a newbies mistakes ?

[anewbie]

Ok rather than pollute the today thread with more pictures of my water changes i decided to make a thread to talk about my various aquariums. 

I currently have the follow aquariums:

10ftx4ftx23 (approx 550 gallons) (for loaches, festum and angels)

8ftx4ftx23 (approx 450 gallons) (for geo)

4ftx4ftx16 (approx 160 gallon) for (a. pucallpaensis  b. cupido and c. hastatus) (oddly this tank has no schoolers)

4ftx30inchx16 (approx 120 gallon) for a. Bitaeniata n. morthenthale and some hatchet fishes.

72x30x16 (approx 180) bed room (for keyholes !!!)

72x24x24 (wild discus and blue rams)

4ftx2ftx2ft (whatever happens to land in there)

29 gallon 1 (pangio myersi !!!)

29 gallon 2 (c. equeus)

40B guppies !!!!

10 gallon (a. pucallpaensis and shrimp)

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Today we will post a couple of pictures from my bed room aquarium; why because today is sunday and i did a water change on it:

But before we get started this is my favorite aquarium:

 

It has everything - and probably too much hornworth; i did throw away about 70% of it yesterday but alas it still has too much... how hum i guess next week i'll reduce it a bit more. The plant on the right to the left of the golden anubia is an interesting plant i picked up in may called a red lip crypt pontederiifolia; it is less green than your typical pontederifolia and with strong light and a touch of co2 is quite purple - but this aquarium has neither super strong light nor co2 and it still grows fine just a touch more green. I think after 7 months we can say it is safely settled in and growing.

--

Now for the 72x30 - we start with some very very naughty fish that could use a good spanking 'cept i dont' care too much:

 

What happened is moved some dwarf sag that had sent runners the wrong way and left some exposed roots. Guess who loves to eat plant roots.... and and he didn't eat just one he ate all of the 'xposed ones and then dug up some more!

Now on to some more interesting pictures:

This is a pink nurri rosen (I think); it is like your typical nurri rosen but more pink and no it doesn't require any co2:

This is a very large pink jacobii - i swear it is a wenditti that someone painted pink; it also doesn't require co2 and my red lizards love to hide under it (I have 4) they also show you just how colourful this plant is and that it isn't an optical illusion

. 

This is your more typical nurii rosen - really a nice plant without all that ugly pink in the pink nurii and jacobi - a welcome constrast - don't you disagree ?

This is an expensive plant i really abused when it is was in the 40B; luckily it is growing just fine in the new aquarium now that i got rid of that pesty co2 that was killing everything. It is called crypt cordata var siamensis; probably should have gotten 2 of them but they were a bit expensive and i didn't know if they would grow in my aquarium. Hopefully this one will send out a runner or something - it has put out 2 new leaves in the past 8 weeks (i'm talking about the plant that is green with white lines in the middle).

Last boring picture; this is my e. kleiner prinz plant. You can compare it to this picture and see it has sent out new leaves; they were a tad greener than they should be so i relocated it directly under the light. I know with co2 and strong light it will turn a brilliant wine colour but we shall see what it does without co2. 

 

(older picture below from what you are doing thread; the one above has 2 new leaves and they are a little taller)

[anewbie]

Oh yea i forgot to mention why so many aquariums - well they aren't really aquariums they are just glass cages for my plants. Some folks like the misery of working out doors in their garden but i prefer to garden indoors !

 

[anewbie]

Well today i made the mistake of looking at my aquarium; as it can be quite frightening when this happens:

 

Mind you they weren't really moving much just sitting there - the one that is flat on the substrate far right is around 6 inches the other a bit smaller but the one behind her (you can't really see him) is a tad longer but skinner. Why they all collected right next to my desk i have no clue they normally run away from me - probably wanted to thank me for adding some fun current to play in (i added TWO 500gph power heads).

[anewbie]

My newest fish - picked up about 10 days ago:

 

[jwcarlson]

On 12/7/2023 at 12:44 PM, anewbie said:

My newest fish - picked up about 10 days ago:

Borellii?

[anewbie]

On 12/7/2023 at 2:44 PM, jwcarlson said:

Borellii?

Naw; nothing like a borelli; even wild borelli have in your face colouring and larger fins (esp dorsal); this little guy is a wc a. sp winkelfleck. wink wink 😉

 

[anewbie]

I'm not sure keeping angelfishes with loaches is a good idea any longer; for the longest time i had them together but as the loaches get larger (and older) they get a bit more in your face with the angles and the angels don't know what to do with them. When a festy festum gets in their face they just shake a lot of fins and the festum goes back to the other side of the aquarium but the loaches really confuse them; oh well at least the loaches aren't biting them (yet).

