Sumpin's Fishy - Page 14

Darkness · 18-05-2007, 18:15

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

What's neat is that they typically will be displaying throughout the day but if they see you walking by, they'll all go hide. Except when I come home from work. Then they hear me going into the cabinet below to get the food and they'll all 4 run about like mad.

They're just a bit nervous still...
3 things will change that:
- The longer they are in the tank, the more they'll get used to you walking around.
- Bigger fish are less nervous. Whenever I get near my breeding tank when I get home from work the young C. afra's all hide, but in the big tank they all start begging for food the moment they see me.
- More fish in the tank will increase their bravery. As soon as you've added a few more fish, they'll show themselves more. They kind of dare eachother out of the rocks.

Tubby Rower · 18-05-2007, 22:50

I stopped by the LFS today and was planning on getting 4 acei's. But the ones they had had either a fungus on them or ick. So I just window shopped. While doing so, I noticed that a lot of their fish looked emaciated. Their gut looked absent. Mine look full. Am I doing something wrong or are they?

Also Darkness & Furiey, since I'm not going to be getting rusty's anymore, is there another species that you guys would recommend? I like the afras, salousis, and trewasaes. Is there anything about these that make them hard to keep or to keep with johannis, yellows & aceis?

Darkness · 18-05-2007, 23:50

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

I stopped by the LFS today and was planning on getting 4 acei's. But the ones they had had either a fungus on them or ick. So I just window shopped. While doing so, I noticed that a lot of their fish looked emaciated. Their gut looked absent. Mine look full. Am I doing something wrong or are they?

They are doing things wrong.
Emaciated fish are either infected by worms or seriously underfed. Guts should look full.

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

Also Darkness & Furiey, since I'm not going to be getting rusty's anymore, is there another species that you guys would recommend? I like the afras, salousis, and trewasaes. Is there anything about these that make them hard to keep or to keep with johannis, yellows & aceis?

I reckon you mean Cynotilapia afra, Pseudotropheus saulosi and Labeotropheus trewavasae?

Afra's or Trewavasae's should be doable. 1 male and 2-3 females. I would not recommed Saulosi's. They are not extremely aggressive, but Saulosi males are very similar looking to Yellows, which while it will not lead to cross-breeding, will generate tension between the Yellow male(s) and the Saulosi male.

Furiey · 19-05-2007, 01:25

Yep, a hollow belly is a sign of disease/parasites or starvation. If they have just been imported they will not have been fed for a while to prevent them polluting the water they are transported in and hence dieing. Sometimes the fish take a while to recover and eat properly again, but I have noticed that many shops keep the fish very lighty fed anyway to reduce the cost of food and the time needed to keep the tanks clean. Pick your fish carefully just in case it is worms or disease as you don't want to introduce parasites into your tank or have more of the fish die when you introduce them.

Tubby Rower · 19-05-2007, 21:46

I think that they get their fish from Florida which is ~ 24 hour drive straight through. So it's likely a long shipment if not done by air.

Thanks for the info you two

Furiey · 19-05-2007, 22:20

I'm finding this thread very interesting, you never know, I may decide to convert my tank to a Malawi set up!

Tubby Rower · 22-05-2007, 12:18

I talked to the people at the LFS yesterday and asked them why some of the fish's stomachs were caved in just to see what they would say. And they said that the distributer doesn't take care of them as good as they do so it takes them a while before they get their stomachs full again. Which I guess that makes sense since I read somewhere that you should fast the fish before shipment... but some of those fish have been there a while so something smells fishy. I'm going to talk to the guy that orders the fish today. Jerry Falwell's funeral is @ 1pm and they'll be blocking streets so I'm heading home at noon to miss all of that traffic. Apparently the hotels have been booked up since last Thursday.

I went to another mom & pop shop and they had some little itty bitty M. Lombardis. They were so freaking cute. I asked the girl if they would be ok with my yellows (and I indicated the size of my fish to her) and she said no. That store only had like one of every species which sucks because they'd have to special order everything that I wanted. It turns out that both stores get their stock from the same wholesaler.

