My Dempsey Killed My Snake Head :'-(

[micropeltes]

If you like cichlids there are plenty of smaller (dwarf) species that would suit a 120l tank. I would say selling what you have and starting again is the best option. Keeping large aggressive cichlids is not a one tank job trust me! you have to be on your toes constantly changing the decor to distupt territories to keep the peace. Just because one person can keep certain cichlids together (I have a JD with a severum and true parrots, my JD is a wuss) does not apply to that species, each cichlid has its own character and agression levels. Oscars are ment to be mean, yet I have fostered/rescued some oscars that are so docile they would happily live with smaller fish, yet others would try and kill everything. There is no rule with cichlids other than have more than 1 tank to move any aggressor.

For 120l look at keyholes, krobia xingu, apistogramma (hundreds to choose from). Hope this helps

ok thanks for that... initially i wanted pirhanas as my newphew has a few and doing well growing them.. but i just coudlnt resist cichlids. ok i'll look into smaller cichlids.. how much do u think i can sell my 5" dempsey for?

 

[dbanner]

I sold my Dempsey around tha size for £10.

Iv kept a group of 5 red belly piranhas in a 260 litre. 1 died when they were young. The 4 remaining were fine until the dominant one turned on and killed the others. Not a pretty sight.

I kept him until he got to around 8 inches before selling him to go down the cichlid route.

Piranhas are considered boring to keep to many people but I loved mine. Try need dim lighting and loads of filtration as they are very messy. Obviously they can't be kept with any other fish. Although some people have done I wouldn't recommend it. The aggression on my remaining piranha was phenomenal. He would dart for my hand when I used to try putting the siphon in to do a sand vac. Most are known to be shy but this 1 was far from it I ended up having to put the siphon on a long pole as I couldn't risk putting my hands in the tank... Just a heads up if you end up getting that bigger tank and fancy going down the piranha route

 

[Dieses Madchen]

I really hope this experience doesnt turn your way from large cichlids. Given the right tank size, dempseys are great fish. I only have about 200 (mom, dad, and a 55g full of fry)

 

[micropeltes]

I sold my Dempsey around tha size for £10.

Iv kept a group of 5 red belly piranhas in a 260 litre. 1 died when they were young. The 4 remaining were fine until the dominant one turned on and killed the others. Not a pretty sight.

I kept him until he got to around 8 inches before selling him to go down the cichlid route.

Piranhas are considered boring to keep to many people but I loved mine. Try need dim lighting and loads of filtration as they are very messy. Obviously they can't be kept with any other fish. Although some people have done I wouldn't recommend it. The aggression on my remaining piranha was phenomenal. He would dart for my hand when I used to try putting the siphon in to do a sand vac. Most are known to be shy but this 1 was far from it I ended up having to put the siphon on a long pole as I couldn't risk putting my hands in the tank... Just a heads up if you end up getting that bigger tank and fancy going down the piranha route

wow only £10... that would buy me two smaller cichlids. anyway im not gonna go for pirhanas as they are cannibals when they're young.. i cud potentially waste my money. yeah im going to invest in a bigger tank. just need to find a better spot to put it in. i cant put it in my room as im getitng married soon and the mrs ordered so much furniture for the room.. i told her since ur in the buying mode.. why dont u buy me a large tank with a cabinet underneath.... jheez that conversation didnt go so well after...

oh i forgot to tell u another story and this is soo funny.. i had a blue lobster in my tank... and this one time i was cleaning the tank so i put all the fishes in a large open container with fresh warm water.... although the snakehead jumped out twice... it managed to settle.. i put the container in my balcony.... i didnt realise that the lobster would climb up but it did.... i told my little nephew to look after the container just incase another fish jumps out.... but he eventually came upstairs watching me clean the accessories..... 30 mins later i went down.. only to find that the lobster is missing.. we looked everywhere............ everywhre!! suddenly my brother looks outside the balcony and notices something was moving on the ground.... blimey! it was my lobster.. it fell off the first floor. so i rushed downstairs picked it up and put it back in the water... it moved about for a few hours and eventually died ..... i have the most craziest situations. why me?

I really hope this experience doesnt turn your way from large cichlids. Given the right tank size, dempseys are great fish. I only have about 200 (mom, dad, and a 55g full of fry)

wow 200?? thats a lot of demseys lol

 

[phoenixgsd]

oh i forgot to tell u another story and this is soo funny.. i had a blue lobster in my tank... and this one time i was cleaning the tank so i put all the fishes in a large open container with fresh warm water.... although the snakehead jumped out twice... it managed to settle.. i put the container in my balcony.... i didnt realise that the lobster would climb up but it did.... i told my little nephew to look after the container just incase another fish jumps out.... but he eventually came upstairs watching me clean the accessories..... 30 mins later i went down.. only to find that the lobster is missing.. we looked everywhere............ everywhre!! suddenly my brother looks outside the balcony and notices something was moving on the ground.... blimey! it was my lobster.. it fell off the first floor. so i rushed downstairs picked it up and put it back in the water... it moved about for a few hours and eventually died ..... i have the most craziest situations. why me?

i dont see that as soo funny,

 

[micropeltes]

well the part where the lobster fell off and died isnt funny... but the fact that it happened like that was a little funny lol........

 

[dbanner]

Yeah your right, piranhas will eat pretty much anything whether it moves or not if given the chance to. Mine used to get bloodworm, krill, shrimp, prawns and frozen mice. They can be fed on flakes when they are young though believe it or not. Up until they reach about 2-3 inches mine were fine with flakes. I'd go with the suggested option and go with dwarf cichlids until you can get a bigger tank.

 

[josh_g]

micropeltes your a joker