meeki/bladen river themed tank
- Thread starter Tripping Willow 91
- Start date
Big update!!!
The tank is cycled and I've completed my scape!
I started my cycle on the 28/12 and by the 1/1 I had nitrites reading on my API but as soon as I had nitrites my nitrates went down to 5 from 10-20 (tap nitrates are 10-20). Obviously this ain't right, I carried on for a week, dosing the ammonia back up to 3ppm every time it hit zero but my nitrites never read above 0.25 and nitrates stayed at 5. On the 8th I got a new NT test kit, tested and my nitrates and nitrites were through the roof, done a big 90%+ wc and by the 11/1 I was processing 3pmm of ammonia to nitrates in 24hrs. I've never cycled a tank so quickly, I didn't use any seeded media or sponges and I managed to cycle in 2 weeks, could it be all the wood I collected helped with the cycle?
Today I managed to get the scape finished and ready for fish. I decided to drain all the water and pull everything out, after looking at the thing for weeks I'd come to the conclusion I wasn't happy with the layout of the rocks and wood I had in there and it'd be best to start afresh. I had a wheelie bin outside full of soaking wood, a bucket of pebbles and tubs of smaller stuff, gravel, twigs, leaves and alder comes. So I set to work at 9am and by 3pm I had it finished and I'm now very happy with it. I've used cable ties to secure bits of wood together and attach them to the central brace, with all the tannins you can hardly see them but I'm hoping in time I'll get a covering of algae on them and the wood. As I'd done a 100% wc, for the instant tannins I boiled up 20 or so alder cones and a dozen oak leaves for 20mins, cooled it down and then tipped it all in. I think I've perhaps gone a little heavy on the tannins, I was very surprised just how much tannins were realised from the cones, as soon as they go in the boiling water they're like little cone shaped squid spraying ink all over the place.
I didn't have enough time to get to the LFS but I did have 7 nerite snails (1onion 1zebra 1batman 4clithon) and 40+ cherry shrimp in my quarantine tank so they've all gone into it. The shrimp should make for some nice little snacks for the meeki when I get some in.
I must say I'm very pleased with how it's come out and I can't wait to get my firemouths.
The tank is cycled and I've completed my scape!
I started my cycle on the 28/12 and by the 1/1 I had nitrites reading on my API but as soon as I had nitrites my nitrates went down to 5 from 10-20 (tap nitrates are 10-20). Obviously this ain't right, I carried on for a week, dosing the ammonia back up to 3ppm every time it hit zero but my nitrites never read above 0.25 and nitrates stayed at 5. On the 8th I got a new NT test kit, tested and my nitrates and nitrites were through the roof, done a big 90%+ wc and by the 11/1 I was processing 3pmm of ammonia to nitrates in 24hrs. I've never cycled a tank so quickly, I didn't use any seeded media or sponges and I managed to cycle in 2 weeks, could it be all the wood I collected helped with the cycle?
Today I managed to get the scape finished and ready for fish. I decided to drain all the water and pull everything out, after looking at the thing for weeks I'd come to the conclusion I wasn't happy with the layout of the rocks and wood I had in there and it'd be best to start afresh. I had a wheelie bin outside full of soaking wood, a bucket of pebbles and tubs of smaller stuff, gravel, twigs, leaves and alder comes. So I set to work at 9am and by 3pm I had it finished and I'm now very happy with it. I've used cable ties to secure bits of wood together and attach them to the central brace, with all the tannins you can hardly see them but I'm hoping in time I'll get a covering of algae on them and the wood. As I'd done a 100% wc, for the instant tannins I boiled up 20 or so alder cones and a dozen oak leaves for 20mins, cooled it down and then tipped it all in. I think I've perhaps gone a little heavy on the tannins, I was very surprised just how much tannins were realised from the cones, as soon as they go in the boiling water they're like little cone shaped squid spraying ink all over the place.
I didn't have enough time to get to the LFS but I did have 7 nerite snails (1onion 1zebra 1batman 4clithon) and 40+ cherry shrimp in my quarantine tank so they've all gone into it. The shrimp should make for some nice little snacks for the meeki when I get some in.
I must say I'm very pleased with how it's come out and I can't wait to get my firemouths.
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And then there were meeki!
