Splitting up CA vs SA cichlid subforum?
- Thread starter THQ
- Start date
I don't think it would be a bad idea.Most other forums split them up.
Despite what others have said I do think a lot of these cichlids have very different requirements.
My water is on the hard side so generally speaking I keep mostly c/a cichlids and never mix the two.
I also chose to keep andinoacara rivulatus as although a south American cichlid they are found more north in western Ecuador and Northern Peru where water tends to be a lot harder than those found south of the Andes.
I have tried in the past to keep certain south Americans in my hard water and some will adapt well.
I have also found some fair poorly,very poorly.
Uaru, threadfins,satanoperca are just a few that seem to cope very badly in harder conditions.
They all seem fine until they reach around the 4 inch mark.At this stage they all seem very prone to hith and bacterial infections.
So I do think it would be good to divide these fish up.It may help educate people further about the individual needs of the fish as they are all to often painted with the same brush.
Despite what others have said I do think a lot of these cichlids have very different requirements.
My water is on the hard side so generally speaking I keep mostly c/a cichlids and never mix the two.
I also chose to keep andinoacara rivulatus as although a south American cichlid they are found more north in western Ecuador and Northern Peru where water tends to be a lot harder than those found south of the Andes.
I have tried in the past to keep certain south Americans in my hard water and some will adapt well.
I have also found some fair poorly,very poorly.
Uaru, threadfins,satanoperca are just a few that seem to cope very badly in harder conditions.
They all seem fine until they reach around the 4 inch mark.At this stage they all seem very prone to hith and bacterial infections.
So I do think it would be good to divide these fish up.It may help educate people further about the individual needs of the fish as they are all to often painted with the same brush.
Had this folder been split up several years ago when this site was at its peak of activity, splitting it might have made sense. But now, seriously, why bother? Because some of the SA species require different water conditions than CA species? LMAO, right. Sorry Mr. Pretentious Purist. And what if (gasp) someone should dare to keep clown loaches that were collected in the upper reaches of the Kapuas River in West Kalimantan, in with their CA or SA cichlids? Should we create a new Freaks of Nature folder, and banish them to that?
Everyone here keeps their fish in a glass, plastic, or acrylic container, and there is absolutely nothing natural, or biotopish, about that. Nothing. If you want to fantasize that you are maintaining a portion of a river, creek, or lake in your home - that's cool, but please leave the soapbox at the door. No need to be referring to others as ignorant, because they don't agree with your fishkeeping values.
Our water here is also on the hard side, and while there are certain SA species that IMO do better in softer water, with lower pH values, the vast majority of captive bred fish will live out long healthy lives in this water. Logan was correct when he said;
and
A local breeder (RIP Don) kept 2,000+ gallons of discus in our water, when he was breeding he tweaked the water in his massive holding tank to ensure lower pH values, and softer water. When he was raising the fry he kept them in 100% tap water, with a pH of 8.0 The extra minerals in the water created healthier fish, with stronger tissue and bones, and created faster growth.
It's all relative to what one is attempting to achieve - IN THEIR TANKS, IN THEIR FISHROOMS.
A carefully balanced mixed bag of fish, by someone that knows what they are doing, can often times be more calm and peaceful, than fish grouped together from the same genus, species, or region. So if that is what one is attempting to achieve, WTF is the problem?
What we are all doing is not natural, forcing fish to spend their entire lives together in the confined space of a glass box, forced to breed with mates that we chose for them, often times brothers and sisters, is not natural. We all do this for our own selfish pleasures.
I'm all for education, but I don't see a need to divide folders further in order to educate those new to the game of keeping the various species found in these two groups.
Everyone here keeps their fish in a glass, plastic, or acrylic container, and there is absolutely nothing natural, or biotopish, about that. Nothing. If you want to fantasize that you are maintaining a portion of a river, creek, or lake in your home - that's cool, but please leave the soapbox at the door. No need to be referring to others as ignorant, because they don't agree with your fishkeeping values.
Our water here is also on the hard side, and while there are certain SA species that IMO do better in softer water, with lower pH values, the vast majority of captive bred fish will live out long healthy lives in this water. Logan was correct when he said;
and
A local breeder (RIP Don) kept 2,000+ gallons of discus in our water, when he was breeding he tweaked the water in his massive holding tank to ensure lower pH values, and softer water. When he was raising the fry he kept them in 100% tap water, with a pH of 8.0 The extra minerals in the water created healthier fish, with stronger tissue and bones, and created faster growth.
It's all relative to what one is attempting to achieve - IN THEIR TANKS, IN THEIR FISHROOMS.
A carefully balanced mixed bag of fish, by someone that knows what they are doing, can often times be more calm and peaceful, than fish grouped together from the same genus, species, or region. So if that is what one is attempting to achieve, WTF is the problem?
What we are all doing is not natural, forcing fish to spend their entire lives together in the confined space of a glass box, forced to breed with mates that we chose for them, often times brothers and sisters, is not natural. We all do this for our own selfish pleasures.
I'm all for education, but I don't see a need to divide folders further in order to educate those new to the game of keeping the various species found in these two groups.
I think you are one of the most knowledgeable people on this board RD. I haven taken considerable value from your posts over the years and I think you are a big reason MFK is such a popular stop for hobbyist.
But your response is an attack. I don't think this dialogue had to go there.
My issue has nothing to do with water Parameters or being a purist....though I think I am a purist.
It's just for me and a lot of other people, we don't mix SA and CA in our tanks. Someone Who is a SA keeper shouldn't have to mine through a bunch of pages of CA threads to find the threads that they feel are most relevant to their interest. And vice versa.
At the end of the day, this is th best forum on the planet and none of what is being discussed here really makes a difference in our engagement with one another. We are simply giving our opinions on the topic presented by the OP.
That was an attack, amigo.
My comment was nothing more than my reflection on that type of snobbish, pretentious, BS. In the grand scheme of things it's no biggie to me if the folder splits, or not. The reasoning you just presented at least makes sense.
Membership is free imo who cares if you have sift through some threads that arent intersting. Anyway most threads are named with the fish spoken of, essy to just skip it if it doesnt pertain to something we find interesting.
I like find both sa and ca intersting imo it would be more of a headache checking in on two different forums
I like find both sa and ca intersting imo it would be more of a headache checking in on two different forums
I'm new here and it certainly was not my intention to open a can of worms by starting this thread. My posting was borne from my observation that every forum website dedicated to cichlids, and therefore you would think, full of experienced cichlid keepers, has CA and SA split up, and their reasons are the same as has been stated.
I understand if there are too many subforums etc, and bigger groupings of fish are required on a more generalised site like MFK. However, what I was pointing out is that this doesn't make any sense when particular species of fish such as pike cichlids have their own dedicated subforum yet two entire continents-worth of cichlids with different water parameters in nature are lumped together in the same subforum.
I understand now that it's probably pointless to split up the forum with many thousands of unsorted CA/SA posts already online. It was pure curiosity as to the underlying reason for not splitting them up in the first place.
Anyway, mods please lock this if you wish before everyone gets drawn into a prolonged argument.
I understand if there are too many subforums etc, and bigger groupings of fish are required on a more generalised site like MFK. However, what I was pointing out is that this doesn't make any sense when particular species of fish such as pike cichlids have their own dedicated subforum yet two entire continents-worth of cichlids with different water parameters in nature are lumped together in the same subforum.
I understand now that it's probably pointless to split up the forum with many thousands of unsorted CA/SA posts already online. It was pure curiosity as to the underlying reason for not splitting them up in the first place.
Anyway, mods please lock this if you wish before everyone gets drawn into a prolonged argument.
