Darkness' fish

[Darkness]

OK, I've got to confess, my favourite hobby isn't playing Civilization 3. [blush2]



Should I run and hide now? ;)



I like to keep tropical fish.
I've got a nice tank set up as a Lake Tanganyika biotope and in this tank is a group of Paracyprichromis nigripinnis "Blue Neon".
And they're breeding now! :D

This is the dominant male:
http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/darkness/200533144222_NAQ1.jpg
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And this is his girlfriend:
http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/darkness/200533144747_NAQ2.jpg
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Note the size of the lower jaw! It's much enlarged due to the fact that she's breeding the eggs in her mouth.


Maybe not the biggest news in the world but I think it's really nice! :)

[Lt. Killer M]

wow, nice!

how many species are there in that lake (by last count)?

[Kingreno]

Darkness, it must be quite special to have these fish mating and getting offspring! Any idea on how many of the eggs will hatch? What if say 30 fish hatch (lack of natural enemies?) won't your tank be too small?
How long till you know?

As for pets, this is my 4 year old cat. His name is Minibolle, as his fathers name is Bolle, and this was a small version of him when he was born. He likes to eat and hunt. These combine rather well in my area of town where mice and birds (used to) roam freely. His biggest prey was a 3 pound piggeon, but luckily his main diet are mice. As can be seen he is also rather fat and so he is on a diet, however what he does not get from me he gets from the neighbourhood. Oh well, he's happy.



http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/Kingreno/200533154752_Minibolle.JPG
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[Melifluous]

Is that a Neon Tetra?

Used to have tropical fish when I was younger.

Used to have a tank with various different kinds of tetras and a couple of male pink kissing gouramis.

Also various bottom feeders to keep the place clean, best of which was a (and I looked up the spelling) Plecostomus which grew to about 25cms!

Red tailed sharks finished off the mix.

Apart from the obligatory Angel fish [:p]

[goodjob]

Nice to see nice environmentally unfriendly fish still being kept around the world.

Melifluous

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Melifluous

Is that a Neon Tetra?

Used to have tropical fish when I was younger.

Used to have a tank with various different kinds of tetras and a couple of male pink kissing gouramis.

Also various bottom feeders to keep the place clean, best of which was a (and I looked up the spelling) Plecostomus which grew to about 25cms!

Red tailed sharks finished off the mix.

Apart from the obligatory Angel fish [:p]

[goodjob]

Nice to see nice environmentally unfriendly fish still being kept around the world.

Melifluous


No, Meli. Neon tetra's are far smaller (about 3-4 cm). They're grey with a blue and a red horizontal bar. The male Blue Neon you see in the top picture is approaching 10 cm.

Gourami's and Tetra's are very nice fish but they wouldn't survive long in my main tank (wrong pH of the water and my current fish would likely kill them, as they are a bit aggressive). I've got a 3 cm Lamprologus ocellatus female that always tries to attack my hand when I clean the tank. Really fun. She cant bite very hard, but she knows exactly where to go: The soft flesh between the fingers!

@Killer: The current count is that there are slightly over 300 fish endemic to Lake Tanganyika, but new species are found every once in a while.

@KR: Nice cat!
Yes, it's really cool to have them breed! For this species the size of a spawn is usually between 5-10, so there's enough room (for now). I can always buy another tank.:D
Maybe my girlfriend wouldn't like that. She likes cats more...[crazyeye]

I'll be removing the female to a breeding tank though as there are fry predators in this tank also. Catfish of course! These are my favourite type of fish. Often extremely beautiful and very useful as well (they clean up the trash).
I'll try to take a picture of my rare South American catfish sometime. He's a member of a species that hasn't even been named yet, he's only got an indexing number. :) He's in my other tank and he rules it.

[Darkness]

I put the female in my breeding tank last weekend and yesterday she released 6 young fish from her mouth. All slightly more than 1 cm big. Nice! :)
BTW: Dad didn't mind I moved his lady to another tank. He's already made a move on 2 of the 3 remaining females in the big tank. So there are more babies on the way.... ;)

[Kingreno]

quote:BTW: Dad didn't mind I moved his lady to another tank. He's already made a move on 2 of the 3 remaining females in the big tank. So there are more babies on the way....

Ahhh, I know how he feels![coool]

[ProPain]

You're moving the GF out and making a move on other women now KR?????? [eek][:p]

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by ProPain

You're moving the GF out and making a move on other women now KR?????? [eek][:p]




[lol]


The female fish of these species are firm supporters of the idea of polygamy (since courting involves a lot of chasing with these fish and they do like to rest once in a while). I'm not sure your GF would agree with that though, KR? :D

[Grille]

lol!

btw, it's unfortunate that ProPain drowned one's private breeding tank fantasies [cry]
http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2496

[Darkness]

I've now got at least 15 little blue neons swimming around and another 2 ladies pregnant...[crazyeye] The guy just doesn't take "no" for an answer it seems... :D

BTW: Another species has learned from this splendid example, 'cause my pair of Juldichromis ornatus have started breeding too. They are substrate (cave) brooders and they have spawned at least twice already. Though the catfish ate most of the fry, I was able to save 7 of them (one from the first group and 6 from the second batch), who are now in my breeding tank. They're about 2 mm big, so my 7 cm catfish obviously thought there was an extra dinner session...

I got a picture of the J. ornatus female too, but they're extremely active fish, so the quality is pretty low. They just can't stay still for 2 seconds in a row... :(


http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/Darkness/2005326115158_Jornatus.JPG
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The male is at least a third bigger and he has much more yellow colour. He's also probably the most aggressive fish I've ever kept. [eek] He literally chases the other fish from left to right in the tank at times...

[Darkness]

So, over the weekend I redecorated my entire tank... My girlfriend thinks the current set-up is a vast improvement and I like it a lot as well. I'll post a picture in a couple of days.
To keep my girlfriend happy I also bought a new fish. Her favourite colour's blue, so I bought her a blue fish. :)
Now she actually spends more time watching my fish than I do.... [crazyeye]

[digger760]

Is there much work in looking after fish, i'd like to have a fish tank myself.

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by digger760

Is there much work in looking after fish, i'd like to have a fish tank myself.


After set-up period it doesn't take much time at all.

When you start you have to do a lot of things before you can get fish (buy a tank, figure out if the fish you want to keep are compattible aggressionwise/waterconditionwise/foodpreferencewise, instal the technical parts (waterfiltration, pump, heating), buy sand/stones/wood/plants and get them in the tank).

