Duncan7

Gutted guys, one of mine has a sore eye after he bashed it into something.... or someone. I want some more fish, but i seriously need a larger tank before i can get my texas and jag..... or AT and more Bichirs

Exactly what i was thinking!!! Please preserve it! Great photos, i think freshwater crays are awesome.

My 3 dats and 2 bichirs are currently the only inhabitants in a 120x60x60cm tank, looking at getting a 200Lx80Wx65Hcm or there abouts in the not too distant future

Pfft dont make room "just cause maybe" worry bout moving him on if you need to, there is a number of people that would happily have him if need be... including myself Fruju obviously has dibs.

Care to elaborate?? Or is it a secret? haha

Good plan, mummy isnt so stoked about the fishy habit!

Haha thanks, dunno yet, she just likes what mummy has got to stick in her mouth!

Not unemployed, just my last week of 4 on annual leave for the birth of my first child Gutted i have to go back to work next week... I wont be spamming anywhere as many threads then!!!!

Yeah they grow quite slow, but thats just them they are cool, mine will also get the odd bit of discus tucker They are pretty good eaters, try to keep the pellets as the bulk of their food as its just so good to have them on pellets, the smaller two are happy on them but the bigger guy is increasingly enjoying the shrimp and i tend to be increasing the amount of it im feeding

Nothing yet, been 'thinking' about that 2m one for sale in te aroha, but my circumstances would be similar to yours... ie parther leaving if i got it... Really want to set up a new one about the same size, kinda having a go at building a cabinet for the 4x2x2 and will see how it goes and if its worth doing the same for a new bigger tank. Dunno, think that one for sale is about 4 or 5 years old so should be good, but id like a sumped one tho, guess the fx5 would be ample. So either have to get it drilled and have a sump made, which wouldnt be that much cheaper than a new tank if im going to build my own stand... and id have a brand new tank... Guess all the extra bits for a new tank would add up, probably need a bigger sump and return pump... maybe more lights. So the appeal in the second hand one is that it is the size i want, even if it isnt drilled fir a sump/overflow, cheaper and all ready to go. However i dont need a bigger tank right now, and new is always nice for a tank that size, so yeah just tossing up on what to do. A four week old child and one income tend to inhibit the fish expansion... so maybe now isnt the time.

Had them nearly 3 years, bought them from a guy when they were about 7-8cm? big one is now atleast 25cm, maybe closer to 30cm two smaller are atleast 20. They eat hikari cichlid gold 'big' size floating pellets, hikari massivore sinking pellets, shrimp every couple of days and the odd bit of beef heart...

hae heard that their aggression isnt too bad when smaller, but have heard of instances that when they get bigger they seem to snap so to speak and try to kill everything... But as always that will probably depend on the fish... Have a chat to LA and see how he found/find them to keep and the possible tankmates for them.

Tails will usually grow back, although fairly rapidly so if you think its an older wound id say it would have regenerated by now and possibly wont heal/change any futher. The barbel should heal too.

Nice man, awesome markings on both the dats and the ornate.

Do it! Very similar to what i hope to achieve

Yeah i hear you, im quite prepared to wait to start my colony, its just that there is no gurantee of supply, they are often available now, but who knows about the future... Not loaded by any means, but would like to have a group of similar sized individuals growing together.. if i got one then couldnt get another for 5 months there would be quite a difference in size, and possibly couldnt be housed together till smaller one grew a bit...

Haha kindrid fish brothers... Go the AT's they are cool. Like the sound of a bichir pile! How many dels have you got now? You won that one from that auction with the ornate and then got another two larger ones?

i aint got any dels, trying to figure out the best way to get a few, keep coming back to buying a few small ones and growing them up...

What?! Getting rid of them?

You wouldnt believe that i too had been thinking a group of dels for the last couple of weeks and and thought recently about adding some small tigers (possibly AT) and growing them out together!

Mine arent too bad most of the time, few squabbles occasionally, nothing serious, i still think i would be better with another two.. To make a group of 5.

Yeah im not sure anymore about the colours, maybe they are always pissed at eachother?? Fighting for a bit of dominance... The smaller dats can just fit in the pipes, get in there if the big ones being a bully, bichirs like them too.

Fed the Dats and they were feeling quite photogenic so i snapped a few impromptu pics Now please excuse the grubby glass and the poor quality photos! My biggest Smaller one showing his bars Two smaller ones together Trio plus ornate Trio again Once again with ornate Curious ornate on his own People talk of stable colours, with defined bars, now mine dont usually have this colouration and they have only really lived on their own with the two ornates for the last couple of years, so i assume they are not short of space or unhappy. The only time i really see the distinct bars is after a water change, tank remodel, or when they get a bit stroppy with eachother, Thus i think the stable bars is actually a sign of agression/teritorial challenge/Stay away from me etc? The dark brown (all over) colouration seems to be when they dont feel threatened or when they feel most comfortable. Just my 2c. Dunno what others have experienced. Would be interested to hear your thoughts? I may be completely wrong. Enjoy!

Just awesome, never really liked african cichlids, but you got me thinking about it now, amazing colours! Well done.

Shame you are so far from hamilton, you could buy the stand off this person viewtopic.php?f=11&t=42415 and ill have the rest of the gear as i would be looking to build my own stand