74 replies to this topic

[Liberty]

Welcome to the aquarium enthusiast topic. Allow me to introduce myself once again.

My name's Garry! (without the extra 'r' and exclamation mark) and after about 12 days since starting up my new Aqua One 620 90L aquarium, I have decided to make this topic for all aquarium enthusiasts on SubyClub. I am new to the cichlid, pronounced sɪklɨd, world so cut me some slack if I ask a silly question or don't know the answer to a simple question, we've all gotta start somewhere. Now I've got some basic knowledge when it comes down to maintaining a tank and feeding the fish (I've had comet goldfish for many years) but my knowledge of cichlids on a more broad scale is fairly poor. Hopefully we can help each other out and change that. I am slowly getting the grasp for things though and I am a keen and patient learner. I'll cut things short for this intro though as many of you already know me.

Here are the current cichlids I have:

• Mazey - Kaligono (Nimbochromis polystigma) - female
• Tweety and Bolt - Electric Yellow (Labidochromis caeruleus) - female and male
• Avatar - Eureka Red Peacock (Aulonocara jacobfreibergi) - male
• Sharkbait - Rainbow Shark (Epalzeorhynchos frenatum) - male
• Hoover - Common Pleco (Hypostomus plecostemus)

I couldn't have collected such an awesome range of cichlids if it wasn't for the dedication, patience and extremely perfectly customer service offered by Andrew over at Labyrinth Aquariums in Campsie. I will definitely be a long-term customer and highly recommend Andrew for absolutely everything and anything to do with aquariums.


Here are some snaps of my brand new aquarium. Much more to come of course but we've all gotta learn to crawl before we can walk.

Here is that tank as it stood during the 7 day cycle.



Here is my chosen substrate.



This is the first day the fish were introduced after having everything cycle for 7 days. And yes, the brown dots at the bottom is food, not poo.



Here is (from left to right) Avatar, Bolt, Sharkbait and Tweety. Presumably trying to scout for their new homes?



And here is the tank as it stands from about 5:30 PM on Wednesday afternoon after getting my water checked out and purchasing a bit of Mopani driftwood from Andrew. Oh, and after a 25% water change to deal with the moderate ammonia levels as advised. I absolutely LOVE the natural look in an aquarium, and am hoping to replace the boat with a sandstone cave-type set up in the near future.




Please feel free to comment on my set up. Every comment will be greatly appreciated and please, if there is anything I can improve on or something I need to know, feel free to let me know. I've got another small tank I used to have goldfish in and wouldn't mind getting more. I was thinking Neon Tetras (Paracheirodon innesi)?

Thanks for the read guys and be sure to share your own aquariums!

[Adam]

So many words!

Looks good, Gaz.

Here's mine. It has tetras and stuff in it haha. I got it given to me!

[Liberty]

Thanks man. Mine was given to me by my girlfriend for Valentine's Day. So romantic!

I like the way yours looks and the fact that it's so natural with all the plants and stuff. The rock looks awesome too. The only thing I'd change would be the substrate personally, but I remember you saying you liked it? I have no idea what sort of tetra they are, but I can easily find out for you.

[SSIKness666]

Hi mate and welcome to this fantastic hobby.

How was it doing a 25% water change with the siphon gravel cleaning method? Your substrate is lighter than gravel so I was wondering if much of it was sucked up during the process?

I didn't see a thermostat anywhere. You should invest in one, especially for the upcoming colder weather in winter.

Make sure you do your research on Cichlids because although most have aggressive temperaments, some are more aggressive than others.

Do you have any plans on getting more Electric Yellows? They will do very well in a small shoal of at least 4 individuals, not to mention looking great too.

If you have any problems introducing a new fish and your current fish start to bully their new tankmate over territory you can remove all fish from the tank, rearrange the plants and decor and then re-introduce the fish so as to allow them all equal opportunities to find homes.

You'll find that by offering your fish more choices of places to hide and call their own, you will notice that you will see them more regularly.

I have quite an extensive knowledge on aquarium fish and would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have on the topic.

