Donny Brasco Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Hey guys just wanted to post some pics of my new set up, there is still a couple of guppies and some tetras in the tank which i used for cycling the filter but ill move them back out soon when i get my next batch of cichlids in a weeks time.I started of with a range of malawis with nice colors all fairly small as its only a 3ft tank for now, once they get a bit bigger ill start setting up a larger tank.I dont know all there scientific names and to be honest its hard enough trying to remember them all let alone pronouce or spell them so ill stick to there common namesSunshine peacockFirefishBlue dolphinElectric yellowWhite knightI was only using my phone to take the pics so there a bit crappy at the moment, next up ill be getting a red sholder peacock, a lombaria maybe another electric yellow and a tarwin reef, also thinking about sticking a live plant in the middle as well just to give the tank some more green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link2Hell Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Donny don't take this the wrong way but ........................you need to learn and record the species you keepit may be hard but you need to put in the effortlack of trying to improve fish keeping knowledge bypeople new to cichlids is were a lot of the problemscome from with mis-identificationsunshine peacock = Aulonacara baenshi bengafirefish peacock = hybridblue dolphin = Cyrtocara mooriiwhite knight = possible colour mutation sciaenachromis fryerired shoulder peacock = Aulonacara hansbaenschi Fort Maguirelombabaria = Pseudotropheus lombardoitarwin reef = Protomelas sp. steveni Taiwan ReefGoogle is your friend and can be a useful tool for correcting fish namesif you are unsure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny Brasco Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 Ah yes I do have the real names thank you I just find it easier to type there common names and I'm pretty sure everyone understands as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link2Hell Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 all good then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luis Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Nice set up. I like how you've laid out the rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny Brasco Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 Thanks man I tried to make plenty of hiddy holes for them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoody Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 the set up looks good. defiantly get some more aulonocara's in there!just watch those rocks with the brown/ red on them that colour can be rust which is bad for your water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny Brasco Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Rust really? On rocks? Curious to hear a bit more info about that if you care to elaborate.The tanks been running fine for around 6 weeks by now and it always tests up perfect running at around 8-8.2ph 0 ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and Gh and kh are high around 8 and 9.Fish seem fairly happy but you have me worried now.I have set up a couple of new tanks as well which I will start using for breeding soon as I'm keen to get the kids involved in getting some to breed.I purchased about 6 electric yellows from a private breeder today they are quite large compared to my other one in my show tank at around 6 to 8cm how ever I was a little bit disappointed in there color.My little one in my show tank is very nice vivid yellow and promenant black dorsal. Where as this new lot of 6 are very dull white/yellow and not as full how ever still have a nice black dorsal.I'm guessing this is just from a bad blood line or something? The mums and dad's where beautiful nice and large and rich in color and shape but the fry up until the 5 or 6cm juveniles where pretty much a brown fish where as my show tanks yellow is mint and it's only half the size Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxib Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 The rust being referred to could be iron ore in the rock. But...from a forum Iron, the commonest of all metals, is normally present in nature in the form if iron oxide, i.e. rust. It follows that if you have rocks containing iron, betrayed by rusty streaks and patches, it will not normally present a chemical problem for your fish since the rust, iron oxide, is inert, However, if there is enough rusty material it will discolor your water, so rocks that are heavily 'rusted' should not be used. A few patches or spots of rust here and there on rocks is not a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny Brasco Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 would you say my rocks look like that have a lot of "rust" on them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxib Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 It may not be rust. Does it flake off? Think about rust. If you brush it, it comes off. The iron ore underneath is a darker color and when exposed to elements will start to rust again. Some of the rocks do look quite red in places but I have seen river rock like that and its not rust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvon Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Great looking setup mate and welcome to the wonderful (addictive) world of cichlids..Ask a lot of questions.. Everyone does make a few mistakes when first getting into things but hopefully the mistakes we have made in past can save you from them!Looks like you are doing everything right. I agree with link, keep a record of what you have in the tank. Not many fishkeepers and into the hybrids, but for some, it doesnt matter. I personally dont like them..As you get more experience, and more tanks, starting researching species to possibly spawn. The process of conditioning, breeding and raising a species is one of the best accomplishments in fish husbandry!I started with Convict cichlids. Not much effort needed to spawn but for me at such a young age, it was an amazing experience.Google and ACE are 2 big sources of information. Use the search function on the forum to look up previous topics as most things have been discussed before..PS. Stay