My New Addition !

[PDSimon]

WD - I think you're right about the unholy soft water we have. I'll lean more toward the tetra / cichlid side of things in the future. When my tank matures I want a pair of German Blue Rams.

Oh man, I love that idea, keep thinking about some of those myself.. I've never had any!

How long have you been fishkeeping and you havn't even had GBRs! What fish do you keep WD? You never really post about your own fish and what not unfortunately

The great thing about this site is that you learn about the pitfalls along the way. I'm expecting lots to go wrong, that way when it does i'll be prepared. I know the Neons probably weren't the best of options given the age of the tank, but one thing I can promise to all who have been kind enough to give me advice is that I will give these fish 100% and will do my absolute best to ensure their health and happiness. I am not optimistic the Neons will last but will do my utmost to ensure the water is as good as it can possibly be for them.

I'm sure you will

 

[Gvilleguy]

Liverbird - (this thread is really active today) I always thought Neons were okay fish to start with. I hope that yours do okay.

WD - I, too, am curious what fish you are keeping. I think my biggest challenge with GBRs will be finding someone to buy them from!! Not much available in my area in South Carolina.

 

[Liverbird36]

Liverbird - (this thread is really active today) I always thought Neons were okay fish to start with. I hope that yours do okay.

WD - I, too, am curious what fish you are keeping. I think my biggest challenge with GBRs will be finding someone to buy them from!! Not much available in my area in South Carolina.

GBR's are stunning. I really wanted to have a pair but my tank is a bit too small. Would have snapped them up otherwise. Check out the pics of Simon's on my cycling thread.

 

[PDSimon]

Mine are bolvian rams liverbird, not german blue rams german blue rams require even better conditions!

 

[BethK]

picky fish

 

[Gvilleguy]

I think I would be very happy with Bolvian Rams, too, but I was not sure of the adult size. Do they stay at 3" or get bigger? I could probably handle a pair of them at 3" each, but any bigger and I think I would be overstocking the tank. The GBRs, I think, stay closer to 2", which would be the only reason I would prefer them. From what I've heard the Bolivians are much easier to keep alive!

 

[waterdrop]

The biggest fish of that sort that I ever kept were a pair of Jack Dempseys. The larger of the two was still under a foot long though and I believe they can get bigger than that (can't they? Does anyone know their max size?) I liked them for their extremely reflective blue-green spots contrasted against the dark brown. Sadly I eventually had to give them up before a house move and that was in my previous period of being in the hobby. Like many people, I kept a lot of angels, both black lace and regular vertical striped silver and black. Despite some of the angel pairs trying sometimes, I never bred any of these. I did used to breed gouramis and kept most of the types but I was young and haphazard about processes and never became what I would call experienced.

I have seen GBRs in shops and they are even more beautiful in some cases than the pictures I've seen.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[OldMan47]

I would love to be able to bring in some GBRs to my tanks but I am at the other end of the spectrum as far as tap water. Mine has a TDS of well over 300 ppm and a GH and KH both above 10 degrees with a pH of about 7.8. If I want soft water fish, I must use rain water or RO in the tank with just a hint of my tap water. My cory breeding tank runs with 3 parts rain to 1 part tap and I only get to do a water change on it after a good hard rain, unless I substitute an inferior quality RO instead. Sometimes I will do that in winter when rain looks white, fluffy and somewhat solid.

 

[Liverbird36]

have checked my water stats today and are happy to say Nitrites and Ammonia are still zero. Might get my 6 Glowlight Tetras tomorrow if they are still ok in the morning.

 

[PDSimon]

I think I would be very happy with Bolvian Rams, too, but I was not sure of the adult size. Do they stay at 3" or get bigger? I could probably handle a pair of them at 3" each, but any bigger and I think I would be overstocking the tank. The GBRs, I think, stay closer to 2", which would be the only reason I would prefer them. From what I've heard the Bolivians are much easier to keep alive!

They get to about 3 inches yup When I finished fishless cycling i stocked with two bolivians, although they are still a cichlid and therefore sensitive fish but hardy enough for adding in those situations. Whereas GBRs often can't handle new tanks, they are a similar size to the bolivian rams though...

The biggest fish of that sort that I ever kept were a pair of Jack Dempseys. The larger of the two was still under a foot long though and I believe they can get bigger than that (can't they? Does anyone know their max size?) I liked them for their extremely reflective blue-green spots contrasted against the dark brown. Sadly I eventually had to give them up before a house move and that was in my previous period of being in the hobby. Like many people, I kept a lot of angels, both black lace and regular vertical striped silver and black. Despite some of the angel pairs trying sometimes, I never bred any of these. I did used to breed gouramis and kept most of the types but I was young and haphazard about processes and never became what I would call experienced.

I have seen GBRs in shops and they are even more beautiful in some cases than the pictures I've seen.

~~waterdrop~~

Thats really interesting, your always posting about cycling but never about fish! nice to see the change. I think they get to about 10 inches generally although they can get bigger but I havn't had any experience with them. Great looking fish.

GBRs are great looking fish, there is a varient called electric blue ram which is also nice and quite different too...

have checked my water stats today and are happy to say Nitrites and Ammonia are still zero. Might get my 6 Glowlight Tetras tomorrow if they are still ok in the morning.

Woop

 

[BethK]

i'll have a bottle of champers waiting for the big awaited 'fish day'

 

[Liverbird36]

I can't believe my luck !!! the way the filter circulates the water means that all the fish poo is swept to one end of the tank in a nice long pile !! I'd call that a wee bit jammy lol The tetras at feed time have worked out that if they swim under the two Gouramis when the Gouramis take a mouthful of food, lots of small pieces fall out and they just wait underneath and catch them as they fall. Inspired lol

 

[Liverbird36]

Well, sadly had to take one of the Gourami's back. He ripped my guppies fins and tails to shreds. Came down one morning to find all guppies tetras and othe r gourami hiding in one corner of the tank. The poor Guppies look an absolute mess. All are well though so I guess that's something to be grateful for.

 

[BethK]

oh no least you have removed the problem maker!

Don't worry, this hobby is all about trials and errors but we learn from them. Fins will be ok in a few days, just make sure their water is kept clean and they should be fine. If you have any brime shrimp in garlic or soak their food in garlic juice, it will help their immune system x

 

[Liverbird36]

oh no least you have removed the problem maker!

Don't worry, this hobby is all about trials and errors but we learn from them. Fins will be ok in a few days, just make sure their water is kept clean and they should be fine. If you have any brime shrimp in garlic or soak their food in garlic juice, it will help their immune system x

Thank you Beth. Wasn't sure if they would make a full recovery or not. As soon as the living room lights went out, he stalked the tank like some kind of shark. I feel so awful taking him back as kids were so upset, but i couldn't believe how much damage he had done to all of the others in such a short space of time. When i put food in the tank he wouldn't let any of the others anywhere near the food. Hope i've done the right thing. I though that they were meant to be peaceful community fish too