# My Bolivian Ram Journal



## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

*My Bolivian Ram Journal*

I decided to share my experiences with Bolivian ram cichlids _“Mikrogeophagus altispinosus”_ with the forum in this journal. Why post this in a betta forum? Because we all love fish, if you didn't you wouldn't be here. Everybody needs a break once in a while even from Bettas. While this journal will deal primarily with the upkeep of a my Bolivian ram community aquarium you can also expect some appearances from my bettas, Abe & Sparky as well as the set-up of my new tank, a 40 gallon breeder.









_First day in the tank after a nervous night._

It's really amazing how far these two have come in just under two months. 









_This goes on all day..._

I started this tank, a 20 gallon long back in December of 2014. It was originally planned as a divided tank for a King betta that I fell in love with at a local Petco.








_I hope that he found a good home..._

Things fell through due to some real life issues I had going on and I wasn't able to get my King. I needed a change of pace from bettas and really wanted to delve into the world of cichlids. I always liked Convict cichlids _ “Amatitlania nigrofasciata”_ and fell in love with this little girl at my LFS here,








_So cute and only $2.99!_

The tank was still quite a ways from being set up at this point but Convicts are pretty easy to find so it was no biggie that I couldn't take her home with me. I wanted to keep a single female Convict as a “wet pet” in the 20 long. Convicts are super aggressive and really should only be kept in a species tank or with larger fish. Female Convicts stay small at 3.5”, a 20 gallon long would make a nice home for one. Or _would_ it?

*Next up: The violent world of the Convict Cichlid*


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Here is a cute little picture of my boy Sam piling gravel on an anubias plant. After all, _"Mikrogeophagus"_ means "small earth eater".










Convict cichlids _“Amatitlania nigrofasciata_”, if you are not familiar with them are a popular aquarium fish that are known mainly for their prolific breeding and extreme aggression. Pound for pound they can be some of the meanest fish out there in the hobby. I don’t know why but I just happen to love them. I really like the pair bond that develops during breeding and how they will defend their young to the death against much larger predators. Once they pair off they are super easy to breed. The old joke is that they will start breeding in the bag on the way home from the fish store. They come from Central America but now can be found in many areas of the world as a slightly invasive species. They are great fish for beginners and are very hardy. The only drawback to them is they do not make good community citizens even know they are sold as such. They aren’t very colorful at first glance with their black bars over gray but if you look closely at the fins you will see sparks of iridescent blue and yellow. The females get a nice orange belly which makes her the fairer of the species. The males, who grow much larger at 6” will develop longer fins and a even a slight hump on the head.

Back around Christmas on 2014, I started going to pet stores a night just to observe Convicts. I spent a good deal of time just watching. They would be kept in small tanks and usually the breeding pair in the tank would terrorize all the other fish in the tank. They would just start harassing other fish for no good reason. This really started to bum me out. I really would love some Convicts but couldn’t deal with having bullies in my new tank. A pair would be wonderful, I’m really not sure how I would handle the massive amount of culling that would be needed or the likely possibility that the male will turn on the female and outright kill her. The chances of getting a compatible pair of cichlids isn’t as easy as buying a single male and female. I would find out this important lesson a little down the road. Luckily, I was thinking I would be content with a single female, fat & happy in a 20 long all to herself and maybe with an armored catfish such as a clown pleco to keep her company. This turned out not to be the case. 

I was at Petsmart at in January and saw the cutest lil’ black as night 1.5” female convict terrorizing two larger Cons to the point that if they didn’t jump out of the tank they would be dead by morning. The tails were eaten away the fish were as white as a ghost huddled in a corner, there was no hope for them. It was so sad. I then decided Convicts were not for me. I started looking towards dwarf cichlids and a possible community set-up as opposed to a “wet pet” for my 20 gallon long.

Enough about Convicts. 

Bolivian Rams are mildly aggressive and squabble from time to time. Nobody gets hurt, they are just "territorial disputes".

I shot this video earlier this week. If you look closely in the very beginning you can see a rummy nose scatter eggs. Notice the stress lines on Sam and how they disappear when things get real. 

http://vid95.photobucket.com/albums/l134/mtg14/Rams.mp4

*Next up: 40 Gallon Breeder time!*


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Very nice. Someone on the local forum I frequent keeps Bolivians and once they reach full size they have the potential to be absolute stunners. Definitely on the list of fish I'd like to keep at some point. Are these hardier than the delicate ram?


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Thanks Matt!
Yes, they are much hardier then their Venezuelan cousins. At first when I decided to go with dwarf cichilds, I wanted to keep German Blue Rams. I chose Bolivians because they fit my tap water perfectly. It would be a total bummer to take on German Blue Rams and have them die prematurely because I wasn't able to meet their water requirements. They require a temperature of 82-84° and a PH of < 6 and very soft, acidic water to thrive. 

My _"Panaqolus maccus"_ or Clown Pleco made a rare appearance out in the open this evening, I was able to snap a picture of this reclusive little guy. I have been seeing a little more of him lately since I got him a clay Pleco tube.










Here he is in front of his cave having a bit of cucumber for himself.


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

Awww! Lovely fishies! I especially like the clown pleco! wish i had big enough tank for some  

Will be subbing on this for sure! so exciting! 

Oh and Thanks to You, Sparky and Abe for teaching me to make my betta hammock safe


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## LolaQuigs (Mar 28, 2010)

Definitely following this thread; Bolivian rams in the running for a future community tank I'm planning.

Are they most comfortable in pairs, or would it be ok to keep a single Bolivian ram?


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Axeria said:


> Awww! Lovely fishies! I especially like the clown pleco! wish i had big enough tank for some
> 
> Will be subbing on this for sure! so exciting!
> 
> Oh and Thanks to You, Sparky and Abe for teaching me to make my betta hammock safe


Thank You Axeria!
Clown plecos are awesome! He basically has the run of the tank. The Rams and the Rummy Noses scatter when he swims by. They stay small at about 3.5" so a 20 gallon long is a really good size for them. The only drawback is that they create a lot of waste constantly munching on driftwood. A gravel vacuum twice a week is a necessity.

They are fun to feed. I think tonight zucchini is on the menu!

Abe & Sparky are glad they could help you out!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

LolaQuigs said:


> Definitely following this thread; Bolivian rams in the running for a future community tank I'm planning.
> 
> Are they most comfortable in pairs, or would it be ok to keep a single Bolivian ram?


A single Bolivian Ram would make a great center piece for a community tank. They stay on the bottom of the tank, rarely going above mid level. They would be fine with any kind of schooling fish, even a single Angel since they occupy different levels of the aquarium. I keep mine with a school of Rummy Nose tetras and of course the clown pleco. They nip at the tetras at times but are way to slow to do any damage. It's always, "swing and a miss".

If a male & female decides to pair up and breed you might have issues with the other fish in the tank, especially with bottom feeders like Corydoras. They will be seen as a threat to the eggs and dealt with accordingly. 

They are difficult fish to sex, I thought I had a male and female...

More on that blunder later


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

MikeG14 said:


> Thank You Axeria!
> Clown plecos are awesome! He basically has the run of the tank. The Rams and the Rummy Noses scatter when he swims by. They stay small at about 3.5" so a 20 gallon long is a really good size for them. The only drawback is that they create a lot of waste constantly munching on driftwood. A gravel vacuum twice a week is a necessity.
> 
> They are fun to feed. I think tonight zucchini is on the menu!
> ...



He sounds like quite the character!  And thats not so big a tank! I thought they might need twice that size! I figure heavy filtration is key since they are messy fish , coupled with vacuuming ofc ^_^


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## LolaQuigs (Mar 28, 2010)

Thanks for the information; I definitely don't want to deal with the aggression that comes with breeding, not to mention fry that I may not have space for, so I'm glad to hear that they won't be stressed if kept without a mate. Looking forward to future installments, particularly any tips/tricks you might have picked up for getting them to feed (I've heard this can sometimes be a challenge with Bolivian rams in community tanks).


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Axeria said:


> He sounds like quite the character!  And thats not so big a tank! I thought they might need twice that size! I figure heavy filtration is key since they are messy fish , coupled with vacuuming ofc ^_^


Yep, they stay small so you can keep them in a 20 gallon. Bushynose Plecos also stay pretty small at around 5", but I feel they need at least a 30 gallon. I cringe when I see somebody walk out of a pet store with a Common Pleco that they intend on keeping 10 gallon tank as an algae eater not realizing that it's going to grow to be over 2 feet long.

The little Clown Pleco really earns his keep after the lights go out. My Betta tanks have a slight build up of brown algae here and there around the heaters & filters. Not in this tank, he's my little night time clean up crew. 

Sam likes to do a bit of gardening himself. He keeps diatoms off the plants in his territory. Bolivian Rams are omnivores and really enjoy picking at my Pleco's veggies and algae wafers. They also pick at the roots of the anubias, hopefully they aren't doing any harm.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

LolaQuigs said:


> Looking forward to future installments, particularly any tips/tricks you might have picked up for getting them to feed (I've heard this can sometimes be a challenge with Bolivian rams in community tanks).


That's a great question Lola, an important one too.

After some initial frustration I got it all worked out and everyone in the tank is well fed. I will photograph and explain in detail my technique in a future post.









_Sam's thinking, "who are these guys and why are they stealing all my food?"_


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I took delivery of my 40 Gallon breeder & stand last Wednesday. I did a 3 day leak test and cleaned it out and now I'm ready to paint the outside of the back black. I stopped at Lowe’s Saturday night and picked up some foam rollers and disposable paint pans as well. 

I got a chance to stop at a new Pet Supplies Plus across the street from the Lowe’s at was pleasantly surprised on how well they take care of their fish, even bettas. The tanks are crowded but clean and the fish look very healthy. The Firemouths & Blue Acaras are the best I’ve seen. The sale prices were very competitive as well. I think some of the big box stores get a bad wrap from us. I've seen horrors in my LFS that I will go into later.

I chose a 40 Gallon breeder for one main reason, surface area. While a 55 gallon tank theoretically holds 15 more gallons and is a foot longer, it has 2’ less in surface area. Yes, two feet! The 55 is only 12” deep compared to the breeders 18”, it’s like living in a hallway. In reality a 55 only holds 52.4 gallons to the 40 breeders 44.9. I’m going to stock it with fish that mainly inhabit the bottom so the 55’s 21” height really has no advantage to me. If you have small, active schooling fish like Rainbows, a 55 would be preferable. But if you are housing Cichlids other than Angels or Discus, a 40 breeder is a better choice. 