away from a lot of the facebook pages. A lot of weekend warriors with crappy information. Anyone can join facebook chats, but most of the keen aquarists visit these dedicated forums.CheersAlvon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny Brasco Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 yeah havent really found any descent facebook groups but from my searching i have found plenty of helpful info on here so ill stick with that and like you said google.the rocks that are red do not flake at all, but i am looking into making a nice 3d background using polystyrene and concrete. i have watched a tone of diy vids ect and it looks like a fun activity i can share with the kids on the weekends.addictive hell yes it is, i went from setting up 1 cichlid tank a month or so ago to already have set up another 2 smaller tanks that im looking into possibly breeding some species and going to buy a bigger tank on the weekend for my main show tank hahaha so ill have 5 tanks pretty soon.I can see why some people turn there nose up at hybrids but for me as a new comer im seeing some pretty nice fish which turn out to be hybrids, i have no interest in breeding them but they are nice to look at so ill leave it at that.Might be getting a bit of track but on the topic of 3d backgrounds does anybody know some aquarium safe products available at my local bunnings like silicone and the concrete and also maybe some coloring for the concrete? specific brands or certain types i need to stay away from?Most of the diy vids i have watched are american so the brands they are using arnt available here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny Brasco Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 http://www.bunnings.com.au/selleys-310g-glass-silicone_p1234951I assume is safe for glueing parts in the aquarium as it says its safe for glueing the glass together on aquariums?but i cant find any info on what type of concrete or concrete tint(color powder) to use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tori Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I used dunlop render and oxide on a 4x1 mtr background for a pond then sealed it with clear concrete sealer its been 12 monhs under water and its still fine I also use grout for smaller rocks and caves etc. I think if I was to make another background I would experiment with a black pond sealer covered in sand or gravel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny Brasco Posted March 14, 2015 Author Share Posted March 14, 2015 https://youtu.be/ASm9OzCsHaY Just a little vid of my johanni digging some escape tunnels. Don't know why the quality went so poor it looked awesome on the phone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxib Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I love how they do their excavations. I get these neat tall piles of substrate in my tank.Males do this in preperation for breeding. Supposedly a nice hole and a good pile of substrate can make the females rowdddyyy.Wish I could dig a hole and pile up some dirt to get a women. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny Brasco Posted March 15, 2015 Author Share Posted March 15, 2015 weird i only have the 1 johanni and i dont think i have many females in this tank so not sure who his trying to impress lol.I find the digging hole method much to tiring maxib, a slosh of house hold chemicals on a rag does the trick for me nicely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astochristo Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 http://www.bunnings.com.au/selleys-310g-glass-silicone_p1234951I assume is safe for glueing parts in the aquarium as it says its safe for glueing the glass together on aquariums?but i cant find any info on what type of concrete or concrete tint(color powder) to useHey mate.I use this silicone on my tanks. it works fine and i haven't experienced any mold in the joints... yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simy696 Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 that's the one ive used will let u no in a week if fish start dying as it suggests a week drying timemight fill it over with water over night and set it up the next day/.stratco have it too but heaps dearer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny Brasco Posted April 6, 2015 Author Share Posted April 6, 2015 Had some new additions to the new tank recently, this is in my 4 x 18x18 with silicon 3d background running a new nautilus 2700uv.All my fish are bought from Devon and emma at Barnesy's cichlid heaven in Bunyib Victoria, all of which where purchased as 3-5cm juvies apart from the azurues which i got today who is a bit bigger than the rest of the guys.It is a little crowded in there at the moment, i have no doubt my filtration is up to the task how ever there will be a few coming out soon to another 3ft tank as well to seperate some dietry needs.Pseudotropheus sp. ‘polit’Melanochromis johanniiPseudotropheus demasoni, i got him pretty little so his still a little pink at the momentLabidochromis caeruleusTarwin reefMetriaclima lombardoiSP44Copadichromis azureus (i havent been able to catch a good pic yet with his mohawk out but he looks awesome.OB marbeled peacockmix shots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimB Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ged Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Nice photos Donny. You may need to control the level of aggression from some of the new species when they get a bit of size to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny Brasco Posted April 19, 2015 Author Share Posted April 19, 2015 Think ged yeah it was getting a bit crowded in my big tank so I ended up using one of my other 4ft tanks as a mbuna only tank and now my big main tank is just haps and peacocks aggression is very low.Finally got a good pic of my azerues today and has a little play on my phone with some filters, I hope I didn't over do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny Brasco Posted April 19, 2015 Author Share Posted April 19, 2015 previous photos was with my misses cannon dslr and I had a shifty old h5 with a real yellow tinge. I now have leds and love the lighting heaps better now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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