...Having finished the setup of this tank now...except for adding a couple more plants, I have placed 2 Gold Severum and and the one Electric Blue Acara from the community 125 in it...so far the y are getting along fine...
...a couple days ago I noticed the tube starting to show on one of the Sevs...Yesterday it was down and large and apparently belonged to a female...also saw the point of a tube starting to show on the other one yesterday...probably a male...they've been staying close together and the female shaking in front of the male often,,,yesterday they were also both casually spitting sand from one the flat rocks...so I'm predicting within 3 days I'll find eggs one morning when I come into the fish room...
You've got it going on, man. I wish I were seeing some action here.
Good luck with them Ron. |^| |^| |^|
Quote from: LizStreithorst on April 25, 2020, 11:30:59 AM
You've got it going on, man. I wish I were seeing some action here.
LOL I love this place!
Dennis
Goodluck Ron
...I picked up 6 red shoulder severums yesterday from a friend who gave them to me....they went into the 125 cichlid tank...very shy or stressed still today...the friend that gave them to me has had them for years and raised them fro 50 cent piece size to 7" or so....it disturbed the gold severums on eggs to the point they must have eaten the eggs...not uncommon...
Sounds like a great tank Ron. What room in your house is it? Pic?
Barb
...I've converted the 3rd bedroom into the aquarium room...removed the closed doors, put a sink and shelves and water barrel in it for the workspace...
...here is a SAS YouTube video of my room prior to the Cichlid Tank setup...
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrgZgyXiYUk&t=509s
Quote from: Ron Sower on April 27, 2020, 11:46:26 AM
...I've converted the 3rd bedroom into the aquarium room...removed the closed doors, put a sink and shelves and water barrel in it for the workspace...
...here is a SAS YouTube video of my room prior to the Cichlid Tank setup...
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrgZgyXiYUk&t=509s
Beautiful tank and plants Ron. |^| |^| |^| |^| |^|. The only plant I do well with is algae. huh Can't wait to see the cichlid tank setup. |^| |^| |^| |^| |^|
What a beautiful tank Ron! And your fishroom is great, so well organized with everything close by. Very nicely done! Show pic of cichlid tank later on? Wish I could grow plants like that, I only grow beautiful plants outside in dirt and all my houseplants, also in dirt. Do you have any houseplants too?
Barb
...Thanks for the compliments...I've removed a lot of the plants this past weekend from the Congo 125...I'm rescaping it with fewer plants...
...here in AZ i like to grow cacti and succulents in pots and in the yard...
...Yes, i will get pics of the Cichlid Tank up soon...I'd like for the new fish to be out and about before I do...
I also grow cactus and succulents, all in pots, some outside, most in the sunroom. Take a few pics of yours sometimes to show us? Forgot to tell you I really like that shirt!
...so yesterday I saw that the new cichlids were getting a lot of bacterial growth on their fins and sides where my friend roughed them up when netting them...It wasn't getting any better as the evening commenced so I started treating the tank with Lifeguard...today there is improvement...I'm going to get some more of it from Petsmart when i'm out today...they suggest 5 day treatment...
Quote from: Ron Sower on April 28, 2020, 02:26:38 PM
...so yesterday I saw that the new cichlids were getting a lot of bacterial growth on their fins and sides where my friend roughed them up when netting them...It wasn't getting any better as the evening commenced so I started treating the tank with Lifeguard...today there is improvement...I'm going to get some more of it from Petsmart when i'm out today...they suggest 5 day treatment...
Hope all goes well with that treatment Ron. |^| |^| |^|
Ron, I finally got around to watching the video yesterday instead of taking a nap. I am so impressed. Everything is so well thought out and your work is flawless. My DIY projects are all done to the best of my ability but my ability is sorely lacking.
The tank itself is drop dead gorgeous. Also, you have a killer aquarium club. I wish we had any kind of club in my area.
...Liz, do you want to join our FB page?...It has a lot of people on it that don't actually belong to the club...a lot of newbies to the hobby too...they like it because it's a friendly, non-attack page...no cursing, etc...our board serves as admins and I'm particularly harsh on those that attack others...If they don't change their ways I WHACK 'EM! :D ;)...if you or anyone else wants to join, I'll watch for you to pop up...don;t forget to answer ALL the qusestions... https://www.facebook.com/groups/SASAZ/
I do my best to avoid Facebook but I'll try your page. Thanks for the invitation, Ron.
|^| |^| |^|
...yesterday, while watching my cichlid tank, I saw a soft tissue extrusion from the male gold severum's cloacal opening...contacte a couple friends in the club about it and learned it's a prolapse...about all I can do for it is isolate him and use epsom salt to help shrink the tissue and it may return to normal...any ideas from you guys?...
