Unfortunate events initiate new beginnings

[bigsea]

So my tire track eel is now crazy aggressive. My 4.5" chocolate cichlid died last night and it was my favorite fish in the tank. It's just not the same for me anymore so I've decided to sell my stock and go for something else..

I'm looking to keep a pair of Central American cichlids that can be kept long term at hard water. My tap is 7.8. I've been looking into some veijas cichlasomas I really like the argentae, reganis, pearsei, labiatus, pikes....trimacs....brainstorming. One of my main concerns is that I want plenty of room for the pair and maybe a few dithers. Also i only want quality stock. Any suggestions on what would be happy as a pair in my standard 125g? Not trying to raise fry at all but would be a nice bonus if they could.


2 pairs!!??? So much to think about. Would appreciate all the help I could get

 

[skjl47]

Hello; I guess I am old school as I have never "traded in" or "sold" a fish for any reason that I initially purchased. There have been a number of "mistakes" over the decades that I have kept for as long as they lived. Perhaps the more notable being a banded headstander who pretty much wiped out all the live plants in a tank. An interesting fish otherwise. made me a bit more careful to do some checking before getting a fish I know little about.
That folks sold or took back pets to the store was one of the new concepts when I joined this site a few years ago. That pet stores take part was also new to me. I will not go so far as to label it a "wrong" thing to do, more something I have not yet considered.
Better than one fellows response after getting a cute spotted catfish. A few days later it had eaten most of the fish in a community tank. He threw it out into his backyard in disgust.

I did take in a neighbors pleco a few years ago. He was losing his house and it was either I take it or it was to be left to die. I kept it about a year and it was outgrowing my capacity at the time. I found a fish shop to take it for free. Pretty much the same thing I guess.

Good luck

 

[bigsea]

Hello; I guess I am old school as I have never "traded in" or "sold" a fish for any reason that I initially purchased. There have been a number of "mistakes" over the decades that I have kept for as long as they lived. Perhaps the more notable being a banded headstander who pretty much wiped out all the live plants in a tank. An interesting fish otherwise. made me a bit more careful to do some checking before getting a fish I know little about.
That folks sold or took back pets to the store was one of the new concepts when I joined this site a few years ago. That pet stores take part was also new to me. I will not go so far as to label it a "wrong" thing to do, more something I have not yet considered.
Better than one fellows response after getting a cute spotted catfish. A few days later it had eaten most of the fish in a community tank. He threw it out into his backyard in disgust.

I did take in a neighbors pleco a few years ago. He was losing his house and it was either I take it or it was to be left to die. I kept it about a year and it was outgrowing my capacity at the time. I found a fish shop to take it for free. Pretty much the same thing I guess.

Good luck

Not sure what the point of this was.

I did research but I am new to the hobby. Been keeping fish for a little over two years now. I knew cichlids generally leave bottom dwellers alone and I knew tire track eels are known for some aggression and are nocturnal hunters. But I guess some things have to be learned from experience. I've never bought a fish without the intention of keeping them aside from the other three chocolates I bought in hopes of finding a pair for the bigger chocolate who just died. I guess I get too attached to personalities of some fish because now that the bigger one has died all of my other stock remind me of the fish that died. I could understand why rehoming and selling fish would be looked down upon but I don't see how a 6 foot tank in my living room making me depressed would be a good idea. Unless u can elaborate a bit on what exactly u we're trying to tell me

 

[robham777]

Sorry you lost your favorite man, I was there right with you just before christmas. For a time the whole hobby was kind of depressing to me. Did the eel kill the chocolate? What is the current stock list?

 

[bigsea]

I have 2 sevrums, 1 rivulatus, a Keyhole trio, the eel and now 3 chocolate juvies. I'm assuming stress was the culprit. I would always see random battle wounds on my fish when I woke up in the morning but there's almost no aggression in my tank. So the only explaination would be the 1 nocturnal hunter. And my chocolate sleeps behind a log that isn't too far from the eels cave. I'm guessing the chocolate got cornered and attacked over a longer duration than casual "back off" nipping.

 

[skjl47]

Not sure what the point of this was.

I did research but I am new to the hobby. Been keeping fish for a little over two years now. I knew cichlids generally leave bottom dwellers alone and I knew tire track eels are known for some aggression and are nocturnal hunters. But I guess some things have to be learned from experience. I've never bought a fish without the intention of keeping them aside from the other three chocolates I bought in hopes of finding a pair for the bigger chocolate who just died. I guess I get too attached to personalities of some fish because now that the bigger one has died all of my other stock remind me of the fish that died. I could understand why rehoming and selling fish would be looked down upon but I don't see how a 6 foot tank in my living room making me depressed would be a good idea. Unless u can elaborate a bit on what exactly u we're trying to tell me

Hello; What point my post had was mainly that the practice of returning fish is new to my experience. Not trying to say it is something to be looked down on. I guess if it became a casual practice that it might be considered a negative practice. I guess fish are not like puppies in that they may not form an emotional attachment to us, so trading them around likely will not be an emotional trauma to them.
A lesser point from my experience with the headstander might be that at first I was upset that a nicely cultivated tank of live plants became a meal. I do not know if the plants I pick for my display tanks taste better than the cheaper plants available, but the headstander found them tasty. As I did not have a choice those decades ago the fish and I were destined to find a way to get along. I made some adjustments, kept the fish and enjoyed having it.
Not sure if following thru with a live pet is a positive life lesson for everyone, but I think it has been for me. Giving good care to a living thing I was not all that happy with may have built some good karma or something. At any rate I do not now regret the tank I had to dedicate to a fish for a few years. Turned out ok.

 

[bigsea]

Hello; What point my post had was mainly that the practice of returning fish is new to my experience. Not trying to say it is something to be looked down on. I guess if it became a casual practice that it might be considered a negative practice. I guess fish are not like puppies in that they may not form an emotional attachment to us, so trading them around likely will not be an emotional trauma to them.
A lesser point from my experience with the headstander might be that at first I was upset that a nicely cultivated tank of live plants became a meal. I do not know if the plants I pick for my display tanks taste better than the cheaper plants available, but the headstander found them tasty. As I did not have a choice those decades ago the fish and I were destined to find a way to get along. I made some adjustments, kept the fish and enjoyed having it.
Not sure if following thru with a live pet is a positive life lesson for everyone, but I think it has been for me. Giving good care to a living thing I was not all that happy with may have built some good karma or something. At any rate I do not now regret the tank I had to dedicate to a fish for a few years. Turned out ok.

I understand now. Thank you for that. Maybe I'll marinate for a bit.

 

[mattison187]

I understand fully about you wanting to switch it up now that your fav. Fish from that tank died. I just had to do the same a few months back. The dominent fish in one of my tanks died and the tank became a war zone with the remaining fish fighting over hierarchy. It became more of a chore then anything. If you lose all enjoyment, then its time to switch stuff up for sure. As far as what to house in the tank. Possibly a nice geo setup, or maybe some port acara?

 

[bigsea]

I like both of those fish. Great suggestions!