What did you do with your tank(s) today?

DMD123

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@lloyd378, thoughts on 5 star general as a solo fish in a 90? I know there are a few different types... suggestions? William? used to raise them? Is he still around, in the hobby?

Other ideas if solo... Jack Dempsey, Cuban Cichlid, an Amphilophus of some sort like a Petsmart red devil
 

lloyd378

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My red wolf was first in with my community tank and he did fine. Only occasionally ate a tetra or two. Now he’s in with my Oscar’s and a couple of other smaller cichlids in my 220g. He still hides, but comes out to feed on krill anytime I add them in. Though it does take extra krill as the Oscar’s also enjoy them.

It’s weird that your trimac is not personable as the female I got from you is always out and begging for food with my big guy. Though I will add that she’s not very big. Like 6-7” total length. She is a super slow grower compared to my old male that shot up from 6” to 12” in about 7 months.
 

lloyd378

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@lloyd378, thoughts on 5 star general as a solo fish in a 90? I know there are a few different types... suggestions? William? used to raise them? Is he still around, in the hobby?

Other ideas if solo... Jack Dempsey, Cuban Cichlid, an Amphilophus of some sort like a Petsmart red devil
The five star generals ( hemichromis elogatus) only grow to 6-7” total and they aren’t very aggressive. They act like a typical Central American cichlid.

If you want aggressive you should try one of the other types that are slightly larger. Like the frempongi or the fasciatus. The frem gets about 7” and the fasc gets about 11-12” and is the most aggressive I’ve seen. The fasciatus would easily kill umbee or Dovii of equal size. They are also hard to breed as they fight like crazy and the females get beaten to near death.

They are beautiful though!

Right now, finding any of the 3 is near impossible. There are a couple of guys in SoCal that are breeeding them and maybe one guy in Colorado, but I haven’t seen them on any supplier lists in over a year.

Another point to know is that they don’t do well with tanks being rearranged and or moved from tank to tank. They are also probably the most conspecific aggressive cichlids I’ve ever kept.
 

DMD123

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@lloyd378, very interesting observation on the growth rate of the trimac. I feel like mine is also slow growing. Wonder if it’s related to the catch location and might even effect eventual size… maybe a mid-sized fish as opposed to the larger typical ones.

Thanks for the info too on the 5 star cichlids. Just curious more than anything else.
 

DMD123

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Was touching up garage tanks and took a peek at the male bn pleco in the 46g. Sure enough he had a small batch of fry. Hard to count but look like a bit bigger batch than the 4 the first time. Seems more like 8-10 this time. Seeing this makes me want to pursue the whole pathway to breeding another type.
 

fishguy1978

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Monday was maintenance account day. He called me this evening to ask about eggs randomly laid on the glass in clumps. The heaters have been off all summer and so with a water change his Cory cats when crazy spawning.
 

DMD123

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Monday was maintenance account day. He called me this evening to ask about eggs randomly laid on the glass in clumps. The heaters have been off all summer and so with a water change his Cory cats when crazy spawning.
That is a community tank with lots of inhabitant that would eat the potential fry? Ive wondered what it would take for my Cory cats to spawn... pretty much temp. change to trigger?
 

fishguy1978

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That is a community tank with lots of inhabitant that would eat the potential fry? Ive wondered what it would take for my Cory cats to spawn... pretty much temp. change to trigger?
Yes, full mixed community tank. Redtail sharks, panda gara, corys and plecos. I have had success triggering a spawn by combining a water change with leaving heaters off for a few days. They typically spawn within a couple days after heaters are turned on.
Doesn’t work for all corys, just ask @clownie. :D
 
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DMD123

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I love how my Serbai Cory look but it seems my school of six is kind of small. They seem to scatter quite a bit and at least two are always wandering off from the group. Not as tight knit as I had hoped. These are a fish Im also considering to rehome. Maybe in favor of a single medium sized cat, something like my hoplo in size or slightly larger.
 

fishguy1978

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Water changes and filter cleaning in the fish room. I’m also trying some filter foam cut to size instead of floss in my sumps. It’s 40ppi if I remember correctly.
I turned heaters on too. Males be getting feisty. Even the choco who’s normally chill but he has the potential mate to spawn with o_Oimage.jpg
 

DMD123

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I had some friends over for bbq and they were checking out the fish and of course came to the empty looking wolf tank wondering what was going on… so I pulled out a night crawler out of the fridge and try to tong feed it. Sure enough, I was able to entice him out and he took the worm from the tongs. So my friends got to see the fish that lives in the empty tank, lol.
 

lloyd378

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I love how my Serbai Cory look but it seems my school of six is kind of small. They seem to scatter quite a bit and at least two are always wandering off from the group. Not as tight knit as I had hoped. These are a fish Im also considering to rehome. Maybe in favor of a single medium sized cat, something like my hoplo in size or slightly larger.
I’d love to add to my school of sterbai, so you know who to call. Lol. I even have two medium sized cats for you 4 line pictus cats
 

DMD123

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I’d love to add to my school of sterbai, so you know who to call. Lol. I even have two medium sized cats for you 4 line pictus cats
lol, well they are in the same tank as all the pleco babies. A bit reluctant to stir that all up at the moment. Possibly in a few weeks? Ive got all kinds of ideas for multiple tank changes going through my head but still trying to tie up all the loose ends on outdoor projects before the weather turns and I completely run out of summer like weather.
 

fishguy1978

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My F1 eques spawned either yesterday evening or very early this morning. I leave my tanks unheated during the summer so they have had a 3mo cool period. Saturday I did a 50% water change with cool water and turned the heaters back on. Yesterday, the male were chasing the females and moving into a T position but I didn’t notice the females being receptive. I feed Ken’s .5mm green fry feed normally with occasional live black worms, frozen blood worms and fresh water krill.
I removed 6 eggs but there is a large mat of Java moss that they spawned in and I’m not going to remove that. Tank includes two parrot dorradids and a small school of harlequin rasboras.
Swordtail is two tanks over. Closest is the eques tank.
 

DMD123

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Stopped at Petsmart in Lakewood for some frozen krill. Fed the fish some when I got home. The wolf was excited and came out to eat and the trimac, oscar and puffer all appreciated the treat too. On a side note the Lakewood Petsmart fish selection has been kind of lame since the new tank racks. These seem smaller than the last setup and fish selection is very cookie cutter with very few cichlids or anything unique. Very disappointing!
 

DMD123

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Baby pleco got away from the group protected by papa. I think he will become dinner for someone…
C99BE439-6343-4CE8-807E-2DBC5E249AEF.jpeg
 

DMD123

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Got a confirmation from Wet Spot that my fishes should ship out on Wednesday the 28th and get here on Thursday the 29th. Will likely put these into the 65B to grow out.
 

DMD123

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Lately my Saturday morning water changes have been getting put on hold since Im kind of sleeping in. Must be the change in the weather. So Ive been doing midweek water changes in the evenings after work. Just got the six tanks in the garage done last night. Noticed that a few little baby plecos were out and about in the 46g bowfront. I didnt see that the larger fish were even interested. There were a couple that could have been easy pickin's yet they were not eaten. Still have not seen papa bn pleco leave the hatching area, seems like he is still acting as if the babies are in there and they are already out and exploring, looking for food. He has not found the pleco cave yet, hopefully will find it for next batch.
 
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