125G > 240G South American Cichlid Tank (Severum / Geos)

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
baxtor_lex said:
Loved reading the pages of this thread! Now watching, great stuff, as much as I like my aggressive cichlids, I have to admit, I'm very envious of this setup! Keep the updates coming :)
Click to expand...

Appreciate the kind words! Hope to provide entertainment with the growth and development of the tank :)

As an update, in the process of setting up the next tank so that I can mix all of the fishes together. The 55G probably won't last for more than a few months with the stock that I have. In fact, I keep 2/3 of the stock in my 55G, and the other 1/3 in the QT.

I purchased the Fluval FX6 today via eBay. As far as I am aware of, eBay has the cheapest deals for a new FX6 (got it for $285 shipped).

I've decided against a 125G and will actually be getting a 150G tank. The 150G will be 72L x 24W x 20H. It'll provide 6 inches of extra width/depth which will be nice.

The 150G will be custom made via Clear for Life. I've always used acrylic as I am wary of glass. I justify it in my mind by thinking of the potential damage that a leaky tank will cause my hardwood floors... haha.

The 150G will be black acrylic back (my 55G is clear and I hate seeing the cables in the back). It will also have a black acrylic bottom as I plan to go bare bottom for ease of maintenance.

I plan on having 2x Fluval FX6, one on each end, and moving my current Cascade 1500 into the center. So a total of 3 canister filters. A couple heaters, one at either end. A couple of air stones in the black. If detritus and waste ends up collecting anywhere I may put in a wavemaker.

Will take pictures of the whole setup as it happens!
 
  • Like
Reactions: magpie and baxtor_lex
New piece of driftwood came in. Will soak for a week to waterlog it and get the initial burst of tannins out, then place it into the tank. I've given up on trying to get all tannins out of driftwood through soaking in a tub. It can go for months on end. Better to just tolerate slightly yellow water. It's not a bad look really... Carbon and Purigen really help to reduce the discoloration too.

Expecting 3 more pieces of JUMBO driftwood in the next week or so and will post some pictures of the ones to come :)

Big fan of Mopani wood. I find the difference in coloration and the texture and patterns most appealing out of the common varieties available (Malaysian, Manzanita, Mopani... just realized they all start with M!)

20160709_130521.jpg

20160709_130549.jpg
 
A shot of the QT. Current inhabitants:

4x Denison Barbs (purchased to round out the 9 that I wanted for the main tank)
4x Red Tiger Severum
3x Panda Garra
6x Sterbai Cory

The water level is a bit low because the panda garras always seem to find their way over the lip of the HOB and into the AQ110 =/

20160709_133816.jpg
 
The largest of the 4x Red Tiger Severum is definitely a bully. I'm wondering if it is stress from the bigger brother that the 3x little ones aren't eating as well and aren't growing as much. Given that it has been nearly a month now, no obvious signs of illness, treatment with Paraguard has been performed for a week, I'm comfortable moving the Big guy to the main tank. Hopefully this will give the little guys a chance to eat, be less stressed, and start growing a bit.

Posting a before and after photo of one of the Red Tigers. Certainly can't say whether or not the before is the same as the after photo, but all 4x were similar in size to start with. This is about a month out now. I didn't put a ruler with the photos but you can see that in the original photo, the fish would span maybe 2.5 finger breadths if the positioning were perfectly perpendicular. In the after photo it looks as if it would be closer to 3.5 finger breadths. Also notice some of the green coloration coming in on the cheeks.

The Rotkeils in the main tank are still a bit more robust than even the biggest Red Tiger here. When I put in the Red Tiger the Rotkeils immediately got curious and started a bit of nipping... Quickly put in some bloodworms to distract them to let the Rotkeil find a moment of solace.

Will monitor main tank to make sure the Rotkeils aren't being big bullies. Will also monitor the eating habits of the QT tank and see if the remaining 3x smaller Red Tigers start to perk up a bit without a bully in their midst (there's already some sparring within the power vacuum, I'm sure one of them will come out on top...)

2016-06-14 21.32.30 (Number 4).jpg

20160710_175549.jpg
 
Sanman said:
Where did you get the driftwood from
Click to expand...

eBay dealers. Search Mopani Wood. It's definitely not cheap.

I also get pieces from Zoo Med, but you'll end up getting random pieces since you can't pick them. However, I've been lucky and the pieces that I've gotten have been excellent.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom