Aquariums and Terrariums
 

Anyone here have an aquarium? I currently have two, a 75 gallon (283.90 Liters) and a 55 gallon (208.19 Liters). I do have a few more tanks in storage, but I just don't have the time for them right now...

Anyhow in my 55gal I have Central and South American Cichlids (Jack Dempsey, Convict, Firemouth, Green Terror, Sevrum). They are very Aggressive.

My 75gal has African Cichlids from Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika. Semi Aggressive to Very Aggressive.

I've attached a few pictures of my African Cichlids (side view of tank so you can see more of them at once). When you see the picture I'm sure I'll get "That's a lot of fish in your tank". Yes, the more African Cichlids you have in a tank the better, they are less aggressive in large groups with lots of places to hide... you just need to over do it on the filtration to keep it clean.

beautiful fish! I dont have one but have had one in the past. WAY too much work for me right now. Actually, they're a lot of work in any phase of life. haha. I was wondering what a Cichlid was.... I came across a forum for cichlid owners last week and briefly thought WTH is a Cichlid. LOL Now I know.

OT.... where is gizmo?????

Yeah, I've raised all types of fish but Cichlids are my favorite. They have a lot of pesonality, come to the side of the tank when I come home, and act like puppies when you feed them. The thing that's cool too is Cichlids from Lake Malawi are mouth brooders, so they keep the eggs in their mouth until they hatch. Then the fry (babies) stay in the females mouth for about a week more until they get to big and can eat regular food. Very cool. I keep the fry in another take and sell the babies to shops...

OT... gizmo is taking a break, but could make an appearance later on in the year. After I get bored with this avatar. I'm actually thinking grouchy smurf is my next choice.. LOL

We have a 55 gallon aquarium. It has a Red-Eared Slider Turtle and a Southern Orange Painted Turtle in it. The Red-Eared Slider is really too big for the tank as she is about 14 inches long and 8 inches wide. However it is winter and we don't want them to hibernate so they are inside.

My mother has Red-Eared Sliders at her house. They are a lot of fun! She's had them forever (I would guess 20+ years since one was my step sisters when she was a kid).

I used to have a 55gal with some africans and an oscar. I loved them!

That looks like a great setup you have!

Thanks. I had an Oscar years ago in my 55gal. He got so big any lazey that he would lay on his side until I put food in the tank (goldfish). He would eat it and go lay down again. LOL

I've attached a few pics of my 55gal (lots of bubbles in this tank, the rocks in front are geodes)

hahahahaha that sounds about right with the oscar! Watching them eat was amazing. Very dirty fish though, of course with you feed them the goldfish ;) I had an undergravel filter and a canister filter setup and still needed an overflow to keep it clean. haha



These are some great pictures. Have you thought about adding live plants? It looked like plastic plants in there. Really amazing I love that wood.

I want my tank back :(

I really need to add live plants, I need to find some hardy ones otherwise they rip them apart... The driftwood is real, it's hallow inside so it's like a little hotel. :p

I give you a Month and you'll have another tank! :D Haa Haa

I've got a 90 and a 220 ..

In my 90: all African Cichlids

In my 220: 3 Red Oscars, 2 Jack Dempseys, 1 Clown Knife (24 inches long now), 1 fresh water Sting Ray (about 1 foot in diameter now.. just a baby), 4 Sevrums, 3 fairly large Angles, 6 Silver Dollars.

I feed my Oscars and Clown Knife gold fish and in the summer my oscars get fresh craw fish from the river lol.. love watching them eat those..

For those that don't know what a Clown Knife looks like..

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2009/02/90.jpg

Sweet! If you get a chance it would be great to see some pictures. :)

I've always liked the Clown Knife. My friend has a fresh water Sting Ray too in a 400gal tank. They are amazing! Someday (when I get my next tank) I'll have one. :D

We have gopher turtles. They are free roaming and more or less inhabitants of our property LOL but they interact with us unfearful. They have a HUGE burrow in the middle of our land.

Pets to my kids nonetheless haha.

Attachment 94545

Will do :) and ya, My Clown Knife is pretty cool ... watching it track down gold fish is pretty awesome!

Sting Rays are fairly easy to keep, they do get large tho (as I found out lol)

I'm already looking into a 350+ gallon setup :D

its addicting!

My buddies Sting Ray was getting very large for his 220gal so we moved all the fish into his 400gal. Now the Sting Ray is huge (massive!), it goes up and down the walls and loves it in their. He put black sand in the tank.

About 15 years ago I bought a Clown Knife, they were new to the petshops so they didn't have a lot of info for me... sad news is when I found out they were nocturnal and killed anything that would fit in their mouths. So all I had left in that tank was him and the oscar. Now it's nice with the internet because you can look up information to check compatibility..