Yesterday I managed to get some long awaited fish for my tank. My plan was to go to a few different fish shops and select a couple of the best looking meeki from each. I finished work at 12 and made my way straight over to the first LFS, they had a tank full of little green swordtails, they weren't showing loads of colour but I assumed this was from stress and still being small. I continued to search for meeki but to no avail, I asked a member of staff who led me over to a tank with some geos, a keyhole and 3 meeki in it. They were around 4-5cm showing some nice reds and also neon blue flecks on them, they looked a bit of a dull in the body but again being juveniles I wasn't expecting loads of colour, I'm new with cichlids so not sure how much colour these little guys should show. I decided to take their last 3 meeki for £33 and the swordtails were 5 for £20 so got 1m 4f they all looked healthy with nice extended fins. I stopped at 3 other shops on my way home but none of them had any firemouths, to my surprise there were lots of pasionis about, I did manage to find some more green swords but they didn't look great so I left them.
I've got a week off from Wednesday so I will continue my search later this week and hopefully get my T.meeki and female swordtails numbers both up to 8. My missus is insisting we get a catfish so I've agreed on a bristlenose, I know plecs inhabit the same waters but I don't think any that do are commercially available so I think a bristlesnose will be the best candidate for the job. I like the super reds but would this colour variant be straying too far from the native plecos, should I just stick with the standard?
I managed a couple snaps of them last night but they were still very skittish, hopefully when they've settled I'll get some better shots. My phone really hasn't done them any favours, they do show more colour than in those photos.
Yesterday I managed to get some long awaited fish for my tank. My plan was to go to a few different fish shops and select a couple of the best looking meeki from each. I finished work at 12 and made my way straight over to the first LFS, they had a tank full of little green swordtails, they weren't showing loads of colour but I assumed this was from stress and still being small. I continued to search for meeki but to no avail, I asked a member of staff who led me over to a tank with some geos, a keyhole and 3 meeki in it. They were around 4-5cm showing some nice reds and also neon blue flecks on them, they looked a bit of a dull in the body but again being juveniles I wasn't expecting loads of colour, I'm new with cichlids so not sure how much colour these little guys should show. I decided to take their last 3 meeki for £33 and the swordtails were 5 for £20 so got 1m 4f they all looked healthy with nice extended fins. I stopped at 3 other shops on my way home but none of them had any firemouths, to my surprise there were lots of pasionis about, I did manage to find some more green swords but they didn't look great so I left them.
I've got a week off from Wednesday so I will continue my search later this week and hopefully get my T.meeki and female swordtails numbers both up to 8. My missus is insisting we get a catfish so I've agreed on a bristlenose, I know plecs inhabit the same waters but I don't think any that do are commercially available so I think a bristlesnose will be the best candidate for the job. I like the super reds but would this colour variant be straying too far from the native plecos, should I just stick with the standard?
I managed a couple snaps of them last night but they were still very skittish, hopefully when they've settled I'll get some better shots. My phone really hasn't done them any favours, they do show more colour than in those photos.
On Wednesday I decided I was going to find my last 5 cichlids, I phoned 6 lfs in search of 5 more meeki and 4 f green swordtails. 3 shops had meeki in stock, 1 had only one and it's was a big guy 4-5" so that was a no, the second had a batch of juveniles 4-5cm but wanted £25 each so that was also a no, the third shop had 5 4-5cm meeki for £12.50 each and was only 20 odd mins away so I went to take a look. I had my 3 year old with me and he was playing up, the fish looked a little beaten up with torn fins but there were a couple of fish showing some good colour, I got talking to the guy and he said he'd do me all 5 for £50, I also found a nice red BN which he'd do for £15 instead of £17.50 if had the 5 meeki. I can't resist a bargain and I was having such a hard time finding them I took him up on the deal.
After settling in over night the next day all the firemouths were out and confidently cruising around the tank, before adding these 5 my first 3 were very timid and hiding a lot, the larger group really helped their confidence. Now the fish had settled and I had a little time to look at them, there were a couple that I'm not too happy with and aren't showing much colour. I don't know much about cichlids but I think one or both of these fish maybe hybrids or perhaps another thorichthys species entirely as they're not showing any red. If I decide they're not meeki I will call the shop and see if I can swap them when they've got more stock.
I've reduced the amount of tannins within the tank and added a few more little branches and oak leaves. I also setup a wifi inkbird, cut another feeding hole in the lid and added a magnetic knife holder and 4 motion lights to the cabinet.
Apart from a couple dull looking fish I'm very happy with the tank and it's occupants and I'm really looking forward to how it progresses.
Heres a few recent pics, let me know what you think and do you think all these fish are meeki?
