Ok guys so ive had this compressiceps for about a year now i got him when he was only 1" now hes about 2"-3" well anyways currently he is housed with 5xhrp ( 1 breeding pair and the breeding pair is the male that is 3" and the female at like 1" currently on their second spawn) the rest range from 1-2", 2x juli cories, 1x panda cory, 1x bumblee jelly catfish (south american dwarf). all in a 55g tank. Basically im going to turn my 55g into a hrp tank because i like them so much
Well so ive had this 29 gallon cycling for about the past month. Im going to do 1 gravel vac because i drained it about a year and a half ago because my juvi black piranha was in there and then died because of the flood in town (cedar rapids, iowa) for about 3-5 days. Well i just drained the tank but i wanna do a very very thurough gravel vac before i put anything in it. But anyways then i gotta buy a heater and a new light housing unit for it then its set.
It has a 330 emperor hob filter so its going to be cycled about 10 times a hour. Its going to be a heavily planted tank. Im going to put some duckweed in the top, it will only stay in the slow moving part which is half the tank, because the filter is made for a 60 gallon tank so it is a double wide. So the planting stock is going to be: duckweed (for the top). im thinking 2 juvi amazon sword (spread out) i would like to find some slimmer swords. Mondo grass maybe? But is that south american? But also i wanna get some cool plants that grow taller and more rounded but im not quit sure yet maybe some anacarihis?
Also i might just add 1 piece of driftwood but i think im just going to go with natural looking rock caves. But if i find one sunken tree like driftwood hunk i might put it in as a centerpiece. but one of my lfs has a bunch of cool looking hunks of rock. Actually my pike has steaked claim to the last cave i bought from them and its going to be the only piece of my 55g that is going to go with him.
Also for my stocking im going to go with:
My centerpiece fish the crenicichla compressicus.
At least 1 school of tetras (about 5 of them) maybe another school of other tetras not sure yet though.
At least 5x cory catfish. im thinking julies because i like their paterns
maybe another south american bumblebee cat? or maybe ill take the one out of my 55g since im going to take everything out anyways to catch my pike outta the tank.
Oh and if u guys have any good ideas about a nice small algea eater of some sort that doesnt eat plants that would be awesome.
then from there im going to see how crowded it looks and see if i might possibly throw some other dwarf cichlids of some sort in there.
maybe some sort of apisto, but they are very very rare around where i live.
But basically im just posting this because i am so excited. I think out of all my pikes ive kept my compressiceps is by far my favorite. I think out of all the pikes out there he is one of the most beautiful. And his personality is awesome he is so fiesty that when i put my finger up to the glass he puffs up. and he is not skittish at all. So if you guys have any good ideas just post.
If you guys think of any ways i could improve upon my ideas that would be awesome and i cannot wait until i get pictures up. I will take "step" pictures like after i add the rocks, driftwood, plants, fish.
Thanks for your time guys and ull be seeing some new posts within the next few months. oh and if u guys maybe have a female compressicep and your not to far away from Cedar Rapids, Iowa that would be awesome because a mate for him would be pretty cool. or if you know anywhere i could find one that would be much appreciated too.
Well so ive had this 29 gallon cycling for about the past month. Im going to do 1 gravel vac because i drained it about a year and a half ago because my juvi black piranha was in there and then died because of the flood in town (cedar rapids, iowa) for about 3-5 days. Well i just drained the tank but i wanna do a very very thurough gravel vac before i put anything in it. But anyways then i gotta buy a heater and a new light housing unit for it then its set.
It has a 330 emperor hob filter so its going to be cycled about 10 times a hour. Its going to be a heavily planted tank. Im going to put some duckweed in the top, it will only stay in the slow moving part which is half the tank, because the filter is made for a 60 gallon tank so it is a double wide. So the planting stock is going to be: duckweed (for the top). im thinking 2 juvi amazon sword (spread out) i would like to find some slimmer swords. Mondo grass maybe? But is that south american? But also i wanna get some cool plants that grow taller and more rounded but im not quit sure yet maybe some anacarihis?
Also i might just add 1 piece of driftwood but i think im just going to go with natural looking rock caves. But if i find one sunken tree like driftwood hunk i might put it in as a centerpiece. but one of my lfs has a bunch of cool looking hunks of rock. Actually my pike has steaked claim to the last cave i bought from them and its going to be the only piece of my 55g that is going to go with him.
Also for my stocking im going to go with:
My centerpiece fish the crenicichla compressicus.
At least 1 school of tetras (about 5 of them) maybe another school of other tetras not sure yet though.
At least 5x cory catfish. im thinking julies because i like their paterns
maybe another south american bumblebee cat? or maybe ill take the one out of my 55g since im going to take everything out anyways to catch my pike outta the tank.
Oh and if u guys have any good ideas about a nice small algea eater of some sort that doesnt eat plants that would be awesome.
then from there im going to see how crowded it looks and see if i might possibly throw some other dwarf cichlids of some sort in there.
maybe some sort of apisto, but they are very very rare around where i live.
But basically im just posting this because i am so excited. I think out of all my pikes ive kept my compressiceps is by far my favorite. I think out of all the pikes out there he is one of the most beautiful. And his personality is awesome he is so fiesty that when i put my finger up to the glass he puffs up. and he is not skittish at all. So if you guys have any good ideas just post.
If you guys think of any ways i could improve upon my ideas that would be awesome and i cannot wait until i get pictures up. I will take "step" pictures like after i add the rocks, driftwood, plants, fish.
Thanks for your time guys and ull be seeing some new posts within the next few months. oh and if u guys maybe have a female compressicep and your not to far away from Cedar Rapids, Iowa that would be awesome because a mate for him would be pretty cool. or if you know anywhere i could find one that would be much appreciated too.
