Honestly, there is a part of this that still hurts, so forgive me for now if I don't get into the details of the disaster. Something happened, right now it is a total mystery, and I have lost prized fish because of it. That's the short, short version, and for the purposes of this thread, all that is really relevant at this point.
As the dust clears, I find myself in a position of having to make some decisions. As always, input from my peers here tends to prove to be invaluable. So... a few things:
1. I have a 75 gallon setup I purchased from a guy as a saltwater setup, probably 2 or 3 months ago. For many reasons, I have never actually set it up, oddly enough. Now, I am reconsidering setting up as a saltwater tank. I think I may set it up as a freshwater tank, and move my male lyonsi to this tank, and attempt to find him a female that he likes and won't try to kill. Assuming I move forward with this plan, is there anything special I have to do to a tank that was once setup as a saltwater tank, from a cleaning perspective to make sure no nasties or contaminants transfer to the freshwater environment (I imagine anything that could live in saltwater would probably be killed in freshwater... but you never know)? The tank has been dry since I've owned it the last two or three months, so if anything was ever alive in it, it's probably long dead now anyway. But safe beats sorry, right? I was just gonna wipe it down with vinegar, and flush it with clean water, basically.
2. Next, I am thinking of breaking down my 125 gallon CA tank, and rehoming my oscar, and maybe backing out of the "monster" cichlids for awhile. Next month, I am acquiring a pair of cutteri and a pair of geophagus steindachneri. I am thinking of rebuilding this tank around those. I may also move my severum into this setup, though I'm still deciding on that one. Assuming I go with this plan, I'm soliciting some suggestions on tankmates. I'd love to get one more cichlid pair that could coexist with the cutteri in this tank. I have many options as far as breaking up sight lines and creating territories. Also in this tank is a BN pleco, and a couple of bumble bee cats that I may or may not rehome... undecided on that as I type this.
As always, you guys (and gals) input is valued and appreciated!
-Rich
As the dust clears, I find myself in a position of having to make some decisions. As always, input from my peers here tends to prove to be invaluable. So... a few things:
1. I have a 75 gallon setup I purchased from a guy as a saltwater setup, probably 2 or 3 months ago. For many reasons, I have never actually set it up, oddly enough. Now, I am reconsidering setting up as a saltwater tank. I think I may set it up as a freshwater tank, and move my male lyonsi to this tank, and attempt to find him a female that he likes and won't try to kill. Assuming I move forward with this plan, is there anything special I have to do to a tank that was once setup as a saltwater tank, from a cleaning perspective to make sure no nasties or contaminants transfer to the freshwater environment (I imagine anything that could live in saltwater would probably be killed in freshwater... but you never know)? The tank has been dry since I've owned it the last two or three months, so if anything was ever alive in it, it's probably long dead now anyway. But safe beats sorry, right? I was just gonna wipe it down with vinegar, and flush it with clean water, basically.
2. Next, I am thinking of breaking down my 125 gallon CA tank, and rehoming my oscar, and maybe backing out of the "monster" cichlids for awhile. Next month, I am acquiring a pair of cutteri and a pair of geophagus steindachneri. I am thinking of rebuilding this tank around those. I may also move my severum into this setup, though I'm still deciding on that one. Assuming I go with this plan, I'm soliciting some suggestions on tankmates. I'd love to get one more cichlid pair that could coexist with the cutteri in this tank. I have many options as far as breaking up sight lines and creating territories. Also in this tank is a BN pleco, and a couple of bumble bee cats that I may or may not rehome... undecided on that as I type this.
As always, you guys (and gals) input is valued and appreciated!
-Rich
