Tank Change, What New Inhabitants?

[star4]

I dont actually know about mixing acara but I would guess it should be ok as you can mix the thorithys species ok (firemouth, ellioti etc) the only problem with these is they will cross breed, so presumable it would be the same with the acara, but not having kept acara (yet) I am only guessing. Convicts are a great addition, but only go for single sex if you have more than one because they breed like grazy. The female convict does have more colour than the male sporting an orangy coloured belly with slightly more blue in the dorsal fin, a very pretty fish and you can pick them up really cheep too, they have great character too and would easily hold their own with the firemouth, in fact they may calm the firemouth a little as since adding convicts to my tank it calmed mine and the ellioti a little.

 

[kaivalagi]

Well, a fish friend came over today, and we went to Swallow Aquatics near Thetford...we couldn't help ourselves

I got a male Blue Convict about 3" and a male Red/Orange Head Tapajos (Geo) about 2.5"

I also picked up some long grassy plants and a fast grower leafy thing to go into (for the most part) the centre of the tank

The FM doesn't know what to do with all the new guests, very interesting to watch.....less chasing than before right now and the Convict is not taking any crap either

So that's my stocking done, just need that new tank shortly. I am thinking about getting a custom rectangular tank, from Seabray. I want a 5' length tank ideally but not so high as normal, maybe 18". They do nice cabinets too...

Oh, and I also picked up some nice bogwood for the to be new tank...I think the cashier made an error I get a massive piece that would half fill my existing tank for £12.50

New pics of the tank:






Time to sit and watch for a while now...I find the Geo really interesting already

Edit: A couple of shots of the newer fish in my tank:

 

[star4]

The long stuff is vallis and the leafy stuff is Java fern, the java fern is great stuff, even my cichlids havnt killed it (yet). I love that blue convict he is a corker The geo will reach approx 10" (dont know if they told you that in the shop) be fine in a bigger tank. That wood really sets the tank off and the vallis has created a brill midddle hiding spot, hopefully now everyone will be happy, but you know fish picky little boogas lol. Looks really great.

 

[kaivalagi]

The long stuff is vallis and the leafy stuff is Java fern, the java fern is great stuff, even my cichlids havnt killed it (yet).

The java fern has been in the tank from the beginning, and been split up since, nothing beats Java Fern! When I said "leafy stuff" I should have been more specific, I was referring to the plant with 1" size leaves on the right hand side of the second picture. Not sure what it is but the LFS reckon it grows easily and quickly.

I love that blue convict he is a corker

Yeah, I really would like a time machine to know what that Blue Convict will look like in a few months, very nice dark markings and he has nice blue lips too...I'll no doubt take a better picture of him soon and will post it on here somewhere.

The geo will reach approx 10" (dont know if they told you that in the shop) be fine in a bigger tank. That wood really sets the tank off and the vallis has created a brill midddle hiding spot, hopefully now everyone will be happy, but you know fish picky little boogas lol. Looks really great.

Mmmmm, and there I was wanting to make absolutely sure that nothing would get bigger than 8" in the long run

To be fair I had already read that they grown to anything from 6" to 12" before I went shopping, and I did ask the shop how big the Geo's they have would get to which I was told 5-6". To their credit they did point me towards a display tank (an absolutely massive one) with one of the same Geo's in it from way back (apparently)...it was approx 6" and definitely would not have had it's growth stunted....


Worst case if it does reach 10" I will have a tank large enough anyway by then and I'll have a well natured fish (hopefully) that is bigger than the rest

Picky boogas isn't the word, I would choose stronger words myself

More importantly I am getting used to Cichlids and the way they work, and now understanding that they are allowed to be cranky from time to time (just like us). If you look at it from the male FM perspective he first had his girlfriend go cold on him, then he got a little too pushy, then she left him and now a lot of others have just gate crashed the party

 

[star4]

I am not great on plants, it looks a little like moneywort, but its one of those things that gets called different names lol. I would love to see pics of that blue convict as he grows he sure looks fantastic. I am not clued up on all the different Geo's there are quite a few, I had only glanced into a few looking for my own tank. The are a really nice fish, great in a group too, Ideal for a much bigger tank, but I dont think your wife would like me saying that, my hubby just rolls his eyes when I mention large groups of fish lol

Fish alway seem to get uppity when there are fish removed and added, my 400l tank was so peaceful but I have removed quite a few fish and now its in uproar again!

 

[kaivalagi]

All fish are getting on for the most part, as to be expected there is some power play here and there but compared to before aggression is spread out and it is generally more peaceful for each fish. The convict is having a growth spurt I think, he finally got more space to live in I guess Lovin his bright blue lips and orange tint on tails - I'll try and post a nice shot of him with good colours.

I'm now finalising my custom tank requirements now, I will be ordering a bigger tank but not a trigon 350, probably something like 54"x18"x18" (76US Gal / 287L) - quite shallow but I don't see any need for more height for my cichlids, if I had more height it would just be clear water which is never swam in. Do you think this is a ok decision? I have floor considerations as the living room is wooden floored i.e. floor joists and boards not concrete, so I don't want to push the size too much. The tank will be against a bearing wall perpendicular to the floor joists so it should be fine, but having less height for the same length just makes me feel a little happier with the load on the floor.

I will not be stocking any more fish for a while...I may add an EBJD at a much later stage, but not certain yet - lots of reading to get through. Prices quoted here for an EBJD is around £30, is that good/bad?

 

[kaivalagi]

Just setup an online album, which I'll be updating as often as I can, I've linked to it in my sig

I got some nice pics today with my macro lens - went manual on the focus as I find these light levels hard to get good auto focus on...roll on the new tank with 44" T5 tubes

I like the one where the convict (I must give these guys names!) is thinking about what to do with an oto...uh oh...I hope he doesn't take the next step. I wonder if an oto can keep out of his mouth, they are extremely fast when they want to be...



The best I could do with my BN so far: