Hamfist's 150G Ca/sa Community Journal

[hamfist]

I've been through a couple of "incarnations" so far with my 150G (5'x2'x2') tank, which sits right at the centre point of our living room, but have finally decided that I want to persevere with it as a CA/SA cichlid community. So I have been slowly setting it up and acquiring fish for this over the last 3-4 weeks or so, and felt it was a reasonable time to share with everyone my progress.

The current inhabitants are ......

1 x green sev 5"
2 x rotkeil sevs 3.5"
1 x gold sev 3"
1 x chocolate cichlid 5.5"
1 x Geo. steindachneri 2.5"
2 x S.leucosticta 4"
1 x Vieja bifasciata 1"
4 x Melanotaenia splendida rubrostriata 4"

So they are all pretty small really. The rainbows are in there to fill up the tank a little bit, and I will probably rehome them as the cichlids grow.

THe tank has a 3mm pea gravel substrate, with rocks and plastic plants.

FIltration is via an FX5 and an Eheim 2217.

All is pretty peaceful in there. The sevs squabble a little bit, now and then, but then they are still working out their pecking order really.
The vieja was a complete impulse buy yesterday and just looks to cute and tiny compared to the others. Thankfully he/she is too big to be considered a meal.

OK, enough of my yakkin' here's the pics ....

... first a whole tank shot

Here's the choc (Biff), who I have had for a while, on and off.He's just starting to develop his hump and starting to look a bit more "flat-faced". Still got a way to go though.

Then there's Mr.Jeeves, the largest of my sevs, a green male ..

Then Mr. Styles, the gold (think he's a "he")...

Then Elouise and Jessica, the two (supposedly) rotkeil females ...

THen little Flower, my new V.bifa (think she's a "she", but not exactly sure)..

On to the eartheaters. My favourite, Arnold, my male steinie ..

Then James and John, the two satanopercas ...

Then the rainbows, here's Elvis, the alpha male in his early morning "horny" colours ..

And no photoshoot would be complete without a current update of Buster the flowerhorn (currently sporting just over 10" of extremely chunky length) in his 80G tank (on his own, of course! )

I really do intend to be patient and watch these fish grow. As adults I think I have one or two too many for the 150G of space, but I expect to have to move a couple of fish out for social reasons as they grow. CIchlids are predictable only in that they are unpredictable. At the moment the smaller of the rotkeil females is definately taking a bit of a bashing from the other sevs, so she may need to be rehomed. I'll just have to see how it goes. It's not bad enough to actually cause any damage as yet.

 

[Timmy_Bee]

Apart from the one female Rottie, do your sevs get on OK?
Am thinking of having a 5ft Sev tank myself (when i can find the right space in the house! oh, and the money...)

 

[ian]

Great shot of the rainbow!

you need to stick a copyright on those macro pics. Great pics.

 

[markandhisfish]

great photos , love your chocolate cichlid . i agree with you that once they grow out youl be overstocked but for now all is looking fantastic.

 

[star4]

Fantastic pictures Hammy!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Even these great pics do not do Hamfist's fish and tank setups justice. I visited Hamfist a couple of weekends ago (to pick up his old trio of Brochis multiradiatus) and both big tanks in his lounge (I'm so jealous, I'd love to have my 150g inside) were absolutely spotless, the fish looked so vibrant and healthy!

Upon coming home, it made me want to improve the looks of all my tanks and if I'm honest its part of the reson why I've put off reciprocating the visit to see my tanks and fish. I keep telling myself that all the bogwood in my 5-footer is bound to leak tannins into the water and also naturally have bits of the wood drop onto the tank floor; some of my fish are alage eaters so I try and leave most algae there for them to graze etc. but I keep thinking back to those two spotless tanks!

 

[Verminator89]

Stunning tank mate. Absolutely love the FH, its pretty much at the top of my 'want' list currently. Simply amazing shapes and colouration. I can only imagine it has a personality to match, if not a little brutish

 

[hamfist]

Thanks for all your comments !

Yes, James, Buster definately has a character to match. He is a serious alpha male, but only actually attacks me if I touch the gravel (thank goodness for shoulder-length pond gloves !).... he hates the sound I think.

As for the tiny vieja in the 150G, she's been brave several times going around the tank, but when the 5" plus sev and choc investigate her, she bottles it and rushes for cover. It really must be very intimidating. She is still eating though, so no real worries as yet for her. I really still don't think the bigger fish see her as food-sized, they're just being nosey.

 

[markandhisfish]

what camera are you using hamfist? oh and btw mr jeeves is just stunning

 

[simonas]

fabulous pics, it will be interesting to track their growth on a thread like this, cichlids always look so much better as they grow

The flowerhorn is majestic!!!I;d love him but have never fancied one fish on a big tank

 

[hamfist]

Apart from the one female Rottie, do your sevs get on OK?
Am thinking of having a 5ft Sev tank myself (when i can find the right space in the house! oh, and the money...)

Yeah, they get on very well really. THey've only been together for a week or so, so are still working things out. Most of the time there are no issues. I'm hoping and expecting them to get on fine in the end, even the smaller rotkeil female. As each day goes by, she is holding her own just a little more. I'll let you know how it is going in a few more weeks.

 

[hamfist]

what camera are you using hamfist? oh and btw mr jeeves is just stunning

It's a Nikon D50 DSLR with the standard lens. To be honest, it's the lens that is holding the image quality back. We used to have a 50mm f1.8 lens (big, big aperture, almost no flash needed) for this camera, which took so much better fish pics. For some reason we sold the lens, but I hope to get another lens just like it again soon.

Can you believe I bought Mr. Jeeves for a tenner last week from one of my local MA's ! He was hidden away in one of their reservoir tanks. I was well pleased !

The flowerhorn is majestic!!!I;d love him but have never fancied one fish on a big tank

Its the price one has to pay to keep a large male flowerhorn. Thankfully, I'm really blessed to be able to have two nice big tanks to play with !

 

[markandhisfish]

hes a steal mate , 1 of the nicest sevs ive seen. now im entering the dslr world an f1.8 lens is the next thing on my wish list . il follow this with interest to watch these fish develop. have to say i agree with simon , buster your flowerhorn is an amazing fish , stunning colours and hes in fantastic condition but as a fish to keep they are not for me . great shot tho , hes got trouble written all over his face

 

[hamfist]

Haven't touched this thread for over a month so I thought it was about time for an update.

The sevs have needed to be thinned out, due to aggression. The little gold turned into an absolute terminator (like he had a super testosterone injection). Never seen anything quite like it. Anyway, he had to go, as he was causing so much trouble.
One of the rotties was also rehomed, also due to bullying. The other rottie that I thought was a she, has now very definately turned out to be a he. So the severum content of the tank is now Mr Jeeves, the male green (who is pushing 6" now, and very fat !) and Errol, the male rottie, about 4". Jeeves chases him a little now and again but it's nothing too serious.

Biff, the choc is doing well and still bossing the tank, even though he is now not quite as bulky as Jeeves.

The rainbows went, as I was just finding them too hectic. Now replaced with 5 x bleeding heart tetras, which I am definately enjoying much more.

The two eartheaters are both doing VERY well. Arnold, the steinie seems to have almost tripled his body weight in about 4 weeks. Quite incredible. I rehomed one of the S.leucosticta as one was seriously chasing the other continually. The remaining S.leucosticta and the steinie have teamed up though, and are good buddies.

FLower, the little vieja juvie has also come out of "her" shell. However, she did go through a few days of not eating at all, and scraping her gill cases a lot. I was really quite concerned. But thankfully a course of Sterazin, for gill flukes seemed to sort that out completely, and she is now back to 100% and eating very well. Probably doubled her bodyweight over the last month.

So the total stocking is now ......

1 x choc
1 x green sev
1 x rottie
1 x G.steindachneri
1 x S.leucosticta
1 x V.bifasciatus
5 x bleeding heart tetras

Probably a more realistic long term stock than it was.

I will update some pics soon. I have just ordered a slave flash to light from the top, which I hope will transform my photography. So once that arrives, hopefully in 2 or 3 days, I will put up pics of them all.

 

[Verminator89]

Obligatory pics have to come after an update mate, ofcourse you know this! Every tank has teething problems so i suppose it was to be expected some would have to move. What stocking works for one person doesnt always work in a tank the same size for someone else.

Can't wait for more pics