Ira Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 I realize 120ppm is way too high. That was only back when I was doing 1/3-1/4 water changes. I've had Valisneria in the cichlid tank, that lasted the longest it lasted maybe 2 months. It grew pretty fast at first, but once the Severum took a bite out of a blade, it basically either just stopped growing or rotted all the way to the base. That was the most successful I've found. The closest thing to a plant I can get to stay in that tank is algae. So, it's basically an all rock tank. I may get some fake plants just to give the fish some cover, but only if I can find some really cheap. I might be able to get some plants to stay in there if I DO weigh them down, but only because the Severum mostly ignores the stems and eats the leaves. But I think he'd finish the rest off eventually though. Filtration in that tank is a Fluval 404, it's a 200 liter. PH is just a bit above 7 and pretty stable. I can't be much more precise than that, I'm horrible at comparing color charts to the color of the test tube. If I wasn't unemployed and didn't have to deal with the wife, I'd get a tank that would fit in the space in the stand under the tank, throw some lights and a bunch of plants in it and then plumb it up to the main tank. This picture is about 6 months old, back basically after I spent $30 buying Valisneria to feed the fish. The fish in there have changed a bit since then. It's now missing the big Geophagus Surinamensis and added an electric blue, an electric yellow, 2 small bristlenose plecos and 2 blue rams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 Hi Ira, Well well, and I thought all this time you were a lady, we live and learn. :oops: Totally impressed with your tank, (Wish I had it ) Have you thought of some of the Crypts, or Lugwigia, Pigmy swords, which gropw pretty fast, they have pretty tough leaves, and someone mentioned that Java fern tasted bad, (Caryl had some for sale) The other thing is why not stick a whole bunch of cheap stuff like Elodia Densa (Oxygen weed) in the tank. They MAY decided to feed on this instead of your good stuff. Someone else mentioned lettuce leaves, which might be worth a try. Put a request in the Trade section on this board, you may get some cheeeeeep plants Great stuff Ira, Great picture too. Is that a shark I see? Regards Bill (Pegasus) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 31, 2002 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 Actually, that should be 3 sharks you see. Here's another pic taken the same time. That Surinamensis near the back is the one that died. Nicest looking fish in the tank. I was really upset about that. He got into the rocks and got stuck, must have beat himself to death trying to escape. I did try throwing lettuce in there. Most of the fish in there like it. The silver sharks make a lot of noise when they eat, a loud clicking noise. Noone touched the plants until the lettuce was gone...So the plants were saved for about 5 hours. Next time I go to Animates I might grab some more plants and try them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 Hi again, Just re-read your article. Talking about fake plants. My wife is into having these scattered around our home if the ones in the garden are not blooming too well. Anyway, she gets most of them from the two dollar shops or Kongs, I thinkl they call it. Some of these "plastic" plants are so amazing you have to touch or smell them to tell the difference. The thing is that many of the ferns and leaves on these "plants/flowers" are so lifelike, and would look great in an aquarium at a fraction of the cost of the ones sold in aquatic stores. Just strip off the bits that look good and there you have it, instant plants, and in many cases more lifelike than the ones sold for a lot more. There's fine tender ferns along with every shape and size you can imagine, so it just takes a bit of searching through the hundreds they have to come up with a substitute, and all for two bucks Regards Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 31, 2002 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 Hehe, $2 store plants. Wait, that's not funny, that's a pretty good idea. If the plants I get tomorrow don't live I'll make a trip to the $2 store and have a browse. Now, I'm off to feed some chicken to my fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 1, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2002 OK, got a clump of Java Fern(OUCH! expensive), some kinda sword and I think indian fern. The guy there suggested the indian fern because it grows really fast and it was cheap, so I thought I'd try it. 5 minutes and no bites so far, that's promising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 9, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2002 My fish must have been spying on me and saw me saying they eat any plants I put in the tank. I mowed one of my other tanks and threw most of the plants into the cichlid tank, about a dozen pieces of fuctifino plant...And they've only nibbled a bit and pulled a couple out in the last 3-4 days. I think they just want to piss me off and make me look like an idiot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuhliloach Posted June 13, 2002 Report Share Posted June 13, 2002 Nice fish Ira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted August 11, 2002 Report Share Posted August 11, 2002 Hi, Ira Could you give me some more infromation on the fish at the back of you tank you called it a Surinamensis the one that died ??? I truly like it and haven't seen it before any info would be greatly appreciated Tanks Regards Cam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted August 11, 2002 Report Share Posted August 11, 2002 Good to see you back Kuhuliloach.... How are the fish doing ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted August 12, 2002 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2002 Hobbit, let's see what info I can remember without doing any research. They're south american cichlids, mouthbrooders, love moving gravel around all over the place. They're a bit agressive but in my experience the worst that happens is they chase other fish around, don't do any real harm. I didn't have any trouble with them even with tiny 1" blue rams. They're pretty tough, get to about 9" and aren't very picky about their water. They