There is no reason whatsoever you can’t keep glowlights and Bolivian Rams together.
Bolivians are very peaceful as far as dwarf cichlids come and share similar preferred parameters to glowlights.
Another thing to note is that it will take a little bit for the effects of fertilization to be visible in the swords. You won’t be getting instant feedback here.
Recent I really started loading mine up with root tabs and it took a few months to really take off.
It’s been a long time since I updated this thread, but I wanted to throw a picture in here.
I sawed the big piece of driftwood in half because it was taking up a huge area of the tank that I wanted to use for planting.
I’ve added 9 Harlequin Rasboras as well and I’m surprised I’ve never kept them before. They really are a great looking species.
Ludwigia Red Mini and the Limnophilia Aromatica have been growing great and the Amazon sword finally blew up.
I have a feeling that some time in the new year I will be rescaping this tank since I tend to get bored of a layout after a while, but for now I’m enjoying it.
They will grow off of the bio film, but if you’ve got enough, supplemental feeding will be required.
Sinking wafers of any kind would work well or even salt free canned green beans, blanched zucchini, blanched spinach, etc.
Angels would be a great species to fill out that tank. Almost everything you’ve got is more bottom oriented, so maybe a big school of 20-30 of a tetra or peaceful barb of your choice would be great too.
I lived in Boulder for years and now I’m in South Denver. Other than AquaImports what’s the other store you’re referring to? I’m always looking for a new spot to check out. Our LFS along the front range are generally a little lacking compared to other major metro areas it seems.
Random mass die offs of shrimp when all other parameters are in range are almost always related to hardness.
Totally agree with everyone else here. You will need to find a way to tap your water before it goes through the softener. In the past I have used outdoor spigots whose water does not pass through the softener like the indoor sinks.
On another note, I’ve found it beneficial to throw a wonder shell in my shrimp tanks every few months to ensure that hardness and mineral levels remain elevated.
Check out the notes section here:
"A possible geographical variant/subspecies/undescribed congener is sometimes available in which the darker markings on the body of the fish are more of a bluey-green colour. Another species, Carinotetraodon imitator is superficial in appearance to C. travancoricus, and is also a sporadic import."
https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/carinotetraodon-travancoricus/
When I worked in a fish store, I used to notice that the pea puffer shipments would occasionally have slightly larger-bodied individuals with a more metallic blue sheen. They also behaved a little bit differently. The eye test told me they were a different species. I think these to be the postulated undescribed similar species that occurs in some of the same bodies of water in Kerala.
Very interesting stuff here.
Did a mini pond of them a few years back in the summer and it was a blast. I did a 40 gallon tub and spawned quite a few fish.
They're really pretty well suited to outdoor setups in the summers.
That being said, they are also a great option for a 10 gallon especially in an office setting where if you happen to be gone for a few weeks at some point they should get along just fine without any intervention.
Just don’t get a 55 if you have room for a four foot tank. The narrowness is challenging when it comes to finding nice hardscape that fits the dimensions.
I’ve had a lot of fun with mine over the years, but the extra 6” width of a 75 is very much worth it especially considering you can use most of the same equipment that you would with a 55 anyways.
GBRs are bred in indoor or semi-indoor facilities similar to most cave spawners whose spawns need pulled or monitored. Even commercially it’s not a situation where you just throw some fish into an outdoor pool with some spawning mops and pull 10,000 fish out at the end of the year like guppies or White Clouds.
Many of the fish we keep are pretty adaptable, but some have narrower parameter ranges in which they can thrive. German Blue Rams are one of these species
I'm sure it is possible to get a strain that can tolerate lower temps, but by and large it is pretty well documented by GBR breeders and hardcore enthusiasts that while they can live for a while in temps < 80 you will be hard pressed to get them truly thriving for their entire natural lifespan of 3, 4, 5 years unless you're running them between 80-86 F.
In colder tanks I have had them survive and even spawn over a year or two but they just kind of slowly sputter out.
Apistogramma Cacatuoides is similar when it comes to tolerance of lower temps too.
Not much to offer, but this is making me want to setup a cold water North American native tank.
I'm a huge fly fisherman here in CO and these fish and tanks remind me of the river.
Solitary confinement for a week + a tank rearrangement is a great way to do this.
As far as temperature goes, generally keeping fish a little cooler tends to lower aggressive behaviors (in my experience this is especially true in some tetras and angelfish) but I do not know if that would hold true with highly aggressive fish like peacocks.
Beautiful fish. GBRs are one of my all time favorites.
I don't keep them anymore because I've only got two tanks and don't want to run one of them at 81+ degrees F to support the rams. It is the only way I've had success with them long term.
There was a great breeder back in the day on one of the old school forums with the username CoralBandit that I would get my rams from and they were the best I had ever seen. Wonder if he's still around.
The color temp is warm and not as stark white/blue as some other lights I’ve used but I don’t find it to be noticeably yellow or anything. If you have tannins in the water, it will certainly make them appear even yellower, but past that I’ve never had issues.
As far as power goes, I run it at 50% on my high tech 29 gallon tank and it is plenty of light. At 100% it would be more than you need for pretty much any application.
Here’s a picture of my tank with the ACO light on it.