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Just chiming in to say that German Blue Rams are awesome.    (under Finnex moonlight) Amazing fish if you can get a hold of good stock -- for any Dallas-area aquarists who are curious I picked my group of four up at the Dallas North Aquarium in Carrollton, the prices are pretty high but I've never brought home any sick/diseased livestock or contaminated plants from their tanks. jamcadbury fucked around with this message at 02:57 on Dec 29, 2013 |
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Dec 29, 2013 02:52
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jamcadbury posted:Just chiming in to say that German Blue Rams are awesome. They look awesome! I've always liked Rams, although I do find them to be a bit "weak". They don't seem to last more than 3-6 months 
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Dec 29, 2013 12:07
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That ram has a moustache!
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Dec 29, 2013 12:22
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Sonic H posted:They look awesome! I've always liked Rams, although I do find them to be a bit "weak". They don't seem to last more than 3-6 months Does this hold true for all Rams? I've been considering Bolivian Rams for a 120 I'll be setting up in a few months.
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Dec 29, 2013 15:14
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Bait and Swatch posted:Does this hold true for all Rams? I've been considering Bolivian Rams for a 120 I'll be setting up in a few months.
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Dec 29, 2013 15:28
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I've had my surviving German Blue Ram for about a year in a 55 gallon. Had two, one died after I went away for a weekend and my friend forgot to come over and feed them, but the other is still trucking along and very active. We have pretty hard water here. Also, my girlfriend bought herself a DSLR for Christmas. She's going to take some pics for me in the next week or so.
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Dec 29, 2013 16:58
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Bummer about the bichirs, Desert Bus! Fish clubs seem to have certain types of fish coming out of the members' ears. I think Cowslips mentioned that Ameca splendens show up pretty commonly in her neck of the woods. Here in the southeastern US, we have pretty soft water which is very friendly to South American and riverine African fish. One of those species are kribs (Pelvicachromis pulcher). Just figured I'd toss up a photo of one of the bonded pairs that I acquired to the tune of $1 per fish.  I also received some macro lenses for Christmas, so I too will be playing around with lighting and closeup photography. I'll post up any particularly nice shots that I come up with. 
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Dec 29, 2013 19:29
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Sometimes it's less regional and more just a couple guys breed a lot of a certain type. Killifish and certain types of plecos are really cheap at fish clubs here because there's a couple of people who just love breeding them.
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Dec 29, 2013 20:47
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My golden rams are going strong minus the death from being eaten alive. Healthy tank besides that incident.
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Dec 30, 2013 01:11
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Can anyone identify this shrimp for me? It accidentally arrived with my cherry shrimp about eight months ago, but has recently started breeding. It's whole body is that camo pattern, and it has has a darkish stripe down its back that isn't visible in the picture. I couldn't find any pictures online that clearly identified what what type of shrimp it is.  Have some additional pictures of my 30 gallon and a female peacock goby/gudgeon flaring.  
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Dec 30, 2013 03:58
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blueberry shrimp? http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=98121
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Dec 30, 2013 04:22
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Malalol posted:blueberry shrimp? I doubt it, it doesn't seem to have any blue tint whatsoever. I'm thinking its some hybrid from the LFS, as the guy who runs it mixes a lot of his shrimp together if they can handle similar water parameters.
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Dec 30, 2013 04:26
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Bait and Swatch posted:Does this hold true for all Rams? I've been considering Bolivian Rams for a 120 I'll be setting up in a few months. I had a set of Bolivians in with 3 keyholes and 6 Green Barbs in a 55 gal. Mine were super hardy and spawned twice a month, so did the Keyholes. So I basically had a tank separator in there 70% of the time because cichlids are super loving defensive of their fry and without the divider the Bolivians and the Keyholes would go gangwars on eachother protecting their fry. I ended up having to start up several fry tanks because I was getting 12-15 surviving fish per spawn. I miss those fish The only thing I regret about moving to New York was taking apart that tank. Anyway, South American Cichlids are not weak fish you just have to make sure your water quality is super consistent. They do not like temperature variations and freak out if you change the flow rate in the tank too. I kept a ton of large pieces of driftwood in my tank, all of it got taken over by java fern (I mean a LOT of java fern, I sold it all for over $300 when I pulled down the tank. You know how cheap java fern is? Yeah, it was that much), Dwarf Hair grass, Glosso and Flame Moss, that gave them a lot of safe spots from the tank flow and pretty much locked in the tank parameters. So long as the water quality is consistent they can survive anything. One of my keyholes had a nasty parasite about a month after going in the tank. She was emaciated and completely unable to swim and laid on her side for days, I treated the tank for weeks and fed her by hand. Not only did she recover but paired off and had her first spawn less than 2 months later, god drat super fish.I would not recommend them if you aren't heavily planting your tank though.