But when you've finally got your set-up complete and a stable fish population it doesn't take a lot of time...
I've got three tanks: One showtank in my livingroom, a small showtank on my desk next to my computer and a breeding tank. These three take me about a total of five to ten minutes each day to feed the fish, check for strange behaviour/illnesses, and check the water temperatures. And on saturday I do waterchanges/cleaning for all my tanks, which takes maybe 45 minutes total...
So, IMHO, it doesn't take much time at all!

[digger760]

what about when go you go holidays?

[Darkness]

When it's only a short period of time, then they can do without food for a while (one week maximum), with the exception of newly born fish, who need to be fed daily.
When it's longer than a week, I ask someone to feed them for me about three times a week and then I leave carefull instructions on how much and what type of food for each tank...

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Darkness


To keep my girlfriend happy I also bought a new fish. Her favourite colour's blue, so I bought her a blue fish. :)


And finally there's a picture of the blue fish, a.k.a. Bluey...

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/Darkness/20058422211_Tretocephalus.JPG
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She's a Neolamprologus tretocephalus, and she's about 6 cm now (but she'll grow to slightly over twice that size)...

The next one is my favourite fish, an Eretmodus cyanostictus.

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/Darkness/2005842253_Eretmodus.JPG
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My catfish, Synodontis petricola "dwarf", have started spawning too, unfortunately the do not only eat other fish's eggs, but also their own... [rolleyes] Maybe they'll learn with a few more attempts...
Here's one of them:

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/Darkness/20058422736_Synodontis.JPG
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And here's the proud Paracyprichromis nigripinns "Blue Neon" dad, with two of his kids (BTW, mom is carrying again, and I already have twenty of the little guys)...

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/Darkness/20058422923_Nigripinnis.JPG
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And last but not least: after my vacation I also redecorated my smaller tank, and it sure pays off! Now I get to see my rare catfish a lot more often, and he ven sat still long enough for a decent picture:

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/Darkness/20058422110_L134.JPG
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He (I am fairly sure it's a male but it is very, very difficult to see with South American catfish) is a L134 Peckoltia sp. Rio Tapajos, and although he's the most expensive fish I've ever bought (though he was only 35 euro's, and that's nothing compared to the prices of fish I have seen in other peoples' tanks), he's so good looking that he's definately worth the money, IMHO...

[Darkness]

They're not exactly fish, but I wanted you guys to meet my new flatmates anyway....


http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/Darkness/20051023104927_IzzyandRaya.JPG
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They're 15 weeks old. Both are ladies and their names are Raya (on the left) and Izzy (on the right)

They're sisters, crossbreeds between a European Shorthair and a Norwegian Forestcat.
Somewhere along the line I contempleted calling one of them "Paali", but since they re both female I decided against it... ;)

[Matrix]

They look cute! :)

Make sure your fishes are out of their reach though. ;)

We have a cat too. Unfortunately fleas too. [cry] Make sure they always have a flea band when leaving the house!
http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/Matrix/20051023122013_Liggend.jpg
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[Darkness]

Nice cat Matrix...


quote:Originally posted by Matrix



Make sure your fishes are out of their reach though. ;)

We have a cat too. Unfortunately fleas too. [cry] Make sure they always have a flea band when leaving the house!



All the tanks are closed, so the fish are quite safe.

We live in a flat, so they will stay inside...

[Furiey]

Glad to see that I'm not the only one who likes fish. Mine are not so specialised as your's though, a mixed tank of several different tetras, a group of clown loaches (difficult to tell how many as they hide too well) a couple of big plecs, some angel fish and a couple of dozen kribensis cichlids (they breed regularly). I can understand why you keep the Tanganyika habitat, I would like to specialise in Malawi cichlids if only I had more space and I just can't bring myself to stop keeping the ordinary neons and such like which would not go in Malawi set up. I was fortunate to be able to go snorkeling in Lake Malawi and will never forget the fish and different habitats there. One area was sandy bottomed and full of fish nests that looked just like a coconut had been dropped in the bottom forming a crater, each was guarded by a male who kept it clear of debris. Other areas were rocky and if you overturned a stone on the bottom fish would immediately swim up to investigate what had been uncovered. Even my little Kribensis surprise people, they're monogamous and appear to generally mate for life, if I lose one of a pair the other generally dies in a few days, people just don't expect fish to take so much care of their young and don't believe it when they see one parent bringing back food whilst the other protects the youngsters from the larger fish.

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Furiey

I can understand why you keep the Tanganyika habitat, I would like to specialise in Malawi cichlids if only I had more space and I just can't bring myself to stop keeping the ordinary neons and such like which would not go in Malawi set up. I was fortunate to be able to go snorkeling in Lake Malawi and will never forget the fish and different habitats there. One area was sandy bottomed and full of fish nests that looked just like a coconut had been dropped in the bottom forming a crater, each was guarded by a male who kept it clear of debris. Other areas were rocky and if you overturned a stone on the bottom fish would immediately swim up to investigate what had been uncovered.

Really funny that you say that, because when I was sitting at home a few weeks ago with my torn ankle ligaments, I decided to switch over from Tanganyika to Malawi. I kind of wanted to try something new. I am now in the process of selling my Tanganyikan cichlids off. Six fish to go, including my wild caught (fully grown) Altolamprologus calvus "black" female. I'll be sorry to see her go, 'cause she really is a great fish, but her feeding needs can't be combined very well with the Malawi's I want to keep (and I dislike mixing the two lakes)...

I'm going to go for an all Mbuna set-up. It's going to be a group of Labidochromis caruleus "Yellow", a harem of Melanochrommis cyaneorhabdos, a harem of Pseudotropheus scolofi and I'm keeping my group of Synodontis sp. "petricola dwarfs". I know the catfish are Tanganyikan, but the only Synodontis species from Lake Malawi (S. njassae) is extremely rare in the hobby. IIRC there has been one confirmed sighting in the shops in Holland in the past 15 years...

Nothing wrong with tetra's and stuff. I've got some too. They're in my South American tank. I've got a pair of Microgeophagus ramirezi, 6 Corydoras sp. "aeneus gold" and three L205 peckoltia sp. in with a school of Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi.

I'll post some pictures of the fish once the change-over is complete (somewhere in august or so, I think). :)

[Rik Meleet]

quote:Originally posted by Darkness

(..)I'll be sorry to see her go, 'cause she really is a great fish, but her feeding needs can't be combined very well with the Malawi's I want to keep (and I dislike mixing the two lakes)... (..)
What qualities does a "great fish" have ??