I really like the look of a black background in an aquarium. It makes the fish and plants the star of the show. I found that more people were complimenting my store bought paper background then the actual fish! I use Valspar semi-gloss black with foam rollers. Three coats should do it for you. 

It looks fantastic when photographing the fish. I did this with all my tanks except for the quarantine. The bettas don’t really have a problem with the black background. I thought Sparky would freak out because of the reflection and go back to pacing like he did when I first got him. So I did a test with a piece of black foam core board cut to size for a few weeks and it actually calmed him down a bit.










Also stopped at one my LFSs, The Hidden Reef and picked up an Aqueon Pro 200 and a Versa-top for the breeder. I love the Aqueon Pro series of heaters and use them in all my tanks. Set 'em & forget 'em. I know the Theo Hydor get lots of love on the forum but I have found them cheap and unreliable. I tried the 100 watt model and while I liked the compact size it would not shut off. To be fair, I had an Eheim Jager fail that same weekend. I really dislike the size of the Jager, those things take up half the aquarium. The Aqueon Pro is compact & reliable and I do not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. 

*Next Up: Why Did I Choose Bolivian Rams?*










This is Redford (formerly Suzy).


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

Did you paint the glass itself?

I love your journal! It's very interesting to learn about your wet pets!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

DaytonBetta said:


> Did you paint the glass itself?
> 
> I love your journal! It's very interesting to learn about your wet pets!


Yep, I paint the glass. It's important to use a semi-gloss black. Flat black looks a little gray. You can spray paint it as well. Krylon works good, it's just a little more masking as you don't want to get overspray inside the tank. Some people are using Plasti-dip, it makes it really easy to remove if you want to change things up. 

I chose to use latex paint on my 20 gallon because I didn't have a warm enough place to spray. Spray paint won't dry correctly in colder temperatures. The garage was way too cold and spraying outside this time of the year is out of the question.

Another thing I like about the black background is that it hides all the clutter like wires, airlines as well as the wall the aquarium is placed against.

This may sound weird DaytonBetta but one of my favorite places in the world is Dayton Ohio! It's the birth place of aviation! I've been to the United States Air force Museum at Wright-Patterson so many times I've lost count! I try to go to the Indy 500 every year and always spend the Friday and part of Saturday before the race at the museum. It's one of my favorite places in the world.

I once drove the 8 hours just to confirm the color of a model airplane I was working on against a newly restored aircraft. 

It's true...










Mine's more accurate


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

That's great! We love Dayton and the air force museum. Philadelphia is fun too. I was there in September on business and had dinner at a wonderful,unique restaurant called Honey.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Do you listen to podcasts? If you do the Aquarimax podcast cast is a pretty good one. It's hosted by Rus & Kelly Wilson and is filled with all kinds of good information about fishkeeping. It can be downloaded on itunes or on their website at www.aquarimax.com. While it really isn't betta-centric, it's loaded with valuable information, especially pertaining to live foods. Rus really knows his stuff. It's interactive, they answer questions from the listeners. Give it a listen, I think you will enjoy it.

Can you find the pleco?









_a hiding clown pleco is a happy clown pleco!_


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## LolaQuigs (Mar 28, 2010)

Never heard of it, I'll have to check it out!

I *think* I see a little pleco face underneath the rock, but I had to look hard to spot it!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

LolaQuigs said:


> I *think* I see a little pleco face underneath the rock, but I had to look hard to spot it!


Yep, that’s _her_ little nose sticking out. When you have a fish as reclusive as a Clown Pleco, seeing a nose during the day becomes a special event. I’ve been seeing more of her about an hour before lights out, that’s usually when I feed _her_. Tonight I put some zucchini out early. I’m hoping I can watch _her_ eat it.

Notice I said “her”, I’ve learned how to sex Clown Plecos. He’s a she! I can give her a name now.

If you are interested in other podcasts about fishkeeping you might want to check out the the Pet Fish Talk Internet Radio Show. It’s hosted by the Bailey Bros., Tom & Nevin. It’s a longer format show, each episode is about 2 hours. It features callers, e-mails and basically interesting conversation about the tropical fish hobby. Sadly, the last show aired back in 2011. But the entire archive of shows are available here as well as the listening guides, 
http://www.petfishtalk.com/pages/pft_archive.htm
I think some of the episodes are still available on iTunes.
Some of the information may be little outdated and they have an old school view on the care of Bettas but it’s still a fun listen.

Natures Talk Show (formerly The Under the Sea Radio Show) Is a podcast that has quite a few shows pertaining to Bettas. The information on these shows are top notch. Unfortunately, the quality of the broadcast is not. Still, it’s worth a listen if you can put up with the bad audio. I really enjoy the shows on Paleontology. You can subscribe on iTunes or listen here,
http://naturestalkshow.com/


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I picked up some Fluval Flora Stainless Steel Planting Tongs last night at my LFS.
http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Flora-Stainless-Steel-Planting/dp/B004H1MV5A

I love feeding my Pleco fresh veggies but it's a real drag to remove uneaten zucchini, cucumber & romaine lettuce from the tank at 5:00 AM the next day. I thought these would save me from a wet arm so early in the morning.










I put my Pleco's zucchini in earlier than usual tonight hoping to see her eat it. She did not disappoint.










She doesn't like eating in front of people and scoots away if I get any closer.

Did you know that Rummy Nose tetras are prone to Ich? Yep! I saw my smallest flashing minutes ago against some rocks. This will be the second Ich outbreak I had with these guys. The first was about 2 days after I brought them home. Fortunately, it was in the quarantine tank. I knocked it out, it took nearly 3 weeks. They came through it fine and seemed to even thrive in the higher temperatures. They have been fine for over a month in the main tank. I'm not sure what could have brought this on. Here we go again... 

I bumped up the heat slightly, I'll set up some aeration tomorrow and slowly raise the temperature in the tank to 87° by Monday. The stakes are a little higher this time. Bolivian Rams from what I've read, really don't get Ich. I'm most worried about the Pleco. I can't really use aquarium salt with a Pleco and have to treat the entire tank. I haven't seen any white spots, even with magnification. I'm not taking any chances.

*Welcome to Mike's Rummy Noses With Ich Journal...*:evil:


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## Axeria (Feb 6, 2015)

I have a 30cm plant tweezer that have saved me getting wet too xD they are genious! 

Sorry to hear about your RN Tetras, I hope they pull through and that you get that ich away for good this time! It seems like a really annoying decease! :s


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Axeria said:


> Sorry to hear about your RN Tetras, I hope they pull through and that you get that ich away for good this time! It seems like a really annoying decease! :s


Thanks Axeria.

I'm not 100% sure I have an Ich outbreak on my hands. Although my littlest one flashed right in front of my face 3 times in 20 seconds, I've yet to see a white spot or another flash. Still, I bumped the temperature up to from 78.5° to 81.5° and added an air stone. Everyone in the tank seems fine. Maybe he just had an itchy belly. 

If I do have Ich, increasing the temperature will speed up the life cycle and I should start seeing white dots by today or tomorrow. If I start seeing white spots then sorry guys, you are in for a 2 week heatwave.

Fortunately, I have a rare day off today so I can keep a close eye on them.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I'm pretty sure my Ich outbreak was a false alarm. I haven't seen one white spot or flashing since Friday night. Perhaps the little guy was just stressed. A fish will flash if they are stressed. The Rummies are acting normally and their noses are glowing. Slowly bringing the temperature down to normal.

I had some free time Saturday night so I hit a few fish stores. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to stock this 40 gallon breeder.

My LFS's stocks were way down and I didn't see anything all that interesting. Just this poor little deformed Electric Blue Ram. This Lil' guy has loads of personality. If I had a free tank I'd take him home. Nobody is going to pay $19.99 for him, except someone stupid like me.









_He's all by himself. Somebody buy him!_

I went over to Pets Supplies Plus, which is a very nice store. They have some wonderful Electric Blue Acaras. I'm not crazy about man made morphs but they are really pretty. I need to check out some regular Blue Acaras.










The Firemouth Cichlids they have are the nicest I've seen and would go really well in my 40 with some Green Swordtails.










They take pretty good care of their Bettas at Pet Supples Plus. I'm just not so sure about these containers. It might give someone who is just getting into the hobby the wrong idea, like these are enough. It's almost like they are being sold as a decoration instead of a live animal.










Not all of them are kept in cubes, most have cups with a little gravel.










They keep the water clean and the fish look active & healthy which is more then I can say for a lot of other stores.

Off to Petsmart where there was this cute lil' gal begging me to take her home!










In this picture, you can see the iridescent yellow and (a little) blue that makes a female Convict Cichlid so attractive, not to mention her little orange belly. Her black bars look a little washed out. I think with some good food she could be spectacular!










And last but not least some Bolivian Rams. I have to admit they don't look that impressive but with some TLC they will be awesome. This is exactly how mine looked when I bought them.










A little over two months with good food & clean water...










I'm hoping to go to the Aquarium Center next Saturday which is a fantastic fish store across the Delaware over in Jersey. They have some Rainbow Cichlids that I want to take a look at. I'm leaning towards Blue Acaras, Rainbow Cichlids or Firemouths for the 40 gallon. Maybe I might move the Rams, Rummy Noses & Pleco into the 40 and add some Lemon Tetras and a school of something else into the mix.

Planning a new tank is my favorite part of the hobby!


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

Great to see your journal. 

I understand your pain on the convicts really like those guys but everything tells me to stay away from them but every few weeks I start to think it's okay they will be different for me. I have started looking at the Bolivian Ram also and I really like them. The main thing is I have a 20g long tank I could remove the female betta and just add them. Tempted to get them right away but going to keep reading up on these guys. 

Thanks for all the info and photos.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Thanks Warhawk!

I'm glad you are considering Bolivian Rams. That's kinda why I started this journal. They are a great first step into the world of Cichlids. A 20 long would work well for a pair. Even if you make the mistake of selecting 2 males (like I did :roll they will each set up a territory at the ends of the tank with a "No-Man's Land" in the middle. They squabble but nobody gets hurt. Most encounters end in a staring contest and one or the other sheepishly backing away. They will work well with any practically any type of tetra, so a Bolivian Ram can make a great centerpiece for almost any kind of community tank.

The only challenge I encountered was feeding them. But once I understood how they feed I quickly worked it out and everybody is fat & happy.

I photographed them feeding and will write up a post in a few days.

Here's a preview...


