of screen and stick them on with some suction cups.. also, fish have a tendency of making a special effort to get behind these things. Do be aware that the cichlids might just try to eat the moss.

 

[Binge]

I am still feeding my otehrs thier diet to just gonna alternate flakes and frozen for now on the africans.

Thanks for the tips on the moss It will probably go in the community tank and the 75. the ciclid tank will be an all new layout that I have not decided on yet as a lobster tank its almost all rock right now and does not get a lot of height to the rock since I was low on cash when I set it up . Will probably go live plants on it but dunno what yet.

I also foiled all my lights today its uber bright in there!