# Pics of my first CA tank :)



## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks to everyone who helped me figure out my stock on my other thread 

I have had the tank set up for a couple weeks now and I am really enjoying it. The tank is 75 gallons, and the stock is as follows:

4 Nics (hopefully I'll get a pair and remove the others)
1 Firemouth
6 Madagascar Rainbowfish (I know they aren't CA, but I tried livebearers and they got eaten)
1 Green Phantom Pleco (I know its not technically CA either, but oh well)

I am tempted to add my female con to the tank, but I am afraid she may pair with my male firemouth. All the cichlids are 3-4 inches. As of now I am pretty sure that I have 2 males and 2 females with my Nics (one male is definitely king of the tank), but I'm not positive.

So obviously, I am not sticking to the biotope rules, but I am trying to keep my tank CA themed and stick with cichlids only from this area.

Right now I have a play sand substrate, a black background, rocks, floating moneywort, needle leaf java fern, and anubias. I don't really plan on adding any other plants, except maybe some jungle vals when they outgrow my 70 gallon.

Here are some pics. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them. I apologize for the diatom growth and the dirty glass...


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## Blademan (Sep 20, 2008)

Looks very nice. I like the close ups. Your Nics look happy and healthy. I think if your Nics breed, they will take issue with the firemouth, but hopefully they will stay busy chasing the dithers. You don't procrastinate cleaning glass like I do, do you? :lol:


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Blademan said:


> Looks very nice. I like the close ups. Your Nics look happy and healthy. I think if your Nics breed, they will take issue with the firemouth, but hopefully they will stay busy chasing the dithers. You don't procrastinate cleaning glass like I do, do you? :lol:


Thanks  Lol, nope I NEVER procrastinate cleaning my glass :lol: The Nics are already a little hard on the firemouth, so I am hoping it doesn't get worse. He holds his own, but you are right, things might escalate when a pair forms...


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## M0oN (Dec 8, 2003)

Very cool man. 

A tip on getting those streaks out, buy yourself a squeegee and just spray the tank down with water, then wipe clean, SHABAM.

I would get some driftwood into that sucker. But the rocks are nice.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Thank you  A squeegee is a good idea. I usually just use water, vinager, and a paper towel. I am planning on adding some driftwood to the tank, but I am looking for some nice large pieces and I've been having trouble finding any that are reasonably priced. My SA tank needs driftwood badly also.


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

looks like a great tank....some nice lookin fish in ther too =D>


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## jamesman_1994 (Jun 23, 2009)

hey what else works good is windex something like that (window cleaner) it really gives u a total seethrough look on ur glass no smudges or anything. nowonder ur nicks r picking on the FM he is like half their size... try getting the FM a buddy mine seemed happier with one. and try to get it maby an inch bigger than the rest of the fish so when a pare happens he or she will actually protect the other cichlids in the tank especially the little FM. that is what my FM did when my cons were breeding in my 55 and he was the only reason none of my fish got killed. he was sorta like the one who drew the line in the middle of the tank hahahaha, he would hold off both the female and the male by him self and the male was almost as big as he was


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

I normally wouldn't recommend 2 pairs in a 75g....but I think that you are more likely to have long-term success if you also have a firemouth pair. A Nic pair will easily eliminate a single firemouth. A pair will put it more on more equal terms.

Either that, or add several small cichlids of the same sex as your firemouth....anything to disperse the aggression. Otherwise the pair will focus on the firemouth first, then will worry about the other fish after the biggest perceived threat to their fry is gone.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

jamesman_1994 said:


> hey what else works good is windex something like that (window cleaner) it really gives u a total seethrough look on ur glass no smudges or anything. nowonder ur nicks r picking on the FM he is like half their size... try getting the FM a buddy mine seemed happier with one. and try to get it maby an inch bigger than the rest of the fish so when a pare happens he or she will actually protect the other cichlids in the tank especially the little FM. that is what my FM did when my cons were breeding in my 55 and he was the only reason none of my fish got killed. he was sorta like the one who drew the line in the middle of the tank hahahaha, he would hold off both the female and the male by him self and the male was almost as big as he was


I had heard that windex could seep throught the glass of an aquarium. Do you use windex on your tanks? I am just cautious about using any sort of chemicals around my aquarium.