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Dec 30, 2013 06:02
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Spaceman Future! posted:Info on Bolivians I'm building my own 3d aquarium background with styrofoam, concrete and drylock waterproofer. I started this weekend, but I may start over since it looks too fake for my tastes. I have plants growing in multiple tanks, waiting to be transplanted. I am going to use organic topsoil capped with sand for the substrate, and start off emersing the carpet plants for a few weeks before I add the taller plants in and flood the tank. I'm on wellwater that while moderately hard, holds steady at 7PH. After a nice long cycle, I'll start adding fish. I already have most of the ones I want living comfortably in other tanks, but I am trying to figure out what apistos I want, as they'll be the last fish in. I'll have to keep their numbers down, as they'll have to share space with five peacock gudgeons in the bottom of the tank. I'll be posting pictures as the project moves along. I have some I took for each step of building the background, but held off posting them since it isn't finished yet.
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Dec 30, 2013 06:40
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Spaceman Future! posted:I had a set of Bolivians in with 3 keyholes and 6 Green Barbs in a 55 gal. Mine were super hardy and spawned twice a month, so did the Keyholes. So I basically had a tank separator in there 70% of the time because cichlids are super loving defensive of their fry and without the divider the Bolivians and the Keyholes would go gangwars on eachother protecting their fry. I ended up having to start up several fry tanks because I was getting 12-15 surviving fish per spawn. The algae problem in my tank seems to work for the heavily planted bit. It all regrew 2 days after moving the tank and getting rid of it all. I hate this stuff.
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Dec 30, 2013 06:46
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I'm currently debating "upgrading" from a 55G seaclear II to a 40G breeder. Concerns with the 55G is that the tank is really tall and has made plant growth too sparse with my current lighting setup (Finnex Ray II) when you take into account the fact that the top is closed off with an acrylic pane. Downside is I'd have to buy a filter cannister in addition to the tank, but with Petco's current 1$/G sale going on I'm tempted. I have all the equipment for what should be a high plant growth setup, however despite giving it months my plants never took off. Thoughts?
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Dec 30, 2013 07:16
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Bait and Swatch posted:Thanks for all that information. It sounds like I should be good to go. I've been prepping to heavily plant my 120 gallon (48 x 24). It will be the last new tank I start for a long while, so I am going all out: Just do the Rams last, months in if you can. The longer your tank has been running the more stable your parameters will be. When you check out their care sheet a lot of places will say they prefer "old" water, which is really just code for a tank that has settled in. Dont worry about introducing them to an established community, they are docile but will take poo poo from absolutely no one, so long as you aren't putting them in with Jack Dempseys or something they will hold their own. Oh yeah, and get them a patch of lace rock, my SA Cichlids always fought over my lace rock piles, they love to have it in their territory. dirtycajun posted:The algae problem in my tank seems to work for the heavily planted bit. It all regrew 2 days after moving the tank and getting rid of it all. I hate this stuff. What kind of algae? You might consider some big leafy plants like Amazon Spears, the more plants you have in your tank the fewer nutrients are left in the water, Algae loves light but it still needs a bit more than that to thrive. If its green algae, try to put in some spears (If you're lucky you'll grow a mother plant and can make some money on the side selling off little spears to shops) they suck up nutrients like crazy and dial back a bit on your lighting, a few hours less a day. If it stays bad consider an in line UV filter, that should annihilate any free floating algae. If its brown change your water more often, up your flow rate to the affected areas and scrub that stuff with a toothbrush. If its blue green that's a whole different beast, that's actually a bacteria colony. Dosing antibiotics will kill it quick though. Spikes32 posted:I'm currently debating "upgrading" from a 55G seaclear II to a 40G breeder. Concerns with the 55G is that the tank is really tall and has made plant growth too sparse with my current lighting setup (Finnex Ray II) when you take into account the fact that the top is closed off with an acrylic pane. Downside is I'd have to buy a filter cannister in addition to the tank, but with Petco's current 1$/G sale going on I'm tempted. I have all the equipment for what should be a high plant growth setup, however despite giving it months my plants never took off. Thoughts? Breeders make awesome planted tanks but you're going to need to look at your lighting. Unless the angles on your leds are all sorts of weird if it is mounted over the center of a breeder you're going to get a lot of low / soft light at the edges and corners, so you will probably need a second one. Also, stands are sparse for breeders.. but on the upside the low profile makes for a lot easier light penetration so you can get a killer carpet going with cheaper LED's. Depending on your community you will also most likely see more breeding activity if you're looking for spawns, more ground space = more places for eggs.