I used to own a 4' x 2' x 2' tank worth about $2500 including filters and stocked with $500 worth of fish (freshwater not saltwater)

Here is a video of my previous pride and joy:



Good luck and have fun with your new aquarium. Just try not to overstock the tank do to the size constraints.

[Liberty]

Wow, that tank look neat man. Quite pricey as well but I guess once you have all the equipment you only need to maintain it so in the long run it's close to nothing. I did the 25% water change with water alone. I didn't clean the substrate at all with any sort of method. Not yet anyway. I was only advised to change over the water and that's it. I am looking into substrate cleaning options though, just haven't bought anything. My local aquarium place didn't tell me I needed a thermostat... I thought you only had to heat your water with tropical fish, not cichlids. Unless cichlids are a type of tropical fish, then you've got me stumped. The guy that I bought my fish from though is extremely knowledgeable, so if I needed it he'd definitely tell me about it.

I have no plans of getting more Electric Yellows as of yet, but I am thinking of getting other species. I was hoping to get an Angelfish but I've got to wait until my ammonia levels are sorted before introducing any new fish to the tank. The ones I have now aren't aggressive at all, if anything the Rainbow Shark is the most aggressive according to Andrew. I have not noticed any signs of aggressive behaviour though but they are still young so we'll see how they go once they start getting mature.

Thanks for the tips mate, I appreciate it. Didn't know there'd be as much interest in aquariums as I've noticed from a few members already.

[B4TT]

No good pics as yet, but here are a few happy snaps of fish in my tank (that I randomly had on my phone) My tank is about 4 foot.
One of my Crystal Shrimp

Bumble Bee Goby

Kuhli Loach (I have about 5 of these, funny little buggers to watch).. was having a green algae problem when this pic was taken.


And this is my old fish tank back up the coast that my little brother has now inherited. Breed all kinds of Cichlids now (he has a bunch of tanks set up) It is about 6 foot.

[Adam]

Thanks man. Mine was given to me by my girlfriend for Valentine's Day. So romantic!

I like the way yours looks and the fact that it's so natural with all the plants and stuff. The rock looks awesome too. The only thing I'd change would be the substrate personally, but I remember you saying you liked it? I have no idea what sort of tetra they are, but I can easily find out for you.

Nah I know what they are, just too lazy to type!

I hate the substrate! Might go get something lighter to replace it with this weekend. As far as the natural look goes, I like the way it is laid out, but I'll be slowly swapping ou the plastic plants for live plants. Mainly in the right rear corner. Also wanna try grow some pants out of the "rock" it looks quite natural because it has some algae growing in it, I think

[SSIKness666]

FYI, fish I've kept:

neon tetra
cardinal tetra
leopard danio
zebra danio
elephant nose fish
black ghost knife fish
archer fish
silver scat
red scat
monodactylus sebae
monodactylus argenteus
short-finned freshwater eel
sleepy cod
common sailfin pleco
clown pleco
peppermint bristlenose
eel-tailed catfish
juvenile pidgeon blood discus
zebra convict
humphead
green terror
malawi eye-biter
tiger barb
spotted pictus
electric yellow
electric blue (maybe)
Ramirez Ram
kuhli loach
pakistani loach
clown loach
african butterfly fish
bumblebee goby
royal whiptail catfish
featherfin catfish
synodontis multipunctatus
synodontis petricola
lizardfish
glass catfish
upside-down catfish
red devil
borneo sucker - Beaufortia kweichowensis
black lancer catfish
spiny eel
oscar

[B4TT]

I used to have a large Tiger Oscar and an Albino, I used to play chicken with it by putting my finger in the top of the water and trying to see how close it could get before I pulled my finger out without being bitten (I was like 10 at the time haha)

[Liberty]

Some really nice pics B4TT. And that's one big Common Pleco you've got in the last pic! It is a Pleco isn't it? That'd be worth in excess of $200, easy... I was told that when mine hits a certain size that I could get a decent amount of money for it, and if I sold it back to him, he'd give me cash for it plus another baby one to grow.

Would you consider doing that with a piranha?

Nah I know what they are, just too lazy to type!

