Aquariums and Terrariums

[richTV]

yeah, i googled that eel before i made my earlier post and mentioned how they said it is rare.

true about lids and eels.....many a time u could find some dried up ones just underneath their tank at the fish shop.

what we would do is take a plastic fish bag and shove them around the plastic backstrip of the glass canopy where the water intake valve is.

other good escape artists are red crabs [small FW creatures] and octopus.

octopus being the worst because the only opening they need is just large enough for their beak to fit through.

a long time ago, we had 2 fish tanks side by side .... 1 tank with an octopus they other with just fish.

we kept finding fish missing each day.....we later found that smart lil' b@st@ard sneaking over and doing a lil' fishing there! lol

[Roms]

Back in the early 90's I had a 29gal tank with three large crabs (they were about the size of your hand). I would come home and find them on top of the tank or other places around the room. I finally had to put a wire mesh top and tape it down to keep them from escaping. I can't remember what they were called and I haven't seen them anywhere in years. Watching them catch goldfish was really cool.

They looked like these but mine were: yellow, orange, and a one was orange and dark blue.

[richTV]

yes, we sell them.

seemed to be seasonal though cuz we don't get them in too often

we call them Soapdish Crabs

name given because they are each shipped in plastic containers wrapped with rubber bands .....the containers r similar to what u might put a bar of soap in if u were traveling....but these containers have holes drilled in them to make breathable.

the Red Crabs however are shipped together in a large container which they put many pieces of bamboo in it so they will feed on that rather than one another....probably meant for moisture too.

[Roms]

That's interesting, they were a fun pet.

I've often thought about starting a petstore when I retire, either that or having 100 tanks just to keep all of my favorite critters...

I used to breed fish when I was younger, but I got bored with it. I am thinking of breeding some E. Blue Dempsies because the fry sell for so much.. LOL

[richTV]

yeah, they're still expensive.

2in babies sell for about $40

as i understand it, they don't retain that beautiful color when adult though.

another subspecies is called Galaxy Jack Dempsey....probably hybrid with a Texas or something.

if u plan on having that many tanks then u'd better get a gravel cleaner that connects to ur sink. lol

Lee's makes one [blue color]. The original one is by Python from the early '90's..... green color.

[Roms]

Originally Posted by richTV

yeah, they're still expensive.

2in babies sell for about $40

as i understand it, they don't retain that beautiful color when adult though.

another subspecies is called Galaxy Jack Dempsey....probably hybrid with a Texas or something.

if u plan on having that many tanks then u'd better get a gravel cleaner that connects to ur sink. lol

Lee's makes one [blue color]. The original one is by Python from the early '90's..... green color.

My buddies EB Dempsey is about 1 foot long and is really bright, she looks like she's an made out of emeralds (so I'll tell you the rumors are false ). From what he says (I don't know for myself) that they will only mate with a regular J. Dempsey. He has a regular jake he's trying to breed her with... we'll see..

[richTV]

keep me informed.

we've only gotten back a few full grown EB's when customers want to sell them for store credit and the fish were bland in comparison to how striking the babies looked.

if it is true about how they need to mate, then i would also be curious to know if it matters or not if it must be a female EB and a regular male Demp or vice versa.

[Roms]

I should see him this weekend and I'll take some pictures to post. His female EB is very nice, I'll try to find out more information on where he got his facts...


---------------------------

I talked with my friend and the Electric Blue Jack Dempsey is a recessive gene. I found a thread the sums it up better than I could:

If we assumed the 'BJD' was the same as a recessive albino, and use the code 'bb' for BJD and 'NN' for normal JD, we would get :-

bb x NN = 100% fry bN (normal looking but carrying the 'blue' gene)

we then cross

bN x bN = 25% bb (blue dempseys), 50% bN (normal looking but carrying the 'blue' gene), 25% NN (normal JD)

we then cross

bN x bb = 50% bb, 50% bN

Now this seems straight forward, and would be if the 'blue' gene was a simple recessive, but I don't think it is. From what I've read, 2 doses of blue gene is fatal (like Manx cats) or at best the fry only survive for a short while. From my own experience I've found all the fish I have had to be males and of low or total sterility, this leads me to think the gene is also sex linked in some way. I also think it has other physiological effects, or, the blue colour is an incidental by-product of another gene's malfunction. Either way, I'm sure the geneticists would have fun with these !

Resource

[richTV]

ok tnx.

had a chance to talk to a customer today and he said the same thing about an EB needing a normal to mate.

he also said that the EB aren't as agressive as the regular one's....perhaps due to the recessive gene i suppose.

[Ocean-Wonders]

Hi there

I've recently upgraded my tank from the cube now got a 180L tank plus sump, here's a few pics of my new tank

Main tank




Main tank with Blue night lights on


Sump



Here's my tank build thread, we had to mod the cabinet loads to get the sump in !
Tank Thread

Also ventured into the world of reptiles with a Leopard Gecko




The forums getting busier all the time and we have recently added a small reptiles section. If you have any fish or reptiles pop over and say hello, everyone's really friendly and your assured of a warm welcome !!