My Home Project

[Ninjouzata]

I'm sorry you lost one of them! (At least I think you did?)
 
I don't know anything about rams so not sure what the males are doing. I hope you get a pair to form like you want.
If you need more advice on them I'd make a thread asking about them.
 
That is very interseting to hear about the cory and tiger barb.
 
I want to be as polite as possible..I really am not trying to be rude. I think more people would read if you organized your posts a bit, like spacing it out and using paragraphs and such.
I always read the entire thing but because it's all together it jumbles in my brain and I have to really think about what to respond about.
 
Hope I'm not being rude! 

 Looking forward to pics of course but take your time!

 

[eduller]

I've really enjoyed reading your story. I want to hear about your tank build now. Come on!

 

[Chaydell]

Ninjo, I'll try to keep things easier to read from now on.  I had never thought that jumbling it all together would make it difficult for others to process.  Is there a way I can edit previous posts to add some more spacing?  I looked but didn't see a way to go back and change it.
 
Eduller, I wish I could build it now.  Unfortunately, by my best guesses, it is going to be quite expensive to do.  I am saving my money and hoping that I will be disciplined enough to wait and do things right.  I certainly don't want to spend a ton of cash on the setup and then wish I had done it differently. 

 

[Ninjouzata]

You can only edit for I think 30 mins or so after you've posted. I wouldn't worry about the previous posts just may be good to attempt it from now on. I will keep reading regardless of what you do!
Actually on.. post #28, I think it was organized pretty well. 
 
Perhaps try to find an already built tank? Am not sure how hard it would be to find ones in the dimensions you want though.

 

[Chaydell]

I am keeping an eye out for already built tanks but they are hard to come by in my area.  Plus, most of the "big" tanks I come across are either 8 ft long which will not fit in the space I want to keep it in or they are even in length and width which isn't what I want either. 
 
But I do have pictures for you guys of the new setup.  I also tried to take pics of the rams but I don't think they are good enough for sexing.  Hopefully I get better with the camera as we go along and can get some better shots.
 
The first 3 or of the rams, the best shots I could get.  Take a stab at sexing them if you but I know the pics don't lend themselves to that.  The next two are of the breeding areas I tried to make on the left and right sides of the tank respectively.  And the last is the overall view of the tank.

 

[Ninjouzata]

The rams are very pretty, and that barb is BRIGHT. Lovely tank.
 
I don't know anything about rams so can't even try to sex them.
 
When you do get pics that you think will help with that, I'd post them in another thread. May get more responses that way.

 

[Chaydell]

New addition.  I acquired a medium rainbow shark.  Since my last one died I've been wanting a new one.  My wonderful wife surprised me with one today.  I also bought some moss and tied it to some of the rocks in my tank.  Once it grows in and I can remove the string I'll toss some pics of that as well.  Here is the shark. 
 
He seems to have taken a liking to the artificial log near one of the male ram's territory.  I'm assuming the shark will win this land spat, I'm just hoping neither causes permanent damage to the other.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Very cute but definitely keep an eye on it..have read they get more territorial with age.

 

[Chaydell]

He should have plenty of space. If my rams form a breeding pair they will be the only other territorial thing on the bottom of the tank. I'm not going to buy any other bottom fish, as the bottom of my tank is crowded. Honestly, I just need a top level fish that can stand the barbs. If my rams don't pair I'm likely going to give them yo my neighbor or bring them back. I think Mar 1 is going to be my limit for that. Regardless I think I am going to buy some red swordtails. The color will be good and I think I have enough hiding places for the fry that some might survive. If I go that route my tank will be fully stocked so I'll only be able to add plants and rocks lol.

 

[Ninjouzata]

I hope he works out well.
 
Swordtails are lovely..I want a tank of just males one day.
 
Plants and rocks are great! What about wood?

 

[Chaydell]

Touché. Wood too. My tank could use a little more.

 

[Chaydell]

I think I've finally been lucky enough to have a set of rams pair. When I woke up this morning I noticed a pile of orange "things" on a flat rock with a male and female ram chasing everything away from the area. Unfortunately the area they picked was in the flow path of a sponge filter, which slowly but surely sucked them up. Hopefully the pair stays together and breeds again. Since the pair formed I have rehomed the third wheel to my neighbors tank. He seemed very happy to be there.

On a different note the rainbow has been quite a force on the tank floor. My poor cory cats were not a fan of him. After giving it some thought I decided to remove them and have larger bottom feeders. Nothing too aggressive but something that can handle itself with the rainbow.

At the same time I decided to change up the bottom of my tank I decided to decrease the size of my barb school. As much as I love the little guys they had formed several smaller shoals instead of one large one. I pulled out 7 to bring the total down to 12. Hopefully this will cause them to be a little tighter and less all over the place.

So I loaded up the barbs and cories and drove to my LFS to trade them. With my store credit I bought a pictus cat, bundle of wisteria, and, super excited about this one, a hillstream loach. I have been considering adding a few to the tank for a little while now. My LFS rarely gets them and got one last night. At half of the cheapest price I've seen them online it was too good to be true so I bought it.

Naturally after buying the new fish I did a tank rearrangement before adding them. I'm still trying to decide where to put the wisteria, but once I do I'll snap photos of the new setup and the new fish.

I think my next step is adding another pictus and seeing about ordering a few more hillstream loaches. I would still have room in the middle to top layer areas. I'm considering going with a group of mollies for this but the jury is still out. I'll also be adding some more wisteria if the current bunch does well.

Anyways pics up soon. Thanks for reading.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Grats on the Rams pairing! I hope they breed more and you can see some cute babies
 
Glad you took away the cories so that the rainbow wouldn't bother them any more. I personally would keep cories over the rainbow but that's just me. I like both.
 
Thought I should let you know, at least as far as I know, that pictus cats are shoaling species.
HERE is some more info on them, from Seriouslyfish.
 
I love the hillstream loaches, they look so cool but I think are better for more specialized set ups. I hope yours can do well though.
HERE is some information on those, also from Seriouslyfish. Not sure if that's the right one though.
 
I can't wait to see some more pics!

 

[Chaydell]

Ninjou, not sure how I missed it but the pictus will need at least two more to be happy. As far as the hillstream loach I'm certain that my temp, current, and oxygen parameters are good. Of course my judgement is not perfect so I'm waiting until at least March to get any more. Pictus cats are my priority now. I've read that while they need 6+ groups in youth they are ok with smaller groups in older age. I'm going to research further and grab 2 more if necessary. If I need more than that I'll bring him back since I won't have space for his needed buddies. Thanks for bringing that up. That's why I started the blog.

 

[Chaydell]

Ok so after googling "pictus cats in schools" I've learned I need at least 2 more. So I'll grab two more as soon as the wife releases the funds. I've read some opinions that the school needs to be 5+ and some that say loners are okay but a vast majority seem to have 3 as the magic number. I'll get my tank up to that minimum quickly.