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

Looking forward to your write up. I stopped my one of the big pet stores last night to look at the Bolivian rams (they had a lot over the weekend) but they where sold out. So maybe tomorrow when they get their shipment.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Imagine looking into your betta tank and not seeing your little buddy wagging his tail at you begging for food everyday. You’d freak out if he wasn't there. When you make friends with a Clown Pleco you get used to the idea of an invisible fish.

My little girl let’s her presence be known by the amount of waste she generates.










This is three days worth of poop & wood mulm. She’s like a termite.
I do 2-20% water changes a week in all my tanks, even Bettas. Somehow it doesn't seem like enough with a Clown Pleco in the mix. My Bettas don't create this amount of waste in 6 months!

I imagine she’s happy. Plenty of wood to gnaw on, algae wafers every night, zucchini 2-3 times a week. She’s been making an regular appearance every night around 8:30 in front of her cave, It’s where she gets fed. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, I agree. My heart skips a beat when she comes out of hiding and lets me take a picture. 










She has lightened in color since I first got her, her stripes aren't as well defined either. Possibly she is adapting to her new surroundings. I think she might have had a case of cloudy eye when she came home. I did daily water changes in the quarantine tank and it cleared up nicely. The neat thing about a Plecos eye is the pupil, notice it looks like a Ω (greek omega). Clown Pleco's are nocturnal, I wonder what she sees at night? She definitely has a advantage in the tank over the other fish when the lights go out.

Even know I don't see much of her, she's rapidly becoming my favorite. I smile in the morning when I pullout the munched on zucchini from the night before. She will tolerate cucumbers, but hates romaine lettuce. I think she's going to try spinach for the first time tonight. I hear they also like yams. I may pick some up while I'm out today. I suspect that she may be grazing on some tender anubias roots near her cave. It's either that or rhizome rot. I hope it's her.

I finally got my 40 breeder painted after a busy work week. I did 6 coats over 2 days. I darkened the room a shined a flashlight inside the tank to see if it was opaque. It's all good and ready to go downstairs on the stand as soon as I get a little help. It's not heavy to lift, just awkward. My girlfriend is tiny so I'll have to ask my Brother-in-law or Uncle to come over and help out.










The texture you see looks like a smooth black coating on the inside of the tank. It adds a lot of depth and really makes the plants and fish stand out.

Well, I'm off to the Aquarium Center in Jersey to look for drfitwood and to get some stocking ideas for this tank. I think I'm going to get a nice Italian hoagie at Primo's for myself and a Black Cherry Wishniak. Maybe even a Yoo-hoo for the long ride home.


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## LolaQuigs (Mar 28, 2010)

Looks great. I'm definitely thinking about going the spray paint route for the backgrounds of future tanks.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

My trip to the Aquarium Center on Sunday was pretty neat and disappointing at the same time. My main reason for the trip was to pick out some driftwood for the new tank. They had a decent selection but none of the pieces were really what I was looking for.










Another reason for the visit was to check out the Rainbow Cichlids they got in a few weeks ago. Rainbows are a very peaceful Central American Cichlid that won't bother plants and stay relatively small. Three pairs would make a nice fit in the 40 breeder. They had plenty to choose from the problem was they didn't look all that hot. They were listless and huddling in a corner. The problem with the Aquarium center is the tanks, they are painted blue and the lighting is blue. It's so hard to see the fish and determine their coloration.










Would you buy any of these fish? They are supposed to be yellow.
Oh well, the tank won't be ready for a few weeks and I'm really leaning towards doing Blue Acaras anyway.

I picked up some Fluvial peat pellets and filter media and went to Primo's and had a fantastic hoagie.

On the way home I stumbled across a place called "Bill's Wonderland of Pets" in South Jersey. They had a pretty amazing selection of bettas for such a small store. 

This "Mustard Gas" is the nicest Betta I have ever seen in person. Not really my taste but I've never seen colors as subtle and beautiful as this on a fish before.










I prefer Plakats and they had this one little guy who was labelled as a "Trained Fighter". I kinda hate calling a betta that, I gives the wrong people the wrong idea about our beloved fishes. If I had an open tank I would have scooped him up in a second.









_This guy means business!_

I met a nice fella named Sam at the store and we chatted about Cichlids & Plecos for quite a while. He's a member of the Delaware Valley Cichlid association or something and really knew his stuff. I showed him some pictures of my Bolivian Ram tank and he was really impressed. He gave me stocking ideas for my 40 and suggested that a pair of Acaras would do really well in my new tank.

Bill's Wonderland of Pets was a nice find and I'm going to make it a point to stop by every so often.


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## LolaQuigs (Mar 28, 2010)

That "mustard gas" looks similar in color to my new betta Polaris! 



















Are rainbows best kept in groups? Pairs? Are they relatively hardy?


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

LolaQuigs said:


> That "mustard gas" looks similar in color to my new betta Polaris!


That's a beautiful fish Lola, good luck with him!



LolaQuigs said:


> Are rainbows best kept in groups? Pairs? Are they relatively hardy?


Rainbows are very hardy from what I understand you can keep them in pairs & groups and even with more aggressive Cichlids. They don't seem to get bothered too much because of their non-aggressive nature. They are really beautiful and my photo doesn't do them justice. They prefer a heavily planted tank and the ones I saw at the fish store might have been stressed by all the open space. I will give them another look and see if they've improved before I stock. 








_Not my photo_

I've got a free night tonight so I'm going to check out some LFS's closer to home. I'm still trying to decide on sand or gravel for this new tank. Maybe I'll hit Lowe's or Home Depot and look at some pool filter sand.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Well, my trip to my LFSs turned out to be a total bummer. First stop was The Hidden Reef. The tank where I got my Rummy Noses had a major ich outbreak and all that was left of my Rummies brothers & sisters were either dead or dying. It was so depressing to see such beautiful fish in this state. I wish I could have bought them all.










Mine came down with ich 2 days after I got them home and in the quarantine tank. It was barely an outbreak, I might have seen 20 white spots on a school of 7 fish. They all came through it fine in a few weeks and have been thriving ever since.










I didn't really look at any other fish, I just had to get out of there, I felt like I needed a shower. I hopped in my car headed to the Fish Factory Outlet where I saw the cutest little Blue Acara.










If my tank was ready I would have taken him home with me. He's a spunky lil' guy and when I put my fingers up to the tank he came right over begging for food.

In the next divider over they had a Redhump Eartheater _(Geophagus Steindachneri). _ It's a neat South American Cichlid that doesn't get overly large and might just work with a Blue Acara. Eartheaters are diggers and I think I would get a kick out of seeing how he would rearrange the tank when I come home from work everyday.










The only problem is he has ich! And he shares the same water as that Blue Acara, he's right next door. It's a really bad system they have at that store, 10 foot long narrow tanks with dividers. All the larger fish share the same water _and_ the same diseases.

I really go out of my way to support a small business but when I see better husbandry at chain stores it really gives me no choice but to buy my fish at Petsmart, Pet Supplies Plus or Petco.

I bought both my rummies and my pleco at the Hidden Reef and they had issues. The Rummies with ich and the Pleco with cloudy eyes. The Rams, which I got at Petsmart were perfect. Both my Bettas came from Petco and have had no problems.

Anyway, I stopped at Petsmart because they had a sale on Marineland filters. I picked up a Penguin 350B Bio-wheel for the new tank. 

I saw some interesting gravel, it was the Nat Geo. brand. It's really small, like in between sand and #2 gravel. I like the natural color so picked up a bag to experiment with. I'm having problems committing to sand with this new aquarium. If I add a pleco, sand it might be a disaster. All that poop laying on top of the sand is gonna drive me nuts. I'll have the vacuum out twice a day. 

I've got three days off in a row! I just finished my taxes and now I can get this tank filled up with water and begin cycling it.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I think I'm going to give the National Geographic Gravel a try,

http://www.petsmart.com/supplies/gravel-sand/national-geographic-trade-aquarium-substrate-zid36-21324/cat-36-catid-300072?var_id=36-21324&_t=pfm%3Dsearch

I cleaned it this morning and did a test gravel vacuum and it worked out fine. My fear was the smaller particles would get sucked through the siphon and out into the water change bucket. 










I also made the decision to stock the 40 breeder with the Rams, Rummies & Pleco. I'm going to move the whole she-bang into the larger tank. The smaller gravel will benefit the Rams as they will have an easier time sifting it and moving it around. The Rummy Noses will have a little more space to maneuver as well. The only draw back is with all that space I may never see my Clown Pleco again. The 20 gallon will be used as a quarantine for my new acquisitions, which frees up the bare bones 10 gallon tank I've been using for something else.

My final stocking for the 40 breeder should look something like this,









I'm off to Petsmart to get this ball rolling!


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## LolaQuigs (Mar 28, 2010)

Awesome! I didn't realize that Bolivians liked to dig. Is sand a suitable substrate for them? they don't uproot plants, do they?


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Actually Lola, sand is the best substrate for Bolivian Rams. They aren't known to dig up plants like their larger cousins but in an aquarium anything is possible. All my plants are tied to rocks but they do seem to enjoy piling gravel on top of some of my anubias leaves. I'm interested to see how they do with this new smaller substrate. Bolivian Rams scientific name is _Mikrogeophagus altispinosus_. Mikrogeophagus means,"Small Earth Eater" in Greek.

To answer your earlier question about Rainbows more accurately, it seems that they _do_ prefer to be in larger groups. AqAdvisor recommends a minimum of 8!

I did the *STUPIDEST* thing today. I filled my 40 breeder without checking to see if it was level... It's not level. Fortunately, my siphon hose just reaches a window. I have to empty it, make sure it's level and fill it back up again. The Bettas are going to miss their water changes today. By the time this ordeal is over I'm gonna be done with hauling buckets for the day.

It's all a learning process.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I got the new tank leveled & re-filled and the water is up to temperature.

I'm having a some filter troubles right now. The Penguin 350B will not work with the Aqueon Versa-Top. There is not enough clearance and when the lid is closed water spills out over the top. Not good. So I decided to run 2-Penguin 150B's instead. I had a brand new one that I have been keeping as a back-up and hooked that one up and ran it all night. I think two 150B's will actually be better. The fish may have found the increased, concentrated flow of the 350B stressing. By using two 150's at each end the flow will be divided and offer practically the same amount of filtration. 

