elusive_fish Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 Hi all, I'm hoping you can all offer some advice on how I can change my 2 tanks around. I'm new to the forums - you can find a bit about me and pictures of my 2 smallish tanks in my 'welcome' post here: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=37219 Basically, I have 2 aquariums and I'm getting a little bored of the krib factory and wanting to try something a little more challenging. Here is what I currently have: 140 L - breeding pair of kribensis, 30 - 50 krib babies of various sizes, 2 very small lionheads, 1 bristlenose plec 54L - 4 tiger barbs (2 don't look particularly tiger barb ish...), 1 small lionhead, around 10 krib babies, 1 bristlenose plec What I'm thinking about doing is selling the kribs and trying to find something a little more unusual/challenging to hopefully breed. The three small lionheads I have look interesting, but they are very small and all from the same parents. Ive always liked firemouths, so Id like to see if I could get a couple in the larger tank, maybe with the lionheads and keep the tiger barbs as dither/target fish. How difficult is it to get firemouths to breed? Would they be ok in a 140L tank? Would they be similar temperaments to lionheads? ie semi aggressive A guy who owns a fish store locally told me I should try and breed german blue rams (Ramezei?) as he has real trouble keeping them alive when importing. Would I be able to keep/breed a couple in the smaller 2x1x1' tank? Obviously they wouldnt go with the firemouths and lionheads. I could keep just these in the bigger tank but as they are kinda delicate it really limits what else I can keep. Any input/ideas you have would be much appreciated. Thanks, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jatt16 Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 how about corydora. there pretty cheap to get and easily breed and you can involve yourself more in the caring of the eggs and they are intresting to watch when they are spawning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted March 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 how about corydora. there pretty cheap to get and easily breed and you can involve yourself more in the caring of the eggs and they are intresting to watch when they are spawning Thanks for the reply! You mean the little armoured cat fish? They're cute little guys, but I'm really after some form of cichlid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 you should be able to sell the kribs without too many issues. for firemouths you will need a larger, longer tank as they can get quite large. they also get pretty snappy when they breed - but do so very easily... its not a step up from kribs. since you like rams, have a go at breeding them. they breed easily - but rearing the kids is a bit more of a challenge. Just keep those water changes regular, and youshould be alite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted March 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 you should be able to sell the kribs without too many issues. for firemouths you will need a larger, longer tank as they can get quite large. they also get pretty snappy when they breed - but do so very easily... its not a step up from kribs. since you like rams, have a go at breeding them. they breed easily - but rearing the kids is a bit more of a challenge. Just keep those water changes regular, and youshould be alite. Excuse my ignorance, but if firemouths breed so readily how come juveniles sell for around $20? I guess I put it a little wrong when I said I wanted something more challenging... its more that I want something different. I've kept kribs before and they are in every LFS I visit. firemouths are amusing with their throat flare thing and lionheads have such a strange face and odd swimming style - thats why im attracted to them. So would the rams work in the smaller tank if I decided to use the bigger tank for lionheads? I'm a little scared of doing ramerezi as I will be really unpopular with the wife if I spend $50+ on something that dies quickly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 Pricing depends on supply and demand not necassarily on how easy fish are to breed.. Yes if everyone bred firemouths then the price would go down but noone really does seem to. They are very easy to breed and are generally good parents, when I was younger I bred them in a 2ft tank would recommend a descent sized 3ft for an adult pair (can get away with smaller when young). When you want to breed them and mix them with other fish there can be problems with aggression, lionheads would probably be ok in your larger tank if there were hidey holes as they tend to hide alot anyway but they would pick off babies. Rams are harder, I struggle to keep them alive I have had 10+ pairs of them over the years and always had them die on me. I haven't been slack either for the last 6-7 pairs I wormed them did lots of good water changes kept everything perfect and they just died. I even had no luck with the nzbred ones that I had, they seem very fragile (what your local petshop tells you should confirm this) and if your wife doesn't like you wasting your $$'s I wouldn't recommend them. A nice pair of dwarf flags or other dwarfs or something like that would be good or you could try some livebearers in the smaller tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 as ryan said... supply, demand.bottled water is more expensive than petrol :lol: i love firemouths so if you do have a pair please start a thread about them! :bounce: love the colours and the whole gill flaring thing. its awesome lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted March 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 Thanks for your thoughts. If I can find some decent looking juvi firemouths and lionheads I might just sell my kribensis on to someone else (who will need to get a second tank to keep all the fry!). The several firemouths ive seen around lately hve been manky - one with a deformed dorsal fin and the other had very little red on it. I have 3 sub 2cm lionheads, but as they are all from the same parents I guess I should try and put them with fish from other sources? The ones I have a quite blue/grey colour and others ive seen are a more boring grey/brown. Anyone happen to have any lionheads or firemouths going for a good price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 hmm I have just had a different suggestion Why not turn your 140L tank into an african tank.. You could do a breeding group of peacocks in there 1m and several females and your lionheads, Pm Navarre he is in Chch and can show you some peacocks (and probably sell