The predators have a proper tank now

[Hypancistrus]

They originally started as tiny two and three inchers in a 20 high, and I've now moved them to a 30" by 18" aquarium to grow out a little more. My goal is to purchase a 75 gallon sometime next spring once I have my new house, and to move the lot of them into that. Problem is that I keep finding new and cooler fish that I just HAVE to have!! Like today, I picked up a 5" Butis butis, and a 2.5-3" Nandus nandus. I don't have pics of them yet, but will try for some while they are in quarantine.

Here's the rest of my fish, including a full tank shot. I picked up a Java Fern mat to finish planting the back and sides of the tank. May add some other plants sometime in the future, like Anubias, but no time soon.

Poseidon, 5" Senegal Bichir (P. senegalus)

Hermes, 3" Pictus Cat (Pimelodus pictus)

Gonzo, 6" Peacock Eel

Raiden, 5" African Brown Knife (Xenomystus nigri)

Yuki, 3" Silver Dollar (one of my rescue fish- I've had him for a year and some months and he has never grown at all)

Full tank Shot.

If all goes well, the Bolbitis water fern should start to crawl across the tops of the ornaments. I've never done a non-natural tank before, but decided to try it this time, just to be different. I am not incredibly fond of it, but hopefully, I will like it better once I get some more plants into it. Suggestions and thoughts are always welcome...

 

[HarleyK]

Nice collection

But say, you have a fish tank on your lab bench????
HarleyK

 

[Taz2478]

nice setup, my lfs has a nice peacock eel in. might go get him. what does yours eat?

 

[rayman45]

nice tank...

 

[Zeppelin3k]

very nice peacock

 

[Hypancistrus]

But say, you have a fish tank on your lab bench????
HarleyK

Well we don't really have time to do actual science labs anymore, since that's not part of our state's standardized tests. I figured I might as well do something useful with all that wasted space. And what could be more educational than a predator tank?

nice setup, my lfs has a nice peacock eel in. might go get him. what does yours eat?

So far, I have not seen him eating much at all. I've had Gonzo since 12.22, and the Petsmart I bought him from said he was eating frozen worms, but all he ever seems to do is tear through them at a rapid pace, sending the worms swirling away from the bichir.

I feed finely chopped salad shrimp, frozen bloodworms, Omega One shrimp pellets and Hikari pellets on a regular basis to this tank. I am going to expand their menu with frozen mysis, live black worms and chopped red worms (a type of small earthworm) this week and see if that tickles his fancy. Obviously, they will also need to be getting live feeders of some sort to accomodate the live-feeding Butis and Nandus- I am going to get a feeder guppy colony going, and in the meantime, they will be getting small rosey reds in their quarantine tank.

BTW- filtration on this tank is heavy- 720 gph for a 30 gallon tank- with an Emp. 280, and two AquaClear's, the 70 and the 30. I used a fishless cycle to get the tank going and to avoid stressing my babies.

Thanks for all the other compliments, as well!

 

[Red Devil]

Your silver dollar may not be eating much but you must be doing him good because he shimmers and glistens..your tank set up is really different and because it is different it is really nice.. the old Romen Empire look so nice..fish pixs are great.

 

[davo]

Nice, i like the peacock eel. Where are the hypancistrus?

 

[Hypancistrus]

Nice, i like the peacock eel. Where are the hypancistrus?

Off in some rich(er than me) persons tank, no doubt. I can't exactly afford $200 plus shipping for one fish!!

Thanks for all the comments, especially about the Silver Dollar. He started life in a 15 gallon Eclipse 2 tank with two large plecos (6"), a large 4" angelfish, a 3-4" red tailed black shark and a few giant danios. It's a miracle any fish survived in that cesspool. I was asked to take the fish because the 10 year old they were purchased for had lost interest. I still have all of them, and none of them have grown, not even the plecos- and they get weekly cucumber and zucchini to munch on in addition to algae tabs.

I am thinking that the amount of bio-chemicals and toxins in that tank was such that it has permanently stunted all of them. I don't expect growth from them, but all have colored up nicely.

 

[Red Devil]

Off in some rich(er than me) persons tank, no doubt. I can't exactly afford $200 plus shipping for one fish!!

Thanks for all the comments, especially about the Silver Dollar. He started life in a 15 gallon Eclipse 2 tank with two large plecos (6"), a large 4" angelfish, a 3-4" red tailed black shark and a few giant danios. It's a miracle any fish survived in that cesspool. I was asked to take the fish because the 10 year old they were purchased for had lost interest. I still have all of them, and none of them have grown, not even the plecos- and they get weekly cucumber and zucchini to munch on in addition to algae tabs.

I am thinking that the amount of bio-chemicals and toxins in that tank was such that it has permanently stunted all of them. I don't expect growth from them, but all have colored up nicely.

At least they have you now and a beautiful home!