Another bonus is that since my other 150B is already up and running and filled with beneficial bacteria all I have to do is move it to the new tank and I will pretty much have an instant cycle. I was kinda looking forward to showing you how to do a 6 day fishless cycle like I did in my 20 long, but that will have to wait. I can add fish to the new tank as early as tomorrow if I want. I will be adding a bottle of Tetra SafeStart as well to the new filter.

My fish have all been acclimated to Philly water for a few months now. I'm still going to play it safe and when I do my water change today I'm going to add the old water from the 20 gallon into the new tank. And when I'm ready to do the swictheroo to the new tank I'll add even more old water. Water wise, it will be like doing a 40% water change to the fish. The key will be keeping the stress down when I net the fish. I will probably be able to cup them because the water level will be very low in the 20 gallon when I do the big change. I actually prefer cupping to netting. There's less of a chance of injury.

The new 150B stopped working this morning. Probably a bad motor. I'm pretty sure I don't have the receipt, I bought it months ago and I shred everything without even looking. It's a character flaw of mine. Even if I had the receipt, I'm not mailing it back. I'll just buy a new one from the store I bought it from and return the defective one with the new receipt.

It's going to be a busy day today. Setting up this tank, drying off and returning filters, water changes in all my tanks and somehow trying to find time to make a lasagna for Easter dinner.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I decided to do a fishless cycle in the 40 after all. Should take less than a week if everything goes well. 

I moved the cycled 150B from the 20 over to the 40 gallon. I dosed the 40 with 4.0 ml of pure Ammonia. 

One thing you need to know about using pure ammonia for a fishless cycle. Not all 100% pure ammonia is safe to use, some brands use what is called a surfactant which gives a ammonia a soapy quality. You really don’t what that in your fish tank. The way you can tell if your ammonia is safe to use is by shaking it. If it suds up and foams for more that 5 seconds, it’s no good. Brands that I found safe are Blue Ribbon from True Value hardware stores and Janitorial Strength from Ace Hardware. I used Blue Ribbon for my tank.

I also added a brand new 150B to the tank and put an entire bottle of Tetra SafeSart in the filter. I also put two handfuls of gravel from the 20 gallon and added aeration to help out the beneficial bacteria. I will be covering the tank with a black beach towel as well to keep it dark. Bacteria grow better in the dark.

As of this morning my water parameters are,

Ammonia 0.50 ppm
Nitrites 0 ppm
Nitrates 0 ppm
PH not tested

If all goes well I should see nitrites as soon as tomorrow if the 40 works out the way my 20 gallon did.

The 20 got a brand new filter with half a bottle of Safe Start. I'm keeping a close eye on the water parameters for any spikes. This morning my readings were,

Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrites 0 ppm
Nitrates 5-10 ppm
PH 7.4

My little canaries in the coal mine are doing fine. The Rummies noses are glowing neon red.

The only thing that I'm doing differently this time is I'm keeping the temperature at 78°. If I don't see nitrites by Tuesday I'll raise it to 84°.

The water in the tank went from being hazy grey to crystal clear overnight.

I'd love to be able to make up a few terracotta pots today but I have the entire family coming over to my house for Easter dinner.

Happy Easter if it's your thing. If not, it's a beautiful spring day in Philly. I hope it is in your neck of the woods too!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I listened to a very interesting podcast at work today on Betta genetics. It can be found here, 
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/naturestalkshow/2015/04/05/betta-time--betta-genetics or download it on on iTunes like I did. It's hosted by IBC big-wig Gerald Griffin. I found it very informative even know I have no interest in breeding bettas. 

I went to Pet Supplies Plus today after work to check out some tetras. I saw some Black Phantom Tetras which are very interesting to me because they co-exist in the wild with Bolivian rams. The males can be territorial so I'm thinking 2 males to 4 or 5 females. Very pretty little fish. I also liked the Head and Tail Light Tetras. 

Final stocking of the breeder could look something like this,









No nitrites in the 40 yet. I bumped up the temperature to 84°, PH in the 40 is 7.4 just like my 20 gallon. You'd think with all the driftwood, Rooibos tea & IAL I've been putting in there it would have dropped. I tried some peat pellets in the filter last week that sent the Rummy Noses into a spawning frenzy. There were eggs and God know what else flying everywhere. Two days of madness. I took it out and it took another two days for things to get back to normal.

I inquired at a LFS about purchasing RO water. They sell it for 48 cents a gallon. I've never been very keen about monkeying with my water chemistry but I think I would like to keep a pair of German Blue Rams in the 20 when I'm done using it as a quarantine tank. I may even convert the substrate to sand. I'd really like to try and do a bio-tope Aquarium with the Blue Rams someday.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

It's been quite a while since I've updated this journal. I have been super busy with work and setting up new tanks, it's hard to find time. 

The 20 long that I started my Bolivian ram tank is gone. Well, actually it's upstairs waiting to be used for a future project (shellies anyone?). I picked up a 29 gallon at my LFS's dollar per gallon sale a decided to do a loose West African cichlid biotope with it. More on that later. 

The rams are doing fantastic! It seems like they almost doubled in size since I transferred them into the 40 breeder. 

Here's a nice shot of Sam the ram I took this evening,








And here is Sam's mortal enemy Redford,








You can see some of my new additions in the back. They are Black Phantom tetras. At first they were a nightmare, constantly nipping at each other but they really settled down after they got out of quarantine. They are voracious eaters and special care has to be taken to make sure everybody in the tank gets their fair share. My niece and nephew gave me 20 bucks for my birthday so I bought the school of black phantoms with the dough. I started with eight but lost one in quarantine. I lovingly refer to them as the Chickchaw tribe. I started out with 2 males & 6 females. They are some of the most interesting tetras to watch. The constantly are flaring and swimming sideways circles around each other. I highly recommend them in a community aquarium 20 gallons and up. 

Sadly, I lost Big Chief, my dominant male to a parasite last week. I was able to isolate him in a hospital tank immediately but he didn't respond well to the Metroplex. SIP big buddy. I really need to get another male & female to complete my school.

Troop 55, my rummynoses has had a few set backs. My largest female lost all color last month and was having trouble maintaining buoyancy. I had to euthanize her as there was no hope for recovery. Back in April I decided to expand the school to 12. I picked up 5 perfect little rummys at Pet Suppiles Plus. After a tedious acclimation they appeared to be doing well. Within 48 hours 3 were dead and I had to euthanize another one 5 days later. It looked to me like neon tetra disease. By the time I netted him out to isolated him he was so weakened there was no choice left but to put him out of his misery. 

That left me with one nervous rummy all by himself for 3 weeks in a 20 long. But he made it and was put into the main tank to bring the school of rummys up to eight. He joined the school and immediately and began chasing the girls even know he is half their size. I'm happy to say the little guy is thriving.

With the loss of my big female I'm back to where I started at seven. I'll try again to get it up to 12 one day.

Sam and Redford are constantly battling. It's all territorial and nobody gets hurt. They are constantly testing each other. It's like Inspector Clouseau and Cato from the Pink Panther movies. It happens over 100 times a day. Most of the time it just results in a staring contest until one backs down. When they do come to blows it's quick a decisive and happens in a flash.

Here's Sam getting the better of Redford with a quick tap on the nose,








They have clearly defined territories with boundary markers, sight breaks & hiding spots. I think they just do it to spite each other.

I guess it's the price you pay for keeping two males together. It really wasn't my intention to get two males, it just kinda happened. Bolivian rams are almost impossible to sex. Unless you see a ovipositor with eggs coming out you really can't tell. There's all kinds of mumbo jumbo out ther about head shape and length of fins but females sometimes share some of these traits too. 

I don't think they know themselves. If I drop a bag of rooibos tea in the tank after a water change Sam gets all weird and submissive towards Redford and it looks like he is trying to spawn. Redford isn't having any of it and chases him away.

I thought I had it figured out and had a breeding pair in my sights. Things changed as soon as the net went into the water. They all scattered and showed stress bars, it was impossible to pick out the exact pair I spent a half hour eyeballing. So I'm stuck with these two knuckleheads, hopefully for a real long time


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Back towards the end of May I walked into a LFS and saw this little doll,








She's an albino _pelvicachromis pulcher_ or Kribensis. A little West African dwarf cichlid that has been a mainstay of the aquarium hobby for many years. They are found in very similar water conditions to their South American cousins. This little fish was a stowaway in an order the LFS had just received. She was all by herself in a tank full of clown loaches, rainbows and some wild caught German Blue Rams, not an ideal situation for her but she was holding her own. Immediately I fell in love with her and decided that I had to have her. 

She would be the centerpiece in the 29 gallon West African tank I was planning.

I drove home to set up a 2.5 gallon nursery tank for her and decided that if she was still there on the next day, I would take her home with me. As fate would have it she was still there so I paid the 5 bucks they were asking and brought her home.

From jump she was active & happy. She did have some problems with the pellets I was feeding her, turns out they needed to be soaked. But within the week she started eating them and has been thriving ever since.









It was time to get my butt in gear and get the 29 set up for her. It was all painted and ready to go, I just had to move it downstairs and transfer the contents of the 20 long, minus the substrate. For the West African tank I would be using pool filter sand. I had driftwood and plants all ready to go so the set up went quickly. I tried to come up with a little piece of Africa for her. It's sad that such a beautiful fish wouldn't stand a chance of reaching adulthood in the wild because she is an albino.








I started thinking about potential tankmates for her. Tetras were out. There are very few African tetras that would work in a 29 gallon. Maybe one line tetras but I've never seen them for sale. Killifish? Yes! They would be a good choice but I'm not very keen on those being the first in the tank. Some Clown killies or Lampeyes probably will be making an appearance in the future. Upsidedown Catfish are also a possibility, I'll need four and I'm not crazy about the bioload they will create. More Kribs? Too risky. If a pair forms they can be hard the others. I hate to see her be the odd one out and wind spending the rest of her life with tattered fins staring into a corner.

What about African Butterfly cichlids _(Anomalochromis thomasi_)? I've seen them recommended as tankmates for Kribs in books and on other forums. And it just so happens that even know they are hard to find, The Aquarium Center in Jersey has had some in stock for over a month and they weren't exactly selling like hot cakes. I made my mind up, it would be African Butterfly cichlids.

I set out that Saturday morning to get my fish. I would quarantine the Butterfly for 3 weeks in the 29 while using the 2.5 as a grow out for the Krib.

When I got to the Aquarium Center of course the tank the the butterfly's were in was empty,"sigh"...:-(

But in the next tank over was a tank full of sickly looking rainbow cichlids, the same ones that I talked about earlier in this journal. In that sad tank was a lone butterfly cichlid! He looked perfect, so I took a chance and scooped him up and brought him home. Another stray!









