smellfry Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Hey, I recently bought 3 new Malawis including a red empress, Taiwan reef, and a venustus. They are all around 1.5 inch in size. However, I put them in the display tank, and one of them, the Taiwan reef gets constantly chased around by the other more mature Malawis who are around 2-3 inches in size. The venustus and red empress kinda just hang around the outskirts of the tank, but the little tawain reef is getting constantly chased around. I've got a few hiding spots however most are taken by the subadult cichlids. I've also got a 30cm breeders net. Would it be advisable to put the 3 juvies in here for a while until they get big enough to be put in with the ret of the other fish? Also, the nls I have is 1mm and might be too big for them. Should I crush it? Also, how would the small juvies get the opportunity to eat when the others take all the food? I don't have a spare tank. Sorry about all the questions. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smellfry Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 I've now moved the taiwan reef and the venustus into a breeding net. This way they can get some food and rest from the others. Is it ok for me to leave them in there for 2 weeks+ until they get a little bigger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi sand diver Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 HelloMaybe you could put some more rock in there so they have more hiding places. Something like Texas Holey Rock would be good as it buffers the water and has holes in it for them to hide. Then when you feed them, you could disperse the pellets around the tank, not just in one place so smaller subdominate fish have a chance to come out of the rocks and feed.The 1mm new life spectrum will be fine for that size, good work on making the switch to those pellets, I still reckon they are the best staple food.The taiwan reef grows a bit smaller than the rest, so might stay subdominant in there with those guys (e.g. the red empress will keep him in line). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smellfry Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 This morning when i went to feed them, i spread the food out around the tank, however the venustus and the taiwan reef don't ever come out of their hiding spot. So, i put them in the breeders' net and fed them and now they're eating. I also put sand in the bottom of the breeders net. Is it ok for me to leave them in there for a few weeks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi sand diver Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Depends how big the net is, but if they are eating now, at least they are happier in there. Since they are still very small, sounds like they should be OK for a few weeks at that size. Maybe they will get strong enough to introduce to the other tankmates by then. Perhaps one or 2 feeds of live food would help them along with more protein, aswell as reaaranging the rock work and adding a few more rocks to the tank once they are introduced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smellfry Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 Ok thanks. The net is 30 cm long so it's pretty big. I'll leave them in there for a while and see what happens. Where can I get some live food? I don't really want to grow it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi sand diver Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Yeah that should be enough room for them.Regarding live food, you've got a few options where you are. Andrew at Labyrinth Aquariums Campsie has live food (dahnia, water fleas), Reef River Reptile at Hornsby has live brine shrimp on weekends and they do good sized serves. There is also Kellyville Pets, Fish Tank at Castle Hill that have small bags of live brine shrimp on weekends. Then there is the NSWCS meetings where George usually has a variety of live foods (water fleas, cherry shrimp, micro worms) available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smellfry Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 Thanks for the reply. You can feed cherry shrimp? There's a guy in carlingford that sells some. I might get some off him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi sand diver Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Yeah they would love those, although they are a bit expensive, one of the best things you could feed them to get them bigger quicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smellfry Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 Oh okay many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPM1976 Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 If you have a spare tank u can buy the cherry shrimp breed them yourself and feed the cherry shrimp frythat you have bred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smellfry Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 Thanks for the suggestion. I don't think I'm going to breed my own food though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullyYellow Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Best to get more hiding spots for your fish mate. If your after Texas holey Stuart at city garden aquarium does great deals for ace forum members and NSWCS members just say we sent you there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smellfry Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 Haha I was there just a few days ago to buy nls. I saw the holey rock but don't we want hiding spots? The holes aren't really much of a hiding spot if you know what I mean! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.