Bananalobster

I was thinking of some danios or fancy tetras but I read on one site that these fish do not need them as they are not shy and particularly good parents... It also stated they would chase dithers untill they killed them !! Is this a bit of an over exaggeration? I did want 4 or 5 mid water dithers to liven it up a bit. I dont want a fish massacre on my hands either though lol.

Thankyou Antwan! I want to try keep the tank lightly stocked in hopes the mums to be will raise the fry to a size that I will be able to pass on to other keepers. Ive just asked caserole if he has any of these for sale at the moment I was told he was the guy to go to. Im not sure if I want to go for two males because I havnt heard many good things about more than one in a tank. Maybe I will go for the one male and make up three distinct territories for three girls I had heard keeping the PH acidic is not necessary for this fish but I have a hunch all the driftwood should help keep it nice for them 8)

Hello again. I have come to rely on the information given on this site over the last few months (when I stumbled across it googling). It has helped me greatly through so many things. To get to the point.. Im looking to tap some of the experience from the many expert fish keepers on here. I have a tank I am setting up at the moment for dwarf cichlids. It is 84CM long, 40CM wide and approx 35CM high. I have decided on the orange flash cockatoo dwarf cichlid for the inhabitants. What is everybody's experience on these? I have researched and found they are very territorial to other fish. There will only be cockatoo's in here so that will not be an issue for me. PH is 7 and temperature is 24 degrees celcius. Would 1 male and 2-3 females be happy in here? I have many terracotta pots laid out aswell as large pieces of driftwood breaking up line of site and creating boundaries. I really would like to get everything right first time on this tank. So if there are any ways to improve I would love to hear. P.S I will have an external HOB filter that pumps 1000 LPH, will this be okay? Sorry for the long drawn out post! And thankyou in advance for any comments and advise.

Ive decided to just put one small harem or pair in there, it will be much less stressfull for me and the fishes hehe. I have a double sponge filter im going to put in there when im convinced the chlorine has gone and a tiny internal that turns over 145 LPH. Im hoping that will be enough to seed such a big tank (for me anyway!). I dont have any small hardy fish.. Just a young apisto sp. steel blue dwarf cichlid. The tank conditions (slightly acidic and soft) will be the same in both tanks, could I maybe use him? Or would he be damaged? I could add all the water from his 50L tank aswell. He was by himself.

Thanks I think I might do that. Is stress coat a waste of money? Does everybody just fill the buckets with tap water and let it aerate over night or something?

thanks antwan! Yes I was planning to put lots of driftwood and rocks for caves. Ive been inspired by some pictures on here of people using small terracotta pots in there tanks in piles... Looks very effective. The tank has been filled with water so I can start it cycling but I was wondering if I need to use something to get rid of the chlorine.. That would be ALOT of stress coat lol. will it naturally disperse in a couple of days of sitting?

Thanks for the offer farmchick I am going to auckland to get the tank but the tank will not be ready for them for a wee while yet. Am I right in assuming introducing a young group (4 or so) to get a pair is the best way to insure no injury? I want to get three or four pairs of different dwarfs, all of them bout 2 cm when I get them. I know it sounds like a squeeze but is it possible if I get them all at the same time?

Oh. well I would be looking at getting pairs/harems of each. With them growing much bigger than other dwarfs such as blue rams.. I thought they might end up keeping everybody in one corner thats all. Have you kept kribensis with other dwarfs before? Did it work alright for you if so?

Hi everyone, Im picking up a large 3 ft tank this weekend (140L+). I want to set it up after it cycles with some dwarf cichlids. I was wondering if anybody had any ideas? I want to go for the less agro ones so that I can put a few different ones in. I have done some research and decided kribensis are probably out of the picture as they are very territorial when paired up. What is everybodys experiences with housing different types together?

Hey they are very similar to my apisto sp. steel blue.. Is this one of the species bred to make them? Nice fish! Wish I could get my ones to pose for the camera.. They always run and hide, even when I use my fone lol.

Wow nice one! Those look awesome. Im starting up a dwarf cichlid tank too and if they were in Rotorua I would have definitely gone for them. Im jealous lol.

I have a partner that came from yorkshire and they were surprised at the amount of old cars on the road. Apparently you dont see many 1984 etc cars getting used as everyday shopping cars? The rust from using salt on the roads sees to that. Oh yeah and most of our houses are made of wood lol.

Awesome thanks. Nah it was more of a laziness to do with cleaning the HOB filter. I figured if I could get the sponge filter to fit on it it would end up being the dirty part and I would only need to take the sponges off to rinse rather than all the media inside. (Still laziness though I spose lol.)

The tank Im putting it in has malawis so I didnt think the lime would be too much of an issue... Unless it makes it way too high? Im trying to make it go with a darker theme because the fish I have are electric yellows and I thought it would be a cool contrast.

Is it possible to plug the output plastic hose of a standard air driven sponge filter into the intake of the hang on back jebo bio filter? If you took out that piece of bended plastic that is slotted in the top that is.. So that its vertical.. Saw some other brands of HOB's advertising this and was just wondering if I could do this with a jebo that I havnt got yet, (which is why I havnt tried it out).

One question.. Ive been thinking about making a series of caves out of some polystyrene and then covering it with quick dry cement.. Anybody with experience in this that could tell me what has worked for them and whether it would be safe or not to use cement dye to make the color of the cement a little more appealing/darker?

Mine also do it when there is a territory dispute..

Ive seen golden algae eaters in the petshop sucking on them (the actual shell hole) never looked close enough to see if they were just empty shells or what though.

hehe thanks timtam I wish I could but dont have his email as its all through trademe. No lids. Maybe I will just wait till the next one comes along as I was trying to snatch a good deal. ($40 was the highest bid and it was by me... didnt meet the reserve and auction closed.

hehehe thanks keri anne. yeah thats the same with me.. he will let me buy the tank.. but then il need a new filter, a cabinet for it to sit on, some lights... $$$ lol. I cant help it.

Hey.. I was just offered a tank for $60. The dimensions are 84Lx44Wx41H (cm).. No stand or lid. Used cond. does that seem like a fair deal? had a look at other tanks on trademe but none are the same/similar dimension so I cant compare really. Anybody got some advise on whether or not I should get it?

oh cool I have some kribensis available from a breeder close to me.. I think they are just at the sexable size. Do you think I should get four or more or just two that may have paired up (if any look like they have)?

just random sand I "borrowed" from the beach. coral sand does raise the ph and hardens the water doesnt it? anyway.. the ph from the tap is about 7 to 7.2ish so should be okay. will be driftwood to help buffer. thanks for the help and anymore info is very welcome EDIT: sorry thought you said "shouldnt" raise the ph. in that case I might go get some fine sand... lots on trademe at the mo for a good price

http://www.forum.apistogramma.com/showt ... steel+blue thats a site with a woman who has managed to get fry from her pair, has all her observations that has helped me.

For anybody trying to find females, apparently they turn very yellowish when ready to spawn. Mine is currently shaking and flaring its gills at its reflection in the tank like a siamese fighter lol.