you some young to grow out) and probably also sell you some lionheads from a different source as your other ones. IMO inbreeding as long as you are responsible (remove any deformed ones and stop breeding if you get lots) isn't a problem but you should source new genes whenever you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted March 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 Not a bad suggestion. I'll have to think it through. I really enjoyed the electric yellows and peacocks I kept years ago. The kenyis were ok and the yellow stripes were just nasty little buggers. The only thing that keeps pulling me back to firemouths is that Ive never kept them before. The other stumbling block to changing over is that I have pea gravel sized substrate, a large bit of bog wood and some nice plant growth for a low light tank... none of which are ideal for malawi. I'd have to gut and start again. Do peacocks breed in pH close to neutral? from what I understand, lionheads are river cichlids and don't do the basic water like the malawi guys. Anyone know what are these 'dog tooth' cichlids like? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=204554148 They look a lot like kenyis to me. If anyone who lives in Blenheim or Auckland have anything interesting I'll be in both of those places in the next month Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 Yep kenyi and aurutus and both pretty agro not suitable for smaller tanks.. You could leave your gravel and driftwood I would recommend you add something to raise the ph a little and ensure it stays up though not hard or expensive to do. They can and do breed at a lower ph but personally I don't think it is good and recommend people keep them 7.5+, plenty of people buy them and keep them in whatever though and they seem to do ok. Myself and an awful lot of people I have seen with african tanks that have hard water and high ph keep lionheads and the malawi's together with no problems others have even had the lionheads breed and do very well in that water. Stay away from the afra if you have a smaller tank, I brought a pair and they are pretty nasty they are happy now in my 540L tank but still dominate a fair bit of it. Also very very hard to breed in a pair because the male is so dammed agro and almost kills the females whenever you seperate them to breed, I bred them once (using a divider and it was a pain in the bum) and kept half the babies to grow out and get more females so I can breed them again. They are nothing like kenyi at all male kenyi are yellow and have barring that is more triangular in shape that doesn't go right through the body and also different body shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted March 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 What about kadangos (Copadichromis Borleyi) or powder blues(Pseudotropheus socolofi) - would either of those work in the tank size? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 MTS is the answer to your problem ... I have some bubba lionheads you could have - guessing they female by their size compared to theo nes I moved to the amin tank (or I could give you a mix of both) red jewels are very pretty, I just saw a few young adults at the local LFS and was soooo tempted to buy them if I din;t have a dozen of them as bubbas dems are nice -- as a red empress and yellow labs me personally I'm after a nice deep green malawi cichlid (if they exist) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 Kadango's/powder blues/empresses all get too big for your tank.. You could try dems but you would need a few unsure how common they are with breeders in Chch, I know I have to send some down to a friend down there to get them breeding when I have some big enough to ship. Electric yellows could get along alright in a smaller tank. mj, without thinking too hard the only green malawi would be a giraffe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted March 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 Well, I think I'm going to change my 140L over to a malawi tank. Only thing is that means my substrate really needs to be changed, those plants that are growing well have to go, the lovely big bit of bogwood needs to go... and most of my current fish will need to find new homes! I think I'm going to get some melanachromis johanni... they are great looking, have a lot of personality and, from what I have read/heard, they are far more mellow than those mean yellow stripes I had years ago. Some of those Dem's you have sound great too... maybe I'll need to find someone else from CHCH who wants some so we can split the shipping cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 Johannii will outgrow your 140L tank I have some for sale if your interested and plan to upgrade in the future. PM Navarre and see what he has for sale and what he can suggest for your tank size As I said you don't need to ditch your substrate or bog wood just add something else to buffer it.. Some people even get away with plants but if you like them then you are best to remove them as they can be hard on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted March 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 My substrate is ugly and my piece of bogwood takes up a big chunk of the surface. Call me a dog with a bone, but If I am going to do a malawi tank I'd prefer to do it right. I have been PM'ing Navarre, he has been incredibly helpful. Hopefully I get to see his fish this weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted March 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Well I'm now officially cured of MTS. I'm selling my two smaller tanks in order to pay for the 4ft I just got on trademe. I miss having a malawi tank and want to go back that way and found that I can do it 'cost neutral'. I'll have to keep firemouths at a different time All I need now is a filter, some substrate (coral sand?), rocks to decorate and some FISH. Navarre has been a real help, Im looking forward to getting some fish off him. Any fish/substrate/decoration suggestions are appreciated! (Im not really entirely cured of MTS. I still have a 54L 'back up' tank in the garage! haha) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 That reminds me of an alcoholic claiming he/she can stop any time they want to :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firenzenz Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 That reminds me of an alcoholic claiming he/she can stop any time they want to :lol: I was thinking it was more like the last season's review of a TV soap. Alot has happened in 4 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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