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Dec 30, 2013 10:04
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That looks a lot like my Amanos in my 55. I will try and find one and take a pic but the fuckers are elusive in that tank because the GBR's are always looking to chase them down for a snack. Coloration always depends on the environment and it may not look like a typical shrimp if it is stressed/non-stressed. Example in my 55 there are two stray cherries that are Maine lobster red but in the 20L where they came from not a single shrimp is that color. Same water, different environment.
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Dec 30, 2013 14:13
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Bait and Swatch posted:Can anyone identify this shrimp for me? It accidentally arrived with my cherry shrimp about eight months ago, but has recently started breeding. It's whole body is that camo pattern, and it has has a darkish stripe down its back that isn't visible in the picture. I couldn't find any pictures online that clearly identified what what type of shrimp it is. What you have there is a baby alligator.
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Dec 30, 2013 14:43
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demonR6 posted:That looks a lot like my Amanos in my 55. I will try and find one and take a pic but the fuckers are elusive in that tank because the GBR's are always looking to chase them down for a snack. Pretty small for an Amano, it would be dwarfing those cherry shrimp. The markings are way off too, I've seen Amanos with stripes down their back but they will almost always have their signature spots no matter what other patterns they develop. Its probably a hybrid or a really lightly colored Blueberry shrimp.
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Dec 30, 2013 15:06
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Spaceman Future! posted:Breeders make awesome planted tanks but you're going to need to look at your lighting. Unless the angles on your leds are all sorts of weird if it is mounted over the center of a breeder you're going to get a lot of low / soft light at the edges and corners, so you will probably need a second one. Also, stands are sparse for breeders.. but on the upside the low profile makes for a lot easier light penetration so you can get a killer carpet going with cheaper LED's. Depending on your community you will also most likely see more breeding activity if you're looking for spawns, more ground space = more places for eggs. Thanks for the advice. My current stand will fit a breeder (though it will be too long on the sides), however you're right about the lighting situation which would be a bit more money I think than I'm interested in spending at this point. I'll take a look at the tank in the store though just in case.
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Dec 30, 2013 16:50
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Thanks for the replies on algae. It is helpful and I will try again dealing with it. My problem is the green and brown algae seem to out compete the plants, and thrive off the swamp cedar I used as driftwood. It springs eternal from this wood. Could the wood be super nutrient rich here?
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Dec 30, 2013 18:36
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dirtycajun posted:Thanks for the replies on algae. It is helpful and I will try again dealing with it. My problem is the green and brown algae seem to out compete the plants, and thrive off the swamp cedar I used as driftwood. It springs eternal from this wood. This could be a big no no. How well aged was your cedar? IE did you pick it up off the ground, or did you leave it out for a year or two? (boiling wont work here, stuff has to be bone dry for ages before it is safe) The rot from the cedar will definitely feed brown algae if it wasn't completely dried out, plus you're risking leeching some really nasty stuff into the tank, essentially turpentine. Soft woods are really really bad for a tank unless they have been properly prepared.
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Dec 30, 2013 21:06
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Spaceman Future! posted:Pretty small for an Amano, it would be dwarfing those cherry shrimp. The markings are way off too, I've seen Amanos with stripes down their back but they will almost always have their signature spots no matter what other patterns they develop. Its probably a hybrid or a really lightly colored Blueberry shrimp. How do you mean hybrid? The reds, yellows, and blueberries are, as far as I know, all one species, but different color variations. I say it's a cull, IE not one set color standard. I get them from time to time and toss them to the cichlids, otherwise I lose all my reds as reds.
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Dec 30, 2013 23:59
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Cowslips Warren posted:How do you mean hybrid? The reds, yellows, and blueberries are, as far as I know, all one species, but different color variations. I say it's a cull, IE not one set color standard. I get them from time to time and toss them to the cichlids, otherwise I lose all my reds as reds. Well, a hybrid as in two color variations breeding, not species. If you get crossbreeding between Reds and Blueberries you usually just end up with either brown or clear shrimp, which looks to have happened there. But yeah, its best to pull them, shrimp mate like crazy and once you lose the thread you're just going to end up with a bunch of clear or muddy brown shrimp. I didn't feel right just tossing the shrimp that lost the color thread in as food though, they all went to my teeny planted edge tank where they lived with their ugly brethren among the Moss Balls 
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Dec 31, 2013 00:11
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Spaceman Future! posted:This could be a big no no. How well aged was your cedar? IE did you pick it up off the ground, or did you leave it out for a year or two? (boiling wont work here, stuff has to be bone dry for ages before it is safe) The rot from the cedar will definitely feed brown algae if it wasn't completely dried out, plus you're risking leeching some really nasty stuff into the tank, essentially turpentine. Soft woods are really really bad for a tank unless they have been properly prepared. gently caress, I just had a bunch of old swamp wood sent to me... the fish seem fine is it because I change the water enough?
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Dec 31, 2013 02:33
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Happy New Year! While pulling out frogbit I managed to rip up two very large 4 by 4 inch mats of HC, which I gave to a bud. Now Im waiting for new growth by the remainder. Time for Hikari algae wafers.  
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Dec 31, 2013 14:59
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God I feel like an idiot it is cypress not cedar. Fish seem to enjoy the swamp vibe.
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Dec 31, 2013 15:14
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Chatting with my LFS guy now, hopefully I'll be bringing home a new 4' 120g tank this weekend!
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Jan 1, 2014 01:51
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Goldmund posted:Chatting with my LFS guy now, hopefully I'll be bringing home a new 4' 120g tank this weekend! Congratulations. That's the size of the tank I'm setting up right now. I think it will work really well as the centerpiece of a room. Bait and Swatch fucked around with this message at 01:25 on Jan 2, 2014 |
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Jan 1, 2014 03:20
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Is anyone else keeping Malawi cichlids? I've currently got 10 mbuna, 3 haps and a peacock in the 90 now. They will be going into the 120, and I want to add some more fish at that time, just not sure what.
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Jan 1, 2014 21:32
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Question time! I have a 55gal TruVu acrylic aquarium (http://www.truvuaquariums.com/ma00055l.html) with very few fish in it. I have been playing with the idea of planting it for quite a while and I finally have a little disposable income. I'm looking at a Finnex FugeRay Planted+. The current crappy hood that came with the thing is 36" and holds a single T8. I want to go over to a 48" but the tank has all the stupid cutouts. Do the LED lights run hot? Would I be better off just buying another 55 gallon tank with an open top and planting that? I have a stand, an Eheim 250 classic filter, a couple of large power heads, decent heater, and access to almost everything I need for a pressurized CO2 setup. Yay homebrewing! I basically need some sort of substrate and more light on the thing as far as I can tell. Does this sound right?
