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8x3x2.5 Tank Journal


Alex

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Wow I cannot believe how much they have grown already that's awesome mate. How much and what are you feeding? Also what sorta water change regime you running on your mini lake? Lol. Awesome fish man 

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Thanks mate.

Need to get the SLR out now that I have lights on the tank it is much easier to get photos.

I have been feeding twice a day. Morning with pellets (Hikari carnivore sticks) and evening with whitebait.

Water changes are once a week ~30% at this stage.

The growth has been insane.

 

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Thanks mate

yiu mean in terms of tank decor and substrate? There's some wood on the opposite side of the tank to make some of the other inhabitants feel comfortable while they are juveniles after that there won't even be that.

It's my style of tank buster keeping, allows me to grow big fish quickly. With this new sump and running bare bottom, I have been smashing in incredible amount of food multiple times a day with no ill effects. The Mrs isn't a huge fan of the 'glass prison' sort of set up either. It isn't for everyone that's for sure.

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There are 4x (1m 3f) 3way hybrid stingrays in there Leopoldi X Motoro X Mantilla and 3x Pimelodus ornatus 

I think some Petenia splendida 'green' may be the next addition. One of my all time favourite cichlids, and one that compliment Cichla quite nicely.

Found out last night that the bloke that I bought my Cichla off killed his pair, left the hose running in the pond they were in after doing a water change. So either the chlorine or water temp got to them and they fell off the perch. Which is a shame because, he was raising some nice robust juvies. Still another bloke in Perth pumping them out. Such a cyclical fish when it comes to availability Cichla. Someone will get a hold of a good pair, flood the market well and truly then that pair will either die or be sold onto someone less able then they will vanish again for 6-12months then the cycle continues.

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Dude, ya gotta chuck some ray pics up haha didn't even realise you had them in there too. I'm a fan of the "glass prison" style after all, it's all about the beautiful fish and enables you to keep the cleanest environment possible. P.s can't wait to see a snook or 2 in there lol. 

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I agree Duck. I have a 4x2.5 that just had a group of spotted silver dollars in it to keep the tank cycled for when something pops up that is too small. Should be able to grow a group of Petenia out pretty quickly, always done very well with them in the past. Both greens and reds. I prefer the greens personally.

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Yea mate I like the greens but only have 1 red at the moment.  They were a bit difficult to find for a while but I've seen them around again lately.
There are some beaut big adults in Andrews shop display.

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  • 3 weeks later...

picked up a pair of snakehead gudgeons, haven't seen these guys in Perth for many years. The male was fairly banged up from the wholesalers tank and the flight to Perth. Photo was taken the day he went in, he has improved significantly since the pic was taken will get some updates soon. In a 4 footer healing up before he has to compete with the bass.

 

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Would they be getting old to get to those sizes, or do they grow to that big as they mature fairly fast ???

Do they sit on the bottom almost always, like some other fish types of very similar fish ??

Stay under bass all the time ?   or come up to compete and occasional upper level scout ?

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They aren't full size yet. Mine are around 18-20cm, males are reported to get to 30cm. I'm not overly concerned if they are 'old' fish, as they are just display fish not breeders.

They aren't with the bass yet. As they are wildcaught fish I have them in another tank to quarantine for a month or so. Mine sit bottom to midwater, actually a lot more active than I expected. They eat pellets off the surface no problem. The female funnily enough reminds me of a small arapaima, with very similar bronze colour and similar headshape.

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Cool fish, I thought they'd be of the bottom a bit more for fish of that size.

I wasn't referring to concerns of age.

Some fish get big just due to older age,,, but some fish are just a big specie and get big just after maturity,,, that's what I was trying to establish,,,, so they are a truly bigger size type of tank fish.

those dots, spots and lines of color,,,, do you think these will only show up with quality well directed lighting ??, or are those colors quite vivid and in a solid state rather than a transitional irredescence reflectory thing ??

 

Are they opportunistic predators or do they have skill to predate in a beneficial way ?????

Sorry for the string of questions there Alex,, always looking at oddball additions to my display, in fact you've seen my display, what do you think about the Gudgeons being in their ?????

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As you know I have only been keeping these fish for a couple of weeks and the information that I have managed to find on these fish prior to getting them was quite limited.

I think the colours will intensify with the colour of their surroundings mine are in a fairly light tank (décor wise) white sand etc, so mine would be about as washed out as they come. There's some pics on pcs in the thread there on them that show a nice darker male. In the right setting a male would look quite spectacular.

They have a very cavernous mouth so I assume they would be fairly good at knocking other fish off. Mine are with some smallish silver dollars and they have not knocked any off yet. When it comes to feeding mine are pigs, but they aren't really smashing the pellets more slowly sucking in huge volumes, but this may be due to the relative lack of competition at feeding time. The owner of the store that I bought mine off said they can be boisterous at feeding time, which is good because they will need to be if they are to compete with my bass.

All in all I think a well conditioned male would fit right into your tank from my initial observations. The fins are relatively flowing and while they are fairly active they are generally quite slow moving, the only thing I would be mindful of is the cichlids getting to their fins.

 

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Got them from the fish room in mandurah they are a pcs sponsor, store has just opened, only a tiny little place.

Nah not fin extensions, the fins are just large. The tail is big, the pelvic fins are also very long. Mine has a piece missing out of the tail which you can see in the pic that is growing back slowly.

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Ah that's right, shame it's to far to travel, likely all sold now anyway,,, but I wouldn't travel to mandurah lol,,,, a extra hour on top for me with you living closer.

Cool, yeah looks like gear up for regrowth has just started in that pic.

 

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The shop doesn't stock them. I needed to contact them to order in when supplier has them listed. Not something they have on hand.

 

I wasn't even all that keen on traveling to Mandurah myself.

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Awesome mate..the colour looks awesome in the pics.... dont know much about them but I'm sure  your bass will have their way at the end of the day !!

When you thin things down (over time) I'm under no doubt you will have an epic tank like you did and no doubt will !!

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Thanks Chuck.

I tried putting the female Snakehead Gudgeon in there - she is the same size if not heavier than the majority of the bass. Being something new in the tank the bass investigated her and pushed her around until she was hovered up in the corner. They have a real pack mentality now that they have grown. Will need to reassess how I add the pair into the tank in the future.

I have also taken all of the wood out of the tank as it just became a trap for crap to build up under. Now the tank is just a glass box. Just how I like it. I also removed the two remaining Ornatus catfish. One was eaten by one of the bass. Had to catch the bass and remove the Ornatus from its mouth as the dorsal spine went through the bass's mouth and it couldn't swallow or spit the catfish. Bass is fine.

I've had the Rays in the tank 5 weeks now the three girls are probably 4-5x the weights at which they went in at, and about twice the disk width. The boy has grown only a very very small amount as he is a fussy feeder.

Pic of one of the girls -

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Yeah, no doubts about it,, you Definetely get the growth hauling pretty hard.

 

I always remembered something that big Kev said,,,,, a school of good size silver dollars will just about support all dithering needs.

they aren't aggressive, shouldn't eat eggs, they move fast and they're deep and round, hangs mid or top,,, excellent aggression distraction and they're basically to quick to get caught most of the time and they also have superb schooling for survival techniques.

I reckon 12 good size ones would do this duty for you.

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