When you do your 350 setup you should use sand and no undergravel filter (which is probably what your doing now I would guess?)...

Does he feed his by hand? That's the only way I can make sure mine is getting enough to eat lol..

I've never had a problem with my Knife attacking the other fish (well, he does fight with one of the Oscars from time to time, usually over the last gold fish lol).. all of the fish I have in there now were all purchased about the same time, so they all grew up together.. I purposely bought the Angels a little larger than the rest as they take awhile to get big and was worried that the knife might go after them... I'm most proud of my Jacks.. they are the most beautiful deep blue with just a tad bit of green in them..

I agree with you about the Net.. its been a big help to me. I am also spoiled because one of my high school buddies that I grew up with Owns a Pet Store and specializes in Fish, so I have access to expert help when needed (specially in emergencies)..

Yes, I used crushed coral sand in both tanks... Cichlids and undergravel filters do not work well together (as you well know) lol

Nope, he feeds him earthworms and generally the other fish don't go after them. He also eats the goldfish meant for the others. The only thing bad about feeding gf is you can give your prized fish parasites, which is why it's best to get a UV sterilizer. He has to buy about 100+ gf a week. Earthworms are the best because of the protein.

I also use crushed coral sand in my 75gal for my Africans. I had crushed coral sand in my 55gal but my Jacks kept stiring it up and making the tank look like it was filled with milk so I replaced it with natural gravel.

My buddy is trying to breed his jacks in a 90gal, they are nice like yours. The female is so green she looks like an emerald.

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Like you, my next tank is going to be 350-500gal with all the works.

update...

Now that I think about it, of course you have to handfeed your stingray with three Oscars and a Clown Knife... all very hungry. My thought would be to move your ray into your 350+ (when you get it) with smaller fish to give him the upperhand when eating..

oh, they LOVE earth worms.... have you tried crawfish? The Oscars make a mess out of them, but the love them.. and of course its best to clean up right away... I agree about the parasites.. i've been lucky so far (knock on wood).. Never been able to breed my jacks, but I've successfully bread Oscars.

The reason I've waited so long as that I just retired from the ARMY and moving around was hard enough with a 220 lol.. the movers hated that.. and of course it sucked, cause I couldn't take the fish with me.... now that I am settled, its built in major tank time!

Have you ever had any other exotics? Like Arrowana's (sp?)

I used to have a 110gal saltwater reef tank with some really nice exotics. When I got divorced I sold all my fish except the ones in my 55gal.

After years, I setup my 75gal and my 55gal again, and still have some other stuff in storage. I think I'm done with a marine aquaruim... I'm going to do a setup in a 350-500gal with all my fav freshwater: barracuda, stingray(s), frontosa...

I have a 64 liter and a 21liter, with goldfish.
Haha not as big as yours

I'm gonna get my cat and your fishes will be PWNED !!

Say bye bye little fishies :D

I have a large tank that contains Sid :) She is a Rat / Corn snake and she is about 5 foot long. She is a lovely placid creature :D

It only took me 10 years to persuade my Mrs to let me buy one. Now she is addicted to snakes too.

Some pics of Sid are here

If we're talking Terrariums as well, we have a 60 gallon tank with Mnementh (or Nemmie). He is a 6 year old Bearded Dragon.

((rep to whoever knows where the name comes from))

I'll have to get some pictures of the pets as well.

I updated the title just for you. LOL

I've always liked lizards, I had one for a few years when I was a kid. Bearded Dragons are very cool. Not sure if I would own one since I'm more into fish but I'm not going to count it out.

I've never had the desire to do salt water.. they look nice, but I'm just "in" to fresh water. That will be a pretty cool tank once you are done! Do you have an exotic retailer close to you?

That's so cool dude... i used to have a lot of reptiles when i was younger, from the age of 10, i've had dozens of snakes that i captured on lakes, studied and released back into the wild. Lizzards and turtles as well :p

Dragonriders of Pern?
Btw, i'd love to see some pictures of your pet :)

Yeah, we have a few where I live. I looked a few weeks ago and one had some rays in and wanted $150 ea (which isn't bad I think for wild caught, about the size of your hand). They had some other really nice exotics too, I wish I had the money but I don't right now...

We also have a hatchery for Cichlids. (mostly Africans) They wholesale them to the public too.

I agree about a saltwater tank. I had some cool stuff in mine but it took up a lot of time and was hard to maintain. All the fish were really expensive too. I ended up doing a total invertebrate reef tank. In the end, it just wasn't worth it.

Roms i have same as you - a tank full of cichlids
You are right about them swarming when they see you go nr the tank as they think its feeding time.
Mine are really messy though and i have a plec in with mine and some catfish (forgot name) but they catfish that live with cichlids in the lake (something to do with cichlids eggs - the catfish attach their eggs to them).
Love my fish and to me they are the center of the living room.