[anewbie]

When i go out for the day and then come home; i get greated:

What did i manage to count there:

11 clown loaches

3 zebra loaches (they almost never come out)

5 festum

4 angels

and a bunch of other stuff 😉

 

[anewbie]

When you have large festums ( Mesonauta mirificus "Festivum"); that will eat anything that will fit in their mouth you have to have larger schoolers - at least larger than cardinals and serpae:

 

These guys are constantly moving so i suppose i should take a video of them at some point; i'm pretty sure the festums ate the few smaller ones so now i only have large ones left; something like 22 of them - during the day they scatter around the aquarium but at night they bunch up pretty tight in the angels corner; the angels corner is an esp appealing location since the angels will snap at the festums who wonder in their corner at night 😉

 

[jwcarlson]

How big are those festivum?  They look beautiful!

[Lennie]

 

On 12/6/2023 at 1:16 AM, anewbie said:

 

Man, these clown loaches. I hope I have a big enough tank for these guys one day.

 

I spesifically like the one on the left very much

[anewbie]

On 12/13/2023 at 2:07 PM, Lennie said:

 

Man, these clown loaches. I hope I have a big enough tank for these guys one day.

 

I spesifically like the one on the left very much

The one with the extra 1/2 black stripe. There are two like that; both in the picture. They hang out together. That large female on the right is the boss - she decides who gets to do what when; though most of the day she sleeps and everyone goes off and do their own thing.

On 12/13/2023 at 1:27 PM, jwcarlson said:

How big are those festivum?  They look beautiful!

The largest male measure from tip of mouth to end of rear fin is a tad longer than 5 inch i think; but they have a lot of bulk much wider than angels. Also when strangers come into the room like today; they all collect together and raise their fins - they definitely do not like strangers. One person remarked "i don't like how he is looking at me i think i'm going to leave." They are very good at staring people down. Not your friendly little guppy that's for sure.

[anewbie]

The 450:

 

 

And in the 550 folks are reminding me it is almost dinner time:

 

In a video it would be more obvious but they swim back and forth by my desk when it is time to eat.... otherwise they stay far far away from me 😞

 

 

[anewbie]

When i was cycling my 10x4 i purchased some serpae tetra AND this little guy:

 

Hadn't seen him in 3 weeks so spent the day looking for him; usually he stays under a rock and just sticks up his tail like a white flag but today i caught him out in the open. Bet he's sorry he came out...

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/26/2023 at 10:18 AM, anewbie said:

Strikingly beautiful.  Nice photo!

[anewbie]

This is a narrow leaf lace plant (there are around 7 species with 2 being most common in the usa):

 

You notice a lot of 'dying' leaves on this plant with all the new leaves quite healthy. There is a story and lesson from this plant. I had purchased it for my discus tank (84 degree) and after a month or so noticed that it was not doing well.... i quickly found my some-time trusty book on plants and this specific species being well understood i was advise that at higher temps (summer) it goes into hibernation mode; so i plucked it from the aquarium and moved it to my guppy aquarium (76 degree) and presto it took off with gusto at the change in seasons. Of course the discus tank has ro water and the guppy tap so that might also explain the difference response so i guess in the end we shall never know for sure but it certainly seems to be doing well even if the picture is a bit fuzzy 😉

 

[anewbie]

My first attempt at discus - these are wild caught cameta in a 40b for qt purposes:

 

This is my first attempt with discus so we shall see how it goes - in a month or so they will be moved into a 240:

 

I also picked up these 2 strange critters (not for the discus aquarium):

[Shawnmrose1983911]

Amazing tanks wish I had the space for that many big tanks 

[anewbie]

This photo is for @Guppysnail:

 

My l. cuvies finally showed a little colour as they face off to determine something or other 😉

(I have 4 total with the other two in the foreground):

[Guppysnail]

There is just something about the Laetacara personality that I really love. Thanks for the photos 😍

[anewbie]

On 12/30/2023 at 5:58 PM, Guppysnail said:

There is just something about the Laetacara personality that I really love. Thanks for the photos 😍

Fyi: Someone more knowledgeable than myself has indicated that while wetspot sold these as Cuvies they are actually dorsies.

[Guppysnail]

On 1/1/2024 at 12:46 PM, anewbie said:

Fyi: Someone more knowledgeable than myself has indicated that while wetspot sold these as Cuvies they are actually dorsies.

