wormboy

I couldnt let the thread die just short of 1000 posts so I thought I should stick up a photo of my brand spanking new troph setup (8x2x2, 13 moliros and 10 bembas). -Mat- here is an update which shows the fish slightly better

When I bought my 10 Moliro red Tropheus there was always one that had slightly different colouration to the others. Now that they have all gone into their 8ftr, I am all but sure itis not a moliro but a blow-in from a mixup at the wholesalers. So I wonder if all you tropheus nuts out there could give me an indication of whether her colouration is still within the realms of moliro-ness or if it is definitely something different. I know that the photgraph is absolutely shocking and out of focus but the colouration and patterning are visible. the fish I am interested in is in the foreground it is approx 2.5in. long. (BTW, the Bemba in the background is one of my newest purchases ) for comparison, the moliros in this photo are what the others look like. cheers all -Mat-

Ozi, the Anchar limestone is from (strangely enough) Anchar/Andrea on this forum and the cut limestone is of my own construction, all you need is a brickies wetsaw. I sourced the stone blocks from the nearest stoneyard, it cost me $20-$30 or so and I spent an afternoon cutting it. I suppose that if you didnt want to do it yourself, if you called up a stonemason he would be glad of a saturday afternoon cashie, he would probably do it out of offcuts from a job. But cheap and unique deccies were the aim of my game Its not really that clear in the photo but thats exactly what I have done. The reason that more of the pillars aren't slightly leaning is because I dont want them to fall over Me too, but it doesn't look quite as bare as the photo makes out, the trophs are all very busy and showy all the time now. Later the cyps should add to it considerably. I think that I will eventually go for a mid blue (gay) background. I think that with dark algae covered rocks and black fish the while thing will look a bit flat if I went for black. I do quite like the graduated colour idea though...hmmmm Hopefully as it gets more crusty it will look more ruinous -Mat-

Thanks all, I was sort of going for the sunken ruins kind of look but it seems I have ended up with the New York skyline nobody mention crashed planes! -Mat-

Cheers Toto, Substrate is fine coral sand, it says it is silaceous on the bag but it looks entirely calcareous to me with bits of shell and the like. Sold through any LFS I think. Filtration (for now) is a single 2400 cannister filter at one end, and a 2400 powerhead + sponge at the other. I will upgade the powerhead to a second cannister later but as I have low stocking rates at the moment and cannisters are expensive, it can wait.

that was kinda the idea blue was what I was thinking of, white always shows any little specks or colour in the water.

yeah needs a background but I was sick of seeing it empty. But I ont know if black is teh best choce as they pillars will get much darker. (see the small ones in the foreground, they were seeded into the moliros 4ftr 3 months ago)

Well Ive finally set up me 8x2x2 (after moving it with the help of the family). Ive upgraded my Tropheus moliro colony from their 4x18x15 into their new home (9 subadults and 4 babies) and added a colony of 10 (subadult) Bembas. I hope to bring in some new blood lines for both as well as some erets later, I may even put in a colony of cyps but am still undecided (and broke) . Here is a piccie, sorry about the quality. The deccies comprise a mixture of 'Anchar' limestone and cut limestone of my own making. For all of you out there that go "OH MY GOSH THOSE PILLARS ARE GOING TO FALL OVER!!!" dont worry, they have been siliconed to bases that are hidden by the sand, and are all braced with surrounding rock. Also, just in case, any that have a slight lean or can be braced are leaning into the tank and are too short to reach the other side. It is all still quite new so I know it will go all green with the trophs grazing. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I caught the bembas spawning an hour after putting them in there -Mat-

'argyrostictus' I probably would have pronounced it Ar-jie-roh-stick-tus yeah that always got me too untill I found out that the colouration of the type specemin of L. caeruleus was blue and the yellow is a only a morph (baench atlas). -Mat-

I can only think of one other incident like it that i read about in a book and have seen in cichlids. It was when a tumour was pinching a nerve and causing all of the skin chromatophores to expand perminantly. It had the effect of turning half of the head black instead of yellow. So its not exactly the same (reverse colour change and different region) but I would hazard a guess that what ever has caused this colouration, it is nervous system related. -Mat-

just plain AWESOME!! go on then, give us a species name

cool photos Budi! I can pick the first one but I can't quite place the appendage in the second photo, what part of the mantis is it? -Mat-

yes, rather a suggestive name but I think you will find it is because the female is the more colourful fish rather than the usual state where the male is the showy sex. I even think I remember that the females will display to the males and fight other females for him. lucky boy! -Mat-

Congrats Mick, Since you are breeding these guys you might want to do a bit of research into pH dependant sex ratios. I understand that the nannos are quite suceptable to this phemonenon. If you can figure out what pH to keep them it may help you when it comes time to sell them (you will have equal males to females or even be able to tweak it to be trios or what ever else you want). I also think sex is still able to be determined up to about a 3 weeks old if I recall correctly so you still have a bit of time. good luck, -Mat-

If they are white they are probably just some tubificids, nothing much to worry about, particularly if they are free-living. Stray worms are reasonably common in tanks where you are keeping fish that tend not to eat them so much (like loracarids). What fish are are in the tank? In any case, check to see if your fish have worms (you will see them hanging out if the anus). If they do, the LFS should be able to sort them out pretty quick. -Mat-