Don't say that!! :eek:

It looks like the cichlids are pretty popular here!

Sounds interesting, post the name if you findout what it is. I have a plec in with my South Americans, but my Africans killed the one in their tank. He was getting mean and they ganged up on him.

Once you've been bitten by the bug you can't live without them. :p

Come to the darkside again Kevin! :D

I just bought two Managuense cichlids (South American). Very cool fish, I've been wanting one for awhile. The only problem is they are only one inch long so I put them in with my Africans... So far so good since they're hiding in the plants. When they get bigger I'll put them in with my South Americans...

The two little guys are already fighting each other over territory so I had to move one to the other side of the tank... LOL

We'll see I guess, I'm taking a chance but I guess that's how it goes.

keep an eye on those Managuense fish, Rom.

in general, it isn't good to mix cichlids of different regions since S.A. and Africans each take diff pH, diet, salinity, and water hardness....and of course, temperment.

i only got a 55gal setup now...just don't have the time.

African Cichlids.....
5-stripe Frontosa male
Rusty Cichlid [Iodotropheus Sprengerae]
a few yellow Labs [Labidochromis Caeruleus]
female Hap Comressiceps
pair of Regal Peacocks
white top afra [don't get big but nasty lil' guys.....had 2 but had to give up on 1 of them cuz they each owned half of the 55]
Lamp. Tretocephalus
Syn. Decorus [one of my prized fish cuz i've had it for over 15yrs...about 14in]
Syn Lace [aka Syn. Budgeti]....sentimental to it cuz it is my oldest fish....about 12 inches....enjoys inverting himself in some african bogroot.]

odd fish include,
a striped raphael which hides alot....probably the most noctural catfish u can get next to it's cousin, the spotted raphael.
also have some dither fish....a large group of Giant Danios work really well as darter fish for an African setup]
got 2 Rhino Plecos in it too and hold their own quite well.....i've also used Gibbiceps, Rusty, Royal in the past with great results.

plenty of filtration/circulation too....1 powerhead, (2) 403 Fluvals, (1) 303 Fluval

sorry, don't have a camera

btw, i think u mentioned plants with ur african cichlids or S.A.....hard to keep plants with Africans since they either dig, or eat them like mbuna's do, or just don't thrive in a high pH with such a salinity and water hardness....the only real indigeneous variety would be a Val species, eg corkscrew.....the plant i stay with when it comes to Africans is Java Fern....hearty plant and grows on bog root....the plant is actually poisonious but won't hurt the fish cuz they simply spit it out and learn.

for S.A. cichlids, it is hard to keep plants because of the digging....i tend to recommend to people something like Amazon Swords simply because they have a broad leaf and thick stem....also try planting them outta harms way like the corners....otherwise, like with an African tank, plastic plants is the most cost-efficient way to go.

regarding Stingrays, keep an eye on ur aggressive fish with them....a rays vulnerable spot is the eyes so i tend to tell people not to mix them with S.A.'s....Arowana make good tank mates with them though cuz of the 2 different levels at which they swim [blue arowana is the prettiest but most expensive...gold arowana is nice too but endangered so off the market for quite some time now........also used Clown Knifes [Royal Clown Knifes are the prettiest].....black ghosts work well too since they love soft acidic water also....black worms and grass shrimp are a nice treat for Rays.

ur buddy probably has a Motoro Stingray judging from the size u mentioned.....Hysterix is the next size down....and T-Cup is the smaller of the 3 species u tend to find in stores.

btw, i've worked at a pet store parttime since '91 :)

I agree, generally I never mix Africans with SA's but I figured they were so small I could get away with it for a few days. But, it only lasted for about an hour until my Dimidiochromis decided they looked tastey... LOL so, it was a bad idea.

I have a 10gal tank full of Peacock Benga fry (about 13) so I caught them all so they weren't dinner and put them in a breeding net. I'll keep the Jaguar's in that tank until they are big enough to survive with my other SA's... My female Auratus has a mouth full of eggs so I should have a good fry from her soon too. :)

(Here is a list for anyone who wants to know the fish we are talking about: List)

I love Frontosa, they are one of my favs. Sounds like you have a great tank going! :)

yes, Dimidiochromis.

i'm sometimes ol' school so i still call them Hap Compressiceps.....similar with Hap Ahli aka sciaenochromis ahli. lol

to alleviate u from having to catch the fry in the first place, a good way is to "milk" the eggs from her mouth.

after ur sure they're fertilized as much as they're gonna be [usually a few days] then catch the female and gently grab her lower lip with ur left index finger and gently squeeze and release with ur right hand near her gill area...keep doing this whilst all the while only having her mouth in the water....it'll cause her to spit out the eggs....should only take at best 30sec so it won't hurt her.