eat just about anything. I recently bought two replacements, they were about $18 if I remember right. They seem moderately common here, there seem to be heaps around Wellington at the moment, I don't know about in Australia. May be also called Surinams geophagus or some variation of that. I don't think you should have much trouble getting a good fish store to order one for you. Not sure of the common name, I've heard demon eartheater. Definitely one of my favorite fish. Oh, just remembered, it may also be called a Geophagus altifrons if noone can find a surinamensis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuhliloach Posted August 13, 2002 Report Share Posted August 13, 2002 Hi Pegasus To be honest the fish have been a bit neglected lately and I have had a couple of deaths. I lost my female Discus really p@#%#d me of as they had been spawning and I had moved them to a breeding tank I also lost my Red spot plec. I have been too busy with work ( I sell performance car accessories ) and have not had much time for the fish. But I have been trying to forget the work in the last couple of weeks and spend some time relaxing and doing the things I used to do before work got crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldie Posted August 14, 2002 Report Share Posted August 14, 2002 We have one in the tank at work (Veterinarys') and it is a "Geophagus jurupari" The one at work is in with the more aggressive fish and is a real gentleman (gentlewoman) never annoying the other fish and has become a firm favourite among the staff. To the degree that it is not for sale. It came from Brooklands. Really nice fish for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted August 14, 2002 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2002 I've got a couple Juruparis too. Completely different fish to the Surinamensis. The Juruparis are more of a punk looking fish and the Surinamensis are more suit as my wife calls them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disneyworld Posted August 15, 2002 Report Share Posted August 15, 2002 Beautiful tank, Ira. I have similar plant munching fish, and for plant coverage added Java fern. To prevent the buggers from eating the plants I feed them a vegetable tablet once every fortnight. It seems to work, not a single fish has touched the Java fern then...Anybody else had the same experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 15, 2002 Report Share Posted August 15, 2002 Java fern - fishy broccoli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmatix Posted August 16, 2002 Report Share Posted August 16, 2002 If you Have a problem with vegetarians go for Java, basically all fish hate the taste of it its probaly like brussel sprouts to kids. G. surinamenses look similar to snapper (very beautifull fish) and a prbably more bluish than Satanoperca jurupari. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted August 17, 2002 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2002 Yeah, the "Glitter" on a Surinamensis is more of a blue and the Jurupari is more of a green. Or maybe the surinam is blue with a bit of green and jurupari is green with a bit of blue. My little surinamensis aren't really big enough to confirm, but I think my dear departed previous ones were more bluish. I'm sure about the jurupari though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kluyu Posted August 28, 2002 Report Share Posted August 28, 2002 I felt that I too had to post on this topic of fish vs plant. The fish I have now are not too bad on plant eating, but I have had some real bad ones in the past. I had 3 oscars for a good bit, and while they were small I could keep some of the hardier plants in the tank with them. By the time they reached 5 to 6 inches (about 16cm... do you use inches or centimeters?) no plant was safe. If they did not eat the plant outright, they would pull it apart, much like a dog tearing up a toy. Also like a dog was their tendency to dig, and their like of moving their "toys" from one spot to another. I finally could keep no real plants at all, and had only rocks and some fake (silk and/or plastic) plants in with them. I think many keepers of the larger and more aggressive chiclids do the same. It just gets both too expensive and too much work (cleaning out the filters) to keep real plants with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joze Posted November 12, 2002 Report Share Posted November 12, 2002 If not, I have java weed and something(damned if I can remember) broadleaf that goes black, rots and new plants grow and drop. You can have some. I have started a new and much larger tank but taking a few plants wont make a huge difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joze Posted November 12, 2002 Report Share Posted November 12, 2002 Contrary to optimum growing conditions I dib them into the substrate. My mother swears I could make plastic plants grow. Family Polypodiaceae Continent Asia Region Country of origin Height 15-30 cm Width 12-20+ cm Light requirements very low-high Temperature 18-30 °C Hardness tolerance very soft-hard pH tolerance 5-8 Growth slow Demands very easy A real classic! Microsorum pteropus is a water fern which should be grown on a root or stone. If it is planted in the bottom, do not cover the rhizome because it will rot. Keep in position with a piece of fishing line until it has attached itself. Easy to propagate by splitting the horizontal rhizome or by using the small adventive plants that grow on older leaves. A hardy plant which grows in all conditions (even slightly brackish water). The black spots under the leaves are sporangia, not signs of disease as many believe. Recommended for both beginners and the more experienced. Herbivorous fish often leave it alone. Used to be called (mistakenly) ''Microsorium''. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted November 12, 2002 Report Share Posted November 12, 2002 Hi there Jaze.... Welcome to the NZ Fishroom. Sounds like you're well into your plants and fish he he. There's another site attached to this one. Click on the twin fishes at the top of the page. There's a fish and plant survey that might interest you. Real nice having you here and hope you find lotsa interesting posts. Regards, Bill (Pegasus) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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