CodKing Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Hi all, Well the weekend turned out to be a success, 8 Bullies, a nice bit of wood and a couple of good rocks. Now I have it all setup, I've got two questions: 1. Is there such a thing as too much air? My filter does and excellent job at adding bubbles and I have a bubble wall that goes the length of the tank. They aren't always on together due to noise but occasionally they are just cos it looks good! 2. Feeding time! Some of my bullies don't seem interested and my method could use some refinement I use a bit of nylon to float tiny bits of liver past their faces. There are two darker fish that just go for it but the rest don't seem to care. Any improvements on my very time consuming method would be great Thanks for any input! I've got slow internet and hosting issues but will put more shots up soon http://yfrog.com/izimg3936smedj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Well done! And nice photo!! Looking at the spots on (probably) his face, he might be an upland or Cran's. Looking forward to seeing more photos. Side-on face shots are the easiest for identifying them. Make sure you get some tank shots too 1. Too much air? Bubbles do not add oxygen to the water. They circulate the water so it all gets exposed to the surface for gas exchange. Water can only hold a certain amount of dissolved oxygen (and other gasses). This amount changes with temperature: cold water holds more oxygen than warm water. This is the main reason why natives are sensitive to high temperatures: they are evolved for water with lots of oxygen. Put them in warm water and they cannot extract enough oxygen. If your filter is moving the water all around the tank sufficiently, consider the bubbler as a pretty addition 2: Feeding Try finding some live food, though winter isn't great for that. Even go back to the stream you got them and spend some time gathering stream bugs. Whiteworms are good. Better if you use a feeding cone and only put in a few at a time until some are eating them, otherwise they get lost in the substrate. Bloodworms are also handy - they look like food and the current moves them like food. However, like with whiteworms, don't just drop the lot in, and they are not very nutritious so use it as a training food. I haven't tried liver but presumably it is ok. Someone else may have comments on this? If two fish go for it, the others should eventually learn through watching. (they two darker fish may well be males, usually they are the bold ones at feeding time, and often males go dark then) The nylon may be putting them off. Because you are controlling it they might be scared by it. New fish take a while to settle, and having to learn that something is food when it looks, smells, tastes AND behaves completely differently to usual food is hard. :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodKing Posted June 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Thanks Stella, that would be the case for the feeding. I'd never seen a feeding cone before, I'll have to get/make one! Few more pics, not much sun here at the moment so not really good for taking shots. Light not arriving till next week as well http://i49.tinypic.com/ape8fa.jpg http://i47.tinypic.com/350qom0.jpg http://i49.tinypic.com/28c143k.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Oooh lovely photos!! :bounce: Definitely upland bullies. And given the size and colouration I might hazard that you are in the South Island? Uplands because of the glorious orange spots on the face. Males will have a much more bulbous or stocky head profile compared to females, and often the spotting is more obvious. Being uplands, they are non-diadromous (larvae don't need to go to sea) so they can be raised in the aquarium. Feeding cones are really cheap and pretty common in pet shops. Here be a pic: http://www.thatpetplace.com/images/pres ... P50796.jpg it suctions on to the side of the tank, top level with the surface, and the worms just slowly fall through. Bloodworms, being dead, are less inclined to do this, but are easier to drop in in small amounts. I sometimes cut a bloodworm cube into smaller pieces if there aren't enough mouths or enthusiasm for the whole lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 oh, and the orange stripe on the first dorsal fin (visible in photos two and three) indicate that that fish (or those fish?) is/are male Females have no coloured stripe. Some males may have the colour at some times but not others. Bullies change colour intensity a lot! (way to forget the most blatant sex-distinguishing feature :roll: ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodKing Posted June 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Some of those have had a bit of colour editing, none of these ones do. In the winter sun they almost glow. http://i46.tinypic.com/s67wa8.jpg http://i50.tinypic.com/25jfsbn.jpg http://i45.tinypic.com/zt9dmd.jpg Got these from a stream outside of Oxford, just north-west of Christchurch, probably about 300m under the snow line, so it was pretty fresh! And yes, very uplandy Looks like I have 2 girls and 6 guys. Tank isn't much to see yet, just a couple of rocks and a cool log. Trying to find some polystyrene to make a backdrop. I want to spread all the possible hidey holes vertically so I can see them more often, leaving the front of the tank for nice clean sandy-go-planty area. Has anyone tried something like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 pop into longs polystyrene in march place, belfast they will sort you out cheap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 again, utterly stunning photos. I look forward to you getting better lighting! 6 boys and 2 girls is probably a recipe for some pretty serious territorial disputes. Keeping things 50:50 or more girls than boys is a better mix. You could see how things go, or take some boys back and get some extra girls. There is a lot of variation in personality amongst bullies, some can be quite laid back while others are seriously aggressive. I do find having several males together results in more interesting behaviours than only one male, but too many and they start looking a bit scrappy from the continual fighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodKing Posted June 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Hmmm, will have to sort that out! Thanks How necessary is flow/current for bullies? Would are they happier in faster or slower water. I'd prefer to have a tank that is powered by air bubbles rather than a big filter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodKing Posted June 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 pop into longs polystyrene in march place, belfast they will sort you out cheap Thanks btw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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