I have tried to find a larger firemouth, but for some reason large ones are impossible to find in my area. This is wierd because firemouths are so common.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

oldcatfish said:


> I normally wouldn't recommend 2 pairs in a 75g....but I think that you are more likely to have long-term success if you also have a firemouth pair. A Nic pair will easily eliminate a single firemouth. A pair will put it more on more equal terms.
> 
> Either that, or add several small cichlids of the same sex as your firemouth....anything to disperse the aggression. Otherwise the pair will focus on the firemouth first, then will worry about the other fish after the biggest perceived threat to their fry is gone.


Hmmm those are some good ideas  The only way I could possibly get a pair of firemouths would be to buy about 5-6 more of them and let two pair up. Do you think that the tank would to crowded with 10 cichlids in there while I am waiting for pairs? Also, is there any danger of the FM's hybridizing with the Nics?

If I add a few more small cichlids, which species would you suggest. Could I add a salvini, or would a salvini be to aggressive? I could always add a male convict (though I am not all that fond of them). Would rainbow cichlids to too peaceful for this setup?


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## Blademan (Sep 20, 2008)

Just a thought on the driftwood. I use to always look for the big pieces of driftwood too. Then as years passed and my tanks and stands got taller, and my shoulders got older  I opted for smaller/lighter pieces. Now I love the smaller ones. You can build/stack/arrange them anyway you want, they're easy to remove to clean or move to another tank, and you can buy as you go. :thumb: 
I personally would not put a male sal in the mix. Mine was an instigating sneak attack arttist.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks for the info  That's a good idea in regards to the driftwood.

Here are some cichlids I was thinking of adding. Any advise of what may or may not work would be great. I am planning on ordering from Jeff Rapps when I get this figured out.

Cutteri
Hondurian Red Point
Flier Cichild
Rainbow Cichid
T. Pasiones
Sajica


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Flier's and rainbows are found in the same countries as the Nics FYI ...


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

ktluvsfish said:


> I had heard that windex could seep throught the glass of an aquarium. Do you use windex on your tanks? I am just cautious about using any sort of chemicals around my aquarium.


I dont think so.....how are they able to hold water and not keep out something like windex....i think if this were the case then wed have to worry about anything getting through. When using windex to clean glass just make sure u spray it on a towel first away from the aqurium as so none of the fumes ect. can get in through the top and wipe the sides down. I also dont advise cleaning the lids with windex ...just use a sponge and some hot water.


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## jamesman_1994 (Jun 23, 2009)

oh and with the windex only use a small amount and defenetly don't put it on the lid


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## phishes (May 17, 2005)

Looks good :thumb:


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

I'm not sure that I would add a Sal....unless you get lucky and get a mellow female. It'll definitely reduce the Nic fry even if it is mellow.

T. Passionis ---I've never been able to acquire.....I'd personally set up a tank of just them.

Firemouth----yes, you'd need to buy a group and let them pair of...unless you get lucky and can purchase an established pair.

Your best bet for a peaceful tank....rehome the firemouth and go with more Australian Rainbows....you could get another group of a different species, they will all school together. My personal favorite are Bosemani Rainbowfish.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

oldcatfish said:


> I'm not sure that I would add a Sal....unless you get lucky and get a mellow female. It'll definitely reduce the Nic fry even if it is mellow.
> 
> T. Passionis ---I've never been able to acquire.....I'd personally set up a tank of just them.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much for the feedback  I am thinking I may just rehome my firemouth and dedicate the tank to my Nics. Its kind of a bummer that the tank looks really empty right now, but I think I just need to be patient (patience is not one of my finer qualities  ). I have madagascar rainbows, red irian rainbows, turquoise rainbows, and praecox rainbows spread throughout my other tanks, so I could probably move some of them into this tank and then just replace them with another kind of dither fish in my other tank.


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## Burtle (Dec 25, 2004)

Looks better than my first CA tank! :wink:


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks so much  To be fair, its by no means my first tank, just the first one dedicated to CA cichlids :wink:


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

I think I have a pair!!! I am going to post pics so that everyone can confirm, but one of my suspected female has colored up really nicely and is showing a lot of blue in her face. I don't want to remove the other two Nics until I have confirmation that I have a pair, or maybe I should wait for spawning behavior, I'm not sure. I'll try to get some pics tonight, but I am excited, so I just wanted to share


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

I'd get manzanita driftwood (root looking wood).

tank look great.


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

Tank looks great.

The Flier (Archocentrus Centrarchus) is a great fish. The one I got from Rapps is a doing well and is mellow.

