Meyer Update: He Died

[jollysue]

Yes, I stopped at the lfs. I was told that Meyer would do ok in 40 usg alone. A larger tank. like a 100 usg, would acommodate a male and three females. Or next go to a large colony, like Fish Mike's 180 gal. Don't know which gal that is?

Also, the nature of the beast is, he will eventually snap up a little green neon, which I just got 10 of.

I've decided to move my minitures to the 100 usg. You get your way after all Lucky. That's a colony of orange flash cockatoo and one of agasazzi red tail, sparklers, honeys, pygmies, scarlet dario-dario joining with a tetra tank and some loaches (clowns and straita). Later I'll replace the BN. The common cockatoo colony will have to move in with some cories for now.

That will leave the 40 usg corner tank for Meyer, who never goes anywhere. He/She just treads water, even in a 100 usg. So 40 tall should work for now.

Other than the size of the tank, we decided to try Tetra Crisps. He, also, said any substrate would do, but more ph would be good. The forty has sand so it will mix with some dark pea gravel. IF Meyer likes to chew up something occassionally I'll have to work on that, but not my prize plants, maybe plastic.

Wuv, glad you are enjoying my trials.

I was informed that occaionally the ovipositor on the female frontosa will become prominent when the lady is ready to breed. But there is a white spot on both genders--or something like that. It's amazing how unclear people can get with some subjects.

Anyway the key to sexing the frontosa is the knobby noggin. Big lobe, big daddy.

 

[lucky62]

 

[jollysue]

What's the wink for, Lucky? Knobby noggin, 180 usg tanks filled with frontosas, or the 100 usg going to the apistos? Knobby noggin Meyer is not as happy so far in the corner tank. He misses my Amazon to mow. He/She reminds me of my terrier when Whiskers goes "Sickum!" He really has not given his approval yet. It needs a big something to hide behind.

 

[lucky62]

What's the wink for, Lucky? Knobby noggin, 180 usg tanks filled with frontosas, or the 100 usg going to the apistos? Knobby noggin Meyer is not as happy so far in the corner tank. He misses my Amazon to mow. He/She reminds me of my terrier when Whiskers goes "Sickum!" He really has not given his approval yet. It needs a big something to hide behind.

the wink ? big tank for the apistos of course.........maybe someday you can get something with a good foot print [ a little bigger ] for the Frontosa , oh , and I just saw a 2 incher at a shop ......................$35

 

[jollysue]

I think Meyer cost the house $75 but was valued at $150. I plan to offer to buy her. She wasn't as bad as I thought at first, perhaps. Just not happy and a little stressed and not cared for.

I have some pics of her in the forty, but the sand is all stirred up and it is very cloudy. I had to provide hiding spots and all my decor is for SA Amazon with low ph, so she looks a bit out of place. ) But she likes it so far.

If I get a 180 usg, Lucky, my community fish with my Tetras, appistos and gourami get dibs. Meyers gets the 100 with a beau and some sisters.

She got two plastic Amazons.

 

[lucky62]

those small fish in such a large tank ............you could have generations of fish in there .

100 gal would be great for Meyer , room for one or 2 more tenants , and plants to play with .

 

[jollysue]

You think?

You're playing with me.

Besides I don't have 100's of bucks to spend on sassy frontosas. I like my busy little tanks with their varied communuities.

So far I haven't gotten an answer to my offer to buy Meyer. I think she is in my tanks to stay though. I have a new 50 usg, short, wide, and tall, that I have not set up. Meyer could have that. I'm trying to find the best way to arrange the tanks. It's hard until I get every thing put away.

 

[lucky62]

I didn't necessarily mean more Frontosa [ $$$$$$$] , maybe a catfish or 3 , perhaps a pleco , maybe another cichlid that may be suited to living with the front , and vise versa . The fish has lived , perhaps unhappily this long with an Oscar for a tank mate , something a little less active could work , sometimes rules can be bent .


what are the dimensions of the 50 , probably not much room for anything else but Meyer in there





I just got , I didn't notice til now .........."Oscar Meyer " " my Bologna has a first name , it's O S C A R.................

