Ellioti breeding tank

[AquaBarb]

Hi guys and girls,

Ive got a breeding pair of Ellioti Cichlids and was thinking of taking them out the main tank and putting them in their own breeding tank.

What size tank would you suggest and also what do you folks feed the young?

 

[Wills]

That’s really cool! You’ve properly been bitten by the cichlid bug! Next step fish house lol

The simple answer is as big as you can go but the minimum I’d do is a 40g breeder which is four foot with a wide footprint. Height is not too important here.

I’d also recommend getting a few live bearers as dithers to spread a bit of aggression and also a bit of confidence that big fish get from seeing small fish around.

 

[AquaBarb]

Funny thing is my wife doesnt really get the hobby and takes little notice normally. Now i have fry its a whole different story lol she wants me to get another tank and save them and we can get loads of tanks up the sheds and breed them all! Haha

 

[AquaBarb]

Just sold my 200 and was planning to close down my 55,80 and 105 ltrs when my other fish pass on then just have the 500 and then get a 180 breeder but seeing the fry and after watching how good the Ellioti's have been with them i might have to get the breeder quicker.

I know the fry have very little chance of survival in this tank but id like to at least up their chances.


What can i try to feed them? Is cyclops small enough for fry to eat?

 

[Ichthys]

Cyclops might be a bit big. I start them on frozen lobster eggs. Newly hatched brine shrimp are an alternative, but lobster eggs are far easier and give faster growth. After a couple of weeks or so you can feed any finely grated frozen food, and/or powdered dry foods.

 

[AquaBarb]

Cyclops might be a bit big. I start them on frozen lobster eggs. Newly hatched brine shrimp are an alternative, but lobster eggs are far easier and give faster growth. After a couple of weeks or so you can feed any finely grated frozen food, and/or powdered dry foods.

Right ok thank you. Cant say ive seen lobster eggs before in my lfs but they do brine shrimp for sure.

 

[AquaBarb]

Need a bit of advice guys pls

At a cross road whether to plunge into breeding my Ellioti or not. (For wanting to try, not for profit)

If i get a juwel rio 180 to house my pair of Ellioti and fry am i going to need a second tank for grow out? or will it be best just moving mom and dad back to big tank when they start breeding again? (If this is the case, is a 180 too big and worth getting something like a 125ltr)

 

[AquaBarb]

Just set up a Juwel 180 for a pair of breeding Ellioti and was thinking whether to add some dither fish or not before i introduce mom & dad??

Reading up most fish folk use swordtails and other robust liverbearers but i was wondering if there was any medium size south american characins what would also work?

 

[Wills]

Just set up a Juwel 180 for a pair of breeding Ellioti and was thinking whether to add some dither fish or not before i introduce mom & dad??

Reading up most fish folk use swordtails and other robust liverbearers but i was wondering if there was any medium size south american characins what would also work?

The main issue with souths is the difference in water soft vs hard water. You would be better off going with smaller Rainbow Fish like Praecox, Parva or Kamaka all stay around 5-7cm.

Live bearers would be the best option though, maybe dont just stick to common ones Mexicanus Mollies are a stunning fish, I had a group and they actually stood out too much against the cichlids lol. Check out things like Skiffia, Pupfish, Limia etc. Or go down the route of the really colourful Swordtails or Platies but dont get the fancy finned ones. I achingly want to do a super colourful tank with CA cichlids, rainbow fish and I'd go for the most neon live bearers possible like red wag tails.

I supose live bearers might be a better option as you could keep the numbers lower to start with.

Wills

 

[AquaBarb]

The main issue with souths is the difference in water soft vs hard water. You would be better off going with smaller Rainbow Fish like Praecox, Parva or Kamaka all stay around 5-7cm.

Live bearers would be the best option though, maybe dont just stick to common ones Mexicanus Mollies are a stunning fish, I had a group and they actually stood out too much against the cichlids lol. Check out things like Skiffia, Pupfish, Limia etc. Or go down the route of the really colourful Swordtails or Platies but dont get the fancy finned ones. I achingly want to do a super colourful tank with CA cichlids, rainbow fish and I'd go for the most neon live bearers possible like red wag tails.

I supose live bearers might be a better option as you could keep the numbers lower to start with.

Wills

Thank you Wills

Ill take a gander at those you have mentioned. I like the sound of the Rainbows but i had real trouble with some dwarf neons before which puts me off having rainbows again

Swordtails or platies might be the way for me. I persume adding the dithers before the cichlids would be best?

 

[Wills]

Is Inkbird an auto correct lol? Do you mean the filter? Which one is it?

Did you scrub where the algae is with a bleach solution? Red algae in freshwater is really rare but dead black brush algae goes red, so it could be your scrub has killed it and it just needs to be removed.

I'd possibly be tempted to do Platied over Swordtails, the sword might get nibbled a bit by the cichlids? It would only be the male I supose though?

Wills

 

[AquaBarb]

Is Inkbird an auto correct lol? Do you mean the filter? Which one is it?

Did you scrub where the algae is with a bleach solution? Red algae in freshwater is really rare but dead black brush algae goes red, so it could be your scrub has killed it and it just needs to be removed.

I'd possibly be tempted to do Platied over Swordtails, the sword might get nibbled a bit by the cichlids? It would only be the male I supose though?

Wills

No lol the Inkbirds a thermostat temp controller

I give everything a good scrub so hopefully your right and it just needs removing. Ill try and wipe it off and do a water change. (Tanks come with 2 t5 blubs with one being blue so not sure thats helped)

The female can be pretty feisty to be fair. Never had livebearers before so it will be nice to have something new. Do livebearers need deworming before they get introduced?

 

[Wills]

No lol the Inkbirds a thermostat temp controller

I give everything a good scrub so hopefully your right and it just needs removing. Ill try and wipe it off and do a water change. (Tanks come with 2 t5 blubs with one being blue so not sure thats helped)

The female can be pretty feisty to be fair. Never had livebearers before so it will be nice to have something new. Do livebearers need deworming before they get introduced?

Ah I've not heard of them before? Something to google.

Livebearers dont need anything over an above regular fish, most of the time its from a local hobbyist or if its the colourful strains your thinking of you need to look at getting them from a good shop and dont take any risks in terms of health as live bearers are pumped through the industry so fast they are often not in the best health or kept in light brackish water to keep bugs at bay.

Wills

 

[AquaBarb]

Ah I've not heard of them before? Something to google.

Livebearers dont need anything over an above regular fish, most of the time its from a local hobbyist or if its the colourful strains your thinking of you need to look at getting them from a good shop and dont take any risks in terms of health as live bearers are pumped through the industry so fast they are often not in the best health or kept in light brackish water to keep bugs at bay.

Wills

Thank you Wills

Think ill pop over to my LFS and have a look what they have in stock once the tanks ready. Their stocks always nice and healthy

 

[AquaBarb]

Ah I've not heard of them before? Something to google.

Livebearers dont need anything over an above regular fish, most of the time its from a local hobbyist or if its the colourful strains your thinking of you need to look at getting them from a good shop and dont take any risks in terms of health as live bearers are pumped through the industry so fast they are often not in the best health or kept in light brackish water to keep bugs at bay.

Wills

Went for swordtails @Wills. Had some nice red wag tail platies in but turned round and saw these....

Koi sanke swords

XIPHOPHORUS HELLERI​