Can Anyone Id This Fish For Me Please?

[meguro]

a good external filter. tetratec 1200, fluval fx5, eheim classic 2217. something along those lines.

as for fish, ur probably better off having the convicts as the biggest fish and just getting a plec, some bottom dwellers (maybe yoyo loaches or something, not sure how loaches get on with convicts) and a nice school or two of tetras/barbs/rainbowfish (ones that wont get eaten or harassed to death).

i'd go with sand

 

[Wills]

Cool, good news on the four foot tank! Now how big on the other dimensions are you planning on going for? If you can get a 2 foot wide and 2 foot tall 4 foot long tank your options are fantastic!

I agree with Meguro on the filters suggested but I disagree about the fish ideas I think you have options to add to the tank - straight away I would reccommend an electric blue jack dempsey for the 4 foot tank so long as the base is at least 18 inches deep if it is 2 foot deep you could go for texas cichlid both very nice blue fish.

Yoyo loaches that Meguro mentioned are far too squishy to handle these fish but skunk botia loaches would work quite well! Or a red tailed black shark would fit quite well as would hoplo catfish And then tiger barbs or auralis barbs or oddessa barbs would work

Wills

 

[tracyw]

I managed to pick up a fluval Roma 240 with a fluval 305 external filter for just £300!
Thought it was a bargain!

I have got it together but not set up yet, quick question though can the heater go next to the output and input for the filter? Only reason I ask is that the lead isn't really long enough to go the other end without another extension lead!

Also I didn't get any plants at all to go in only rocks, do I need to get live plants? My cichlids only destroy them normally in a few days, but I've never had a tank of this size before!

 

[Wills]

Ah right nice tank I have one at present and it works out at 63 gallons. With convicts I would just stick to rocks and wood with things like java fern attached to the wood and rock as you dont really need them they just have their uses really.

Is that £300 brand new or second hand?

Heater is okay next to the filter inlet/outlet I have mine next to the filter in pipe.

Wills

 

[tracyw]

That was brand new with the cabinet too! On special offer! Saw the same tank yesterday for £599 so am well chuffed with my purchase!

Just got the rocks in and am about have the hose in it now to start filling it up!!

only thing is at the moment the sand/small gravel that I bought is black and grey and I have washed it 5 times but it is still making the water very very cloudy but I'm assuming this will clear when the pump starts running in a little while?

 

[bullit]

very g00d purchace f0r that price.

 

[tracyw]

Got a bargain on all my rocks too!
Their scales weren't working so I got all of them for £10.00

Will definately be going back there!!

 

[Wills]

Wow £300 is a good price for a new one! Second hand they usually go for that but you can get them cheaper sometimes. I would keep going with the sand for now and do it untill you are happy with it a bit of cloud is always to be expected in a new tank.

Just remember to put all your filter media from your existing tank into the new 305 so all the pads etc and then move your cons over and once thats done wait a while for the filter to become stable and then you can think about more fish

Have you had a look at any of those fish suggested yet?

Wills

 

[tracyw]

My old filter is only a sponge so I was going to use the Nutrafin Cycle to start the tank off with and leave it a couple of days before adding my fish.

I had a look at a Jack Dempsey in the shop today and I'm really liking them!
Havent had chance to look at the others yet though

Thanks so much for all the help and advise so far! You've been a real help to me!

 

[Wills]

hi that nutrafin stuff is useless - for it to be of any use it would need to be controlled all the way from the factory to your tank and that would mean refrigerating the bacteria it claims to hold to keep it dormant and alive where as little or no products actually do this.

The bacteria in the sponge in your existing filter holds enough bacteria to support the waste of 5 convicts and their fry the small tank so in the big tank in the bigger filter it will still have the same amount of bacteria in supporting the same fish but in a bigger volume of water however because you add the sponge to the bigger filter whcih will turn the water over faster each hour it will balance out and you should just be able to do it straight over with little or no trouble.

No probs with the help

Wills

 

[tracyw]

its only a little sponge though - I'm being thick in not understanding how to add it to the filter!!! - Any suggestions?

Also didn't use that stunutrafin stuff just in case!!! was waiting to see what you said about it!

 

[Wills]

In the 305 there are little baskets in there just pop the sponge in the middle section of the basket cut it up to make it fit but make sure you do it all in about 20-30 mins max so have a dry run to make sure you know how to put the filter back together again.

What is the filter you have at present?

About 8 or so months ago I swapped from a 3 foot tank with internal filters to a 4 foot tank (same as yours) but with a bigger external filter I got the Fluval FX5 for extra turnover and I put all the media from the internals to the big external and then moved the fish over and ran without issue

Wills

 

[tracyw]

It's just one of them little internal ones that suck up from the bottom and then into a drip tray in the top,
I know how to put the filter back together that's not an issue!
So I can just pit the sponge into a bit where the clean sponge is then really? Didn't think of that! Haha! Silly me!
Let's hope I remember how to switch of water to pump!
Turn off pump, black lever up and then release silver lever?

 

[tracyw]

So the filter sponge actually fitted straight into the new filter which is great so no cutting needed!
I have transferred the biggest 3 over and they are happily exploring their new home!
One of them is swimming along the glass to release the bubbles! Is that normal?
The other two are still in my small tank, one is the female that has been breeding and she looks really sick, and the other is the one that had his tail nipped,
I'll keep them in there until they are strong enough to go into the big tank!

 

[Wills]

They will probably fare better in the big tank, when you say the female looks sick whats up with her? Good news on the filter transfer, the bubble chasing is normal all my cichlids play with what ever they can find, plants, twigs, rocks etc they are like little puppies sometimes

Have you decided which you are going to rehome at all? I would perhaps consider keeping 2 males and then stock the community around them with a JD or a Salvini as tank mate with Blind Cave Tetras or Giant Danios - you could also consider large swordtails as these fish are all found together naturally in the wild (apart from the giant danios) and then you could mix them with pictus catfish or hoplos and maybe a few interesting small plec species but not common ones as they get too big.

Wills