YeW Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 If you have 10 mins and dont mind filling this out I'd appreciate some feedback: Your name: What's your favourite cichlid that you're keeping at present: Why? (detailed please): What tank size do you keep this in: What sort of substrate are you using? Is this a good choice for the fish?: What type of filtration are you using? Special needs: Feeding: Breeding: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burek Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 Name: Daniel Kirin Favourite Cichlid - Ps. Acei *Msuli Point* Why? Well Because they are not fussy eaters, they have nice coulor when adults and even as juveniles.They are compatible with alot other fish.they arent very aggresive.They add coulor and movement to your tank.They are not shy. Tank size - I keep them in a 4x14x18. Substrate - I am using White gravel, 2mm size.I have alot of rockwork, and some ornaments. Is it good substrate for these fish? - Yes, because its good for rocks and these fish need rocks so yeah.. Filter - I am using a Resun Internal power filter, 2000 litres per hour, with a home made bucket style filter.With once a week 25% waterchanges. Special needs - Not much, but they need vegetable flakes because they are vegeterians. Feeding - I feed them Vegetable Flakes, Tetra Coulorbits, and sometimess some prawns.They also have sometimes some earthworms which i find from the ground. Breeding - They like caves for privacy and breeding and also they need some open space.Typical malawi mouthbrooders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeWs Fish Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Your name: Michael Wertheim What's your favourite cichlid that you're keeping at present: Pseudotropheus aurora. Why? (detailed please): It was the 1st cichlid i ever bred. Also love the colour the males get in their fins when they display (a nice blue colour which contrasts the yellow). What tank size do you keep this in: Standard 4 foot tank What sort of substrate are you using? Is this a good choice for the fish?: Pebbles/gravel. They breed like rabbits so I think its a good choice What type of filtration are you using? Aqua one CF1200 Special needs: Plenty of rock work to hide and carve out territpry Feeding: Sera granu green Breeding:2 large flat rocks or caves with a flat roof at either ed of the tank. Penty of rock work/hding places in the middle of the tank. Typical Mbuna mouthbrooder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Your name: Jamie Parr What's your favourite cichlid that you're keeping at present: Tropheus moorii Mpulungu Why? (detailed please): I love their body shape. Their shortened faces look unique. I am also drawn to their beautiful colour and colony dynamic. There is always alot of activity in a Tropheus tank. What tank size do you keep this in: 5ft long, 20 inches wide, 24 inches high. What sort of substrate are you using? Lime sand. Is this a good choice for the fish?: Yes, they love to sift through it and it helps to buffer the water. What type of filtration are you using? 2 Eheim 2217s, 1 Via Aqua 750, 1 Power head and 1 UV Steraliser. Special needs: Very clean water with a small level of Nitrates. Therefore frequent water changes are a must (once a week is great). They do best with a pH of 8-9 and a kH of 12-16. Ideal temperature is 25-27 degrees. They need a predominantly Spiruluna based diet. Tropheus do best if kept mainly on their own in a colony of 20 fish or more. Most Tropheus keepers agree that they need atleast a standard 5 ft tank to be happy as a colony. They are susceptible to the intestinal tract disease Bloat if their owners are slack with their requirements. If their requirements are met however they are very hardy and do well in captivity Feeding: OSI Spirulina Flake twice a day and HBH Vege Wafers in the middle of the day when I'm home. Breeding: Tropheus are mouthbrooders. They typically make good parents. If their requirements are met they breed readily. They mainly start producing young at about 12 months of age. Females often spit or swallow their eggs a few times before they learn to hold to full term. Females hold for around 26 days and spit relatively large young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 This is soooo hard to narrow it down to just one, but here goes... Your name: Andrea Watts What's your favourite cichlid that you're keeping at present: G. acei ("tanzania" and "msuli"). Why? (detailed please): These fish are very personable. They are easy to keep, have no special requirements and breed prolifically. I enjoy their social habits...they are kept in large groups whose size varies greatly. Young fish swim amongst the larger fish without any signs of distress. I have several generations quite happily living together. My tank is decorated with rock piles and logs and I enjoy watching them graze upon the algae covered wood. They are colourful, outgoing and a joy to observe in their "as near to natural" habitat as I can give them. What tank size do you keep this in: Each colony is maintained in a 4' x 2' x 18" tank. What sort of substrate are you using?: A mixture of lime sand, crushed coral/shell grit and beach sand. Is this a good choice for the fish?: Seems to be..they enjoy sifted the sand and the water is buffered helping to maintain the appropriate water chemistry. What type of filtration are you using?: Each tank has a Project 3001 internal filter and receives weekly/fortnightly water changes of up to 40%. Special needs: There doesn't seem to be any special needs for this species outside of the general care and maintainance associated with fish keeping. Feeding: Heavily vegetable based with brine shrimp supplements. I use sera flora