[Furiey]

Fantastic! I would be facinated to see the pics (I've tried and failed to photograph mine several times), I've not seen any S. njassae about over here, but then most of the fish shops round me just have a tank of mixed mbuna that people buy because they look pretty with no ideal of how to keep them (sad). I've just got the one tank at the moment (next to my computer so I watch while I Civ!) but it's a reasonable size (122cm x 38 x 45) so I can keep a nice mix, there's enough space for the Kribensis to keep their territories, although I do need to find homes for the last lot of youngsters who are nearly adult in size themselves now. At the moment I have (in addition to the many Kribensis), a pair of Micralestes interruptus, Hemigrammus erythrozonus & Cheirodon axelrodi (I've always had neons in the past but when for cardinals last time for a change) which tend to form a large mixed shoal, some Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi which tend to shoal with the Rasbora heteromorpha and single remaining Hemigrammus pulcher. Then there are the Botia macracanthus (which are delightful, but worrying the first time you see one lying on its side or upside down, they need to be in a group and completely solved the snail problem I used to have), 2 Angel fish and 2 Plecostomus (1 golden and 29cm long, the other spotted and 33cm). I need to replenish some of the smaller fish to keep the numbers in the shoals up, but with the number of Kribensis I have at the moment the tank is just too full. I've got it set up with clear areas and caves and rocks and plants at different heights to allow the fish to swim at different levels and hide as necessary (and about 4 main Kribensis territories), looking in now I can't see a single clown loach and only one of the plecs - it's amazing how a 30cm long fish can completely disappear! The only problem with having them next to the computer is that turns sometimes take a very long time when I get distracted, but at least I can't forget to feed them as the angels and clown loaches try and scrounge food off me.

I would definitely have to look in more detail if I was actually able to set a Malawi tank up (maybe I'll move to somewhere with more space or have an extension built one day...) I was in Malawi in 1988 (I traveled down Malawi pretty much following the lake and would camp on the lake shore most nights) and much of the information I have is from around then (I believe they've reclassified some of the species since) when it was rare to see any Malawi fish available over here. I did nost of the snorkelling in the national park region round the Cape Maclear peninsula (I stayed in Chembe village for a couple of days). Unfortunately I didn't spend long enough there to get out to the islands to see the unique species there. I would like to learn to scuba dive and go back so I can have a better look. I still keep in touch with people I met over there, but they say they have now have Bilharzia in the lake which is really sad. It is not as widespread as in the other lakes but they are obviously concerned how it will affect the lake and their lives as a result. I look forward to your pics and hearing how you get on and the fish settle in.

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Rik Meleet

quote:Originally posted by Darkness

(..)I'll be sorry to see her go, 'cause she really is a great fish, but her feeding needs can't be combined very well with the Malawi's I want to keep (and I dislike mixing the two lakes)... (..)
What qualities does a "great fish" have ??


- Good looking
- Interesting behaviour
It also helped that she's a really calm fish. There's never any aggression towards the other fish. I'll see if I can get a picture before I sell her...

quote:Originally posted by Furiey

Fantastic! I would be facinated to see the pics (I've tried and failed to photograph mine several times), I've not seen any S. njassae about over here, but then most of the fish shops round me just have a tank of mixed mbuna that people buy because they look pretty with no ideal of how to keep them (sad). I've just got the one tank at the moment (next to my computer so I watch while I Civ!) but it's a reasonable size (122cm x 38 x 45) so I can keep a nice mix, there's enough space for the Kribensis to keep their territories, although I do need to find homes for the last lot of youngsters who are nearly adult in size themselves now. At the moment I have (in addition to the many Kribensis), a pair of Micralestes interruptus, Hemigrammus erythrozonus & Cheirodon axelrodi (I've always had neons in the past but when for cardinals last time for a change) which tend to form a large mixed shoal, some Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi which tend to shoal with the Rasbora heteromorpha and single remaining Hemigrammus pulcher. Then there are the Botia macracanthus (which are delightful, but worrying the first time you see one lying on its side or upside down, they need to be in a group and completely solved the snail problem I used to have), 2 Angel fish and 2 Plecostomus (1 golden and 29cm long, the other spotted and 33cm). I need to replenish some of the smaller fish to keep the numbers in the shoals up, but with the number of Kribensis I have at the moment the tank is just too full. I've got it set up with clear areas and caves and rocks and plants at different heights to allow the fish to swim at different levels and hide as necessary (and about 4 main Kribensis territories), looking in now I can't see a single clown loach and only one of the plecs - it's amazing how a 30cm long fish can completely disappear! The only problem with having them next to the computer is that turns sometimes take a very long time when I get distracted, but at least I can't forget to feed them as the angels and clown loaches try and scrounge food off me.

I would definitely have to look in more detail if I was actually able to set a Malawi tank up (maybe I'll move to somewhere with more space or have an extension built one day...) I was in Malawi in 1988 (I traveled down Malawi pretty much following the lake and would camp on the lake shore most nights) and much of the information I have is from around then (I believe they've reclassified some of the species since) when it was rare to see any Malawi fish available over here. I did nost of the snorkelling in the national park region round the Cape Maclear peninsula (I stayed in Chembe village for a couple of days). Unfortunately I didn't spend long enough there to get out to the islands to see the unique species there. I would like to learn to scuba dive and go back so I can have a better look. I still keep in touch with people I met over there, but they say they have now have Bilharzia in the lake which is really sad. It is not as widespread as in the other lakes but they are obviously concerned how it will affect the lake and their lives as a result. I look forward to your pics and hearing how you get on and the fish settle in.

Hemigrammus erythrozonus? Interesting. You don't see those a lot around here.

I stopped worrying a long time ago with my Synodontis swimming up-side down. They do that almost 50% of the time anyway. Fun to watch though.

It'd be great to snorkle in one of the African lakes, and maybe see some fish you actually have at home in your fishtank. :)

BTW, you could definately keep Malawi's in the tank you've got! It's definately big enough. You just have to know how to limit yourself when stocking the tank. No big or excessively aggressive fish. The problem with Malawi tanks is that many people tend to stock them in a way we call "postzegelverzameling" in the Netherlands (postage stamp collection). A huge number of species, and only one fish per species. Very confusing in colours and no natural behaviour, as most Mbuna tend to thrive in groups or harems. Which is unfortunate, because behaviour is at least 50% of what makes the fish fun to watch.