He acclimated fine and is very curious and active. He's likes his pellets soft so he keeps picking them up and spitting them out until they are to his liking but he eats everyone of them. He is from a strain of _Anomalochromis thomasi_ that is found in Guinea West Africa. The way you can tell this is by the row of black dots that run below his dorsal spine. They are also found in Sierra Leone & Liberia. He is small, about the size of a veiltail betta's torso. He should get anywhere up to 2.5 to 3".

In three short weeks he would have a very special tankmate.


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

I just started keeping Blue Rams about a month ago, even though they went into my community just a couple weeks ago. I gotta say, I love them. I think my main loves in this hobby right now are bettas, rams and pencilfish.

I was lucky to find a pair in with a single bolivian. I had to search forever to find them. Gorgeous cichlids you have


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Thanks Crossroads!
German Blue Rams are an incredible little fish and I hope to keep them someday. Are you keeping them with the Pencilfish? They would make perfect tankmates.


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

I am actually! They are part of my S. American community. I love my pair. Had to modify the tank a little cause they kinda freaked at the pH drop. They went from I'm assuming RO or hard alkaline(as is the standard tap here) petstore water, to my hard 8.0 tap for quarantine to my communities soft 6.0 water. Now that they've settled they've colored up brilliantly. Incredibly smart little things too.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Flash forward 3 weeks, The butterfly's quarantine period when off without any issues and it was time to add "Peachy" (the name I came up with for my krib) to her new tank where she would meet her new tankmate.

I removed her from her nursery tank and put her into a specimen container that hangs on the side of the tank where she would be acclimated. During this period the butterfly was very receptive to her and would swim up to the container for a closer look and then dart away. I've never seen anything quite like it. After about an hour drip acclimation it was time to let her go in her new world. 

She headed straight for the sand and started picking at it looking for food, the acclimation went off without a hitch. Peachy is a peculiar little fish, I think she's part corydoras the way she always has her face in the sand. The butterfly would have to eat quick with her around or he would be missing a lot of meals.









They got along well, swimming together at times with no aggression out of either. Each minding their own business, Peachy with her face in the sand for nearly every waking hour in her insatiable search for food. It was turning out to be a real paradise for her.









Two days later that would all change.

I noticed the butterfly hiding a lot behind plants but always close by to Peachy, oblivious to his presence. Then the attacks started. They came fast, about every 20 minutes. He would catch her off guard and strike her from the rear. She got really smart about it in a hurry and stared squeezing into tiny hiding spots under driftwood to get away from him. She would come out when the coast was clear to start foraging for food only to be attacked and driven back into hiding. The then butterfly started squeezing himself into her hides flushing her out to attack. What did I get this poor little fish into!?

I'm used to cichlid aggression, I see it everyday out of the two meatheads in my other tank but this was different. This wasn't territorial, this was predatory. Peachy was being stalked and would be killed if something wasn't done fast.

Usually it's best to remove the aggressor in this situation. But taking him back would be cruel in my opinion. There were no more of his kind at the store so he would have been dumped into a tank into a bad situation that he didn't ask for. It's not his fault, after all he was just being a cichlid. This was my fault and his long term care is my responsibility.








*Those eyes are almost demonic!*

Peachy would have to be moved, but where? I guess I could have taken her back to the LFS that I got her in? That just wasn't going to happen. She could go back into the 2.5 gallon but that tank is not suitable long term and it would be needed for a new betta. Restart the 20 long? Probably the best solution but It would take a week to get going and I didn't have that kind of time. Besides, I've already have 6 tanks going which is already 2 past my limit.

I would come up with an even stupider idea.

*Up Next: A Strange Visitor...*


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

So what became of Peachy? 

Well, the choice was easy. I decided to give Peachy a try out in the 40 gallon with my Bolivian rams and if it didn't work out I would set up the 20 gallon for her to live out her life in peace.

It kind of blows my whole anal retentive mindset about biotopes and not mixing old world & new world cichlids together. But Pelvachromis' are from West Africa and share nearly identical water conditions with their South American relatives. It's not at all like mixing Amazon river with rift Lake cichlids where there isn't really a common ancestor. I would see how Peachy would do with her new tankmates and be ready to move her at the first sign of trouble. My long term plan _was_ to let her grow out for a few months then return her to the 29 gallon, by that time if all goes well she would be nearly double the size of the butterfly and be able to defend herself.

*First day in the 40 breeder!*








I apprehensively went ahead with my plan and to my surprise, it worked! The Rams accepted her as one of her own and she's thriving! They pretty much ignore her and she gets the run of the tank. Sure, she'll get a poke now and then when there's food involved but it's not aggressive. It's just like getting pushed out of the way by the big kids in the tank. She's a great little scavenger, between her and the Black Phantom tetras not one pellet gets left behind at feeding time. She also eats a little algae, which is a nice bonus and is more than I can say for Suzy, my lazy Clown Pleco. 

_*Peachy and her buddy Redford say "Hi" to me after a long day at work...*_
















*She isn't seen as a threat by the Rams and is welcome into their territory.*

















*When things get heavy between Sam & Redford she knows to get out of the way!*









Flash forward to this week, just look how Peachy has developed. You can see the beautiful, subtle orange coloring and spots in her dorsal & caudal fin are starting to come in. I've had her for nearly two months.
















_*Happy little fish!*_








I have decided that Peachy shall live the rest of her days in the 40 breeder with the Rams. This is why I recommend Bolivian Rams to nearly everyone who is looking for a centerpiece cichlid for their community aquarium. They are by far my favorite aquarium fish! 

*Up Next: A certain grumpy little Plakat has an anniversary coming up!*


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## InStitches (May 26, 2014)

subbing  gorgeous fish! I love Peachie.


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

Nice to see peachie doing so well!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Thanks! No matter how crummy my day was, when Peachy comes to the glass I'm all smiles.

It's Sparky's 1 year anniversary with me this week! Sure he has the personality of a hissing cockroach, but I wouldn't trade him for the world!

















Love ya buddy!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

A certain Butterfly cichlid thought it would be funny to eat his all of his new tankmate's veggie round tonight. Look at that fat tummy!









New tankmate? Oh yeah, I almost forgot...









Wait 'til ya see this guy!:-D


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## Crossroads (Jun 28, 2014)

Oooh I'm excited.

Don't mind me just casually living out all the cichlid dreams I don't have the cajones to do for myself(although Kalypso and Velias are really changing my mind on that)


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Well my new guy is a little spooked after a water change and wont come out of his cave and let me take a picture.

But I almost forgot, I got a new betta last month! Aqua Aurora posted his picture in "The Ones That Got Away" thread in betta Chat.








*Photo courtesy of Aqua Aurora*

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=488713&page=33#post6233610

I instantly fell in love with him and since Aqua and I are from the same part of Pennsylvania there was I strong possibility I could bring him home. The Amazing Aqua volunteered to pick him up for me and ship him right to my doorstep but there was one problem. It would very hard for me to take off from work to be home to receive the package. It was Thursday night so I thought I could wait it out until Saturday and drive out and pick him up after work. This would give me time to get Peachy out of the 2.5 gallon and into the 29 gallon tank and set it up for a betta.

I went to work the next day but the mint green plakat was on my mind and causing me somewhat of a distraction. At about 7:30AM I decided to fake illness and go get my fish. Somehow taking one of my 25 vacation days is a problem on short notice but faking a tummy ache couldn't be argued with. I put in an academy award wining performance, filed the proper paperwork and was off to get my plakat.

Peachy was ready to go into the 29 as the Butterfly cichlid made it though nearly 3 weeks of quarantine and was in perfect health. I did the acclimation and introduced her into her new home (we all know how that ultimately worked out). I did a quick water change, took some plants out of the other tanks and some driftwood along with a terracotta pot and slapped together a temporary new home for my plakat. 

I was watching Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster while all this was going on.

It was time to make my way out to PetCo. After a much longer ride than I thought it would be I arrived at the Petco and the Plakat was right where Aqua said he would be. So what did I do? I told the girl to hang on to him and went and had a burger at Jake's along with a banana milkshake for the ride home.

After lunch I went in a paid for the plakat, placed him in a cooler and headed for home.

The ride home was much quicker than the ride out, probably because of the milkshake. I got him home and acclimated him to the 2.5 temporary tank.








*Meet Sigmund, my little sea monster!*

He took to it like a champ and started biting the anubias roots. I guess he didn't know what to make out of a live plant after being cooped up in a cup for well over a month. I found him to be in remarkable shape for being on the rack that long.








*Getting used to his new home, sure beats a cup!*

I then went about setting up a 5.5 gallon tank using the seeded sponge from the 2.5. the biggest problem I encountered was finding suitable LEDs for a 5 gallon tank. There really isn't anything out there as 5.5's aren't really that popular. I settled on this one from Marineland and so far I'm really happy with it.
http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-LE...sr=8-1&keywords=marineland+led+aquarium+light 

It was $27.99 at Amazon and something like $44.99 at Petsmart.















The name was inspired by the Godzilla movie I was watching while I was setting up his tank. Sometimes he looks like he's covered in algae.








*Sigmund the Sea Monster*

And there you have it, a happy ending to the usually heartbreaking "The One's That Got Away" thread.


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

Congrats on the new buy.

Whenever I say I have a stomachache, they just say go use the bathroom and get back to work.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Ha!
The nice thing about it was it took 3 people from 3 different departments to do my job, all because I wanted to buy a fish. I think Sigmund is getting me a raise when review time comes up.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I'm super tired tonight and I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow but I would like to share a picture or two of my new dwarf cichlid before I turn in.









It's a _Steatocranus casuarius_ or buffalo head cichlid. It's a dwarf cichlid from the Congo river basin in Africa. 








*What a handsome boy!*

Such an interesting little fish and I can't wait to tell you all about him but I seriously have to get to bed, I literally have a 20 hour day tomorrow.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I came home today to find the my King Betta Abe had passed. He showed no signs of illness or stress, I found him on the bottom of his tank near his terracotta pot with all his fins extended like he was in mid-flair. At first I didn't notice he was gone only that he was gray instead of his usual royal blue. I leave for work really early in the morning and it was dark and didn't check on him after I removed the cover from his tank. He could have passed last night or during the day at some point.

