Cichlids and other Tropical Fish

[Brian S]

If you keep fish, let's see them. I'll go first.
These are 2 of my African Cichlids.

 

[Brian S]

One more of the little guy. It is hard to get a good pic of this since he won't sit still for very long.
These are in the aquarium in my office btw

 

[cichlidsman]

as soon as i get a new cam i will post pics off mine.

i love the electirc yellow in the frist pic
what is the other?

 

[Rourke]

I keep mostly Africans now, but I really suck at aquarium photography. Here's one of the better pics I have ever taken of my aquarium (still not great, I know!), from a few years ago when it was filled with rainbows:

 

[spider]

My gar say your cichlids look yummy! ;P ;P ;P

 

[moricollins]

Rourke is that a bosemmi (or bosemanni whatever they;'re calleed ) rainbow? i LOVE those fish, i have some ordinary australian rainbows, but i too cannot get good pics of these fish.

here's my apistogramma cacatuiodes, named Spike, very gorgeous dwarf cichlid.

Mori

 

[Socrates]

here's my apistogramma cacatuiodes, named Spike, very gorgeous dwarf cichlid.
Mori

Mori...VERY GORGEOUS indeed! Wow, I've never seen one of those around - ever. Even when I had fish a couple of years ago, and started browsing pretty decent speciality stores, I have never encountered one of those. Are they in the same family as the Apistogramma Ramirezi? Do they require soft water and pH around 5.5?

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Wendy
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[moricollins]

they are from the same family as the Ramirezi, and Spike is far more gorgeous in person, but he won't stay still for his closeup. they prefer soft acidic water, but can are very tolerant of other water conditions. I keep him on straight tap water, which has a pH of about 7.5 and is pretty hard.

I will try to resize the picture (will make it clearer)
Mori

 

[Rourke]

Rourke is that a bosemmi (or bosemanni whatever they;'re calleed ) rainbow? i LOVE those fish, i have some ordinary australian rainbows, but i too cannot get good pics of these fish.

Yes, the one on the left is Melanotaenia bosemani, a male, and they are gorgeous. The Turquoise are even nicer when fully colored.

Nice Apisto.....I have always liked those, but never see anything in retail pet stores beyond the common Ram cichlid.

 

[Michael Jacobi]

I don't have photos handy, but I have one 10 gal tank next to my desk that houses a breeding pair of gold x red Apistogramma cacatuoides. Maybe I'll snap a few pix... My male is dancing for the female right now!

Notes: My pH is 6.0 or a little less. I get free RO water from one of my wholesale clients here in town and do water changes at least once a week. Apistos can adjust to water that is around neutral or even slightly alkaline, but successful breeding often requires soft [reverse osmosis purified] acidic water. The addition of rain water can also trigger breeding. They eat live brine, freeze dried blood worms, pinhead crickets and frozen food.

 

[moricollins]

I bought my Apistos (i used to have Apistogramma agassizii as well, but they have passed away, as has spike's girlfriend) from Big Al's, they commonly have them up here in Canada (well at least in ONtario), but they are pretty expesive, i paid $25 for each pair.

here's my dearly departed Male A. agassizii (also known as "spade tailed apisto", for info on them, here's a caresheet (that i wrote):

APistos are great, they require so little room, are tolerant of other fish (except when mating), ,and are just so beautiful

a definite must for any Fish hobbyist.

 

[fatbloke]

heres a few of the fish i keep first up a fresh water puffer, male siamese fighter,polyptrus then my arowana

john

 

[cichlidsman]

they are from the same family as the Ramirezi, and Spike is far more gorgeous in person, but he won't stay still for his closeup. they prefer soft acidic water, but can are very tolerant of other water conditions. I keep him on straight tap water, which has a pH of about 7.5 and is pretty hard.

I will try to resize the picture (will make it clearer)
Mori

I never heard of these. I have info on 33 different Apistogramma's, But not Ramierzi. Is it possable that they have a new name or are there a lot more?

 

[moricollins]

fatbloke, you must have an insanely big tank for that monstrous arrowana and polypterus, they both get huge, (yours already are huge)

@cichlidsman: A. ramirezi is also known as Microgeophagus ramirezi (had to go look in my S.A. cichlid book) aka the blue ram.

 

[cichlidsman]

fatbloke, you must have an insanely big tank for that monstrous arrowana and polypterus, they both get huge, (yours already are huge)

@cichlidsman: A. ramirezi is also known as Microgeophagus ramirezi (had to go look in my S.A. cichlid book) aka the blue ram.

thanks. i have to update my info.

 

[cichlidsman]

heres a few of the fish i keep first up a fresh water puffer, male siamese fighter,polyptrus then my arowana

john

Nice dragon. How big is it? I am guessing 20" with another 15" of growth left.

 

[Socrates]

I bought my Apistos (i used to have Apistogramma agassizii as well, but they have passed away, as has spike's girlfriend) from Big Al's, they commonly have them up here in Canada (well at least in ONtario), but they are pretty expesive, i paid $25 for each pair.

here's my dearly departed Male A. agassizii (also known as "spade tailed apisto", for info on them, here's a caresheet (that i wrote):

APistos are great, they require so little room, are tolerant of other fish (except when mating), ,and are just so beautiful

a definite must for any Fish hobbyist.

What are you doing to me here mori! The A. Agassizii is another one I seeked out and never found around here. SO gorgeous! I have an empty 29 gallon, and now I'm beginning to get some mighty fine ideas. There are truly some stunning dwarf cichlids out there, unfortunately those I was always after were never to be found. Now I wonder if you can mail-order them somehow. If I find a dealer of those I truly wanted, I know my 29 gallon will be put to good use.

Thanks for sharing another awesome photo Mori.

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Wendy
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[moricollins]

check out this site they sell apistogramma's and other dwarf cichlids and have a good forum for discussing dwarf cichlids.

And Wendy, I want people to discover these awesome alternatives to the common, boring tropical fish that are kept all the time. Apistos are amazing, they have as much personality as any fish i have ever kept (besides my water puppies, the oscars).

other fish i recommend: Golden Wonder Killifish (and any other killifish),

finally, i'm making other people want a new pet, (i always want mroe T's after seeing the awesome pictures here).

Mori

 

[Socrates]

Thanks so much for that site Mori. My mind is basically made up now about my spare tank. But before I go crazy, I have to reinvest in a new filter, heater, accessories and some nice decor.
I'm sure you've heard of "Kribensis" before right? I can't think of the Latin name right now. blablaPulcher something like that. I had them 2 years ago in my community tank. I purchased a male first, and then a female from a different source. Within 2 months I had to get another tank because they were multiplying SO fast. I purchased a 10 gallon JUST for my Kribs, and each time the babies were big enough where they would scatter, I'd catch them and put them in my bigger tank. They were the BEST parents. It hurt to see them all go. They didn't die either, I gave all of it away, tanks included. Luckily I've got the tanks back after the people who took it all from me decided to purchase a 55 and combine ALL the fish. Believe it or not, but my original Kribs are still alive and kicking. At least I know they went to a good home.

Again, thanks for all the info...now I know who to "bug" if I have questions when the time comes.

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Wendy
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[moricollins]

for decor, i strongly recommend sand as a substrate (you can also use peat, it lowers the pH and hardness of the water, but makes your water yellow, hence the yellowness in my picture of the A. cacatuiodes), use driftwood (same principle as peat, lower pH and Hardness) and rocks to provide a lot of hiding places (and egg deposit places too), i haven't used the heater in their tank (or any of my other tanks) since may... it gets warm enough in my bedroom (heat lamps from reptiles).