I hate the substrate! Might go get something lighter to replace it with this weekend. As far as the natural look goes, I like the way it is laid out, but I'll be slowly swapping ou the plastic plants for live plants. Mainly in the right rear corner. Also wanna try grow some pants out of the "rock" it looks quite natural because it has some algae growing in it, I think

Ha ha, I knew you said something about your substrate so I took a 50/50 guess. Fail.

You do know that live plants require much more maintenance and your fish might eat them? I was gonna go down that road as well but was told what I just wrote. I think the best thing for me is to "practice" with what I have now and once I've got some experience and get the hang of things I'll start introducing live plants. Or I can do a live plant thing in my small tank... We'll see how we go. I reckon they'd look awesome with your set up to be honest.

I saw a rock at the Labyrinth Aquariums with a mossy type plant growing off of it. Looked awesome. My Common Pleco eats algae.


Holy shit that's a huge list SSIKness666... What happened to them all?

[Adam]

Awesome pics, Josh!!!


The effort to grow live is well worth it once the plants are established the fish eating them seems to be not a huge problem!!

[B4TT]

Some really nice pics B4TT. And that's one big Common Pleco you've got in the last pic! It is a Pleco isn't it? That'd be worth in excess of $200, easy... I was told that when mine hits a certain size that I could get a decent amount of money for it, and if I sold it back to him, he'd give me cash for it plus another baby one to grow.

Yeah mate, it is worth a bit! He has had the thing for a fair while now.

[Liberty]

That's awesome. I can't wait for mine to reach that size, or may be a bit smaller as I doubt it'd be comfortable in my size tank.

Awesome pics, Josh!!!


The effort to grow live is well worth it once the plants are established the fish eating them seems to be not a huge problem!!

Yeah I know, but I'm just afraid that I'll pay too much attention to the plants and kinda push aside the fish. You just have to pay attention to its growth and ensure that it doesn't get any diseases. Depending on the plant you might have to trim it down quite often. If you get the right balance between plants and fish, then I assume it will lighten your work load.

When are you planning on doing it all 'dam?

[B4TT]

The effort to grow live is well worth it once the plants are established the fish eating them seems to be not a huge problem!!

Indeed, I don't like plastic plants.. always have had live in mine. Might spend some time on the tank over the weekend and get some nice pics, I really want one of those 3D Backgrounds or something because at the moment there is nothing on it.

[SSIKness666]

Holy shit that's a huge list SSIKness666... What happened to them all?

Moved from QLD to TAS. I'm in SA now.

[Adam]

When are you planning on doing it all 'dam?

It will be a gradual transformation

I'm hoping to start building a stand this weekend!

[Liberty]

The best way of course. That'll be cool! Be sure to take pics.

Indeed, I don't like plastic plants.. always have had live in mine. Might spend some time on the tank over the weekend and get some nice pics, I really want one of those 3D Backgrounds or something because at the moment there is nothing on it.

Me neither, but I have to stick it out for now. The 3D background I bought was on sale for only $40, and it's genuine Aqua One branded! They're in excess of $200 for a good quality one as well. If it wasn't for the cheap one, I don't think I would've bought it at all.

Moved from QLD to TAS. I'm in SA now.

Ah ok, sucks. Did you sell them or give them away?

[SSIKness666]

Ah ok, sucks. Did you sell them or give them away?

Much to my regret, I gave them away to someone who was equally as passionate as I with aquariums. He worked in a pet store and it was only after visiting him at the shop that I noticed my large Silver Scats being offered for sale. He kept the fish of mine he wanted like the large Sailfin Pleco and other exotics I had. I was fuming. Deeply regretted my decision ever since.

I could have sold the tank to a friend though.

Of that large list of fish I have kept I lost my whole tank stock (small tank) due to a careless error on my behalf in the initial stages of maintaining an aquarium, and the 2nd batch died because the airline tube for my powerhead fell into the water and so no bubbles were being produced and so there was enough oxygen for all the fish and because bubbles help to disperse heat out of the tank via the bubbles reaching the surface and collapsing, the water was too warm too.

[skillionaire]

Hi,

I'm hoping to start building a stand this weekend!

Oh, mercy.

Cheers,
Nik

[Adam]

GET OUT!!!!


I will prove you Wong!