Tubby Rower · 22-05-2007, 12:30

I also found out that the fish wholesaler is in North Carolina which is considerably less time in shipping (~1-3 hours depending on location in the state) so that's better than the trip from Florida

Darkness · 22-05-2007, 13:39

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

I went to another mom & pop shop and they had some little itty bitty M. Lombardis. They were so freaking cute.

They'll get big. At least 6 inches. And they can be very nasty.

Have you considered trying to find some local breeders? Quite often hobbyists have better quality fish than LFS. At the very least they will most likely be better cared for...

Tubby Rower · 22-05-2007, 14:20

what about Ps. socolofi??
http://cichlidforum.com/tradingpost/detail.php?id=12537

Quote:

quote:For Sale F/S Ps. socolofi fry (blue)
Pseudotropheus soclofi (blue) fry. about 40 all between 1/2" and 3/4" at the moment and growing fast. $2.00 each or 10 for $15. Picture is of the father. He is still young, just about 9 months old.

I have never shipped before so I prefer pick-up. I will drive a bit too. I will try to ship if really needed.

He lives about 3.5 hours away and I wouldn't mind taking the trip.

18-05-2007, 22:50	#132
Tubby Rower Moderator Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Middle of VA. Posts: 3,896	I stopped by the LFS today and was planning on getting 4 acei's. But the ones they had had either a fungus on them or ick. So I just window shopped. While doing so, I noticed that a lot of their fish looked emaciated. Their gut looked absent. Mine look full. Am I doing something wrong or are they? Also Darkness & Furiey, since I'm not going to be getting rusty's anymore, is there another species that you guys would recommend? I like the afras, salousis, and trewasaes. Is there anything about these that make them hard to keep or to keep with johannis, yellows & aceis? __________________ 3/2006 : Now, surely that must be because some fists might have caused internal damage to certain delicate parts?

19-05-2007, 21:46	#135
Tubby Rower Moderator Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Middle of VA. Posts: 3,896	I think that they get their fish from Florida which is ~ 24 hour drive straight through. So it's likely a long shipment if not done by air. Thanks for the info you two __________________ 3/2006 : Now, surely that must be because some fists might have caused internal damage to certain delicate parts?

22-05-2007, 12:18	#137
Tubby Rower Moderator Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Middle of VA. Posts: 3,896	I talked to the people at the LFS yesterday and asked them why some of the fish's stomachs were caved in just to see what they would say. And they said that the distributer doesn't take care of them as good as they do so it takes them a while before they get their stomachs full again. Which I guess that makes sense since I read somewhere that you should fast the fish before shipment... but some of those fish have been there a while so something smells fishy. I'm going to talk to the guy that orders the fish today. Jerry Falwell's funeral is @ 1pm and they'll be blocking streets so I'm heading home at noon to miss all of that traffic. Apparently the hotels have been booked up since last Thursday. I went to another mom & pop shop and they had some little itty bitty M. Lombardis. They were so freaking cute. I asked the girl if they would be ok with my yellows (and I indicated the size of my fish to her) and she said no. That store only had like one of every species which sucks because they'd have to special order everything that I wanted. It turns out that both stores get their stock from the same wholesaler. __________________ 3/2006 : Now, surely that must be because some fists might have caused internal damage to certain delicate parts?

22-05-2007, 12:30	#138
Tubby Rower Moderator Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Middle of VA. Posts: 3,896	I also found out that the fish wholesaler is in North Carolina which is considerably less time in shipping (~1-3 hours depending on location in the state) so that's better than the trip from Florida __________________ 3/2006 : Now, surely that must be because some fists might have caused internal damage to certain delicate parts?

19-05-2007, 01:25	#134
Furiey King Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bedfordshire UK. Posts: 1,031	Yep, a hollow belly is a sign of disease/parasites or starvation. If they have just been imported they will not have been fed for a while to prevent them polluting the water they are transported in and hence dieing. Sometimes the fish take a while to recover and eat properly again, but I have noticed that many shops keep the fish very lighty fed anyway to reduce the cost of food and the time needed to keep the tanks clean. Pick your fish carefully just in case it is worms or disease as you don't want to introduce parasites into your tank or have more of the fish die when you introduce them.

19-05-2007, 22:20	#136
Furiey King Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bedfordshire UK. Posts: 1,031	I'm finding this thread very interesting, you never know, I may decide to convert my tank to a Malawi set up!