My Cichlids

[Jexnell]

What size tank do you have this big guy in??

I have a thread on his development from the day I got him.

My Amphilophus Sagittae journal

In this thread I will be keeping track of my group of five Amphilophus Sagittae. I got them from Jeff Rapps. They are about two inches long now. They will be living with a group of nine swordtails. The tank is a 6ft long 125gal with an FX4 and an Aqua Clear 110 for filtration, also an Eheim...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[Jexnell]

So "The Plan" is working out so far.

I was able to find I think the last new Aqueon 125gal in the Portland/Vancouver metro area. It was at the 6th store I called.

In the next day or two will swap it with my Oak tank (left tank) so I can have the two Aqueon ones side by side.

Oak one will go into my bedroom.

Filters for new tank have been half filled with cycled media, half new and are running on my existing tanks till mid month when the fish I want will be in. Airpump, heater will arrive Friday and sand will be here by Monday.

So soon I will have three 125s up and running. Gonna rehome all the fish currently in my Oak 125 except my PTC. That gives me two open tanks. Plan is to get Amphilophus Lyonsi for one and Herichthys Carpinitis for the other. The Lyonsi will get some Green Swordtails for dithers, Carpinitis will get some Pineapple Swordtails.

 

[Cich Mind]

It sounds like your plans are all falling into place Jexnell . Nice pick up on the 125g. Awesome! I can't wait to see the final set ups for these fish. The Lyonsi and Carpintis are both beautiful cichlids, and are amongst my favorites. Not many people own Lyonsi which makes them kinda rare. Are you going for pairs or solo? Please keep us updated.

 

[Jexnell]

It sounds like your plans are all falling into place Jexnell . Nice pick up on the 125g. Awesome! I can't wait to see the final set ups for these fish. The Lyonsi and Carpintis are both beautiful cichlids, and are amongst my favorites. Not many people own Lyonsi which makes them kinda rare. Are you going for pairs or solo? Please keep us updated.

"The Plan" is to get 6 of each and let nature take its course. Hopefully I get a pair of each. But we all saw how that worked out with Casper.

 

[Jexnell]

Got the back painted

First coat
Second, now just touch ups along top and bottom

And done!

 

[Deadeye]

Looking good! Should look great with some carpintis!

 

[Jexnell]

What would you do?
This is the sand I got.

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/caribsea-arag-alive-hawaiian-black-aquarium-gravel

It says to just add to tank no rinse, for salt water use of course.

I was thinking rinse the salt water stuff out of it and bam good black sand. But do I have to rinse it. Any salt water would be diluted by the 125 gallons of fresh right? And salt microorganisms would die off?

 

[Deadeye]

Once when I used saltwater sand in fresh, it was a huge mess. Better safe than sorry.

 

[DMD123]

What would you do?
This is the sand I got.

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/caribsea-arag-alive-hawaiian-black-aquarium-gravel

It says to just add to tank no rinse, for salt water use of course.

I was thinking rinse the salt water stuff out of it and bam good black sand. But do I have to rinse it. Any salt water would be diluted by the 125 gallons of fresh right? And salt microorganisms would die off?

I think the carib sea aragonite sand is calcium carbonate and might really effect your PH. Might be beneficial to raise it a bit since we tend to have soft water in the Pacific Northwest. But I would contact Carib Sea and ask, more about the PH issue than the live bacteria/salt issue.

 

[Backfromthedead]

What would you do?
This is the sand I got.

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/caribsea-arag-alive-hawaiian-black-aquarium-gravel

It says to just add to tank no rinse, for salt water use of course.

I was thinking rinse the salt water stuff out of it and bam good black sand. But do I have to rinse it. Any salt water would be diluted by the 125 gallons of fresh right? And salt microorganisms would die off?

I use that in both my active tanks. I never rinse. Its murky at first but clears pretty quickly with adequate filtration. I'm not sure about the micros...I'm pretty certain you would at least eliminate a lot of them by rinsing though. Some of the more resilient organisms and bacteria would persist though.