After settling in over night the next day all the firemouths were out and confidently cruising around the tank, before adding these 5 my first 3 were very timid and hiding a lot, the larger group really helped their confidence. Now the fish had settled and I had a little time to look at them, there were a couple that I'm not too happy with and aren't showing much colour. I don't know much about cichlids but I think one or both of these fish maybe hybrids or perhaps another thorichthys species entirely as they're not showing any red. If I decide they're not meeki I will call the shop and see if I can swap them when they've got more stock.
I've reduced the amount of tannins within the tank and added a few more little branches and oak leaves. I also setup a wifi inkbird, cut another feeding hole in the lid and added a magnetic knife holder and 4 motion lights to the cabinet.
Apart from a couple dull looking fish I'm very happy with the tank and it's occupants and I'm really looking forward to how it progresses.
Heres a few recent pics, let me know what you think and do you think all these fish are meeki?
Stanzzzz7
I've got my meeki count up to 8, you've previously suggested this as a good number for this tank. The first 3 I purchased are really colouring up, very dark blacks and deep reds, I think they look amazing and they're all females. The next 5 are all looking like males with pointed trailing dorsal and anal fins but they're not so impressive, although they're slightly smaller. 2 of them are shaping up to be nice fish, but the other 3 are a bit drab, 1 of which looks to have deformed fins. Anyway I was sold these 5 as 3 males and 2 females so I've phoned the store and the guy said he'll happily swap 2 of the males for 2 females, he's going to message me when he gets some more in. Does 3m and 5f sound like a good ratio or would I be better with only 1 or 2 males? I'm sure the shop would swap more of the males for females if I ask. If you see this
Stanzzzz7
I'd really appreciate if you can get back to me ?. Here's a pic of one of the females with my red BN. Also one of the dullest, deformed finned male, this guy is actually the biggest and friendliest, always first out at feeding time.
Very nice tank, always liked the carefully decorated tanks instead of tanks of flower pots n pvc haha, I can say collecting hundreds of Meeki, the darker the water the more colorful the fish, which seems common place also even within the same population there can be visible color differences..
Thank you, yer I can't say I'm a fan of pots and pipes and not keen on bare bottom tanks either but for breeding, quarantine etc I can see the practically. With this I've tried to replicate their natural habitat as well as keep it a nice appealing living room tank, I'm slowly increasing the leaf litter and once the tiger lotus has grown in I think it should improve the natural look. That's good to know, this is is low light (2x16w lamps) and there is a slight tannin tint to the water so hopefully this will help bring out their colours
I would not worry about sex ratios much at this stage. Meeki are very hard to sex until they are fully mature. If you watch a group of young Meeki for long enough, behaviour will be the best indicator of sex.
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Any guess at sexing of juvenile fish will be just that, a guess.
As the fish grow and size difference and dominant behavior become apparent then sexing will be much more easy.
It is normally a good rule of thumb to have less males than females but a lot will be trial and error. I would just go with what you get and monitor as you go.
Good luck.
Try feeding colour enhancing foods and tetra prima to help bring out the colour of your Meeki. A darker environment can also help but over bred fish with poor genetics will never really pop.
Thanks, ok so I just naively assumed the fish with the pointed longer fins were males and the rounded fins were females, I take it it's a lot more difficult than this then. I'm going back to the shop anyway to purchase 4 more female swordtails so while I'm at it I'll take advantage of the returning opportunity and swap the deformed fin fish and the dullest fish for hopefully 2 brighter healthier fish. I love sitting watching these fish, I've noticed they're beginning to size each other up and colour up to one another, hopefully I'll begin to recognise the different behavioural traits of each sex.
I've been feeding hikari sinking cichlid gold colour enhancing as their staple as well as herons freeze dried artemia cubes, herons mixed algae wafers, plus they take a bit of the swordtails veg flakes, NLS TheraA+ garlic colour enhancing micro pellets and freeze dried daphnia. I also put blanched courgette in for the BN so they may nibble on that. I like to keep a lot of variation, does this sound like a good diet for them? They're hungry little beasts!
What do you think of the tank so far? Your very informative natural tanks thread gave me lots of tips and inspiration, thank you for putting that together.
I think your tank looks spot on. Very much looks the part. If it were mine I would be tempted to add some hornwart to fill out the upper corners. It does great floating and is biotope correct. Having said that I love it how it is.
It's not naive to assume the pointed fin ones are males but it can also be misleading as I've seen females like that as well. Let them size out more and you will know for sure.
I'm glad you liked the thread and hope it helped.
It's not naive to assume the pointed fin ones are males but it can also be misleading as I've seen females like that as well. Let them size out more and you will know for sure.
I'm glad you liked the thread and hope it helped.
