Female Holding Saulosi Being Bullied ...

[Go_fish]

I have a female holding saulosi in the main tank - she has been holding about 1 week and is the first one I have ever had holding - I am new to Malawis and only set up the tank end of November. She is still swimming around, but beginning to look very ragged, fins & tail nipped etc - I have noticed she is being chased mainly by the other female saulosi. There is about 45kg drilled ocean rock in the tank, so plenty of hiding spaces. I am not concerned re keeping the fry, but I do not want to lose the female, so looks like the best thing to do is put her in a 10g tank of her own until she releases the fry.

I want to get the 10g tank set-up, and was going to get the following:

10g tank
lid (no lights)
sponge filter
air pump to run filter
100W heater

Will add a few hiding places but no substrate, and all water from the main tank.

LFS x2 locally have quoted approx £80 ($155) for the above kit

Questions:
- the female saulosi is only about 2" - will this tank be sufficient for full-grown adult?
- any specific brands of sponge filter, pump and heater recommended?
- do I need anything else?
- is price reasonable for UK?
- anyone based in UK have other ideas of where to buy the kit? (I'm not a fan of ebay at all)

Many thanks in advance

 

[adambrum]

Your probably best stripping her of the eggs that way she can eat and get her strength back.

Keeping a spare 10g tank is always a good idea.

I have a basic clearseal tank with lid about £10.00
visitherm 50w heater £15.00
fluval +1 internal filter £10.00

the air driven filters are mainly for the fry but i use a internal power filter with no problems and i keep the spare sponge in my external when not in use.

Most people on here are from the uk, where abouts are you ?

 

[Go_fish]

Your probably best stripping her of the eggs that way she can eat and get her strength back.

Keeping a spare 10g tank is always a good idea.

I have a basic clearseal tank with lid about £10.00
visitherm 50w heater £15.00
fluval +1 internal filter £10.00

the air driven filters are mainly for the fry but i use a internal power filter with no problems and i keep the spare sponge in my external when not in use.

Most people on here are from the uk, where abouts are you ?

Hi & thanks for your reply. I am in the Bucks / Oxon area, and the prices above have been quoted by Maidenhead Aquatics and World of Water (although WOW want £21.45 for a lid with no lights in it!!, and £25 for a 10G Clearseal tank).

Have you ever had issues with the fry being sucked into the Fluval? Everywhere I read about fry tanks, people talk about sponge filters.

I am only 7 weeks into keeping Malawis and stripping the female sounds like a very daunting idea ... is it necessary to do this if I move her into the 10G?

Thanks!

 

[Boids-n-more]

That price does seem steep. My 10 gallon emergency tank was 10 bucks for the tank , 10 bucks for the ugf , 8 bucks for the pump. Thats 38 us dollors. And i just used some of the extra gravel from my main tank so about 2 bucks worth. You can put her in a new tank just keep an eye on the stats , she won't be eating but she will be burning fat and there fore releasing some waste but not much at all.

 

[adambrum]

Never had fry sucked into the filter but i do cram a lot of sponge into them so they cant really get in. If you move her to the 10g she can spit in there, takes about 3weeks.

 

[Go_fish]

Right, she's still in the main tank, and seems a bit stonger the past 24 hours - swimming about ok. Fins have not been nipped any more since yesterday, so fingers crossed ...

I have ordered this Eheim filter for the 10G:

http/www.eheim.de/eheim/inhalte/index.js...tail_27852_ehen

They do a sponge which fits over the inlet pipe to protect the fry. Thought this would be better as will also do for a non-fry isolation tank. Can't find anywhere locally that stocks it, so have ordered it and should be here early next week, so hopefully she'll be ok until then. Got a tank sorted out - totally forgot I had a small tank in the loft - measures 23.5" x 11.5" x 11.5" so near enough 10G. Has just a clear plastic lid, but I think that'll be fine. I've put the tank in one of the bedrooms upstairs so there will be nothing to disturb her. I've got to get a small heater, but then that's it sorted. I'll put a couple of rocks from the main tank into the small tank.

Can anyone tell me how long it will take to 'seed' the new sponge - I was just planning on putting it into one of the Eheim filters to seed? It has been suggested also to put one of my external filter sponges into the small tank, but not sure the best way to do this with an external hanging filter?

Thanks !

Also wondering ... do I to remove the female as soon as she spits? If so, can I retyrn her to the main tank straight away? (I don't want to set up ANOTHER tank!!)