because it provides these fish with most of their dietary requirements. Breeding: They are prolific Malawi mouthbrooders. I leave the fry to be released into the aquarium. From time to time I see the odd youngster that has managed to dodge its predatory tankmates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvil Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Name: Alex Vilarrubi What's your favourite cichlid that you're keeping at present:Opthalmotilapia ventralis Samazi Why? (detailed please): They are very active not shy fish, male changes colour when courting, all the action is in plain view, male builds sand nest (bower). What tank size do you keep this in: 6x14x20 What sort of substrate are you using? Is this a good choice for the fish?: Bird cage sand, any type of fine sand will do. What type of filtration are you using? air driven side drop filter Special needs: Very clean water, they need a lot of swiming space with a couple of large rocks at one end of tank so the females can hide and rest, would need to have separate resting spots per female as females don't tolerate other female in her spot, Feeding: Sera vipan, any good quality flake or pelets, frozen brine shrimp. Breeding: Male builds large sand nest, the tank would need to be over 18" for him to build, at the moment I got my colony in a standard 6 footer so all he does now is move the sand around to make a depression, and then atracts a suitable female to his nest, lays on his side quivers a lot to let the female know where to lay the eggs, he swims away while she lays a few eggs, after she picks them up, he comes back and does his dance in the nest showing her his imitation eggs at the ends of his long fins, which she picks up in her mouth thus fertilzing the eggs that are in her mouth, they repeat this process untill all the eggs are laid, I counted 30 last time they spawned. I usually strip at around 18 days, and get 12 or so quite large fry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.d.m Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 name- simon massey favourate fish im keeping- red devil why-personality plus, intelligence and for a very aggressive fih can be remarkably gentle tank -slightly bigger than standard 4 footer subsrate- standard aquarium gravel ,a good choice because its easy for them to dig filter- eheim cannister with ceramic noodles sintered glass and filter floss breeding - easy to breed with a mated pair (or trio) standard egglayer procedure all they need is a flat surface to lay their eggs , eggs hatch in 3-4 days and are free swimming after a further 5 days ,can be left with the parents for a long time -i usually separate them when they start to annoy the parents (4-6 weeks) feeding - i feed them twice a day - bloodworms every day then either wardley pellets ,wardley flake ,osi spirulina pellets or compost worms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mianos Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Your name? Rob Fowler What's your favourite cichlid that you're keeping at present? Geophagus altifrons Why? It is very hard to choose a single favourite as I have a range of fish with very different characters. The main reasons these fish are my favourite at the moment is probably because I have never kept earth eaters before and the character of these fish is very different from my others. The way they dig at the substrate and sift it still amazes me months later. Although mine are relatively immature, at 6 months, they are starting to show come colour. I have seen the parents of my fish and they look amazing. I am excited looking forward to them colouring up further. I have four of them and they seem to have formed a tight social structure with one slightly larger fish clearly the leader, two following and the last one, the second biggest, seems to trail behind a little with a little more independence. What tank size do you keep this in? A new dedicated 3 ft high, 160L I think it is. What sort of substrate are you using? I have fine pure white river sand. About 3cm deep. Is this a good choice for the fish? Being eartheaters this is the recommended substrate. They look very happy moving it around the tank and sifting it through their gills. What type of filtration are you using? I have a Resun internal bio-filter. It is packed with noodles (The large ones from my other tank, not the small ones that came with it), coarse sponge that came with the filter and I use a wad of fine filter wall on top of the coarse block that I change regularly with fresh wool. Special needs? I have a large bit of wood and plants in the tank. The wood is from a swamp and tends to make the water a bit brown which seems to do no harm and is often recommended for South American fish. The wood does not seem to affect the measured pH. (Of course these fish are best kept on a substrate they can sift through as mentioned above). The water is maintained at 25 degrees. I do a 20% water change once or twice a week. (The tank is on a low stand so it is very convenient to change water often). Feeding? Sand sifters are mainly bottom feeders but they will chase food up to mid tank. Tetra Color Bits are what they were raised on before I got them so I have continued to use this as well as a mix of other foods such as some bulk sinking pellets and frozen blood worms every now and then. They seem to eat any of the other foods I have. They will pick at the bottom non stop. Breeding? Apparently 2-3 years. The breeder on the board here should be able to add something to this. (Andrew if you PM me I’ll add it here) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaZ Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Your name: Glenn Barrett What's your favourite cichlid that