i usually use a big net and just rest at the top of tank so i can collect them.....or u can do it using a small container of ur main tank's water.....whatever's easier for ya.....do it nearer to ground on ur knees though so she doesn't otherwise slip away and hit ur floor from that high up if u were standing.

once collected, put them in a small tank [using ur main tank's water] along with ample aeration but not too turbulent and add some Methylene Blue to that tank....it'll keep fungus down.

i like to milk the eggs because if she constantly holds them in her mouth as mouthbrooders do, she will not eat and become emaciated.....but also, since they're as fertilized as they're gonna be....she is not needed anymore in terms of protection......this is also a good way to quickly induce spawning again.

Yeah, I let my female keep her eggs in her mouth for about 3 weeks until I knew the eggs had hatched and then I caught her and dumped the fry into the 10gal tank... I perfer to let the eggs hatch in the females mouth so I don't have to use a tumbler or incubation.

So I think you misunderstood, since I had the 10gal full of fry I had to catch them and move them to a breeding net in the tank to use the tank for the two jaguars, to save them from being eaten. ;) :D

Methylene Blue and many other fugus/ick medications will kill many species of Cichlid fry and eggs... ;)

This the same way I strip the fry

I've got a marine tank (had to downsize recently :()

I find fish fascinating and very relaxing ! My kids love them too
My forum is for fish keepers if you fancy popping over for a chat at you'd be more than welcome.

Here's a pic of my tank

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/

one thing i tell my customers, is that if it ain't broke, don't fix it! lol ...so by all means go with what works for you. :)

in my situations, i prefer not to have her keep them in her mouth for that long cuz her stomach becomes too concave over time.....over course a tank is different and instinct will tell her to keep them in her mouth more often and alot longer than in a wild situation. :)

i can tell you that i never had any problems with Methylene Blue in all of the times i've used it.

obviously, in ur case there would be no need to use it......my example was meant in terms of fertilzed eggs....not hatched and/or free-swimming fry!

and if u ever used or had to use an Ick medicine on said fry, then u'd want to drop the dosage in half.....similar to certain Tetras or scaleless fish like Synodontis or Loaches, and so on.

yes, ur link to milking fry is basically as i described. :)

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looks like a nice efficient setup. :)

those powerheads like u have are handy too because they are attached via magnet.

hard to tell from that pic as they look like torch or frogspawn or hammer coral....a nice house for ur Ocellaris Clowns in ur case for a small tank would be a Pacific bubble anemone, else Ritteri would work great but they get rather big over time.

u should check out the Oceanic BioCubes.....they come in 8, 14, and 29gal.....include PC lighting and mini wet/dry filter.....also they offer a protein skimmer sold separately which fits near the filter....not a great skimmer, but not too shabby.

Sounds good. Yeah my female Benga was still looking perty healthy but I can definitely see your point.

I was checking out Youtube last night and caught this Eel video. Makes me want another eel. Years ago I had a Purple Spaghetti Eel, he was interesting to watch. He ended up getting out of his tank and we found him dead a week later. He had "woven himself" in and out of the holes at the end of my knit bedspread... I've also had Peacock and Zig Zag Eels which aren't really eels but I think they are a lot cooler. The only problem is I know my Africans would pick on him, my SA's would leave him alone for the most part but he would stay hidden because they are aggressive. I would have to put him in his own tank if I wanted to get him very big (not as big as that Fire Eel) and active all the time...

never heard of Purple Spaghetti Eel, i'll see if my store can get some....i read ur link and it mentions the rarity of them so usually rarity and price go hand in hand lol./

if ur into eels or eel-like animals, check out tire track, fire, and FW moray too.

other odd creatures which seem prehistoric looking include lungfish and varieties of polypterus

i usually tell my customers however not to attempt such snake-like creatures in SA cuz they might look like one big tasty worm to the majority of SA and their bass-like mouths.

on occassion i suppose it might work if ur fish are well-fed and a big tank......the shape of eels are so dissimiliar to SA that they might not take notice and leave it alone...ie not a rival...., assuming ur a betting man and willing to take the chance. lol....the other approach is to buy them all young and let them grow up together......another is to not feed the SA live food cuz it otherwise makes them more aggressive vs. just feeding pellets or food sticks.

The city north of where I live has a great store with lots of exotics. Yeah, if I were to do it I wouldn't get another Eel, just an "eel like" fish and keep it in it's own tank (with a tight lid.. LOL). I found a picture and decription of the Purple Spaghetti Eel (I've also heard it called an Elephant Eel... but you know how pet shops are).

My friends father owns a petstore so I've had fish tanks with all kinds of fun creatures since I was a kid. :D