Kubora's Back

[kubora666]

sorry i havent been on here in a while
first it was GCSE's
then it was work
then college
then all my fish died in a tragic disaster while i was on holiday.
id rather not go into it..

but yeah, the tank was disinfected drained, hosed down, everything removed. and left in the garden collecting lovely british rainwater for a month

and now im thinking of starting it back up, its a very spacious tank,

about four feet long

2 feet high

2 feet wide

its a strange sorta dimension i know.
im thinking of going back to Cichlids

but if anyone has any strange and unusual sugestions, dont hesitate

Im really looking forward to seting it up too, as now i have a slight budget.

much thanks in advance kubora666

 

[kubora666]

BUMP

seriously some sugestions might help...

i want something interesting. and not tiny

 

[juanveldez]

well Kubora, the real question to ask is what kind of tank do you want? do you want one where its going to be a monster/wet pet such as a midas, or are you looking for something that will get along with other fish so that you may have a community of sorts.

 

[kubora666]

ive had lots of comunitys etc,

i want one big bad guy

i like oscars, and i may get one, but id rather an interesting colourful alternative.
if i cant find one then oscar it is.

ive always loved Flowerhorns and things like taht. but i have no clue where to get them from =(

 

[juanveldez]

well of course there is the ever famous midas/Red Devil, @ 11 inches mine is a monster, broke through a divider and killed a 8" Cr. Frenata ( a pike cichlid from trinidad).

you could also go with Parachromis Motagunsis very agressive as an adult

there is also A. Festae male or female would be fine but trust me a MALE is better but for color a female can't be beat, I have a very precosous 5-6" male in my 55 gallon

I would say trimac, but to find one that is a pure trimac and not a flowerhorn is very difficult as I understand it in europe.

that is just a list of a few of my favorites right now, I am currently growing out a C. Grammodes which they have said is pretty much a mini P. Dovii in terms of agressiveness only with half the size.

 

[kubora666]

Nice =)
so my tank would be ok for one large aggressive cichlid ?
its quiet spacious, it isnt too long.. about 2" under 4ft but its very wide and tall, and such.

ive always loved the devils and such.

so in my tank i could keep one of these big guys as a lone pet ?
ive had devils before and i loved them

i want something that grows quickly, has amazing personality and is coloirful

sorry if i am being too specific, but this time i want to set up the tank perfectly for my chosen species and give it the best possible life it can have
with jsut one fish i can focus so much more on its habitat instead of wether or not it will attack its tankmates.

 

[juanveldez]

for a lone spcimen your tank would be fine. I really like my devil and my festae, but I have a feeling that as the grammodes grows up I am going to have a new favorite

 

[kubora666]

they do look really cool


Any other cichlids to consider that are similar to the red devil/midas and FESTÆ ?

and also, how would i go about setting up the tank for them?

id like to get a young one and watch him/her grow on.

id prefer a guy tho =) just cooler in my opinion!

 

[Lateral Line]

I don't keep Cichlids or anything mean so can't help there, but rather then getting suggestions for things you are unable to source, I'd check out your local fish shops to see what is possible! You don't say where in Sweden you are, but if it is anything like north Sjælland, Denmark where I live, the local fish shops are useless.

The nearest place for me that keeps anything more then Guppies, Platys, Neons and the odd Tiger Barb is in Copenhagen. If you're can't find anyhting local, are near either Malmö or Helsingborg, and fancy a trip to one of Denmarks best fish shops, head for NeonFisken in Brønshøj. It is easy to get to by public transport.

Non-Scandinavian speakers, the stock list has linnaen names and is shown by clicking "Lagerliste akvariefisk" in the left panel.

 

[juanveldez]

LL is quite right, for me its easy to source my fish as I have a LFS that will order something worth my time on the odd occasion ( thats how I got my Festae male) plus I can also easily order from a source like Jeff Rapps where I wouldn't have to order a huge amout of fish plus pay for all the overseas customs stuff.

as far as setting up a tank for the big baddies, when they are small I would provide a deep gravel bed as they do like to dig, lots of cover in the form of terra cotta flower pots, plastic plants,rock caves, and drift wood. As they get older you can start to remove some cover as they will always be out and about. an example of this is my midas, all the other stuff hes dug up so all he has now is a few big rocks and a large peice of drift wood in a corner which is where he hangs out when we aren't playing.

 

[kubora666]

i have one LFS that specialises in cichlids, and always has good stock.
also i know a lfs owner who has in the past and would without a doubt order me in specific species if i so wished it.

im thinking i might do this


Get a few possibly 3 small
red devil/festæ/midas watever
watch them grow, and then when tehy are starting to show colour and sex,

pick what i would like which is a male, and keep him =)
as i doubt i will have the room for more than one...

if i do then yay =)

good idea??

and yes i will furnish the aquarium with rocks and such. i got the tank all ready today its got a large EHEIM profesional filter and im waiting til tomorow to put gravel and water in, im also adding a quarter of MAtured water to speed up the maturing porocess =)