I had him since April of last year right before I joined the forum. He was my reintroduction into this wonderful hobby and I learned so much about fishkeeping from him. I remember the day I first saw him at Petco, he was the biggest betta there. He was almost as big as the cup! My tank really wasn't ready for him yet, I had just had a miserable failure at my first attempt at cycling with a piece of raw shrimp. I knew that Abe was for me so with the help of the forum I did a successful fish-in cycle in under three weeks. 

My fondest memory of him is after I finished acclimating him and released him into his new home. He went right down to the bottom of the tank and picked up a piece of gravel and spit it out with a disappointed look on his face. I gave him a pellet right then and he gobbled it up. 

I buried Abe in my flower bed next to an azalea bush where he will get the morning sun that he loved so much. 








*SIP, my gentle giant.*


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

And life goes on.

My butterfly cichlid, Corny was all alone in a 29 gallon tank. He's about the size of a Platy so a 29 seems a bit like overkill for such a small fish. I started trying to think of a suitable tankmate or mates for him. Clown killifish would work and are from his exact region in Africa, but they can be hard to come across. I started thinking about cichlids. 








_*Lonely Corny...*_

Back in December when I started planning the Ram tank I saw some peculiar looking fish at my LFS. They were called Buffalo head cichlids. I became fascinated by them. They are a dwarf cichlid that come from the Congo river in central Africa. They live in calm areas of the Congo rapids. 









They have a unique adaption to life in the Congo in that their swim bladders are atrophied so they can't really control their buoyancy. This prevents them from getting swept away by the strong currents of the rapids. So instead of swimming like a regular fish with a swim bladder they hop. They are cave spawners and love to hide in them. But they aren't annoying about it like my Clown Pleco. They come out every few minutes and move around. They are strictly bottom dwellers but will perch themselves with their ventral fins on rocks and driftwood. They are curious fish and what they lack in looks they make up for in personalty. They are a good cichlid for a beginner and are highly adaptable to most water conditions. They do need highly oxygenated water so the addition on an airstone in the 29 gallon was necessary.









I felt that a buffalo head would make a nice tankmate for the aggressive Corny. Buffalo heads can take care off themselves and would grow to be twice the size of a Butterfly cichlid. They aren't exactly common but do show up from time to time and the Aquarium Center in Jersey had a few the last time I was there. Luckily when I got there the had one left and he turned out to be a perfect male specimen. 

The Aquarium Center takes really good care of their fish. They check them for illness daily and if any fish in the tank are ill they are marked "Not For Sale". This is important because I would be doing this old school without a quarantine period. The Buffalo heads have been there for over 4 months that I can recall. The last one in the tank showed no signs of illness and was perfectly healthy. It was calculated risk I was willing to take because of the source. I wouldn't do this with just any old local fish store or chain. The Aquarium Center only has a 14 day return policy, That means if I quarantined the Buffalo head for 3 weeks I wouldn't be able to return him if things didn't work out and I'd be stuck setting up another tank that I really don't have time to properly maintain. I'm not sure I would do it again. Lucky for me it worked out. _This time_.

As I was acclimating him Corny showed his curiosity by swimming up to the specimen container and darting away, same as he did with Peachy. When I released the Buffalo head into the tank Corny went right for him attacking him with several pecks to his torso. The Buffalo head had a panicked look on his face but quickly countered with some pecks of his own. And that was it. They have been buddies ever since and there has been no aggression whatsoever after that initial contact. The Buffalo follows Corny around because where Corny is, there is probably food. They seem like pals.
















Feeding has been a bit of a challenge. Buffalo's aren't supposed to be picky but mine isn't crazy about pellets. I've never seen him outright eat one. He'll eat Omega One veggie rounds and voraciously attack bloodworms, but won't chase down and eat a pellet. I'd like to get him on a good base diet of NLS cichlid pellets, so it's the only thing that will go into the tank until I'm sure he's eating them.









Buffalo head cichlids can be hard to sex as juveniles but as the males mature they grow a fatty lump on their heads and have longer fins. Mine is definitely a male. They like to dig, when I get home from work this guy usually does some major excavating. I use a pleco tube and a cichlid hut for his main caves but he'll make his own underneath the Mopani driftwood. I have to be careful not to pile rocks as he could take them down and injure himself when he puts on the hard-hat and goes to work for the day.















*All in a days work...*








*He's obviously very pleased with himself!*

I think I'm calling the 29 gallon stocked with these two characters.

Peachy got himself a few fin splits. Himself? Yes, Peachy is a male. There is no denying it. He's showing all the characteristics of a male now that he is growing. He must have gotten them mixing it up with the tetras at feeding time. He had a clean split along his caudal and two on the rear part of his dorsal. They were nothing to worry about and healed themselves overnight.

You can kinda see them in this picture,















*All better!*


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

I'm glad Sigmund is doing well in his new home ^^ Thank you for getting him!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Aqua Aurora said:


> Thank you for getting him!


Thank you for playing matchmaker!

He really does seem happy! He loves hanging out in his terracotta pot and exploring his tank.









I just love this little guy!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I feel so cruel trying to get this Buffalo head to eat pellets! I just want to throw a chunk of bloodworms in the tank and make him happy. He sees Corny eat pellets and shows interest but he won't go after them the way he does the worms. Frustrating!

Stopped at a LFS outside of Philly today after work and was surprised to find that they had Butterfly cichlids in stock. They had six that were a little smaller than Corny. They appear to be the strain from Guinea West Africa, same as Corny. I think they were wild caught as they are so skittish and wouldn't let me take a decent picture. They would dart all over the tank and hide. If I walked 5 feet away they would all come out and group together. 

















There are six fish hiding behind the green plant! 

They also had some buffalo heads in stock as well. These are more tan than mine which is more of a blue gray in color with cream colored stripes. there are definitely a few easily identifiable females in the tank but I won't be taking any home.









Albino Paradise fish anyone? This will probably be the closest you will get to an albino betta.









A full grown male Krib, same as Peachy except in Technicolor.









A sad, lonely Rainbow cichlid. This poor guy is the last one in the tank. This is going to bug me the rest of the week.









I never knew Clown loaches got this big. When I was a kid I had one in my 20 long. What the hell was I thinking? He's as big as my hand!









Some fish are just too big to be kept as pets. A Black Belt cichlid is one of them. This guy is bigger than a football.









Bolivians Rams should NEVER cost $14.99 no matter how cute they are. Mine were 4 bucks each, best $8.00 I ever spent!









I added some Java fern attached to driftwood to Sigmund's tank today. We'll see how it grows. It takes So long! 








*I caught him when he was back flushing his gills!*


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

No wonder they were hiding that tanks is STARK. I've not heard of "flushing gills" before, always wonder what it was when my boys did that mouth this, but Xerxes also mouths me (rapid open and close of mouth) while wiggling back and forth trying to convince me he needs a 3rd meal.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Aqua Aurora said:


> I've not heard of "flushing gills" before, always wonder what it was when my boys did that mouth this...


I first heard about "flushing gills" or "back flushing" on the old Pet Fish Talk internet radio show. It's a reflex that freshwater fish have that allows them to clear dirt & debris from their gills, kinda like a sneeze. The fish will take water into their gills and expel it from their mouths. Oddly enough, marine fish do not have this reflex.

Here is a link to the entire Pet Fish Talk archive if anyone is interested,
http://www.petfishtalk.com/pages/pft_archive.htm








*A rare calm moment for Sigmund.*


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## svton25 (Jun 17, 2015)

I'm only on page 2 at this point but just wanted to let you know I was enjoying following this so far. I had recently bought a 20 long to divide for betta's but had a change of heart and thought I would do a small community. I've convinced myself the centerpiece will be one (likely) Bolivian. I'd love to have multiples but feel it would be better in a larger tank. This way I can have some panda cory's and a schooling fish. (thinking rummynose, harleguin or espei's) Thought about a single honey gourami to occupy the upper region but need to research this more.

Looking foward to reading the rest this evening. =)


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Thanks Svton!

I think all the fish you are considering will work well with Bolivian Rams in a community set-up, even the Honey Gourami. The rams stick real close to the bottom and won't pay much attention the gourami. I agree 20 gallon long is fine for a single ram, a 30 would be best for a pair. I like the idea of Panda Corydoras, they stay nice and small and are fun to watch. I myself would probably go with Pygmy corys because they co-exist in the wild with Bolivian rams. They also stay more towards the mid level of the tank and would be seen as less of a threat should a pair of rams decide to spawn.

*Up next: Suzy needs a boyfriend!*


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I'm putting off my update on my quirky Clown pleco for a while. Something has been bugging me for the last few days and I decided to do something about it. The pleco update most likely would have degenerated into a rant about her bathroom habits so you aren't missing too much.

When I bought Sigmund there was another fish in the store that I would have taken home if Sigmund had been sold. It was a little green double tail plakat. I picked up Sigmund on 6/19/15 and didn't give the double tail a second thought until this week. Turns out he's still in the store. A saw him in the "Ones That Got Away" thread and he's been on my mind night & day ever since.
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=488713&page=49#post6454058

I really don't want another betta. But the thought of him in that cup all this time is really affecting me. He was so close to an amazing life with me but now he's stuck languishing in a Petco in South Eastern, PA where it looks like he may spend the rest of his days.








_*He's on the bottom, in yellow. The photo was taken the day I brought home Sigmund.*_

I decided the only way I can clear my conscience is to perform a lightning strike rescue operation and bring this guy to Philly where he can live out the rest of his days with clean water, good food and a friend that will give him the best care available.









I have a hospital tank empty that I really don't have any use for, it's a 2.5 gallon. I don't like using it as a hospital tank because of it's size. It's easier to dose medication in a larger tank. I was considering using it as a tank for a small female betta for some time. It will make a nice temporary home until I can maybe divide the 20 long I have sitting idle, but that's a ways off. I'll keep Abe's old 10 for my hospital tank and set up the new bettas 2.5 right next to Sigmund's to keep maintenance as convenient as possible for me. I'm already spread too thin as is is so this is the best solution I can come up for him at the moment. I already change Sigmund's water at 50% twice a week. How much more work would it be to change a 2.5 gallon tanks water while I've got everything out? Keeping the tanks close together will also allow me to use the same air-pump for the sponge filters.









I painted the back of his tank black with Rustoleum's answer to Plasti Dip, but I'm not entirely happy with it. It really doesn't seem as durable as the latex paint I've been using on my other tanks, it scratches real easy. I may strip it tonight a use the semi-gloss latex that I'm comfortable with. The sand is rinsed and ready to go. Sparky said he would be happy to donate a sponge from his filter to get the cycle going. I got some driftwood with anubias from the Bolivian ram tank that I'll use so really all I need to do is prepare a terracotta pot & pick up a digital thermometer. Hopefully I can get the tank set up by Friday night and the temperature stabilized by Saturday. 

