Cichlids in Planted Ripariums
- Thread starter hydrophyte
- Start date
hydrophyte;3712910; said:
ex-Chiclasoma Festae aka True Red Terrors. 1- Dom male 1- sub Male 1- Dom female. Those were taken feb.09' the fish are twice that size now and in a much larger unplanted tank - haven't got that far yet.
As sarah said earlier they have way more brillant coloration now BUT a forewarning - Festae are construction workers - all day and all nite they move substrate building homes approx. 2ft round all the way to the bottom. Not the best fish for planted substrate.
Heres some links to the most recent pics of my Festae if interested-
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=291078
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=291171
Thanks I was just curious about that fish I certainly don't space for anything like that right now.
You sure have some nice specimens--nice work!
You sure have some nice specimens--nice work!
hydrophyte;3714191; said:
Coming from you and your goregous tanks that's a huge compliment - Thank you.
I think I'm gonna have to consider a large CA setup as a project for the future. But where will I put it?
There is one species in particular that I want to acquire someday, as much as anything because I actually saw it out in the wild. Here is the Cichlasoma istlanum that I spied in the net of some fishermen down in Jalisco in the Rio Tuxcacuesco.
This specimen probably ended up broiled over coals or in a caldo. C. istlanum are real handsome fish. I wonder if I could ever hope to find some(?). I was actually on a fish-colecting trip when I saw that one and I could have purchased it from those guys or kindly asked for it as a gift, but it was too big to try to fly home with.
There is one species in particular that I want to acquire someday, as much as anything because I actually saw it out in the wild. Here is the Cichlasoma istlanum that I spied in the net of some fishermen down in Jalisco in the Rio Tuxcacuesco.
This specimen probably ended up broiled over coals or in a caldo. C. istlanum are real handsome fish. I wonder if I could ever hope to find some(?). I was actually on a fish-colecting trip when I saw that one and I could have purchased it from those guys or kindly asked for it as a gift, but it was too big to try to fly home with.
Oh, yes thanks for that reminder. Now I have this new idea in my head to get some big Central American cichlids. How can I keep my significant other from knowing? She'll wring my neck.
It looks like Rapps doesn't have any of those C. istlanum right now, but he has a lot of other great stuff. I wish that I could make some room for something new. I might have to think about maybe a 90-gallon riparium setup for my next project.
I have a quick update for my new 50-gallon riparium.
The plants are growing in pretty well. I have been trimming the gorwing tips of the carpeting plants such as the Bacopa madagascariensis so that they will devlop with more bushy growth to cover the trellis rafts.
Here's just a quick picture of one of the pair of Honduran red points that I have in there.
Some would cringe I know that I have these in the same tank with that cutteri, but trust me they aren't going to be doing any breeding. I actually don't really like these red points in here and I will switch them out pretty soon. I wonder about putting some kind of Tanganyikan or other African cichlid in their place if I can find something that would be compatible with the other stock and work well in a little group of two or three (?).
I have a quick update for my new 50-gallon riparium.
The plants are growing in pretty well. I have been trimming the gorwing tips of the carpeting plants such as the Bacopa madagascariensis so that they will devlop with more bushy growth to cover the trellis rafts.
Here's just a quick picture of one of the pair of Honduran red points that I have in there.
Some would cringe I know that I have these in the same tank with that cutteri, but trust me they aren't going to be doing any breeding. I actually don't really like these red points in here and I will switch them out pretty soon. I wonder about putting some kind of Tanganyikan or other African cichlid in their place if I can find something that would be compatible with the other stock and work well in a little group of two or three (?).
Tang. Shellies might work, mbunas,peacocks,haps, and victorians - if the rhyzomes or root stock is accessible on your floating plants - they'll eat it up. Awhile back someone told me africans won't eat aquatic garlic/onion - they were 50% correct -mine wouldn't eat the leaves but they dug up the bulbs and ate'em. With africans my best sucess has been with hard bulb plants like Aponogeton (Madagascar lace,Ulvaceus) Lotus, & Bannana plants. These plants also work well with new world cichlids. The SA/CA's will pull the bulbs up but won't destroy them - simpley move them to a different location in the tank and wait for them to do it again someday.
Thanks, I'll keep those suggestions in mind. My main concern right now is that the mollies are all getting thin and beat up because the cichlids pursue them too much. I think that I will work on removing the mollies first and then consider some other cichlid options. I don't especially like the looks of the red points, so I will yank those soon too.