Passiones are better in groups. I also heard they are tempermental and kind of hard to keep alive for some reason. The Mixteco Gold may be a better choice of a Thorichthys. I doubt either would get along with a firemouth though.

My nic pair are fine with the other fish. They all grew up together.

I had a 5" Elliotti in the tank that was boss and she was too aggressive and i had to remove her.

Now my tank setup is perfect with very little aggression but great interaction.

...Bill

PS. As far as driftwood. This place has amazing pieces. Am I allowed to post Ebay links???
http://shop.ebay.com/plg747/m.html?_nkw ... rom=&_ipg=


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

ktluvsfish said:


> Thanks for the info  That's a good idea in regards to the driftwood.
> 
> Here are some cichlids I was thinking of adding. Any advise of what may or may not work would be great. I am planning on ordering from Jeff Rapps when I get this figured out.
> 
> ...


I think if you get all female of this list, you will be OK.

Jeff is great at sexing young fish.

I would leave out the Rainbow.

...Bill


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## Diaster (Aug 17, 2009)

Just stay away from windex I got some Aquarium wipes at petco that can be used in out and around the tank and dont harm fish sounded to good to be true but the lady showed me and sure enough it work. Didnt cost a lot either like 4 bucks for a package and they do work well. I have some marks on my glass from the old background "I flipped my tank" and now they are almost gone after one wipe with the rags I wiped the hood and everything "I did not submerge the rag in water" but it did a great job on my glass.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

gage said:


> I'd get manzanita driftwood (root looking wood).
> 
> tank look great.


Thanks Gage  I actually added a large branch of manzanita to the tank a few weeks ago. I got an updated pic today, so I'll try to upload it at work tomorrow cause the tank looks way better with it.



MonteSS said:


> Tank looks great.
> 
> The Flier (Archocentrus Centrarchus) is a great fish. The one I got from Rapps is a doing well and is mellow.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much for the help on stocking  I'm glad that you have had a good experience keeping your nics with other fish. I would love to add a few more species to my tank if it will work out. I am upgrading one of my other tanks to a 180 in December, so if any fish end up not working out in my nic tank, I can probably use the 180 as a backup plan for those fish.



MonteSS said:


> ktluvsfish wrote:
> Thanks for the info Smile That's a good idea in regards to the driftwood.
> 
> Here are some cichlids I was thinking of adding. Any advise of what may or may not work would be great. I am planning on ordering from Jeff Rapps when I get this figured out.
> ...


Thanks Bill  I would love to add these guys in to the tank. I'll definitely leave the Rainbow out if you don't think it will work. I'm glad that Jeff is good at sexing fish, cause I am horrible at it, lol. Your nic in your avetar is stunning by the way! I hope that mine turn out half as good as yours did.



Diaster said:


> Just stay away from windex I got some Aquarium wipes at petco that can be used in out and around the tank and dont harm fish sounded to good to be true but the lady showed me and sure enough it work. Didnt cost a lot either like 4 bucks for a package and they do work well. I have some marks on my glass from the old background "I flipped my tank" and now they are almost gone after one wipe with the rags I wiped the hood and everything "I did not submerge the rag in water" but it did a great job on my glass.


Thanks so much for the advice. I've seen that stuff there before, but I had no idea it worked so well.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Okay here are the pics 

The first picture is the suspected male, and the second pic is the suspected female. They are not as colored up in the pics as they usually are, but hopefully you'll get the idea. The male's dorsal fin is orange with heavy spotting, while the females is more blue/orange and clear. Can anyone confirm their sexes? The male has been digging pits around the tank and creating a little "nest" area on one side. Is this pre-spawning behavior? I would like to take my other two nics back to the LFS, but I want to be sure that I have a pair before I do. Any suggestions on the tank are welcome 

-Kate


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

I thought I should update this since its been a while. I ended up with two pairs of Nics  I am working on re-homing one of the pairs right now. The other spawned for me about two weeks ago and I am growing out the fry in a separate tank. They are guarding another clutch of eggs right now, so hopefully I'll have another batch of fry soon! I removed the babies from the tank the first day even though mom was doing a pretty good job looking after them. I was just afraid they would become snacks at night. Should I try to leave this next batch with the mom and see how she does with them?

Also, I still have the firemouth in the tank with them and they have stopped picking on him and he has colored back up which is good. I am going to add a few more small cichlids to the tank, but I am going to wait until I put in my next order with Jeff.

I tried to get some pics of the fry, but I couldn't manage it on my cell phone. I have to find my memory card for my camera so I can get some decent pics.


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