I don't care how far I have to drive or if he has fin-rot, ich, dropsy or Ebola, he's coming home with me!

If all goes well, I'll bring him home Saturday night, Sunday at the latest.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

My lightning strike rescue operation turned out to be a bust. Over a hundred mile round trip and the double tail plakat was gone. Hopefully he went to a good home and isn't SIP. I spent about 3 days setting up his little tank. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, a 2.5 is really too small for anything other than a betta. I might check locally and see if any females catch my eye. Most likely I'll just tear it down and restart my 10 gallon quarantine tank back up with the seeded media. I'd like to add 5 more Rummynoses & 2 more Black Phantoms to the 40 breeder.

The store was depressing, too may dead bettas on the racks and too many in the tanks.









I liked this spunky little plakat,









This guy was interesting,









He was neat too,









But alas, I left empty handed. If I have time tomorrow, I'll check around and see if any bettas in the Philly area need a home.

Here's the little tank I set up for the rescue, this picture was from last night.









After I got home from work this afternoon, I put on the finishing touches. I kinda wish I wouldn't have put that 1/2 a small bottle of Tetra SafeStart in the sponge. That stuff is a little expensive.









As of now, I am officially unsubscribing from the Ones That Got Away" thread. I can't take it anymore!


As Sparky has reached middle age for a betta, I'm noticing that he spends nearly all of his time in the upper regions of his tank.









I rarely see him exploring the bottom of his tank anymore the way he did when he was younger. I'm beginning to think as he ages a 10 gallon tank is a waste with him. He might be better suited to Sigmund's 5.5 gallon. Sigmund is super active and might appreciate Sparky's 10 gallon even more. I'd hate to kick Sparky out of his home but it's something to consider in the future.

Sigmund has some very interesting coloration in his fins and tail. In the right light it almost lights up like he's bio-luminescent.























Guess who's eating pellets, this guy!









And guess who eats everybody else's pellets!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

There is nothing more depressing to me than an empty aquarium. I had a little free time on Sunday and took a ride to a local Petco in search of a betta for the up & running 2.5 gallon that was meant for my failed rescue attempt. I was looking for a small female which I thought would work nicely long term in a tank much smaller than I'm used to.

I walked into Petco not expecting much, then I saw him. It was the smallest plakat I've ever seen. It seemed like he's was half the size of Sigmund and 1/3 smaller than Sparky, who was a shrimp when I got him. This guy is tiny! He looked to me like a "mini-king", almost like a caricature of a betta. He is so cute! There was no way I was going to leave this little guy in the store at the mercy of somebody who was looking for a third betta to put in an Aqueon "Betta Falls" surrounded by Sponge Bobs & Nemos. This little guy was coming home with me! I figured he would work out fine in the 2.5 until I get my 20 long divided in the future.








*Meet Mugsy!*

You might be able to get an idea of his diminutive size in this picture.









Although I really like the Hagen Elite line of sponge filters for my betta tanks, even heavily modified to make it smaller it still takes up too much valuable space in such a small tank.









I think I'm going to switch it out for an Aquatop Classic Aqua Flow Sponge Filter to give my little guy some more room. I already ordered one from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Aqua-Sponge-Aquarium-Filter/dp/B00FF4TUMA/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1440028282&sr=1-1&keywords=aquatop+sponge+filter

And while I love the Aqueon Versa Tops, their 2.5 gallon version is stupid. It's not hinged and it's cut into a rectangle so in just lays on the airlines and cords and doesn't fit flush. It needs a 45° angle cut into one end to allow the lid to sit flush without leaving a gap.The glass is tempered so it can't be cut without shattering. I had my Uncle whip me up a DYI lid out of Polycarbonate with the 45° cut into it. It's nice to have family members who owe you favors. I took off the old handle of the glass one and just stuck in on my new lid with double sided servo tape.








*Dumb design!*








*That's more like it!*

So I'm back to 5 tanks again and even more water changes in my future :roll:. At least I got a new friend out of the deal!


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Sorry the 'lil mustard dt was gone.. he had sbd but I didn't think he was at deaths doorstep or I would have grabbed him last monday! Your new boy is cute, like the various hues of blues in his scale and white tipped pelvic fins.
I have have Aquatop Internal Sponge Filter CAF-25 in my 6g Aquatop bowfront but I mostly use jardin mini cylinder sponge filters for my smaller tanks (little bit smaller than the Aquatop sponge filter, and cheaper if you have prime and are buying other stuff)
http://www.amazon.com/Jardin-Aquari...din+mini+cylinder&refinements=p_85:2470955011


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Yeah, I was sad that he wasn't there. As hard as I tried for him I guess it wasn't mean't to be. I'm really happy with Mugsy, so I guess it all worked out in the end.

I must admit that I was having second thoughts about the Aquatop sponge filter myself, I think I like the Jardin better. It seems to offer much more surface area for the beneficial bacteria to colonize. I went ahead and ordered two of them. I might put the second one in Sigmund's tank if it works out well in Mugsy's. I'm finding that the Hagen Elites are kind of a pain to clean behind in the smaller tanks.

Here is a gratuitous picture of an unlikely pairing. I can't believe how well these two get along. This little slice of Africa is by far my favorite tank to watch.








*Corneilus & Ursus*


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Bolivian Rams can be a challenge to feed properly in a community tank setting. Their scientific name, "Mikrogeophagus" means "earth eater" in Greek. Rams prefer to pick their food from the substrate, while my greedy tetras will take the food anyway they can get it. When I first got the Rams over seven months ago, they were alone in a 20 gallon tank. With no competition, they could feed at their leisure. They are very slow eaters by nature and like to spit the pellet out a few times for a few minutes before they swallow it. 








*Here's a young Sam chewing each bite 36 times to get the benefit...:roll:*

This was working out fine until my school of Rummynoses came out of quarantine and were added to the tank. I didn't foresee that the speedy tetras would eat all the food before it sank to the bottom while the Rams pathetically looked on. This should sound familiar if you keep African Dwarf Frogs with your betta. For a few days this led to overfeeding until each of my Rummies looked like they swallowed a basketball. The poor Rams were left eating whatever the Rummies spit out.








*Who are these maniacs and why are they eating all my food!?*

Something had to be done so the Rams could get their fair share of food. I asked around at my LFS's and I did some research and it was suggested to me that I try using a feeding tube. It sounds ominous but all it was was a piece of clear 1 inch rigid airline tubing that the pellets would be dropped in so that the could reach the substrate feeders without being gobbled up by the tetras.
http://www.petmountain.com/product/aquarium-water-tubing/11442-504991/lees-thinwall-rigid-tubing-clear.html

It's pretty easy to use a feeding tube, just put the tube where you want the food to go. Drop the food and when it sinks to the bottom remove the tube carefully so the movement doesn't scatter the food.

And to my surprise it worked out great! My Rams no longer go to bed hungry and my tetras are no longer being over fed. 

My Rams are so used to the tube that they swim right over to it as soon as it goes into the water and impatiently wait for dinner.









Now that the Rams have grown I do territorial feedings in their terracotta pots. This keeps them from from getting distracted by each other and quarreling while there is food in the tank. It also allows me to see exactly if everything is being eaten and whether or not I'm overfeeding when I do a gravel vacuum.








*Waiting for the drop...*








*Yum...*

I usually drop 5 or 6 pellets at a time. They will defend the pot from any would be thieves. Out in the open the tetras will literally steal the food right out of their mouths. My Black Phantom tetras will hover about an inch or two from the Rams mouth and take off with the pellet as soon as he spits it out. The tetras usually won't go near to pot while the Rams are feeding so my guys can eat their meal in peace

If you own a gravel vacuum similar to this,
http://www.petsmart.com/fish/vacuums/top-fin-aquarium-gravel-vacuum-zid36-16747/cat-36-catid-300083
You can use the clear part as a feeding tube in most cases. Just pull off the tube remove the cap & screen and you are all set. If you are using it anything larger than a 10 gallon you might have to buy a piece of tubing. You can find it at any good LFS or home improvement store.

Another good thing about using a feeding tube is that when you are feeding messy foods like bloodworms, mysis or brine shrimp, it allows you to place the food in a specific area so it's easier to remove the uneaten portions before they foul the water. It keeps the mess in one place instead of on your plants & decorations.









This technique can also be used for ADF's, Corydoras, Plecos or any bottom feeding fish who is having trouble getting to the pellets. I also will at times use the feeding tube to drop algae wafers right into my Clown Plecos cave. Although lately I've been using long tweezers like this to get her meals directly to her and away from the other fish.
http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Flora-Stainless-Steel-Planting/dp/B004H1MV5A/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440370028&sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=marina+planting+tweezers 








*Even a reclusive Clown Pleco will come out for a bite to eat now & then.*








*Fat & Happy Rams!*

I hope this tip helps you and your bottom feeders.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

So what do I do when everything is going perfect? I mess with it. Peachy is starting to get slightly territorial towards the Rams at feeding time. It's not too bad but basically he's running the tank. He's growing rapidly and is almost the same size as the Rams. They show him quite a bit of respect when he swims by which is funny because a few months ago they treated him like he was their goofy little brother.

Corny and Ursus seem to be having a ball together in the West African tank and it's always been my personal motto, "the more the merrier". Why not reintroduce Peachy back into the 29 with her African compatriots? He easily holds his own and then some with the Rams and has even outgrown the African butterfly. I thought it would be a good time to put him in the tank that he was originally intended for.









Boy, was it a mistake. Ursus was fine with Peachy and put him on the pay "no mind list". It was a different story with Corny though. Peachy immediately came under a vicious attack of machine gun like pecks. To the point where in a few minutes he was hiding, floating nearly upside down jammed into a filter intake just to escape Corny. The whole awful experiment lasted about and hour. I couldn't bare to see this vibrant, curious fish that I've grown so attached to reduced to such a state. Back into the Ram tank he went and fully recovered from his beating and was back to his old self within a few minutes and I'm glad to report he's doing fine.









It was my original intention to also stock the 29 with Clown Killies. At this point I'm not so sure how Corny would react to them. I got the 10 gallon quarantine up & running. I'm looking to add 2 more black Phantoms & 5 Rummies to the 40. My idea is to put the Black Phantoms in with Corny after quarantine to see how he reacts to them and if the Clown Killies would even stand a chance. 