...otherwise, as I continue to treat the tank, the big red shoulders' skin lesions are healing nicely on most of them...1 of the 6 had deeper lesions and a bad scrape on the eye and his spots are a little slower healing...but they are healing!... |^|
...I may do the first water change on that tank this morning after I get back from getting epsom salts...
Quote from: Ron Sower on May 01, 2020, 11:12:48 AM
...yesterday, while watching my cichlid tank, I saw a soft tissue extrusion from the male gold severum's cloacal opening...contacte a couple friends in the club about it and learned it's a prolapse...about all I can do for it is isolate him and use epsom salt to help shrink the tissue and it may return to normal...any ideas from you guys?...
...otherwise, as I continue to treat the tank, the big red shoulders' skin lesions are healing nicely on most of them...1 of the 6 had deeper lesions and a bad scrape on the eye and his spots are a little slower healing...but they are healing!... |^|
...I may do the first water change on that tank this morning after I get back from getting epsom salts...
Good luck with that Ron. I'm hoping they all get better quickly for you. |^| |^| |^|
...yesterday the bacterial infections seemed to be clearing up more...the red shoulder severums are looking better all the time...
...I put the gold severum with the prolapse in a dark 5g bucket and am treating with epsom salts...I'll see if there is any shrinkage later today...
...my friend, Bill, is bringing me 3 Electric Blue Acara to go with my 1 that I already have...and 1 Geophagus sp. "Rio Tapajos Red Cap"...at least that's what I think he's bringing me... http://www.tfhmagazine.com/freshwater/feature-articles/geophagus-sp-rio-tapajos-red-cap-an-unclaimed-amazon-jewel.htm
...Monday I will pick up some fish I ordered from my LFS...after that I will be looking to keep the specimens I really like and rehoming the rest...the tank will be overcrowded unless I do that...
...got the new EBAs and the Geophagus this morning...they're doing well so far...2 of the EBAs appear to be pairing off with tubes partially down :D :D ...
...nothing serious going on with the pairs yet...
...UPS delivered the meds I ordered this morning and now I can continue treating the Red Shoulder Severums....only one has any serious infection now...
...tomorrow I will be picking up some Geophagus meeki from my LFS...he'll have my red spotted severums too...soon I will be culling some of the red shoulders and rehoming...they are big but relatively gentle...
...WELL....didn't get to the LFS yesterday but will go today....
...so I thought nothing serious was going on with the pairings yesterday...wellllllll...this morning there is a flat rock loaded with Electric Blue Acara eggs and the parents are fanning and protecting...! :D ...probably 200 eggs...
...the red shoulder and gold severum haven't spawned yet...their rock is about 12" from the EBAs...
...the last RSS with a skin lesion and cloudy eye is even better today...the white is gone from the lesion and the eye is close to clear...
...I hope to clear out some of these this weekend and just keep 2 or 3 of o ut of the 6 of them...
I always enjoy hearing when sick fish get well. So many don't, especially in the Discus community. I hate seeing all the pics of sick Discus on FB. It is just heartbreaking to see how people take a gorgeous healthy discus and let it become what the pics show. Just terrible. Well done Ron!
Barb
Quote from: Barb on May 07, 2020, 10:19:00 AM
I always enjoy hearing when sick fish get well. So many don't, especially in the Discus community. I hate seeing all the pics of sick Discus on FB. It is just heartbreaking to see how people take a gorgeous healthy discus and let it become what the pics show. Just terrible. Well done Ron!
Barb
...thanks, Barb...I hate it when someone gives me a fish and it doesn't do well...
Quote from: Ron Sower on May 07, 2020, 10:49:19 AM
Quote from: Barb on May 07, 2020, 10:19:00 AM
I always enjoy hearing when sick fish get well. So many don't, especially in the Discus community. I hate seeing all the pics of sick Discus on FB. It is just heartbreaking to see how people take a gorgeous healthy discus and let it become what the pics show. Just terrible. Well done Ron!
Barb
...thanks, Barb...I hate it when someone gives me a fish and it doesn't do well...
Nice job with those those sick fish Ron. |^| |^| |^|
..thanks Willy...he still has some infection...but I'm working on him...another water change today and then another treatment for the tank...
...I picked up the fish yesterday at the LFS...I got 3, supposed to be, red spotted gold severums....they aren't all that gold and the spots aren't showing yet...they are young and I'll give them time...4 firemouth cichlids, also young but showing a bit of color,,,2 more electric blue acaras, pale last night coloring up some today...