I'll post some pictures of the tank, after I rearranged everything to a Malawi biotope... :)

[Tubby Rower]

HAs anyone ever kept a salt water tank? My church put one in behind a rock wall (cutout obviously for the tank). It took about 30 days before everything stabilized in the water pH and amonium levels and all of that other stuff before they were able to put in anything too interesting. They have some "live rock" in there and a sea star, shrimp, clown fish, and some others from Finding Nemo. The live rock has spawned a few different types of anemone, sea fans, brain coral, and other coral stuff. It's a small ecosystem that they don't have to do much to it anymore.

I was contemplating a year or so ago about getting one, but we are thinking of moving when Ethan gets a little older and I didn't want to start it up just to have to move the thing. Also while house hunting I can keep in mind to reserve a spot for a tank.

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

HAs anyone ever kept a salt water tank?



I'd really love too!
The colours in a saltwater tank are amazing!

But there are quite few drawbacks to this.

1. Money. A saltwater tank is easily twice as expensive to purchase, stock and maintain as a freshwater tank.
2. Set-up time. Before you can ever introduce your first fish, you need to set up the tank with corals, "living stone", filtration, lighting, etc., and then you have to wait 3-5 months before adding a fish, so you can attain a biochemical equilibrium. Now, I've got a huge load of patience, but that is pushing it.
3. Size. Small tanks are harder to maintain than big tanks and this is even more the case with a saltwater tank as opposed to a freshwater tank.
4. (this one's just my personal preference). Breeding. Breeding saltwater fish in a tank is extremely difficult. One of my favourite things about keeping fish is eeing the little ones grow up, and in a saltwater tank that would be almost impossible.


But for viewing purposes, a salwater tank is without peer, IMHO.

[Rik Meleet]

From your conversations I thought that "Hemigrammus erythrozonus" was such a special fish. I googled for a picture and TBH I don't see what is so remarkable about them ...

http://www.solodvds.com/images/fish/Hemigrammus_erythrozonus_s.jpg

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Rik Meleet

From your conversations I thought that "Hemigrammus erythrozonus" was such a special fish. I googled for a picture and TBH I don't see what is so remarkable about them ...

http://www.solodvds.com/images/fish/Hemigrammus_erythrozonus_s.jpg


This one's not about the looks, Rik. This is a small (4 cm) schooling fish, from Guyana. It is quite fragile and very difficult to breed. They usually live at a temperature of about 24 degrees celcius, but they only breed when the water temperature reaches 28 degrees (and other parameters are met, like pH values, ect.). It is quite uncommon for fish to be exported from Guyana and with the breeding requirements this fish has, it's not very often that this fish is bred, so you just don't see it in the shops a lot...

BTW, this is an Altolamprologus calvus "Black". The picture's from the internet though, so it's not my fish

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/darkness/200677141328_calvus.jpg
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[Furiey]

Hemigrammus erythrozonus is quite commonly available over here and I've always found them very hardy (although I tend to run my tank fairly hot as I have always in the past kept things like red tailed black sharks) and I even had them breed although I only managed to keep 1 youngster. I had 1 old female that outlived several schools of her mates and ended up twice as large as any of the others and so heavy in the body that her spine twisted slightly (I called her Bendy, you can see her in the background of the blurry pic with a hollow belly not long after having spawned with 2 other females more in the foreground), but they don't take care of the eggs.

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/Furiey/200677221825_r0300035.jpg
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I try to keep the schooling fish in groups, with the numbers in each varying between around 8 and 15, but at the moment I am overrun with the Kribensis cichlids and have dropped below that in most of the small shoals, I just daren't put in more though until I can rehome the excess cichlid population. The nice thing about having the larger tank is that I can have the large groups and still have lots of different fish. The depth of the tank also allows them to find their preferred level in the water, something that was not so obvious when I had a shallower tank.

My tank is big enough for the Malawi cichlids, but obviously not with the other fish in there, and having had smaller tanks in the past and knowing how much more difficult they are to get balanced and maintain I don't particularly want to go back to a smaller tank. If I did though I would put the cichlids in the large tank and keep the smaller one for mixed fish.

I know exactly what you mean about a great fish, it take more than just colouration, and I think that is what I particularly like about cichlids, they are so much more focussed in what they do and there is more purpose behind their behaviour rather than just aimless swimming about.

[Darkness]

So, I sold the Calvus last night. Now I am down to my pair of Neolamprologus gracilis. I may have a buyer for those as well, but he may back out due to the fact that the female is damaged at the moment. Due to the extreme heat last week I had some agression problems (higher temperature -> faster metabolism -> more activity -> more aggression), and the male decided to start beating up the other fish in the tank. He got two of the catfish (minor scratches), the Calvus (just a nipped fin) but mostly his own female. Her elongated tail and backfins are completely shredded and there may be some minor damage to the head. Which woud make it understandable if the buyer would back out at this point. Fortunately I have a spare tank, so the conversion to a Lake Malawi tank should be able to commence this (or next) weekend. :)

@Furiey: availability differs per region, obviously. Also, I really must note that I always go to the same LFS, which is specialized in cichlids and catfish (which are the most interesting fish, IMHO), and they generally do not have a lot of tetra's in stock.
I fully agree on keeping the schooling fish in groups. I've seen other people's tanks who kept schooling fish in groups of 2 and then had 8 or 9 different species and tried to argue that it was one big school. Ridiculous of course. Similar fish may school incidentally, but it'll never be one big school. I tend to try and keep the schoolers with at least 10 of the same species (8 as a bare minimum). IMHO it is far more beautiful to see a nice school of 30 tetra's of the same species than 3 smaller schools of 10 individuals, but that is just personal preference.

[Shabbaman]

You're on an impressive spamming spree.

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Shabbaman

You're on an impressive spamming spree.


Bored at work. ;) Meeting in 20 minutes and I had nothing to do in the hour before that. :D

[Furiey]

Just got back from holiday in Egypt, and there by the shores of the nile where the cruise boats moored were cichlids spawning and raising groups of young. I was suprised how close the nests were, I would have thought they would have preferred to be further apart, but in a square metre of river bed there would have been 6 or so families of fish, with everything from a nest site, spawn, newly hatched fry right up to almost independant. It was lovely to see, but I think other people on the holiday thought I was mad trying to photograph fish! I've got to get the film developed and if anything comes out I'll post a pic.

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Furiey

Just got back from holiday in Egypt, and there by the shores of the nile where the cruise boats moored were cichlids spawning and raising groups of young. I was suprised how close the nests were, I would have thought they would have preferred to be further apart, but in a square metre of river bed there would have been 6 or so families of fish, with everything from a nest site, spawn, newly hatched fry right up to almost independant. It was lovely to see, but I think other people on the holiday thought I was mad trying to photograph fish! I've got to get the film developed and if anything comes out I'll post a pic.