you're keeping at present: Neolamprologus multifasciatus Why? (detailed please): Have kept them for around 6 years now, love their attitude and character What tank size do you keep this in: 24x12x24 (a flat square one) What sort of substrate are you using? Pool dust (crushed marble chip) Is this a good choice for the fish?: Yep, it buffers the water and they love to dig in it What type of filtration are you using? Aquaclear 300 Special needs: Lots of shells to live/hide/breed in. Mine also have a Zen rock in the middle of the tank Feeding: Frozen brine shrimp, NSWCS flake, HBH African cichlid attack Breeding: Yes they are They are harem breeders and co-exist quite peacefully with each other. They are egg layers who breed in their shells. Do not keep bristlenose in the same tank, they will eat all the eggs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyme Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 Your name: Craig Douglas What's your favourite cichlid that you're keeping at present: Tropheus sp. Black, Bulu Pt Why? (detailed please):Something new for me, brightly coloured, the size of fish that I like to keep and for me they have bred freely. It is also nice to get a reasonable return for your fry. These fish are so energetic that they are very entertaining to watch, always on the go. These fish have also proven to be very low maintainence which at present is important to me. What tank size do you keep this in: 3'x18"x18" What sort of substrate are you using? Medium sized quartz gravel, sold as southern white. Is this a good choice for the fish?:It appears to be a good choice in that is is more or less inert and grows algae well What type of filtration are you using? An old Otto 400lt per hour internal cannister filter. Also an air driven modification of the ice cream bucket gravel filter. My receptacle of choice is a 2.5 litre cranberry juice bottle with No 2 crushed marble, filter wool and more marble. I use 15mm pressure pipe and an elbow at the top and slits in the airline instead of an air stone. Special needs:Algae! I think the secret of my success with these fish was that I let the tank stand filtered and aerated but no fish in it for about 6 weeks before putting the fish in. It was a green mess, but the thophs loved it and soon cleaned it up. Feeding:Algae, OSI spirulina flake and I suspect they eat a few snails too. Breeding:Small but regular mouthfulls with no human intervention. They appear not to eat their babies. The only drawback I can see with these fish is they need to be single specie to a tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoges Posted January 30, 2005 Share Posted January 30, 2005 Your name: Laura Hogan What's your favourite cichlid that you're keeping at present: Microgeophagus (Papilochromis) ramirezi Why? (detailed please): I love thier colouring especially around breeding time and also their quirky characters. What tank size do you keep this in: Each breeding pair in a custom 2ft & standard 2ft fry grow out tanks What sort of substrate are you using? Fine Gravel (est 2mm) Is this a good choice for the fish?: Yes it seems to be (It's small enough for them to move around for breeding purposes) What type of filtration are you using? Aqua Pro Internal Filter in my breeding tanks and sponge filtration in my grow out tanks Special needs: Very sensitive to water quaility (espeically amonia, nitrite & nitrate), they also need soft water with a Ph of around 6. I've found that tank temp needs to be at least 26 for breeding. Feeding: Fresh/Frozen food - Brine Shrimp, Blood Worms, Cichlid/Community Dinner, Spirulina, Microworms. Breeding: Very dependent on the pair in question. Some pairs breed well and make great parents, whilst others rarely breed and often consume the eggs/fry. They are very colourful when breeding especially the female's red belly. They prefer to breed on a flat surface, usually the tank bottom or a terracotta pot. The father usually guards the eggs/fry, but they seem to take turns at feeding time. They are also very easy to sex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan767 Posted January 30, 2005 Share Posted January 30, 2005 Name: Johan van Aardt Favourite Cichlid: Apistogramma cacatuoides Why?: This is my favourite becasue i bought it from my work and i got a breeding pair. Its fascinating just watching the male and female defend the eggs and clean the eggs. Also the colouration of the male is amazing during the spawning period. Tank Size: I keep my pair in a 20 Gal Heavily planted tank. Substrate: Fine 2mm natural gravel with a JBL proflora substrate underneath for the plants. it seems fine for them the male in his searching through the gravel after feedings ussually swallows a few pieces only to shoot them back out. Filtration: Fluval 204 with a purigen sachet as well which keeps the tannin colouring in the wood at bay Special needs: None (that i can think of) Feeding: i feed the fish in the tank twice a day, i switch between Bloodworms/frozen Brineshrimp and bloodworms/Super G. Breeding: the pair attempts to breed but as soon as the fry are free swimming the other fish ussaully get to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katanaone Posted January 30, 2005 Share Posted January 30, 2005 Your name: Ryan Peters What's your favourite cichlid that you're keeping at present: this week my favourite is my 5 inch juvenile red devil. Why? (detailed please): because atm he is changing colour, i've been waiting for him to change colour for some time now. What tank size do you keep this in: atm he is in a 3 footer with some similar sized jack dempseys, texans etc. What sort of substrate are you using? Is this a good choice for the fish?: pool filter sand mixed with medium sized gravel, flat