...last night when these new ones were introduced there was a lot of chasing and posturing going on...this morning, so far, not so much...
...my other pair of EBAs are still fanning the eggs...only see one white one...I may have someone, who is set up to raise fry, to take either the rock with eggs or the wigglers if that comes to pass...
...it's time to pull out the red shoulder severums I don't want to keep and a fellow is supposed to come this afternoon to take 3 or 4 of them...I think I want to keep 2...they are as large a my whole hand and more....beautiful fish...
...knowing that it is not likely that the EBA fry, if the eggs hatch, will not likely survive in the community tank, I contacted a fellow who likes to raise big fish to see if he wanted the eggs to try to hatch and grow out the fry...he came over yesterday and I gave him the rock with the eggs attached...he took them home and placed the rock on 2 sponge filters sitting side-by-side...that should keep a nice flow over the eggs...
...the other fellow that was supposed to come get 3 red shoulders from me yesterday couldn't make it until today, so the fish each remained in their own 5g bucket last night...hope he shows up today because the buckets are sitting in the middle of my fish room...!
...once these guys are gone, I'm pretty set with the inhabitants for a little while...
And we will need a pic of it all Ron! When you can.
Barb
...I'll get a pic soon, Barb...
...took 4 red shoulders to my friend Rob to give to his brother...in return he gave me a large SunSun canister filter he has no use for anymore...I've never had one of those, but he said it was wonderful...I'll set it up tomorrow, I figure....anyhow, I decided to keep one of the red shoulders... mainly because I gues I'd rather have 3 instead of 2 in that tank for now...I don't know... :-\
...as I sit here and watch the cichlid tank, I love the way they all just glide through the water...the only somewhat aggressive ones are the Firemouths...they are intraspecifically somewhat aggressive...they are only 2+" long...
...after dinner last night I decided to clean and set up the SunSun 304B canister filter I got in the trade for the fish...I was disappointed that it was about 1.5" too tall to fit in the space under the cichlid tank....
...I decided to exchange it with the Eheim 2217 on the Congo tank and set it up there... it is really quiet like the Eheim...I cleaned out the Eheim and have it ready to reassemble and install on the Cichlid tank tonight...
...the plastic intake and return stems for the Sunsun weren't all there, so I ordered a set from Amazon to be here tomorrow or Friday...
...the lesion on the side of the red shouldered severum is almost clear now...I had thought about including him in the trade, but decided not to because I've got a "relationship" with him now...crazy, right? huh
...the small firemouth cichlids are showing conspecific aggression...one little guy thinks he owns the other 3...I find myself sitting and watching the inter- and intra-specific dynamics in that tank a lot...I've always enjoyed the smaller cichlids when I've had them...now I'm enjoying the larger versions...! |^| ...quite different behavior than that exhibited in the Congo Tetra tank...!
...I have some Manzanita branches that I glued together at their bases to make the structure look like a tree-fall in the water...the glue I used was the Gorilla Glue that creates a polyurethane foam...in most cases it works well, but in this case I've had to shift the structure around several times and the foam sheared and the 3 branches have come apart...I've got some stainless steel screws since I finished that structure, so I'm going to pull the pieces out and screw them together...
...time for an update...
...the red shoulder that had the cloudy eye and the lesion on the side is almost completely healed...
...the large geophagus developed what looked like a pimple in its shoulder area which just kept getting larger and eventually opened with white all around it...didn't look like fungus...more like bacteria...I didn't have any meds for it so took him out, swabbed the area clean of the white material with a cuetip and dabbed Neosporin on it...he didn't make it...
...also a firemouth has some spots on its back at the anterior base of the dorsal fin...I'm going to pick up meds for it today...
...this new set of larger fish is a bit of a challenge for me...Not only am I dealing with their health issues I haven't encountered before, I miss the heavily planted tank look...don't know how long these fish with stay with me...
...the fellow I gave the blue acara eggs to has had them hatch...that's exciting...
...after about 6 weeks into this tank, the water is almost crystal clear...took some time for the new filter to colonize I guess...fish are looking good...enjoying them but miss plants...no more spawns yet...
...a few days ago the Electric Blue Acaras spawned again in the same place... after a couple days the eggs were gone...this was right after I'd introduced 8 rabauti cories into the tank, so I was sure they had sneaked in and eaten them...
...last night I noticed the parents were still chasing all the tankmates to the other end of the tank...so, I went over to see if there were any eggs left on the rock they were protecting...none there ...so I thought they were getting ready to spawn again, even though it was so soon...while examining the rock with a flashlight I noticed under it in a dug out trough there was a collection of grey detritus...on further inspection and closer look it was a massive bunch of wigglers! |^|...