Nice... I didn't know there were cichlids in the Nile. I kind of assumed that the Nile basses that depopulated Lake Victoria also had taken care of the Nile itself. But then again, I recently read a very fascinating article on the accelerated evolution of Lake Victoria cichlids, where a whole batch of new species has evolved so that they can now avoid the Nile basses. Maybe the same happened in the Nile...

I completely redecorated my tank last saturday BTW. I'll post a picture after I get the new fish in it (next saturday). Right now all the tank has is five very active Synodontis sp. "petricola dwarfs"...

[Darkness]

Just came back from the fish store, and naturally I deviated from the plan after seeing the fish in the store.

quote:Originally posted by Darkness

I'm going to go for an all Mbuna set-up. It's going to be a group of Labidochromis caruleus "Yellow", a harem of Melanochrommis cyaneorhabdos, a harem of Pseudotropheus scolofi and I'm keeping my group of Synodontis sp. "petricola dwarfs".

I decided against the P. scolofi, because they were very bland and colourless. So I needed another fish to complete the set-up.
I decided on Cynotilapia afra Likoma "White Top".
They had a tank with about 10 wild caught fish, so I picked out the best looking fish. I got one male and two females, and when the guy from the fish store caught them, we noticed that both females were holding. :D
So when I came home I immediately put the two females in the breeding tank and one of them released two fry a few minutes later (probably stress-related). Both are now happily swimming around with their mouths full, so I should have some more fry in about a week or so. And after that the females will join the big guy in the main tank.

In the main tank:
5 Synodontis sp. "petricola dwarf" (3m/2f)
4 Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos Maingano (1m/3f)
6 Labidochromis caeruleus "Yellow" (2m/4f)
1 Cynotilapia afra Likoma "White Top" (1m)

I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow or monday. They are a bit stressed from transport and now they are a bit off-colour and hyper-active...

[Rik Meleet]

quote:Originally posted by Darkness

But then again, I recently read a very fascinating article on the accelerated evolution of Lake Victoria cichlids, where a whole batch of new species has evolved so that they can now avoid the Nile basses. Maybe the same happened in the Nile...Not likely. Furu are known to evolve in a matter of generations. I am not surprised they evolved to "counter the NileBass" threat there. I don't think they evolve that quickly in the Nile.

[Robboo]

The accelerated evolution is primarily due to the large diversity and the intense competition. You have more chances to this the magic genetic combination. The reason the nile bass were so devestating is their "newness" to the habitat. Less diversity in the Nile BUT longer period of time for evolution to occur..so you will have some species that have habits that make them not so easy of a prey item for Nile basses.

Nile bass are sort of like the rabbits imported in to Australia... no enemies and nothing but food.


I have only raised South America cichlids. My undergrad degree is in fisheries(Marine primarily)..so fish are still my first love. My marine tank is sort of in a down swing due to poor stores aroudn here. I will get it back up and running soon...just need to move to a better location. You have some really nice looking fish.

[Furiey]

I've only managed to find one pic, I'm sure I took more [???] I know I took some video, I'll have to capture some pics off that. These were in the Nile at Luxor, just along the bank where the Nile cruise ships moored.

http://www.civ3duelzone.com/forum/uploaded/Furiey/20068200113_Image024_25smaller.jpg
138.89KB

[Darkness]

Interesting. What size were these? The ones on top look like some kind of Pelvicachromis sp.

My digital camera's acting up a bit, so the pictures I promised are taking a bit longer than I thought. :(

[Furiey]

The mature ones that had young were approx 15 to 20 cm I would guess, although there were lots of smaller ones as well. this appears to be a popular breeding site for them as I didn't see anywhere near as many anywhere else. Perhaps the cruise boats moored directly beside provided protection from larger, predatory fish, and the cichlids have found a niche in the environment they can exploit, something they've proved to be very successful with.

[Darkness]

OK, this took a bit longer than I had hoped, but the battery of the camera was being very annoying.

Overview of the tank in my/our livingroom.
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/9826/malawioverzichtst8.jpg

Decorationwise the tank contains only a background (B2N Rocky), a huge load of stone from the Belgian Ardennes, sand, and two types of plants (Vallisneria spiralis (left and center) and Hydrilla verticulata (right)).

[Darkness]

some close-ups of the fish:

Wildcaught Cynotilapia afra Likoma "White Top" male
http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/2406/caframalelx4.jpg

He's got two females with him (one's still in the breeding tank, the other's already in the main tank. The breeding tank also contains a number of newborn C. afra's. I haven't been able to count them yet. They keep hiding behind the rocks. I estimate 10-12 or so).




Labidochrimis caeruleus "Yellow"
http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/5869/lcaeruleusek9.jpg

6 in total: 2 males, 4 females.




Melanochrims cyaneorhabdos Maingano
http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/7388/mcyaneorhabdosui7.jpg
This is the male. There are also three females in the tank. SOrry for the bad quality. He simply did not sit still for longer than half a second. :(

Also in this tank are 5 Synodontis sp. "petricola dwarfs", but there is already a picture of those on the first page.

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Darkness

The breeding tank also contains a number of newborn C. afra's. I haven't been able to count them yet. They keep hiding behind the rocks. I estimate 10-12 or so).


They're about a month old now. They're growing nicely. Most are about 1.5 cm now. They're a bit less shy now, so counting is much easier, and there are 18 of them. Some of them are already showing the stripe pattern and a slightly blueish colour.

[digger760]

hmm very colourful, that vertical blue stripey one looks like anarres avatar

[Darkness]

Big news (for me anyway):
After about half a year of "negotiations" with my girlfriend, I'm getting a bigger tank. When we moved in together I sold my old big tank and downgraded to a 45 gallon tank (180L). But she kind of likes the current fish in the tank, so I promised to stay with Lake Malawi cichlids for the new tank and now I'm having a new tank custom-built to my specifications. The new one will be almost twice as big as the current tank (85 gallons/330 liters), with the stand in the colours (beech and silver) of our other furniture.

:D

[Socrates]

When do you invite us all to have a grill party ? [groucho]

[Matrix]

Hehe, nice. ;)

I'm still 'negotiating' for a beamer. [mischief]

[Furiey]

Congrats Darkness. You will of course have to post pictures when you get it set up.

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Furiey

Congrats Darkness. You will of course have to post pictures when you get it set up.


of course... :)

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Darkness

now I'm having a new tank custom-built to my specifications.

It's arriving today. It should be here befor noon... :)

[Rik Meleet]

Must be a special day for you then.

