Jds Or Firemouths: Which Do I Part With?

[karin]

Hey, this is Verminator's cool thread on a tank that might be similar to what you are after...

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/335954-280l-61-imp-gallons-dempsey-tank/

 

[This Old Spouse]

Hey, this is Verminator's cool thread on a tank that might be similar to what you are after...

http/www.fishforum...s-dempsey-tank/

Very cool thread. Just got done reading it, and asking for an update!

 

[ChilliPepper]

Wow what a good price!

55g will be fine for a pair of JD's for a while. I don't think they are particularly fast growing fish. It's hard to tell the growth speed of mine as she's always been in a large tank, but certainly think a 55g will be fine for a year. Especially as you got the tank so cheap (well, swapped!) so you can then keep an eye out for a bigger tank over that year.

I'd pick the JDs over the FMs any day as IME they are much nicer fish.

I haven't seen a 12" JD myself, thought they maxed out about 9".

 

[This Younger Spouse]

We had a wild and wooly aquarium day today, switching a lot of things over.

So we have a 55 gallon down in my wife's office and a 28 gallon there as well. Her 10 gallon crabitat is in the next room over, and my JDs, Firemouths, cat and pleco are now happy and active in their new 55 gallon in my office. An hour after the switch has been made and they are already hungry and eating. They are also much more mobile. Small as they are, that 20 must have been much too confining a space, as they are sparring very little and are exploring all the corners of the new 55.

Still will be rehoming the Firemouths, and of course the 55 has a LONG way to go before it looks very nice. But I've got a nice deep substrate of fine white sand with some areas of gravel, some rock caves and a few plants. Now the search for the perfect pieces of driftwood commences.

It's nice to be back in the game after such a long break.

Also, we are generally on a tight budget when it comes to fishiness. Getting the 55 and the 28 (and hoods and lights for each) for $25 total was amazing for us. We've gotten almost all our tanks (we now have two 10 gallon tanks, a 15 and a 20 sitting here doing nothing) for free or very little money.

I think I'll bring the Firemouths to the LFS in the city near our lake cabin and exchange for some plants.

So I could start a new topic, but maybe will just ask in this thread: Which plants won't JDs eat?

 

[GShorty1981]

the JDs should be ok with java fern and anubus(Sp.?), i wouldnt try anything soft leaved that you could break easy with your fingers.

 

[This Old Spouse]

I wish I could put the firemouths in my 55g, but I'm pretty sure they'd make short work of my tetras!

 

[GShorty1981]

Firemouths are good with high bodied Tetras like Serpaes etc, they are not predators.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Really? Do you honestly think this could work? I have high fin black-skirt tetras as well. You don't think some fin-nipping would happen?

I'd honestly love to get those colorful firemouths into my 55g, but I just won't if it puts anyone in danger.

 

[GShorty1981]

They will be absolutely fine with high bodied Tetras, just not anything small enough to be food...like Neons, glowlights etc

Firemouths can be good community fish, and they will do better with dithers than on their own anyway, will make them more confident, I have kept Firemouths in community's on and off for years

They also do well with bigger live bearers like Platys, Mollies and Swordtails (not guppys)

 

[This Old Spouse]

That's excellent news. I don't suppose my ghost shrimp will last long, though. Funny thing with those is that I put 9 in my previous 55g and then immediately lost track of them. I could only see one that had survived so I thought I'd lost them all to my longfin black skirt tetras. But when we switched everything over yesterday, there were all but one of the shrimp! And unfortunately I think the one that was missing ended up in the mass of plants that my husband just yanked out of the old tank. He was probably in there.

 

[GShorty1981]

Yes all Cichlids like shrimp dinner i'm afraid, but you could put your shrimp in your 15 gallon, they do not affect your bioload.

 

[This Younger Spouse]

I do believe This Old Spouse has rehomed the ghosties in the 30-gallon tank, so the Firemouths will be down in her 55 in a day or two. That'll leave the two JDs, the cat and the BN pleco in my 55. I'm thinking that's going to be it for awhile, unless someone comes up with some more ideas.

We also scored a lot of nice flat rock and some compelling driftwood along the North Shore of Lake Superior out of Duluth. There were several days of strong wind and big waves ending yesterday, and the driftwood was piled all over the place along shore today.

Now we've both got plenty of nice rock and driftwood to make the tanks more special. A work in progress, no doubt.

 

[This Old Spouse]

I am indeed trying to relocate the ghosties — 3 down, 6 to go — but they're slippery little buggers so it may be a day or two before I get them all.

We really did get some spectacular driftwood tonight. I'm hoping the 6 new julii and 4 punctatus cories will like their new surroundings!

Edit: Just caught another ghost shrimp. That makes 4!