When I saw your photo they looked to me like dorsigera. My curviceps look nothing like those. 

Here is my curviceps. 

The sheepshead shaped face is the easiest way I found to id curvies vs the more rounded of dorsigera and the body is sleeker vs the barrel of does.

As well as the top back of the dorsal is white stripe vs the magenta on the dorsigera. 
 

My cichlid guru friend talked to the people he knows who are the main farmer/wholesalers of them in the US. Where the place I bought the dorsigera labeled curviceps from got them. They are known to have been selling dorsigera as curviceps for about 2 decades. 

[anewbie]

On 1/1/2024 at 11:58 AM, Guppysnail said:

When I saw your photo they looked to me like dorsigera. My curviceps look nothing like those. 

Here is my curviceps. 

The sheepshead shaped face is the easiest way I found to id curvies vs the more rounded of dorsigera and the body is sleeker vs the barrel of does.

As well as the top back of the dorsal is white stripe vs the magenta on the dorsigera. 
 

My cichlid guru friend talked to the people he knows who are the main farmer/wholesalers of them in the US. Where the place I bought the dorsigera labeled curviceps from got them. They are known to have been selling dorsigera as curviceps for about 2 decades. 

Well getting cuvies right now will be difficult; i have t in one aquarium; a in another aquarium and i guess d in a third. To get c i'll have to setup another aquarium since i can't put them with the cupido or with t/a/d since they will cross breed. Darn wholesalers - actually i'm not sure i'm unhappy with the d's they are colouring up nicely and so far they have been quite polite without being pigs (the t and a are royal pigs; the a has bitten my fingers a few times when i feed them).

[Guppysnail]

On 1/2/2024 at 10:14 AM, anewbie said:

Well getting cuvies right now will be difficult; i have t in one aquarium; a in another aquarium and i guess d in a third. To get c i'll have to setup another aquarium since i can't put them with the cupido or with t/a/d since they will cross breed. Darn wholesalers - actually i'm not sure i'm unhappy with the d's they are colouring up nicely and so far they have been quite polite without being pigs (the t and a are royal pigs; the a has bitten my fingers a few times when i feed them).

I searched many online places and found they all were selling c that were not actually c.  I totally lucked out that my Lfs had 1 true c and their supplier had 2 more available that were tank raised. 
The c are much more aggressive and reclusive and down right male bully to his girl as well as just less personality than the d. I prefer the d hands down. They are so animated, friendly and their constant flirting and never bickering makes them such a joy. 
 

The d also just live to show off their fins.  The c never changed color much but my d when going through mating rituals will change color and pattern 3-4 times in 15 minutes.  They are awesome so consider it a very lucky mislabel 

[anewbie]

On 1/2/2024 at 10:25 AM, Guppysnail said:

I searched many online places and found they all were selling c that were not actually c.  I totally lucked out that my Lfs had 1 true c and their supplier had 2 more available that were tank raised. 
The c are much more aggressive and reclusive and down right male bully to his girl as well as just less personality than the d. I prefer the d hands down. They are so animated, friendly and their constant flirting and never bickering makes them such a joy. 
 

The d also just live to show off their fins.  The c never changed color much but my d when going through mating rituals will change color and pattern 3-4 times in 15 minutes.  They are awesome so consider it a very lucky mislabel 

Yea i guess i will agree (well not on c since no first hand experience); i was rather surprise by the sudden colour change (photo above) which I presume is two males discussing a female. Of course now they have all reverted to their bland colouring. The a are generally speaking more colourful - never as rich as d at their best but more so during every day behavior. They are also as i noted more aggressive eaters and less polite - not mean but eat with a gusto. t are a totally different fish and a larger fish - it is a good thing they are stockier because they are in the aquarium with the festy who have similar behavior esp at eating time. So far i've not seen much colour changing and their pattern/colour are totally different - only way i know they are in the same genus is someone labelled them as such. One of them is downright pretty but it is also the smallest so not sure if it is a male or female - it has a gold line around the body pattern - i should try to get a picture but they don't sit still and the 10x4 has pretty thick glass making photo more difficult. When not eating they are fairly calm and so far with little bickering but they are not quite mature (I have 6 of them - wc) one sunday (which is when i do water changes) I'll remember to take my phone upstairs and get some photo of the a - i'm really happy with them. They are with the keyholes and so far they get along pretty well. I suspect the a were tank raised as the wc ones i had  a few years ago were more stand-offish.