[Darkness]

The new tank:
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/3346/pict2186zj6.jpg
325 litres (85 Gallons(US))

[Pastorius]

You know, the only real reason why she allowed it was because your old tank wasnt beech and silver like your furniture ;)

[Furiey]

Nice!

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Paalikles

You know, the only real reason why she allowed it was because your old tank wasnt beech and silver like your furniture ;)


That was probably one of the arguments that clinched it for me, I think... :)

[Melifluous]

Pink Kissing Gourami says "spam"

[melihere]

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Melifluous

Pink Kissing Gourami says "spam"

[melihere]


So, you thought that after you killed all the spambots, that you should go on another spamming spree?
OK, but I don't have any Kissing Gourami's... Not even pink ones... [tongue]

[Melifluous]

To tell the truth I personally think that this thread is one of the best looking threads on the forum, and thought that a little light spam might rekindle interest in it.

So nurgh!

[meli]

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Melifluous

To tell the truth I personally think that this thread is one of the best looking threads on the forum, and thought that a little light spam might rekindle interest in it.

So nurgh!

[meli]


I'll try to post some new pictures soon... :)

[BCLG100]

darkness could you post a picture of the tank with i dont know a dvd case held up against it, just so i can figure out relative size type thing- otherwise i do like the fishies :)

[Furiey]

That's a big tank BCLG, for comparison, my tank is 4 foot long - 48" x 15" deep x 18" high (122 x 38 x 45 cm) and is only 187 litres.

New pics would be good, I bet the fish have grown going into a nice big tank, I was always amazed at the growth spurt mine put on when I moved to a bigger tank.

[Darkness]

Tank dimensions are: 130cm x 50cm x 50cm
And those are just the dimensions of the glas. The stand and the hood are not included in this.

@Furiey: Yours is 208 litres right? (12.2*3.8*4.5)

[Socrates]

quote:Originally posted by Furiey

That's a big tank BCLG, for comparison, my tank is 4 foot long - 48" x 15" deep x 18" high (122 x 38 x 45 cm) and is only 187 litres.

I must have missed it then, I can only remember some noisy birds in a cage. ;)

[Tubby Rower]

well since this thread has revived... I thought that I'd mention that in our new house (we found a new one, had our offer accepted, and got an offer on our house in less than 4 days :D ) there is a bunch of room for a fish tank. Now I jsut have to decide how big of a tank to get, where to put it (basement or in upstairs living room), and what type of fish to get.

Size will likely be at least 20 gal. (75 liters) but I'd like to get a bigger one. I'm leaning toward the basement as far as placement but temperature could be a problem there. AS far as fish go..... I like the tropical fish but I know that they are a lot more finicky than fancy goldfish. I dare not try my hand at a saltwater tank.

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

well since this thread has revived... I thought that I'd mention that in our new house (we found a new one, had our offer accepted, and got an offer on our house in less than 4 days :D ) there is a bunch of room for a fish tank. Now I jsut have to decide how big of a tank to get, where to put it (basement or in upstairs living room), and what type of fish to get.

Size will likely be at least 20 gal. (75 liters) but I'd like to get a bigger one. I'm leaning toward the basement as far as placement but temperature could be a problem there. AS far as fish go..... I like the tropical fish but I know that they are a lot more finicky than fancy goldfish. I dare not try my hand at a saltwater tank.


Nice...
Congrats on the new house! :)

About a fish tank: 20 gallons is really small. That will severely limit your choices for fish. Try finding out what kind of fish you think are good looking and then get a tank that will suffice for their needs (if space/time/money allow)...

Fancy goldfish tend to be somewhat fragile. If you do buy them, make sure you buy SINKING food. Many fance goldfish have troubles with eating food from the surface. They ingest air, get intestinal stoppage and die easily...
I wouldn't try saltwater either, very expensive and very few species will go in a smaller tank.

[Furiey]

quote:Originally posted by Darkness

@Furiey: Yours is 208 litres right? (12.2*3.8*4.5)
I guess so, the number I quoted was from a treatment chart which made an allowance for rocks, gravel etc to calculate the amount of medicine needed.

@Kryz - the fish tank is upstairs by the computer so I can watch the fish while I Civ!

@Tubby - don't get too small a one, it's more difficult to get it balance and look after it. A large tank will be much more stable. If you have the space, a 3 foot one is the smallest I would go for and will give you a reasonable size without taking over, 4 foot is better though and I don't regret upgrading mine. Salt water is much more delicate (and expensive), so even if that's what you'd like to keep I would try freshwater first to get the hang of things if it's your first tank. Don't forget a sturdy stand, water is much heavier than people realise and I have seen what happens when a big tank is stood on a coffee table - the people in the flat below were not happy!

[Tubby Rower]

I emailed DArkness asking for advice...

I went over to the new house for the home inspection and while we were there, Sherry found a nice 6 ft.x 2ft area in the dining room that is currently containing a China cabinet. She's the one that mentioned about the fish tank... so I guess I have the ok to spend money :) So 20 gal is out and bigger in the future.

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

I emailed DArkness asking for advice...

I went over to the new house for the home inspection and while we were there, Sherry found a nice 6 ft.x 2ft area in the dining room that is currently containing a China cabinet. She's the one that mentioned about the fish tank... so I guess I have the ok to spend money :) So 20 gal is out and bigger in the future.


I emailed you a lenghty response... :)
And the last turn that you'll live in our PBEM.... :D

[Pastorius]

just be careful that the little tubbies don't break the fish tanks, or try rowing in them

[Tubby Rower]

I did manage to do some damage to your stack. Not much but damage nonetheless. Thanks for the response. I'll be looking into those websites you sent me. I'm not completely sure that we'll be able to get all of those fish in the US. I honestly haven't looked, but I think that import restrictions in Europe are less than in the US.

[Tubby Rower]

quote:Originally posted by Darkness

quote:Originally posted by Melifluous

To tell the truth I personally think that this thread is one of the best looking threads on the forum, and thought that a little light spam might rekindle interest in it.

So nurgh!

[meli]


I'll try to post some new pictures soon... :)
[bump]

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

quote:Originally posted by Darkness

quote:Originally posted by Melifluous

To tell the truth I personally think that this thread is one of the best looking threads on the forum, and thought that a little light spam might rekindle interest in it.

So nurgh!

[meli]


I'll try to post some new pictures soon... :)
[bump]


[blush2]
Stupid battery problem in the fucking camera. It is (almost) fixed now. I'll get some new pics up by the end of the week.

