135g SA "Renewal" Project

[DarylMac]

Thanks! I still have to do something about those bright blue filter intakes. I have DIY replacements all made & ready to go, just waiting for a chance to make the switch (and I should probably buy new tubing). Once that's done I'll throw up some full tanks shots or maybe a video.

 

[DarylMac]

Thats not a bad deal though. My LFS never really has anything besides oscars and africans when it comes to cichlids. Most likely ill be buying from online. Found out Jeff Rapps is from jersey where I am which I never knew until yesterday lol

Would still love to know where your came from! pretty interesting stuff

I'm in Vancouver Canada - so basically on the other side of the continent. But if I can find out who the wholesaler is I will let you know.
Cheers!

 

[DarylMac]

So it's almost been a month since the tank was up & running. Here are a few full tank shots. I moved the lights right to the front to create more of a sense of depth.


The small sword plant species is doing well, sending out runners. The valisnaria is doing as well as I'd like. I'll try adding a 48" sunblaster for 4 hours a day and see if that can encourage some growth.

 

[DarylMac]

Here's a couple of the females;



So far no signs of pairing or spawning. Which is fine by me. I'd like them to all put on a little more size before spawning starts. I know their growth will slow down when that happens and so far they have fattened up and put on a decent amount of size in the last 4 weeks. I'd guess about 1 cm in total length, but the overall girth is much more noticeable.

I was at an LFS the other night and saw some 6" - 7" males. Even though they were only 2" total length longer than my male they were probably 4 or more times the mass. I'm looking forward to that stage!

 

[RyanM]

Here's a couple of the females;

View attachment 1233572 View attachment 1233573 View attachment 1233574

So far no signs of pairing or spawning. Which is fine by me. I'd like them to all put on a little more size before spawning starts. I know their growth will slow down when that happens and so far they have fattened up and put on a decent amount of size in the last 4 weeks. I'd guess about 1 cm in total length, but the overall girth is much more noticeable.

I was at an LFS the other night and saw some 6" - 7" males. Even though they were only 2" total length longer than my male they were probably 4 or more times the mass. I'm looking forward to that stage!

Looking fantastic. What type of sand is that?

 

[DarylMac]

Target brand pool filter sand.


I think it's considered 20/40 grit, but I'm not exactly sure what that means.

What I do know is that pool filter sand is usually much, much cleaner than play sand or any other landscaping sand you can find.

This was no different. I washed 100 lbs of this stuff in less than 45 minutes.

 

[DarylMac]

Question for you all... all week I've been feeding pellets soaked in an Epsom salt solution. I treated with API General Cure on Monday & Wednesday.

Today is big water change day so I decided I would try feeding these guys live earthworms first (they loved them).

It caused all of them to have massive poops. None of the poops were white. Parts were translucent. But I was shocked at how stringy they were. Is this a sign that they still have internal parasites? Here's some photos of what I believe to be a sub dominant male who has (or had) a sunken belly;



Thoughts? Normal or do I treat again?

 

[mrrobxc]

I think you're fine given the color of time the stool.

I lik your rescape and choice of fish. No too just got a pair of GT's as my love for them has been rekindled due to all the recent GT posts currently on line. I remember having a tank full when I was a kid and my fathers buddy came over, looked at their beauty and remarked, "that's proof of Gods existence".

Thanks for sharing your picks.

 

[DarylMac]

Darn.

Looks like 3 of my aged bleeding hearts have ich. I noticed it after yesterday's 80% water change and thought it was micro air bubbles. But there are still spots today.

I picked up some Meds. (Note: medicating a 135g tank is expensive). I haven't had ich in about 4 or 5 years, maybe longer. Back then I beat it using heat & salt. I also lost all of my plants that way - so this time I'm going to try some medication.

Hope it works!

 

[DarylMac]

Hi all,

So I am coming to the end of a two week heat/salt treatment for ich.

That's the good news.

Bad news is I lost a bleeding heart Tetra today and my Siamese Algae Eaters are looking really beat up. The bleeding heart was beat up as well.

Here's the thing; I've never seen the GT's chase, nip, or bother either the SAE's or the Tetras.

I don't know what happens when the lights go out, but during the I see plenty of chasing between the GT's, but nothing that would make me think the GT's are harassing these other fish.

But I also don't believe in coincidences. Since getting the GT's I've lost 2 Tetras and 1 SAE.

On the other hand these fish are all old. The Tetras are like 4 or 5 years old. I started with 12. By the time I renewed this tank I was down to 5 and since adding GT's I'm at 3.

The SAE's I'm going to guess are 10 years old? So not sure if they look old & worn out because they're old and worn out...

Thoughts?