and round rocks are scattered throughout the tank. What type of filtration are you using? ok, filtration...jebo 803 cf. Special needs: at this time (as any red devil keeper will agree) it is the other fish who have the special needs. Feeding: Hikari cichlid gold large floating pellets, wardley large floating pellets, occasionally he also gets treats of frozen blood worms and small feeder fish. Breeding: as Reddevilman said, they are pretty easy to breed with a breeding pair. this one has not bred as yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi4me Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 Your name: Rob Barrett What's your favourite cichlid that you're keeping at present: my Rhoadesii Why? Because he is a stud fish! king of the tank and his colours are top notch! What tank size do you keep this in: 6ft x 2ft x 2ft What sort of substrate are you using? gold large gravel wich i will soon be getting rid of as it was a bad idea in the first place! food gets stuck deep in the gravel and the cichlids cant get it out and it fouls the tank! soon i will change to a fine gold gravel. What type of filtration are you using? aqua one 1200 litre external cannister and a dolphin internal power filter, cant rem the flow rate but its about 600 litres or more. Special needs: none that i can think of, he is a happy chappy. Feeding: bloodworms, cichlid frenzy flakes and african cichlid attack pellets. Breeding: nope no breeding for this fella, he is stricktly a display fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catcher Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 Your name: Glenn Moore What's your favourite cichlid that you're keeping at present: Red Top Black Bar Why? : Personality and Looks, the male always looks great, the females always stick together and don't seem to let the male push them around unless breeding is on the agenda. What tank size do you keep this in: 4ftr What sort of substrate are you using? Is this a good choice for the fish?: Crushed marble, they seem to like it, the pieces are small enough to sift if they need too. What type of filtration are you using? Eheim 2229 pro wet/dry and a 500ltr p/h power head with a sponge cainster to keep things clean. Special needs:None that I can see other than a nice flat piece of slate to get together on. Feeding: Orca pellets, veg flake, algea chips. Occasional fresh zuchinni pieces. Breeding: Do fish have a tight bum! Yes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trofius Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 Your name:Mick Seeney What's your favourite cichlid that you're keeping at present: this is a difficult chaoice as i have a few very nice fish all with distinct personalities and attributes. But to pick just one would have to be my Tropheus sp. Red "Kachese" Why? Well in general i have a soft spot for Tropheus, and currently have 5 different morphs. the Kachese would be my oldest morph and therefore has more adult coulouration. I think the Kiriza will soon become the favorite. But anyways the Kachese i have are definatley the most outgoing and active fish i have at present. they are continually swimming about, constantly changing colours from redy brown with the stripes to bright blood red and almost black at times. The big male also gets nice red stripes in his almost black head when he is really pumped up, (breeding,or agro etc) Every person that enters our house instantly picks him out of the tank and askes what kinda fish is that, which i respond to with a brief 20 min chat about the fish and continue to show them the others in the garage! I find it myself difficult to walk past the tank with out stopping to see what is happening. Tropheus are very active, interesting fish, that command attention no mater what tank they are in. They also have some of the best colours of any fresh water fish. Their distinct colourations and markings are comparible to those of marine fish. What tank size do you keep this in:My Kachese are in a 8x2x2 What sort of substrate are you using? Is this a good choice for the fish?:The substrate in the tank is course creek sand , which would be similar to that found in their natural environment, the tank also has a lot of rock work, which is the zone that tropheus inhabit naturally. The rocks also allow them to hide when needed, and as a surface for copious amounts of algae to grow on. What type of filtration are you using? The filter for the tank is a large sump~200l the water first enters the sumps refugium which can also hold the heaters, this refugium will also contain any small fishes that misadventure. the water then travels through filter wool, bioballs, and submerged gutter guard, then course coral rubble/calcium carbonate, for buffering purposes, then filter foam and pumped back up to the tank @~2500lph. Special needs:Tropheus need to be kept as a colony, fed a quality vegy diet, have heeps of hiding places to "play" in. and impecible water conditions (big , frequent water changes.) Most people recomend that tropheus be kept a species only tank. My Kachese are living happily with 15 lepto kitumbas, 3 Opthalmaltilapia Ventralis, a N beuescheri, and some Xenotilapia Spilopterous. Feeding: My Fish are all fed a diet of OSI spirilina, and sera flora mix Breeding: Tropheus are mouthbrooding cichlids, so far my Kachese have had just the one mouthfull, but it was their first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeW Posted February 1, 2005 Author Share Posted February 1, 2005 Hi Guys - I'll be including an edited version of this in the next NSWCS mag (ie: June) - thanks to everyone who participated. Dave aka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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