 

[jollysue]

Yeah, the boys named her.

The fifty would work pretty well I think. It's 36" long, about 20" wide, and about 2 ft tall--approx. She has settled down in the 40 corner and with some nice aquascaping she could look striking. There should be still 3 little pygmies trucking around, unless the stress got to them. The fifty was meant to be a Corey community. The corner would be way too deep for them. I expect 15 new cories this week and have to decide where to put them. Six were meant for the 50 along with 6 Emerald Bochir and some bronze cories.

So far I have not gotten any encouragement to add any fish but frontosa to the Meyer tank. They are suppose to be much like the Oscar and other African Cichlids regarding sharing their space. I think to enlarge his number I would have to start with a boy and another girl. That could start in the 50 if I got juvies. Then let them enlarge their own community, maybe trading with someone for some new genes along the way.

Do you know what could strike a cockatoo and hurt him. My lfs lady cockatoo turned gent is acting odd. He seems to have some swim control problems and is hiding out, often nearly on his side, or twisted. That bunch was always a little crooked in the spine. I think one of my agassazi red tail ladies may have turned too. She's got a lot of color and looks more and more formidable. I must say that apistdave's apistos are spectacular. I have a common from him in a Corey tank next door to the 100. The gals all come to admire him. Including the agassazi lady. Of course that means that Flash has to come over and exchange chest thumping with the the Cory Cockatoo. I have considered putting some common females in the corey tank, but I want to wait and get them from Dave this Spring when the weather clears.

 

[jollysue]

I have seen some setups now and read some articles about fronts with other fish and how to engineer a community and/or coloney. I'll keep on it. Any good suggestions let me know. I'm kind of taken with the clown knife. Probably not in the possibilities.

 

[jollysue]

Well, Meyer is happy in his corner 40 usg. It has grey medium weight plumbers sand. My understanding is that sand is correct for her. I have some decorator sea shells and a large terra cotta pot, as well as a Mexican strawberry colorfully hand painted to check out.. I also have some grey gravel. I may add some black sand or some black Spectra Stone for interest. I just threw out a box of clam shells. Duh....

Meyer seems happy and looks for me when I come in. She has not apologized for chewing off all the bottom row of Amazon leaves though.

Pics when some stuff is changed a bit.

 

[Griz]

Although Frontosa like to be kept in a group, I think it's wise to keep Meyer on his own for a while and get him healthy. A 40 should be fine for him. Good food and lot's of TLC. Perhaps a plec or a few Synodontis for company.

 

[jollysue]

Edit/Correction:

Pi cs when I find a proper combo of sand and gravel that Meyer doesn't leave all cloudy all the time. I love how she fills her mouth with sand from some corner, then comes over to the aquarium front, looks right at mee, and spews it all out. She's funny.

I'll chek out catfish and synos. Any one want to recommend. I figure my pygmies are lost to the Meyer vac. I killed one trying to get it out. There were 2 or 3. I haven't seen them now.

 

[jollysue]

Friday I went to the lfs and got two of the ugliest synos I could find. I came home put them in the holding/acclimation tank and noticed that one had a damaged eye. I figured it was from shipping and came from a spiny poke in the eye. I put some Mela/PimaFix in and also added it at normal dose to the tank. I came back later to start the water drips and Meyer was on the bottom of the tank unable to get up.

I got him out as fast as I could and put him in a bucket of warm freshly conditioned water. He made efforts, but he didn't make it. He died in my hands. The one African Cichlid person I spoke to said that Mela Fix shouldn't have had that effect. So I don't know. The coincidentalness makes me think it's related though. He had sank to the bottom on his side a couple of times before I took him.

I got on the phone and internet Saturday and found a 7" kigoma male. The supplier said from the pics of Meyer he was a 7 stripe kigoma male and beautiful Meyer.

I don't want to tell the boys at the home. They already think we were wrong to move him.

 

[Krib Crazy]

Sorry to hear about Meyers passing