...I decided I would place about half of them in a 5g tank I was cycling for some new shrimp to see how they grow compared to the other parent raised half in a community cichlid tank...no fungused ones this morning so far!... wfwf
Cool thing, Ron! Smart parents, too.
When I want to cycle a tank I just move one of my cycled sponges to it and it's cycled!
...I generally suck gunky water from my large sponge tower into a bucket and use that...
...the EBA fry left with the parents are now gone... :(
...but the ones I moved to the 5g are doing fine so far...I picked up some live BBS today and they liked that!...If I were going to get into really breeding fish again I would set up a BBS hatchery...but right now I'll continue to grind up decapsulated BS eggs and flake food for them and buy some shrimp occasionally...They're cute little suckers!...heck all the little fry are cute!...
...the EBA fry are coming along...the female died yesterday...no symptoms other than just laying upright at the bottom of the tank... :(
...the little EBA fry have just about doubled in length...I probably ought to contact someone who is set up to grow out fry to take most of them...I only have the 5g tank for them...
...sent off about half of the EBA fry I had in the 5g tank...now maybe the ones left will have less competition for food and space...Leo was going to put them into a 40g tank by themselves and I explained that they might starve to death not being able to find food in that large of a tank and recommended a 5 or 10g to start...Hope he does it and they survive...
...while he was here he saw my Crockagator Cove dragonstone feature and bought it!...What a surprize...!
I'm so sorry that your female died. The same thing happened to his Discus female of a wild caught pair. It's a shame to loose a good breeder.
...thank you for the sentiment, Liz...
...a fellow I think I've done some fish trading with years ago has contacted me about my EBA fry...he wants them...I told him I have 60-80 left and they'r about 1/4" long...he made me and offer for all of them and is coming to get them Sunday!...I might keep a couple...but I really want that little 5g for another strain of Neo shrimp!...
...I've added 4 green severums to the cichlid tank...they are about silver dollar size...cute little buggers and they have assimilated well...they have no fear and are not aggressive...
...I keep looking at the cichlid tank and thinking I sure could grow a lot of plants in there!...Might sell the 3 red shoulder severums soon...
...saw a fellow on our FB page looking for larger fish to go into his new 225g tank...I traded one of my red shoulder severums for his slightly smaller red spotted severum...got him home and all he did was lay on his side in the bottom of the bucket...by bedtime I figured he would be dead this morning...NOT!... he was upright and doing well...trauma shock, I guess was his problem....
...I put him in the 125 with the rest of the severums...I was surprised to see NO aggression...several of the fish went over and nuzzled him a little..he didn't flinch...then they drifted side-by-side some...now he's swimming around like he's been there for weeks....! |^|
...I sure am glad I taught my fish good manners!... ;D ;D ;D ;D
Bet that was a scare Ron. Reminds me of an African Cichlid tank I had years ago. One of the fish was badly beaten up, all his fins were gone. He was floating at the top of the tank, just a beaten up body without fins. Terrible looking. I got a net to get him out,and he moved! He tried to get away from the net. So I left him alone. He hid a lot, but slowly he grew out all new fins and became a fine looking healthy fish. Those Cichlids are tough, but don't think an angel or discus would fare so well...
Barb
...I was pretty down when I went to bed that night....but pretty up when I saw him the next morning... |^|
I googled that fish Ron and it's quite a looker. I wouldn't mine having a couple of those in my fishroom. |^| |^| |^| |^| |^|
...update on Cichlid Tank activities...
Cigar time
...on Sep 4 the Electric Blue Acaras spawned and yesterday we have wigglers...!!...I plan to pull them out Friday or Saturday and put them in on of the cycling shrimp 5g tanks...
Cigar time, again
...yesterday one of the gold severum females and a red shoulder male spawned...!! I hope the eggs hatch before we leave Sunday for a Vegas trip... If so, I can put the fry in another cycling tank...
Wow, a whole lotta breeding going on there Ron! Good luck with them all.
Barb
You are definitely doing something right Ron. Keep it up. |^| |^| |^| |^| |^|
... I guess something went wrong!...the eggs on the severum rock are all totally white... I wonder if one of them was sterile ...don;t know enough about them...
...The EBA wigglers are getting stronger...I'll transfer them tomorrow to a cycled 5g tank...
...the red shoulder and Gold severums spawned again...another white egg batch by day 2 and now gone from the rock...
...the young EBAs I put into the 5g tank before we left for our trip are doing fine and growing...I have a bunch of them sold at the swap meet on the 4th...going to the same lady that bought the ones I sold to another fellow on our FB page!!!...