Another Stocking Thread

[BezsMaracas]

Been to my local Maidenhead Aquatics this evening for a look around at what they have in stock. They have loads of rummynose tetras so no problem there, didn't seem to be much choice with the rams though. They did have some golden ones which looked absolutely stunning, but they appeared to be a bit aggressive with each other where as the Bolivians seemed pretty docile. Are there real temperament differences between the two?

There wasn't really too much choice in angels or cories, although they did have a lot of albinos which I know from past experience that they're absolutely crackers and great fun to watch. They did have some panda and what I think were false julii cory, although they were pretty expensive. Going to do a big water change tonight and fingers crossed I'll have some new fish tomorrow

Also picked up some mopani wood which i'll have soaking for a few weeks I guess before putting in and introducing the bristlenose. I hope this wood is ok? Only had bogwood before.

 

[mattlee]

golden rams will require higher temps of 28-30 which is fine for the angels and rummynose. all rams are cichlids at the end of the day and will have squabbles among each other for hierachy or potential mates which is why its always best to get a decent group, they also are more active when in a group. my 7 bolivians are extremely active and feed from every part of the tank, they have small fights now and then but the aggression is spread out over the group so there is no fish thats singled out too much. i would 100% go for bolivians and get a nice sized group of 4-5, they can look washed out in the lfs tanks but most will colour up very well when back in your tank.

if you are after a certain species of cory then maybe its worth asking if the maidenhead can order you a group in if its just corys in general your after then the albino aenus are one of the cheapest available and are a good looking fish.

lfs angels are usually very hit and miss and usually very small. i would get a group of the same type, for me the more natural striped looking angels are very very hard to beat. not the most colourfull but by far the most striking especially in a group. the koi, marbled and pinnoy variants are more colourfull and what your more likely to find at an lfs but to me they just dont have the same impact as a group of more natural looking fish. the extra colour can be given with the rams and tetras to compliment them. obviously we all prefer different species/types and coloured fish but whatever you go for i would strongly reccomend getting all the same types so it doesnt seem a mish mash of colour and fish.

the mopani wood is fine but it does tend to release more tannins into the water but normally has no issues with sinking straight away. give it a scrub and place it in the tank if you dont like the tannins then add cardbon to the filter and it will go over night

 

[BezsMaracas]

There was one fantastic looking blue angel (think that's what it was labelled as), in a tank with several others that were nowhere near as colourful. It was really really tiny though compared to the others and like you say, wouldn't really want to just get a mishmash of different ones. I think I'll try and get 4 or 5 bolivians and see how I go, will I have issues if I end up with more males than females or even more than one male? They don't seem the easiest of things to sex.

For the cories I think I'll go with the false julii, they had a really nice pattern to them.

 

[mattlee]

nice choice of cory

the rams are only 100% sexable by their tubes. generally the female may be slightly less colourfull and not as big as the male but when buying young fish this is hard to go on. with cichlids it is better to get more females than males to spread out the chasing by the males but bolivians seem to be slightly more relaxed than other cichlids, i think i have 4 or 5 males and 2 or 3 females. they dont keep still long enough for me to check them all so its difficult to tell. there are no issues anyway with the group just the odd bit of bickering but nothing serious, this is to be expected with any cichlid even angels can get fiesty at times and some are real rogues.

there is a blue angel available so it may well have been one of these, im not sure about them yet ive seen a few and some are real blue and some are quite poor. i guess it depends where you get them and who has bred them etc. in my eyes you cant beat the natural look.

here are a few pics of my wild red spotted peru angels to show what i mean. anything to get a few pics on.....

 

[BezsMaracas]

I found three silver angels of the same species although rather varied markings, suppose that makes them imperfect but thought I'd be able to tell which is which better

I have been looking around for bristlenose plecs but the only ones I have found have been absolutely tiny, maybe not even a centimetre long. Is it normal to buy them like that? I'd be worried they'd get sucked up by the filter, never mind anything else!

 

[Tizer]

i picked up a couple of adult BNs for £20 in a lfs. You don't see adults very often i have to agree. Just keep your eyes peeled and don't rush to get them and I'm sure some will appear one day.

 

[BezsMaracas]

Is there many issues to getting some that are very small? If they'll be ok and won't be a problem feeding I won't mind getting the tiny ones, just a bit worried once in my tank I'd never find them again!

 

[OldMan47]

Stay away from plecs less than about 2 cm. A very young plec can easily be lost. Breeders often go through a period of learning were they lose virtually an entire batch at around a month old over and over until they catch on to the detail they had been missing. Yes, I count myself among those who lose plecs at a young age. I have yet to figure out what it will take to have mine survive. You don't want to buy a half dozen plecs just to lose them all.

 

[BezsMaracas]

Thanks, that's what I wanted to know

Fish seem to be doing well, although I noticed that one of my angels only seems to have one eye! It's hard to tell as it could just be that the stripe is covering the whole eye, but it appears to be solid black and the one on the other side has bits of red and white. As long as it won't cause it any long term problems I don't mind so much, but wish I knew for sure, can't really get him to read an eye chart