• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

my new project-Aquarium keeping

ocnbrze

ocnbrze

DON'T PANIC!!!!!!!!!
VIP Member
hey guys,

so i have been itching to get back into the fish hobby for quite sometime now. it has been well over 15 years or so since i last had one, so i thought it was time start up again. i just setup a 55 gal tall aquarium.

and here it is, my tank:
c9cx.jpg


it is running with a fluval 404 canister with only only sponge and biologocal media....no carbon.

and here are my fish:
g9fx.jpg

venustus
iwkv.jpg

albino compressiceps
9ycl.jpg

yellow fin borleyi
8ez2.jpg

blue peacock
vbcs.jpg

albino ruby red peacock
hp67.jpg

vc 10
3jlg.jpg

red shoulder peacock
hhqv.jpg

sunshine peacock
k2lt.jpg

Aulanocara jacobfriebergi

all of my fish are juveniles and are about 2-3" in length....most of these guys will get to be anywhere from 6" to 8". i will need a bigger tank at some point........saving up for a 135 or 150:D

these fish are called african cichlids and they are one of my favorite fish. they are probably the most colorful fish you will find in freshwater and they come in all shapes and sizes. they are extremely hardy fish.

i plan on adding more and will be taking more pictures as well.

anyways.....just wanted to share with y'all my hobby here on my favorite forum.

let me know what you think or if you would like to learn a lot more about these guys.
 
Looking good. :)

I was looking to get some new fish last weekend, but when we went to the shop, 2/3's of the tanks had stickers on them saying they fish were being treated and weren't for sale so I decided against it.

Pretty good job on the pics too, mine are a little camera shy.

Why no carbon btw?
 
El Presidente said:
Looking good. :)

I was looking to get some new fish last weekend, but when we went to the shop, 2/3's of the tanks had stickers on them saying they fish were being treated and weren't for sale so I decided against it.

Pretty good job on the pics too, mine are a little camera shy.

Why no carbon btw?
Click to expand...

I think biological does much better at filtering the tank then chemical.

What type of tank do you have?
 
Very nice they going to get very large . I had them what u feed them feeder guppies and blood worms . did you get the crayfish for the remains . I love them and the Oscars .
 
BRAINZ2013 said:
Very nice they going to get very large . I had them what u feed them feeder guppies and blood worms . did you get the crayfish for the remains . I love them and the Oscars .
Click to expand...

Well these are African cichlids and some of the ones I have are omnivores and some are even herbivores......so feeding them live fish or bloodworms is not good for them.

I found a really good high quality flake food. It is made up of spirulina and shrimp meal.

Oscars get too big for my tastes........plus African cichlids are way more colorful........almost as beautiful as saltwater fish.
 
I've always had an aquarium and loved it.


Went from freshwater as a kid to freshwater with all live plants to brackish and finally to saltwater in undergrad.


Had to give it up when I moved up north last year but have wanted to get back into it ever since
 
ocnbrze said:
Lol.....forgot to resize them.......I have a Canon rebel t3i.

I sat on a stool with my camera for like half an hour trying to get the best shots.......lol
Click to expand...


It takes a few minutes to load and I'm on a 50mbps/sec.

Once I get my house I want a saltwater tank.
 
Now may I ask what u keep pH at and what you use as a scavenger since some Dont get along with catfish . I know Cory and plank algae eater and crayfish do but they need hideouts
 
BRAINZ2013 said:
Now may I ask what u keep pH at and what you use as a scavenger since some Dont get along with catfish . I know Cory and plank algae eater and crayfish do but they need hideouts
Click to expand...

i have 3" sailfin plecostomus that i rarely see, but it has done a pretty good job of keeping the algea off of the glass for the most part.

cory's will not make it in my tank.......they well get devoured at some point, when my fish get bigger.

i do plan on getting me one of these at some point:
db3l6.jpg
Syndontis angelicus
ci29.jpg
Syndontis petricola

these are african catfish. they belong to a group of catfish called upside down catfish.....they can take a beating and even dish them out as well and are perfect tank mates for my fish.

they are expensive though so i'm in no rush to get them yet.....i might wait until i get a bigger tank.

as far as water chemistry.......i'm using hard tap water with a ph somewhere in the 8 range.....tbh africans are not very picky about water chemistry unless you want to breed them(even then they will breed in almost any condition)......the only thing i'm concerned with is high nitrates which with regular and frequent water changes should take care of that.
 