[Darkness]

Especially for Tubby: Blue algae... [crazyeye]
http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/5924/pict2504qn8.jpg


Fullgrown Aulonocara sp. Lwanda male (12-13 cm)
http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/6129/pict2515mb1.jpg


Full overview of the tank:
http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/4066/pict2518za9.jpg


Baby tank (75 litres or so), contains about 20 Cynotilapia afra, ranging between 1.5 and 4 cm...
http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/3581/pict2537dk2.jpg

[Tubby Rower]

that A. Lwanda. Where is that cichlid from? How hard are the afras to raise? is that a saulosi in your 3rd pic?

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

that A. Lwanda. Where is that cichlid from?


Also from Lake Malawi. It's a bit harder to keep than Mbuna, because Aulonocara species tend to be more fragile than Mbuna, especially the females.


quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

How hard are the afras to raise?

Very easy. I just caught the female when she was pregnant and put her in the baby tank. So when she releases the babies I can put her back in the main tank. The babies eat the same food as the adults, only I crush the flakes so they are a bit smaller.


quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

is that a saulosi in your 3rd pic?


No, there are no Saulosi in the tank.
The yellow ones are Labidochromis caeruleus.
The big blue guy with vertical bars is the boss of my tank, Cynotilapia afra.
The blueish blurs on the right are Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos.

[Darkness]

I got some new fish on saturday... :)

I bought a wildcaught pair of Pseudotropheus scolofi Mara Point and 1m/3f Copadichromis borleyi "Red Kadango". The Kadango's are still very small though.

Now the tank is fully stocked, with 26 fish in it...

1m/1f WC Cynotilapia afra Likoma "White Top"
1m/1f WC Pseudotropheus scolofi Mara Point
1m/3f Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos
2m/4f Labidochromis caeruleus
1m/2f Aulonocara sp. Iwanda
1m/3f Copadichromis Borleyi "Red Kadango"
1m/4f F1 Synodontis lucipinnis

I'll try to get some new pictures this week...

[Darkness]

The Afra female is pregnant again... I've already got about 25-30 offspring of that pair, but they keep at it...
The Synodontis and Aulonocara's were also at it this weekend, but I don't think the Aulonocara will hold to term (she didn't last time) and the Synodontis ate their own eggs as soon as they laid them... [rolleyes]

[Furiey]

Once they get settled Cichlids just seem to keep breeding. That's how I got a tank full of nothing but Kribensis Cichlids...

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Furiey

Once they get settled Cichlids just seem to keep breeding. That's how I got a tank full of nothing but Kribensis Cichlids...


I know. I had the same happen with Paracyprichomis nigripinnis as well as Julidochromis ornatus...
The Paracyps are not a problem, but Julidochromis species can be very evil... [estwing]

[Furiey]

Watching them you certainly see why they've become such a sucessful fish, adapting to fill all the niches they can. The extra investment they make in protecting the young definitely pays off for them, mine manage to breed successfully when everything else that tries just gets eaten.

[Darkness]

Saturday I took all of the rocks out of the tank to try and catch a pair of pregnant females and a half dozen kids around half an inch big...

Of course after I removed the rocks there were more than 6 kids, but I caught them all and the pregnant C. afra and A. sp. Lwanda. They are now in the breeding tank. I put back te rocks again, so the tank looks a bit different now.

Then, last night, both the L. caeruleus and the P. scolofi started spawning... The L. caeruleus is very small still. Too small to carry to term, IMHO, but we'll see what happens with the Scolofi...

I'm running out of tanks to move the pregnant females and babies to... [rolleyes]

[Tubby Rower]

wow.. congrats.. they don't make fish condoms do they???

[Darkness]

Two overview pictures of my tank, after the fish-catching expedition
Taken from two different angles, the first with flash, the second without...

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/4714/pict2620ji7.jpg

http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/6461/pict2623mc4.jpg

[Darkness]

My 180 litre (45G) South America tank + 1 of my Norwegian forestcats.
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/5298/pict2637dk9.jpg

[Rik Meleet]

Don't fish just lay eggs and then leave them in peace ?
What is this talk of pregnant fish ???

[Tubby Rower]

Some fish spawn live fry... some fish lay eggs and leave them.. . others lay eggs and guard them.. and these lay eggs and keep them in their mouths until they hatch and then keep the fry (baby fish until they are big enough to be kicked out.

[Furiey]

Yes, it's fascinating watching the parents taking care of the young, they'll take them in a little group around the tank to find food and I've even seen them bringing food to the youngsters. Any other fish that dare approach will get chased off, even if they're much larger!

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Rik Meleet

Don't fish just lay eggs and then leave them in peace ?
What is this talk of pregnant fish ???


Like Furiey and Tubby said, fish species have different ways of breeding. Mine are mostly mouthbrooders. Which means that after the mating, when the eggs are fertilized the female takes the eggs into her mouth and starts breeding them for 3-4 weeks. So, she's "pregnant" then...

Both the scolofi and the caeruleus female ate yesterday, which means they swallowed the eggs... :( Better luck next time...

[Darkness]

OK, big change coming up...

I've been considering this for quite a while now, but while I love the bright colours that my Malawi's have, their behaviour doesn't compare to the Tanganyikans that I had before. So, after considering this carefully for the past two weeks, I have decided to go back to Tanganyikans...

[Tubby Rower]

what will you do with your current fish? gourmet meal for your cat? or can you sell them to the LFS?

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

what will you do with your current fish? gourmet meal for your cat? or can you sell them to the LFS?


Selling them to other fishkeepers preferably. The rest will go to the LFS...

[Darkness]

The new set-up:

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/7039/pict2833lo6.jpg

It's going to be a regional biotope of Cape Kachese, which is in the Zambian part of Lake Tanganyika. All fish are either only found there, or the are drifters that are found throughout the lake, and thus also at Cape Kachese (the N. tretochephalus).

Fish currently in tank:
5 Synodntis lucipinnis F1
5 Julidochromis regani F1 (until a pair is formed, then the others will be removed)
1 Neolamprologus tretocephalus

Fish to be added on october 27th:
20 Tropheus moori "Red Rainbow" F1

I'll try to post some individual fish pictures after I've added the Tropheus. :)

[socralynnek]

I don't see any fish in this picture!!!

Has Robboo been there for fishing?

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by socralynnek

I don't see any fish in this picture!!!

Has Robboo been there for fishing?


I hadn't even realized that... [blush2]
IIRC I took this picture just after the lights went on, and the fish are often a bit shy in the morning....

