Aurantimaculata tank v2.0. Don’t die on me again !

[TomatoandEgg]

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/my-auranti-failure.695803/page-2

Previous tank :-/

Gonna make this a journal of my grow-in tank for the group of 6 aurantis I added yesterday. 120 x 45 x 45. Heavily planted tank. Will add some pictures of the setup

Let’s hope no fungus strikes! And let’s hope it’s a good mix of males and females. Looks like a bunch of females so far but there’s deffo 1 male.

They immediately began feeding which was encouraging. Last batch didn’t eat anything from the get go. These guys ate all 100 of my yellow Neocaridina overnight and then today devoured the 10 super Morio worms I dumped in and made a total mess of my crystal clear water in an instant!

They’ve been kept at 28c in the LFS for the past week and I’ll be gradually dropping the tank temp to 23 over the next week.

I have a few basic questions

1. I’m planning on feeding every other day while temps are at 23c. How many super worms should each fish eat per feeding session?

2. How long do the winter and summer Seasons last? 2 months at 25c and 2 months at 18c with a slow transition between or should the temperature changes be more pronounced and fast, ie 4-5 months held at 25c and 18c with quicker transitions between?

 

[Gaz_ham]

Good to hear you're having another go. I hope it goes well this time.
I usually feed juveniles daily, after i get home from work. Giving them a good feed until they have a good bulge in their bellies. No so much of a bulge that they struggle to swim though.
I drop the temperature of the tank for 3 months of the year, around the winter season in the U.K. My tank is in the outbuilding, with the thermostat set to 22° in summer and 14° in winter. staging the temperature up and down is done over a couple of weeks. I wouldn't drop the temperatures too low until they are adult.

 

[TomatoandEgg]

Good to hear you're having another go. I hope it goes well this time.
I usually feed juveniles daily, after i get home from work. Giving them a good feed until they have a good bulge in their bellies. No so much of a bulge that they struggle to swim though.
I drop the temperature of the tank for 3 months of the year, around the winter season in the U.K. My tank is in the outbuilding, with the thermostat set to 22° in summer and 14° in winter. staging the temperature up and down is done over a couple of weeks. I wouldn't drop the temperatures too low until they are adult.

Thanks for the reply and encouragement.

Specifically how many worms should I aim to feed each fish? I’m concerned with over feeding and getting fat sterile fish who will never pair or produce fry.

Dropping the temp to 14 is possible but given the air temp and humidity here in malaysia I’m worried about condensation ruining the wooden tank stand. Is 18 low enough?

 

[TomatoandEgg]

Tank shot

There’s a bit of chasing around the tank from time to time. A few frayed fins. Is this normal behaviour or should the group be totally harmonious?

 

[NikosKoul]

it's normal since they are new in your tank. They ll try to find their territories and find who ll be the dominant in this tank. Nice setup by the way

 

[Gaz_ham]

There will be disputes , nipping and fighting, from my experience of groups. They all want top spot and first pick of the food and reproduction rights. I've found that keeping them well fed helps keep some of the aggression in check.
As for how much food, that's a hard one to answer. You should see the belly bulge and they will become less excitable as they have filled up on food. You will soon learn how much to put in. Scatter the food around the tank for a group, so there is less stress caused by feeding in each of the territories.

 

[NikosKoul]

Imagine that my striata which is smaller than your cobras eats 4 krikets 6 mealworms some krill and some bloodworms each meal!

 

[TomatoandEgg]

Thanks for the answers chaps. I’ll play it by ear and see how it goes. Yesterday I fed 16 superworms. It seemed to be enough. After 2 worms each they stop being so frantic in anticipation of me throwing in more worms.

One issue though, they create such a bloody mess when they eat. Then my inflow gets covered in debris which then after a few days grows fungus on it. I’ll try to grab a shot to show it, but you can see in the picture above the white superworm pieces stuck to it. But that shot is after I’ve already cleaned all the fungus

 

[Gaz_ham]

Excuse my ignorance, but what are super worms? I've never heard of them before.

 

[TomatoandEgg]

Zophobas morio. Don’t worry mate I probably got the name wrong I’m winging it over here. There’s so little info out there regarding these fish.

Trawling Madou and D -DC- posts is awesome but specifics can really make a difference so hence this thread where I just post about how my tank is going and what problems I encounter.