Si's Fishless Cycle

[kaivalagi]

It would look really nice. Can yellow convicts only be kept as pairs because of their aggression when spawning or could you even keep those with some bigger dither fish?

I think if you got dither fish which stay at the top or are quite large, barbs maybe? Although I suspect the original fish listed might be okay? Worth asking around, remember yellow cons are quite small, max size 3-4". See if you can find some first though! I'll have some babies off you if you do get some and they breed!

I don't have better will power, just living at home being a student means I can keep a tank in my room but if I want a bigger one i'll have to move out or do one for my parents They fancy one of the big fluval tanks. It would be amazing to keep discus or something like that. I already want a shrimp tank like curiosity is doing...and a breeding tank like you're doing.. as well as my community Theres too many interesting fish and shrimp!

I have my wife you have your parents lol...with a bigger tank I would go with Severums rather than Discus, they are much more hardier and don't need so much care and attention...to keep discus some people feed them 3 times a day and do daily water changes, as well as maintain a loooow pH...

Google "Rotkeil Severum", that's what I'll be adding two of to the grow out tank as soon as the fry are big enough to collect and bring home

. I'll be getting 4 more Redhead Tapajos on Saturday that are only 1" long, they'll go into the old tank to grow a little before they go into the main tank with the boss

 

[PDSimon]

It would look really nice. Can yellow convicts only be kept as pairs because of their aggression when spawning or could you even keep those with some bigger dither fish?

I think if you got dither fish which stay at the top or are quite large, barbs maybe? Although I suspect the original fish listed might be okay? Worth asking around, remember yellow cons are quite small, max size 3-4". See if you can find some first though! I'll have some babies off you if you do get some and they breed!

I don't have better will power, just living at home being a student means I can keep a tank in my room but if I want a bigger one i'll have to move out or do one for my parents They fancy one of the big fluval tanks. It would be amazing to keep discus or something like that. I already want a shrimp tank like curiosity is doing...and a breeding tank like you're doing.. as well as my community Theres too many interesting fish and shrimp!

I have my wife you have your parents lol...with a bigger tank I would go with Severums rather than Discus, they are much more hardier and don't need so much care and attention...to keep discus some people feed them 3 times a day and do daily water changes, as well as maintain a loooow pH...

Google "Rotkeil Severum", that's what I'll be adding two of to the grow out tank as soon as the fry are big enough to collect and bring home

. I'll be getting 4 more Redhead Tapajos on Saturday that are only 1" long, they'll go into the old tank to grow a little before they go into the main tank with the boss

It says in my book 'convicts' get up to 6 inches If they're smaller it might be a nice plan. Might make a thread actually... Acara's (sheepshead?) are quite small. Apparently they're even more aggressive though.

Severums look like nice fish Be sure to take pictures of your new fish

 

[kaivalagi]

It says in my book 'convicts' get up to 6 inches If they're smaller it might be a nice plan. Might make a thread actually... Acara's (sheepshead?) are quite small. Apparently they're even more aggressive though.

Severums look like nice fish Be sure to take pictures of your new fish

In your book Convicts will be the defacto version I suspect (Cryptoheros Nigrofasciatus), they come in various colourations, mostly grey/blue or pink/albino...the yellow convict is a difference species (Cryptoheros nanoluteus), good link here: http/www.aquariuml...vict/100140.asp

Blue Acara are okay, I think they'd be fine...the aggression level guides can be misleading though, all cichlids vary a lot in temperament, a Blue Acara for example could be the calmest thing in a tank or a complete git depending on the mood...my Tapajos is can be a right piece of work when by all accounts he should be chilled out...I've read on this forum that some Bolivian keepers have trouble with aggression against other cichlids in the same tank so anything is possible.

 

[PDSimon]

It says in my book 'convicts' get up to 6 inches If they're smaller it might be a nice plan. Might make a thread actually... Acara's (sheepshead?) are quite small. Apparently they're even more aggressive though.

Severums look like nice fish Be sure to take pictures of your new fish

In your book Convicts will be the defacto version I suspect (Cryptoheros Nigrofasciatus), they come in various colourations, mostly grey/blue or pink/albino...the yellow convict is a difference species (Cryptoheros nanoluteus), good link here: http/www.aquariumlife.net/profiles/central-american-cichlids/yellow-convict/100140.asp

Blue Acara are okay, I think they'd me fine...the aggression level guides can be misleading though, all cichlids vary a lot in temperament, a Blue Acara for example could be the calmest thing in a tank or a complete git depending on the mood...my Tapajos is can be a right piece of work when by all accounts he should be chilled out...

Too much choice! I have no idea what to keep.

Cheers for the link. Life span of 11 years is a long time for a fish.

It says livebearers but you'd imagine it'd get along with tetras...


Have you never wanted to keep various dwarf species like cockatoo, agassiz's, nijssen's etc?

edit: cockatoo's might be a nice idea for my tank actually..amazing colours and good temperment according to that site.