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Jan 2, 2014 03:33
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skrapp mettle posted:Question time! I have a 55gal TruVu acrylic aquarium (http://www.truvuaquariums.com/ma00055l.html) with very few fish in it. I have been playing with the idea of planting it for quite a while and I finally have a little disposable income. I'm looking at a Finnex FugeRay Planted+. The current crappy hood that came with the thing is 36" and holds a single T8. I want to go over to a 48" but the tank has all the stupid cutouts. Do the LED lights run hot? Would I be better off just buying another 55 gallon tank with an open top and planting that? I have a stand, an Eheim 250 classic filter, a couple of large power heads, decent heater, and access to almost everything I need for a pressurized CO2 setup. Yay homebrewing! I basically need some sort of substrate and more light on the thing as far as I can tell. Does this sound right? If money isn't an option, you can look into some of the commercial substrates for aquarium plants, such as ADA Amazonia. I have this in a 30 gallon and it works fairly well. If you want to try a cheap, yet more effective substrate, grab some organic topsoil/potting soil and playsand. You can either mineralize the soil, or just put it in as is and use the walstad method. If you skip mineralization, you will likely have tea colored water for a bit from the tannins. Either way, just cap the soil with the sand and then plant. Walstad Method: http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Walstad_method How to mineralize topsoil: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/library/52554-how-mineralized-soil-substrate-aaron-talbot.html
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Jan 2, 2014 04:06
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skrapp mettle posted:Question time! I have a 55gal TruVu acrylic aquarium (http://www.truvuaquariums.com/ma00055l.html) with very few fish in it. I have been playing with the idea of planting it for quite a while and I finally have a little disposable income. I'm looking at a Finnex FugeRay Planted+. The current crappy hood that came with the thing is 36" and holds a single T8. I want to go over to a 48" but the tank has all the stupid cutouts. Do the LED lights run hot? Would I be better off just buying another 55 gallon tank with an open top and planting that? I have a stand, an Eheim 250 classic filter, a couple of large power heads, decent heater, and access to almost everything I need for a pressurized CO2 setup. Yay homebrewing! I basically need some sort of substrate and more light on the thing as far as I can tell. Does this sound right? One thing I'd just like to share with you is my experience with a VERY similar tank and trying to grow pretty plants in it. I have the Seaclear system II 55G tank that also has a covered acrylic top to it and is 20 inches tall. Due to the height of the tank and having to penetrate the acrylic top as well this light is not sufficient to inspire high growth. I would consider it mid to low lighting, or in the 35-40 PAR range at the substrate. If you want high growth you'll need two of these lights based on my experience. I tried it with pressurized CO2 and a basic liquid fertilizer with no success for about 5 months. It's perfectly fine for medium light plants, but most stem plants will have minimal growth leading to higher algae growth. Sorry to be a debbie downer!
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Jan 2, 2014 07:14
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The consensus from LED people as far as I can tell is build my LED has the best fixtures.
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Jan 2, 2014 14:38
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Spikes32 posted:One thing I'd just like to share with you is my experience with a VERY similar tank and trying to grow pretty plants in it. I have the Seaclear system II 55G tank that also has a covered acrylic top to it and is 20 inches tall. Due to the height of the tank and having to penetrate the acrylic top as well this light is not sufficient to inspire high growth. I would consider it mid to low lighting, or in the 35-40 PAR range at the substrate. If you want high growth you'll need two of these lights based on my experience. I tried it with pressurized CO2 and a basic liquid fertilizer with no success for about 5 months. It's perfectly fine for medium light plants, but most stem plants will have minimal growth leading to higher algae growth. Sorry to be a debbie downer! This is what I wanted to find out. I figured that the acrylic would cause some sort of problem. Thanks!
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Jan 3, 2014 02:07
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Golden ram choked on a rock, and then there were two...
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Jan 3, 2014 04:17
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Aw crap, sorry to hear that. And in more crap news, looks like though my fishes all survived my weeklong holiday with a gel feeder block, the chain loaches may actually have survived by nipping on the fins of their tankmates. The cories are looking very, very sorry indeed with all of them showing varying degrees of tail and fin damage and learning to sleep on really high leaves and decorations. Ugh. What the hell am I going to do. The cories are great, but so are the chain loaches, and those actually perform a great pest control function. But they do nip at everything and devoured the shrimp population. What to do.
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Jan 3, 2014 07:15
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So my project to build my own 3d aquarium background for my 120 is going splendidly after a rough start. After trying out concrete over styrofoam and being unhappy with the results, I started over using drylok masonry waterproofer painted onto styrofoam. My wife and I carved out everything with a soldering iron and have just finished the second coat of drylok mixed with gray acrylic paint. I apologize for no pictures. I took a bunch, but am too tired to organize them tonight and will post them tomorrow.
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Jan 3, 2014 07:35
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Bait and Swatch posted:So my project to build my own 3d aquarium background for my 120 is going splendidly after a rough start. I'd be interested to see how it turns out. I usually just paint the backs of my tanks black, but a 3d background is definitely intriguing. Does your 120 have overflows you had to work around?
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Jan 3, 2014 14:53
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