Rehomimg My Severums To Get Back To Planted - What Should I Replace Th

[SouthernCross]

Since you seemed to enjoy the blurry shot of the acaras I thought I'd grab my iPhone and try and get some better ones. I think actually my two are different variations, the one I think is male has the gold dorsal line and the one I think is female has the silver. I think the female is female because of her big fat body and paler colouring next to the male, but at the same time her fin extension on her dorsal is longer than his, so who knows, maybe I don't have M/F after all. Would be interested in what you think, Wills, based on the pics below. Keep in mind the yellow dorsal is much older than the white, 'she' overtook him in size very rapidly. Never seen a fish grow so fast as she did! When I got her she was the size of a ram and he was pretty much what he is now. She does do the 'shake and dance' in front of him an awful lot though but they have never laid eggs. They are very, very mellow fish. When the angels squabble sometimes, they actually swim between them and break it up, so to speak. Very pleased with them and would recommend them as a peaceful cichlid to anyone starting out in the mid-sized cichlids
 
The glass isnt very clean today, sorry.
 
One I think is male:

 
One I think is female: Her dorsal split like that at a fairly early age and for some reason it has never healed.

 
Side by side:

 
And just for fun - a nice shot of my big angels before the Severums destroyed the tank (you can get an idea of what it used to look like, planted-wise! A word of warning to anyone considering severums!)

 
And the female convict who is going to cause me so much trouble...I can see her being moved on to my brothers house in future but will just keep an eye on her for now

 
 
And now back to your post!
 
I can see you there trying to infect me with MTS! But I agree with you. I think the Nic and Salvini are destined for future tanks. The size tank they need in addition to the big tank I already have is not a possibility for me in the house I am in right now, so will have to tuck that away for the future. Sounds like Elsie was one of those nice cichlids that you just happen to stumble on every now and again

 
Cories - Haha there you go, I thought the emeralds or green lines I think I sometimes see them called were something different, I thought they were just a colour variant of bronze! Good to know. I think if I do go down the cory road again, I will try sterbai from the temperature perspective. Maybe get six or eight of those and just let my bronze's live out whats left of their lives.
 
Firemouths - The more I look at photos I think its more a reflection of the lighting at the time rather than the colour of the fish. Just putting it into google images gives you a few of the darker examples if you want to see what I mean, but on looking they are more often lighter than dark. And the Ellioti ARE stunning, and I am pleased to hear they also flare like the firemouths,
 
Rainbows - I thought I read somewhere they tend to stay more around the 4 inch mark, but all my fish have been big fast growers on New Life Spectrum so I will take your word for it. I had been sneakily hoping I might be able to get away with a pair of these and a pair of either Ellioti or firemouths, but I will pick one or the other. My decision will probably ride on which one I can actually track down. Both are available online, but unfortunately the online stores will not sex them for you - its pot luck what you get. I generally don't like the idea of having to buy six and then figure out what to do with the remaining four - I don't like giving animals back, I feel if you get them you are committed to looking after them (if it weren't for my brother being happy to take my severums I would still have them and we wouldnt be having this conversation!), I'd rather pick out a pair from a tank if I can. But it does make it so difficult with juvies. Thanks for the tip on sexing the acara/ellioti - any tips for rainbows? All I've got so far from reading is the males fins are pointed, but again you have problems with juveniles.
 
Sooo....sexing tips for rainbows?
 
We are down to firemouth/ellioti vs rainbows!

 

[GShorty1981]

Looks liek you have 2 types of Blue Acara there, Andinoacara Pulcher and Andinoacara Latifrons.

 

[SouthernCross]

Looks liek you have 2 types of Blue Acara there, Andinoacara Pulcher and Andinoacara Latifrons.

 
Cheers for that GShorty1981! I had been wondering.
 
Will they still attempt to breed with each other? Also do you have any thoughts in whether I am right with what i think is a male and a female?
 
Thanks

 

[GShorty1981]

Yes mate if they are male female theres a good chance they may pair off, i had a pair of Pulcher and Latifrons in the past, they never laid eggs tho.

 

[SouthernCross]

Do you think I have a male and a female based on the pics above? I have never been sure...

 

[GShorty1981]

Not sure mate, Heiko Bleher sexed and i.d'd mine, then told me off for mixing them lol! (the 2 diff types of Blue Acara)

 

[SouthernCross]

Not sure mate, Heiko Bleher sexed and i.d'd mine, then told me off for mixing them lol! (the 2 diff types of Blue Acara)

I saw some beautiful juvie acaras (yellow line) in the shop the other day and I was so tempted to get another one or two and maybe moving on the latifrons (white?)but then I thought a group of three or four if I don't move her on could cause some big problems, as people always seem to keep them in pairs only. I might be wrong.

Anyway resurrecting this thread with an update...

I have managed to get a huge beautiful piece of ghost wood, just waiting to change some water til I get it in the tank. Having serious trouble getting it waterlogged though cos it's so big, I thinking just going to have to weight it down with something big and ugly in the tank for a few weeks. Thought about chucking it in the olds swimming pool but worried about the salt in it. Once it's in I'm going to do a big online order of plants.

Stocking wise I came across an ad on gumtree for baby rainbow cichlids very close to me - went and picked up four of them. So cute! They swim all around e tank together and are causing nobody any trouble. The guy thinks he gave me two males and two females, the males are slightly larger and the find more pointed. They are starting to develop some nice colours though, very excited to see how they turn out. They are probably about three inches - how big do they need to be before they might pair up?

Lastly, thinking about my poor old geriatric cories... Thinking of moving them into my ram tank and maybe putting some pictus catfish in? What would be a good number? I have never had them before but they caught my eye at the LFS...

 

[SouthernCross]

*Sigh*
 
I lost my beautiful gold angel today, his picture is on the previous page. I made a post in the emergency forum too, but basically after putting my wood in and playing around and changing a bit of water, about an hour later out of the blue, my previously normal angel went crazy, shaking, then dartting around the tank, smashing himself on the tank lids and going upside down and every direction before falling to the floor and virtually dying instantly. It was horrific to watch and I am absolutely gutted. Paranoid it was something I did, but all the other fish are fine, checked my stats, etc. Was wondering if its possible for a fish to have a heart attack or stroke or something? Its all  I can think of.
 
But I'm actually very sad. He was as big as my hand and one of my favourite fish. My black angel seems to be very sad. While the other was dying he was trying to help him. I doubt I will ever find an another angel who will get along as nicely as these two have. So upset.

 

[bricko]

So sad for your loss,
 
I think (but am not sure) that fish can have heartattacksetcif overlystressed like anyother animal.
 
Thought I had killed my Festivum a few years ago while doing a large tank rescape, he freaked out and knocked himself out onthe side of the tank and floated on his side for several hours.  Dont think he has ever fully recovered and remains quite shy until feeding time.