*Epiplatys annulatus*

Clown Killifish & African Butterflies co-exist in the wild together so it would be a perfect match in a biotope sense if both parties are willing to cooperate in an aquarium.

http://msjinkzd.com/ has the Clown Killies in stock at a more than reasonable price but it's going to take some time to get my ducks in a row. I'd hate to throw them into a tank just to see them massacred. I figure I'm more than a month away with all the quarantining that I need to do to find out if Corny will allow anymore fish into his kingdom. I must admit I'm slightly worried about Usrus with that huge mouth. But he's such a poor swimmer it would be like a school bus chasing down a Ferrari. 









Ursus is finding some cool places to hang out in the 29, This fish is so much fun to watch!








*I never know where he's going to wind up next!*

I went to the aquarium center in South Jersey last night to see if they had some Rummies. They did but some of them had neon tetra disease and the rest really didn't look to hot. Rummynose tetras never really look all that good in the fish store but these looked extra BAD. I saw on their website that they also had some African Butterfly Cichlids and must admit that I was temped to add a few more against my instincts. Luckily they were out of them so I didn't end up doing anything stupid. I'm sure with Corny's disposition I would get first hand experience with the phrase "Con-specific aggression". Back when I got Corny he was in a tank next to his original one. It was filled with much larger Rainbow Cichlids. All of his former tankmates had been sold so he was the only butterfly left and in the wrong tank. I think he may have been put there for a reason. I think he may have been beating up on his tankmates to the point where a move was necessary. He's thriving with me but still, I'm getting the itch to add some schooling fish to his tank.

I Stopped at a hidden gem on the way home called "Bill's Wonderland of Pets" in South Jersey. They have a nice selection of bettas that are well cared for. They had 10 or so Koi's in stock including females. If you are in the Philly area Bill's is worth a trip. They sell Aquabid type quality bettas and always have an interesting selection.

http://billswonderlandofpets.com/








*So tempting!*







*Female Koi Betta*





















*Trained Fighter?* :roll:

Another LFS closer to me has just got some Rummies in. On Thursday when I stopped in they had a tank full of them. Last night they were down to a dozen or so. I don't think that they are exactly selling like hot cakes so I suspect a die off. I have seen it before in this store with Rummies so its not really out of the ordinary. Rummies absolutely must be quarantined. I'm fully expecting at least a round of Ich when I get them.









They had a nice selection of Black Phantoms, I'm sure I could find a nice pair with this selection.









I'm also thinking about Von Rio Flame tetras in the African tank. While it messes with the biotope, a group would look stunning in there.









I saw these huge, sad looking Bolivian Rams. They are twice the size of mine but appear to be in bad shape. Breaks my heart. I can't wait until Sam & Redford get this large.









I got the new sponge filter for Mugsy's tank and I like it. It's up and running and gives him a little more space then he had with the bulky Hagen Elite. I also placed the heater vertically which I admit isn't ideal, but it does give my little man some more room. I also had to cut another 45° on the other side of my DIY lid to accommodate the cord.
















Two weeks in the tank and Mugsy is really feeling at home.







*I love this little guy!*


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Not a whole lot is going on on the Bolivian Ram front at the moment, everybody is fine and doing well. 

The 29 gallon African tank is a different story. Cornelius & Ursus will be getting some tankmates soon! After much research, I found that clown killifish may be a little too delicate for this tank. Both Corny & Ursus can be aggressive at times and 1.5" long Clown killies would probably be better suited to a species only tank. 

I want to add some kind of schooling fish but when it comes to tetras their isn't a lot to choose from when you are doing an African bio-tope. The go to would be Congo tetras, in fact they would be perfect but they are unsuitable for a 29 gallon tank. Heck, I think they would be too active for the 40 breeder. So they are out. African Moon tetras, _Bathyaethiops caudomaculatus_ would be a good choice but I've never seen them for sale ever in the fish stores I deal with. Same with the African One-Line tetra, _Nannaethiops Unitaeniatus_, they just don't seem to be available.

After a visit to one of my LFS's and after much observing I having decided to try some Upside down catfish, _Synodontis nigriventris_ in the 29 gallon. I think they will be fun to watch with their interesting and unique habits, much more so than a school of tetras. Catfish are inherently tough so there is no doubt that they will hold their own with Corny & Ursus. So I went ahead and purchased a trio and put them in my 10 gallon quarantine tank. After a couple of days 3 didn't seem like enough, so I went back and bought two more. These guys are about 1.5" long and I must admit my QT is a little overstocked and the moment so I'm doing water changes every other day to compensate. They will be ready to make an appearance in the 29 around the beginning of October if everything goes well.








_*The first three...*_

Upside down catfish have a similar appearance to Corydoras but behave quite differently. The first thing that you will notice is they swim upside down. They will feed off the surface and under leaves so the have adapted themselves to swim upside down in order to feed more efficiently. They still have that downward facing catfish mouth, evolution hasn't quite caught up with them yet. And since "up" is "down" in their world their belly is darker than their backs. They really don't spend a lot of time on the bottom, so choice of substrate is unimportant. They are more arboreal and prefer to nestle under broad leaved plants such as anubias. Which is why I went out this week and bought about 8 more anubias plants and two pieces of driftwood. I want to make use of the vertical space of the 29 so I chose long, branch like pieces of driftwood that would nearly reach the top of the aquarium. I noticed that they hide near the filter outlet and the heater in the QT tank. Hopefully they will make use of the plants & driftwood in the 29 when the time comes. I spent a few hours aquascaping yesterday.








*Ready for catfish!*

I even added an extra filter to make Aqadvisor happy.








They are eating pellets, Omega One, NLS or whatever I throw in the the tank. They all come out of hiding and gobble it right up. They are nocturnal so they get fed at night with the lights out and first thing in the morning. They are feeding from the bottom, I have yet to get them to feed from the surface. They flip themselves over like a normal catfish over and suck up any morsel of food they can find. I even went out and reluctantly bought some flakes to try to get them to feed from the top. They ate them when they sunk to the bottom. That was a waste of 5 bucks.

In the betta world, Sigmund & Mugsy are doing well, Sparky on the other hand is starting to show some signs of aging including blindness. He's having some trouble finding food. So it takes a little time & patience on my part to feed him his six pellets a day. He knows that he gets fed over his leaf hammock so that makes it easier. He's been spending a lot of time wrapped in an anbias blanket, It's kinda cute but sad at the same time. 









He does venture out into the open water of the 10 gallon at times but seems much more comfortable at the upper levels in his plants.










One of my local fish stores is starting to carry killifish & apistogramas which is exciting. The fellow said he could easily get me some clown killies if I wanted them, but with the addition of the catfish the clown killies won't be needed.

They had some pairs of _Nothobranchius rachovii_ at $29.99 a pair which seems pretty steep for an annual fish that will die in under a year. But you are really buying the eggs. When they lay their eggs you can pull them out and store them for years and produce a whole new generation whenever you want. That's the cool thing about killifish. You can keep them in smaller tanks, like 5 gallons. I just don't understand why they aren't more popular in the hobby.








*Nothobranchius rachovii, male*

Sam & Redford have been in the tank for 9 months now!

Here's Sam 8 months ago,















_*Here he is today...*_


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

*Sad pictures of Sparky.*

I've never seen him quite this way and it's really bumming me out. He's become so lethargic, it seems like he's aging really fast. This is like some Blade Runner $#!+ going on! Forum Member Schmoo has a plakat very similar to Sparky named Grievous. In fact we've joked that they are twin brothers. Grievous is about the same age as Sparky and is going through a similar ordeal. The way I see it Sparky can't be more than two years old. I've only had him for a year and three months. 









He's been given the best care in his planted 10 gallon tank. The best food, 2-25% water changes a week (never missed a single one!) and it all comes down to genetics. He's still eating although it's smaller amount than he's used to. 









I thinking about lowering the water level for him tomorrow when I do his water change. He's been spending more time than ever on the bottom and it's beginning to seem like a long way to the top in his ten gallon tank.








*Hang in there buddy.*


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

*Poor Sparky...*









Last Monday I lowered Sparky's water level to about half in his 10 gallon tank. It really seems to to be helping him get to the surface more easily. He's moving around the tank much like my Buffalo head cichlid. If you aren't familiar with them they have evolved to have an atrophied swim bladder that helps them to keep from getting swept away in the swift water of the Congo river that they are native to. They kind of hop around instead of swimming. It got me thinking that Sparky may be having trouble with his swim bladder.









He's not bloated, no loss of color & no visible tumors. He's still eating with no signs of constipation. He still even greets me with a flair everyday when I come home from work. He's just very lethargic and has trouble maintaining buoyancy.









On Thursday I decided to do a round of Seachem Kanaplex thinking that he may have a bacterial infection that may be causing him SBD. I want just to play it safe and try to see if I could do something for the little guy. I feel if I mess around too long and dropsy sets in, there would be very little hope of recovery. 









I changed 1/3 of the water and dosed his tank for 5 gallons. Seachem recommends a dose every 48hrs for a maximum treatment for 10 days. I've been soaking his food in the medication as well as adding it to the tank. I gave him some bloodworms soaked in Kanaplex and he ate them right up. I also tried soaking his Omega One pellets in the medication but it seems that he really didn't appreciate the mushy texture and would only eat one. Yesterday I soaked some NLS pellets and he ate four. I will be using soaked NLS Betta pellets for the remainder of the treatment.









I'm happy to say that he's showing definite signs of improvement today and is starting to move around his tank in a more normal fashion. He does seem to tire very easily, so I know that we aren't out of the woods just yet.









The thing that always confuses people about Kanaplex is the water changes, it's not really mentioned on the directions. I went to the Seachem website and found out that Kanplex is only effective for 48hrs after dosing. So I've been doing a 25% water change every two days and re-administering the Kanaplex. It's really important to keep the water quality up with an ailing fish but you don't want to lessen the effect of the medication by removing it with a water change. Changing water every 48hrs before re-dosing seems like the right move. Hopefully I can pull my little guy out of the nose dive he's been in.

*Peachy is eating too much!*









Peachy has risen to the top of the food chain in the 40. I'm considering a move to a new tank so I can monitor his eating more closely. He bounces between the rams territories, chases them out and eats most of their pellets. It's unhealthy for him to be eating all this food. I'm thinking of starting up the 20 long again for him so I can better control his food intake and maybe even add some female companionship.


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