Yes that's the one the sailfin they take beating and give some also they make a buzzing sound and known for head bunting sort of like a dolphins and sharks . and the sailfin also love a good den or as we know a hideout . I love them guys the keep you algae free . now I know the pH is hard to keep up . well over here it is they tell us to mix bottle water with tap . but some bottle water pH is higher than what we drink . do you have floating live plants I Dont trust the artificial plastic they scratch up the fix causing ick and making other fish sick . I keep the stress coat for that . someone told me to put table salt in the water just a pinch that kills the bacteria.:eek:.I never tried it because some bacteria is good
 
Some of my fish are herbivorous so live plants is out of the question......or they will uproot them as they like to sift and move the gravel around.....plus my pleco will most likely eat them.

Never heard of plastic plants irritating the fish so much so that they get ick.........ick is always on the tank and when a fish is stressed that is when they get it. The common reasons for stress are water quality and aggression.

A little bit of salt is ok......it helps to reduce stress by adding electrolytes. It will not harm your nitrifying bacteria. It is a good preventive for ick as well.
 
Now I see maybe I will try the salt trick . now the plant thing I was told that but I know plants shelter the baby fry . but was told Dont get the plastic get soft or real plants .
 
I really like a good live aquarium.

Back when I had freshwater, I had a community tank. Frogs, guppies, tetras, ect.

The live plants were great for hiding the young. Sometimes so much so that I couldn't find them and had stragglers outside of the nursery net for a week or so
 
I had sward fish and thought all the babies had been eaten and was fooled cause 2 had lived hiding in the plants
 
yeah my africans are a bit different then your typical fish tank.

they are what we call mouth brooders. where the mother will hold the eggs until they hatch in her mouth.....some will hold them even when they are small fry, until they are able to swim on their own. also some of the mothers will even protect them for a while and when she senses danger, she will keep them safe in her mouth.

i'm not into breeding at the moment and all of my fish so far are males.....at least from what i can tell.

now check this photo:
qu6q.jpg

aint he gorgeous?

he is only 2.5".......can't wait until he is 7"-8"

now i am debating as to where to get some of the other african cichlids as my lfs(local fish store) does not carry many africans as i would like.....i might try and do mail order as their is this one youtube channel:https://www.youtube.com/user/KGTropicals ......this guy knows what he is talking about.....and i do like the fact that he uploads videos of his recent shipments........shipping fees is the issue as it is expensive, but it could be worth it. debating if i should wait until i get a bigger tank or just go ahead and go for it.

unless somebody here knows a good place in LA to get african cichlids.
 
Had a couple cichlids for a well for a while. Those were fun fish. Really seemed to show personality :)


Always thought the mouth brooding would be sweet, but never got them to mate
 
Rxpert83 said:
Had a couple cichlids for a well for a while. Those were fun fish. Really seemed to show personality :)


Always thought the mouth brooding would be sweet, but never got them to mate
Click to expand...

that is the cool thing about africans is that they are super easy to breed......you do have to be careful as some will even cross breed....which is weird.

if they cross breed DO NOT SELL THEM BACK TO YOUR FISH STORE!!!!!! most will not take them anyways.
 
Posting to subscribe. I can't see any pics at work and I don't want to forget this thread.:(

I currently have a 6 Gallon fresh to entertain my son. I'd love a big tank but I don't really have a place to put it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom