Darkness' fish - Page 3

Furiey · 07-07-2006, 00:17

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 · 07-07-2006, 09:49

Quote:

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 · 07-07-2006, 11:41

Quote:

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 · 07-07-2006, 11:51

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 · 07-07-2006, 13:23

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Rik Meleet

Quote:

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:

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 · 07-07-2006, 13:50

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 · 07-07-2006, 14:01

Quote:

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 · 07-07-2006, 14:04

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 ...

Darkness · 07-07-2006, 14:13

Quote:

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 ...

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

33.66KB

Furiey · 07-07-2006, 22:19

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.

164.22KB

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.

07-07-2006, 13:50	#26
Tubby Rower Moderator Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Middle of VA. Posts: 3,896	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. __________________ 3/2006 : Now, surely that must be because some fists might have caused internal damage to certain delicate parts?

07-07-2006, 14:04	#28
Rik Meleet Moderator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Nijmegen, Netherlands. Posts: 2,502	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 ... __________________ Social life ? Sounds like fun !! Where can I download that ?

07-07-2006, 00:17	#21
Furiey King Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bedfordshire UK. Posts: 1,031	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.

07-07-2006, 11:51	#24
Furiey King Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bedfordshire UK. Posts: 1,031	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.

07-07-2006, 22:19	#30
Furiey King Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bedfordshire UK. Posts: 1,031	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. 164.22KB 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.