 

[kaivalagi]

Have you never wanted to keep various dwarf species like cockatoo, agassiz's, nijssen's etc?

edit: cockatoo's might be a nice idea for my tank actually..amazing colours and good temperment according to that site.

Yep but now I have a big tank and want bigger fish

If I were you I'd test your tap waters KH and GH and get some idea on how hard/soft it is...if it's hard you will struggle to hold the pH down...mine is extremely hard water hence just not going that direction and to be fair I am on the border line with my SA cichlid choices as it is. But my Port Acara and Tapajos seem fine in a pH of 7.5..probably wont help any breeding though

 

[PDSimon]

Have you never wanted to keep various dwarf species like cockatoo, agassiz's, nijssen's etc?

edit: cockatoo's might be a nice idea for my tank actually..amazing colours and good temperment according to that site.

Yep but now I have a big tank and want bigger fish

If I were you I'd test your tap waters KH and GH and get some idea on how hard/soft it is...if it's hard you will struggle to hold the pH down...mine is extremely hard water hence just not going that direction and to be fair I am on the border line with my SA cichlid choices as it is. But my Port Acara and Tapajos seem fine in a pH of 7.5..probably wont help any breeding though

Will test it asap

 

[PDSimon]

How long is this nitrite spike going to last

Been a funny grey colour for days I reckon it'll be 5ppm in a few days if the decline is anything like the growth...

 

[kaivalagi]

How long is this nitrite spike going to last

Been a funny grey colour for days I reckon it'll be 5ppm in a few days if the decline is anything like the growth...

Looks like it will decrease at the same rate as it increases according to that graph anyway, for what it's worth

GH and KH of your tap water?

 

[PDSimon]

How long is this nitrite spike going to last

Been a funny grey colour for days I reckon it'll be 5ppm in a few days if the decline is anything like the growth...

Looks like it will decrease at the same rate as it increases according to that graph anyway, for what it's worth

GH and KH of your tap water?

I meant asap as in as soon as i get the testing kit Maybe tomorrow.

 

[kaivalagi]

I meant asap as in as soon as i get the testing kit Maybe tomorrow.

lol, sorry, totally mis-understood...will be interesting to know the results

 

[PDSimon]

I meant asap as in as soon as i get the testing kit Maybe tomorrow.

lol, sorry, totally mis-understood...will be interesting to know the results

Even though the northwest is supplied by wales(meant to be softer), where I live seems to be hardwater. Will find out tomorrow

My LFS has these massive shrimp just called mountain fan shrimp, these are the closest ones I can find. The fan hand things are awesome.

I think maybe I could keep a few with rams because they're quite big...? ~2inches - but obviously the baby shrimp would be eaten...

 

[kaivalagi]

Yeah, they have various names, I know them as bamboo shrimp

Read up on them a bit, you may find you need to "hand" feed them, and you may need to buy specialist food for them...they eat algae particles and micro-organisms using the fans to catch them, so can have a good effect on algae levels and make good water polishers apparently...they grow up to 3-3.5" in an aquarium, 4-4.5" in the wild...

You like picking out the stuff that is specialist don't you

DO a search on "Red Claw Macro" shrimp...they grow quite big too but I haven't seen any in the LFS just from breeders, quite expensive, about the same price as decent fish.

 

[PDSimon]

I typed bamboo in because they're the same shape, just the colour is transparent, but i suppose they vary and there are close relatives

Hand feeding them would be awesome and haha, yeah... I quite like different fish..With the shrimp I just noticed the fans and thought they were really interesting. I think my brothers kept them before and they were quite easy to look after.

I also see the fish as a sort of investment. I don't mind spending the money on something that I will enjoy... it's only my student loan anyway

I think my brother has a variation of that shrimp(red claw macro)..not to sure. there are blue shrimp at the LFS..really vibrant. Very expensive I imagine!

 

[PDSimon]

Ok so i got a KH/GH kit.

The KH is 3 drops in for my tap water

the GH is a bit confusing as it doesn't actually turn 'orange' when you put it in, its just like a faded yellow, but to get to the same colour as the actual 'reagent' it took ~12 drops.

So that makes 3 KH degrees (or 53.7ppm) and 12 GH degrees (or 214ppm)?

 

[kaivalagi]

Ok so i got a KH/GH kit.

The KH is 3 drops in for my tap water

the GH is a bit confusing as it doesn't actually turn 'orange' when you put it in, its just like a faded yellow, but to get to the same colour as the actual 'reagent' it took ~12 drops.

So that makes 3 KH degrees (or 53.7ppm) and 12 GH degrees (or 214ppm)?

All I know is that's a lot lower than mine, I get 11 KH and 19 GH...the KH matters most I think, mine is high so stops pH shifts which is good when you want to keep it steady but a pain if you want to move it...