Sumpin's Fishy

[Darkness]

Regarding the filters: Canister filters are better IMHO. They have more capacity and are easier to clean in my experience.
Petsmart sells the Eheim Ecco series (with filtermedium included) for decent prices. 90 dollars for the Ecco 2234...

http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...N=2030111&Ne=2

quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

I've been reading up on Darkness's suggestions and it appears as though some of the species are hard to sex as juveniles and sometimes hard to sex as adults. So Should I just get 1 extra juvenile and return any excess females or males that I might get? What happens if some die? will I be able to add some new fish without starting Fish Wars II?

btw, my rocks are due on Wednesday. Sherry mentioned some other things that we'll need for the house like a fridge, dining room table, new sofa, & window treatments. So I might have to delay this a bit. I'm trying to work it out so I could buy some things now, so it's not as big of a purchase all at once... but I think that she's getting wise to that.

Sexing cichlids as juviniles is very difficult. It is possible to see by behaviour and bodyshape (males are more active and boisterous and often have "heavier" bodies). The only sure way to sex cichlids is looking at the genital papilla (venting). This is not easy and gets excessively more difficult if the fish are smaller. Buying more juviniles and returning the excess males to the shop is the way to go when purchasing juviniles.

Excess females is not a problem. All Mbuna''s are polygamous, so males appreciate having a lot of females around. Most of the time females like it that way too (fights among females can happen but it's rare).
Pairing after partners die is not a big issue with Malawi cichlids. Because they are polygamous they don't form a single bond with another fish and these bonds are relatively easily replaces (exceptions can happen of course).

Very important: When adding new fish to an established tank you need to do two things:
1. Re-arrange the rocks and plants (re-arranging the fish's territoria).
2. Switch off the lights and only turn them back on the following day.

[Tubby Rower]

Thanks for the filter recommendation. my head was swimming (pardon the pun) with all of the choices. I did notice that the 2236 was only $10 more and went up to 185 gph vs the 145 gph the 2234 pushed through. Would it be worth the extra money to get a bigger filter?

Sherry went furiture shopping yesterday and I'm thinking that I might start up a furniture company if those prices are normal. $600 just for a chair!!! Luckily she's a cheapskate and she won't pay full price for anything. Which helps me in my campaign for a tank

[Tubby Rower]

ok I have more prices directly from the local fish store.

red indicates not bought & green = bought already:

• 55 gal (~ 200 liter) tank ~$125
• stand for said tank ~$157
• matching canopy for said stand (optional) ~$91
• hood/lights for said tank $82
• greyish sand on the bottom $??? still haven't found sand I'm happy with if I can't use Tahitian moon sand
• rocks for decoration ~$90 for 4
• filter $85-95
• fish $70-80 based off of Darkness's suggestions and the prices that I can get them

so ~ $650 left to purchase. a tank is much more visually appealing than a chair. I think that I could win this arrangement if I wasn't a male. How do the girls always make better arguments? I need to take a class on negotiation tactics

[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

Thanks for the filter recommendation. my head was swimming (pardon the pun) with all of the choices. I did notice that the 2236 was only $10 more and went up to 185 gph vs the 145 gph the 2234 pushed through. Would it be worth the extra money to get a bigger filter?

10 dollars more for 40 gph more? Absolutely worth it!
More filtration means cleaner water and happier fish.

[Robboo]

Dont for get to throw in how much pain your in from your "operation"...or did you blow all that on Wii

[Furiey]

Definitely go for the bigger filter. I have used Eheim filters on all my large tanks and always overbuy from what they say you need. The advantage I find of a canister filter is that you can just disconnect it (make sure you get connectors that allow you to do this), carry it into the bathroom and empty it into the bath. No mess, no fuss. It saves all the fiddling about inside the tank which my arms aren't long enough to do easily without getting soaked. Plus you only have to rinse the bath down afterwards to clean up

[Tubby Rower]

@ Robboo, yeah I think the "pain" I was in only slightly made up for the 19 months of discomfort and pain she was in from carrying and delivering our two kids. No sympathy I tell you. The Wii was just lucky timing

[Tubby Rower]

I just bought the Eheim Ecco 2236 filter for almost exactly $90. Free shipping with PetSmart's 20th anniversary and a coupon code I found online for $10 off $50 or more saved me 22 bucks



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[Darkness]

quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower

I just bought the Eheim Ecco 2236 filter for almost exactly $90. Free shipping with PetSmart's 20th anniversary and a coupon code I found online for $10 off $50 or more saved me 22 bucks



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Nice deal. Those cost 87 euro's here, so you got it for a very good price...

[admiral kutzov]

will there be mermaids and can you please post pictures of such creatures? preferrably topless.