[Darkness]

Now in the tank:
20 Tropheus sp. Red Kachese
5 Synodontis lucipinnis
5 Julidochromis regani Kachese
1 Neolamprologus tretocephalus


Overview of the tank:
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/5983/pict3585wj6.jpg


A few Tropheus:
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/2104/pict3590fj2.jpg


Close-up of one of the Tropheus:
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/802/pict3594fn6.jpg


Julidochromis regani:
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/6806/pict3603fy7.jpg


Neolamprologus tretocephalus (the blue one) and Synodontis lucipinnis:
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/8791/pict3604xa5.jpg


groupshot:
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/8194/pict3606dl7.jpg

[Darkness]

I now have 3 Lake Tanganyika tanks running...

smallest tank (22 US G)
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/2848/pict3717ap0.jpg

This tank only has a wildcaught pair Lamprologus ocellatus Kigoma in it, with a couple of kids.


Father and son(?):
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3475/pict3707ci0.jpg


Mum (who's nasty tempered bitch BTW. she's already killed one husband (who was about twice as large as she is):
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/3981/pict3719vk3.jpg




Tank 2 (45 US G):
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/1594/pict3629he3.jpg

Fish:
5 Neolamprologus buescheri Kachese
3 (1m/2f) Lamprologus callipterus


Neolamprologus buescheri Kachese male:
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/1456/pict3725oi6.jpg


Lamprologus Callipterus family:
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/408/pict3756by0.jpg


Last night one of the Buescheri died, unfortunately. This one wasn't tolerated by the others and was very skinny.
But the clean-up crew went to work immediately:
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/4625/pict3747ev3.jpg

He overestimated the size of his stomach though (or the size of his throat). After about half an hour of trying he gave up, so I removed the corpse...




Livingroom tank (85 US G):
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/4372/pict3652je8.jpg


Fish:
20 young F1 Tropheus sp. Red Kachese
5 Julidochromis regani Kachese
5 Synodontis lucipinnis
1 Neolamprologus tretocephalus


2 Tropheus:
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/5923/pict3678wx0.jpg


Neolamprologus tretocephalus:
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/3492/pict3681sz3.jpg


Julidochromis regani's:
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/4061/pict3665et5.jpg


Synodontis lucipinnis female:
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/6268/pict3683kh2.jpg

[Rik Meleet]

Sinterklaas gift ?

[Tubby Rower]

Are the N. tretocephalus very sensitive to water parameters? I like the look of those and the Tropheus's's's

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Rik Meleet

Sinterklaas gift ?


No. just felt like posting some pictures on the day of the goedheiligman... ;)

@Tubby:
Tretocephalus are very hardy. They can handle a lot, but the one thing they can't take is low pH... They are utter bastards to their own species though (that's why I only have 1)...
Tropheus are extremely sensitive to water parameters.

[failedreality]

Love the tank setups...
What are you using for sand?

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by failedreality

Love the tank setups...
What are you using for sand?


Regular aquariumsand. Small diameter, 1-2 mm.
I prefer this because a lot of my fish tend to dig a lot and these prefer very fine sand.

[Darkness]

Colorchanging fish...

Same fish (Lamprologus callipterus), one hour between photo's

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/8180/30515303ft2.jpg

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/2777/43771674aa4.jpg

[Darkness]

I got 6 young Synodontis polli "White Zambia" two weeks ago. I'll try to get a picture up soon, but the damn critters never stay still. :(
Really funny to observe. They are about an inch long, but they don't care about size. Their most favourite pastime appears to be nagging my 5 inch Lamprologus callipterus male, which then obviously results in the big guy retalliating and the small catfish scattering to all corners of the tank. Lots of activity all around, so that's always fun to see.

[Darkness]

Fighting fish...

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/7824/pict3783lr4.jpg

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5115/pict3785ta6.jpg

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/8670/pict3786va0.jpg

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/3181/pict3787mc2.jpg

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/821/pict3789fi3.jpg

[Furiey]

They really mean it when they get going, hope you didn't get any serious injuries.

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Furiey

They really mean it when they get going, hope you didn't get any serious injuries.


No, both are fine. Only the one on the right has now firmly established his dominance. The one on the left is still swimming around quite closely. Even though this mouth-fighting thing is usually only males against eachother, I am starting to think that the one on the left is female, due to the fact that they're together a lot...

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Darkness

quote:Originally posted by Furiey

They really mean it when they get going, hope you didn't get any serious injuries.


No, both are fine. Only the one on the right has now firmly established his dominance. The one on the left is still swimming around quite closely. Even though this mouth-fighting thing is usually only males against eachother, I am starting to think that the one on the left is female, due to the fact that they're together a lot...


Well, it took two months but they've finally figured it out. They're a couple now, sharing the same cave and all. Which is good, because this species appears to be really intolerant of itself. I bought 6 young fish. I now have 1 pair left, and I managed to save 1 other fish by moving it to a different tank. The rest have all been killed... :(

[Darkness]

Some new pictures:

Paracyprichromis nigripinnis "Blue Neon" male with a Synodontis sp. "Polli White Zambia" in the background:
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/3392/pict4422iu3.jpg


Paracyprichromis nigripinnis "Blue Neon" female:
http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/6470/pict4405dm0.jpg

Lamprologus ocellatus Kigoma male:
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/826/pict4413np3.jpg


Pair of Lamprolus multifasciatus with offspring:
http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/9610/pict4399ae3.jpg


Neolamprologus buescheri Kachese:
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/4421/pict4445df2.jpg


Julidochromis regani Kachese:
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/1995/pict4446dy5.jpg

[Darkness]

And some more...

Tropheus sp. "Red" Kachese:
http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/4182/pict4461pv4.jpg


Neolamprologus buescheri Kachese and Neolamprologus tretocephalus:
http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/3148/pict4472tw9.jpg


Another Tropheus sp. "Red" Kachese:
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/6010/pict4488wy9.jpg


Tropheus sp. "Red" Kachese and Neolamprologus tretocephalus:
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/9871/pict4509fj1.jpg


Pair of Tropheus sp. "Red" Kachese:
http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/464/pict4475yw7.jpg


And another one with the head of a Synodontis lucipinnis just visible in the top of the picture:
http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/2892/pict4505bt5.jpg [/

[Darkness]

And finally some overviews of the two biggest tanks:


Tank with Blue Neons, Synodontis sp. "PWZ" en Lamprologus ocellatus:
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/6766/pict4388kj0.jpg


Tank with the Tropheus and the other assorted aggresive thugs (Julidochromis and Neolamprologus species):
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/302/pict4437ux9.jpg

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/788/pict4440ml5.jpg