# 125 Gallon Mexico Tank- Pic & Video



## Iggy Newcastle

So I finally setup this tank at the end of last February, after planning it what seems like forever ago. I had the fish since last fall, and was glad to get them into their new home. Out of the 3 display tanks we have, this one is definitely the fam's favorite. I had a lot of fun doing the aquascape, and really got into it. Overall, I'm happy with the way it turned out. There's still some things I'd like to change, but for now it's looking pretty good!

IMG_1944 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

I wanted to duplicate the inside bend of a creek where the water runs clear and slow with sand, various sized stone and wood. I initially felt the large piece of driftwood on the left looked out of place, but it has grown on me. The fish are certainly attracted to it's intricate structure. I collected it in the Quetico-Superior country(Boundary waters) all the way back in 1999(I remember the year because I was the only one in my party who was 21 :wink: ). The rest of the wood was collected locally. The rock and pepples/gravel was bought at a landscape supply yard. I used 'premium play sand' from Quickrete. So far it has not had an effect on my filtration, and it looks very natural. The plant is fake. My brother stopped by last weekend and had not yet seen this tank. He thought it was a real plant, so it's not too bad. It also gives the gravid swordtails a place to hide occasionally.

IMG_1957 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

IMG_2055 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

All of the fish are from Mexico. They do not occur with one another in the wild, so it is not a true biotope.

Thorichthys maculipinnis-
These are the main fish in the tank. I still have my original 12. Plan is to remove any individuals that are bullied/ostracized from the group. They definitely have a pecking order. Short squabbles result in a quick chase with no physical damage as of yet. The largest are 3+" with one still around 2". Growing slow. They have fantastic coloration that the photos do not do justice. Pumped to see them gain even more color.

IMG_2058 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

IMG_2010 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

IMG_2017 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

Xiphophorus alvarezi-
These swordtails are very attractive, active and aggressive. The males seem to live by the Highlander code- There can only be One. As the males mature, they lose any blue color that they had and it becomes all red. I always have gravid females, but I have not made an attempt to save any fry/separate mothers. I had a chance to talk with Rick Borstein of the Chicago Livebearer Society last weekend. Found out a few things about these guys, which I knew little to start with.

IMG_1996 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

A maturing male who just seemed to come out of nowhere. Soon to be the dominant sword due to his size...
IMG_2063 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

Paraneetroplus Heterospila
I still have my original 8 fish. Plan is to keep one as a show piece type of fish, or maybe a pair if the tank allows it. It'll be tough getting rid of these guys. They've colored up quite a bit from when I got them, but a long way off from adult coloration. I'm disappointed in their slow growth. I got them last November at around 3/4". The largest is now maybe 2.5-2.75".

IMG_2107 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

IMG_2005 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

Rocio octofasciata and Cryptoheros nigrofasciatus-
The JD is the largest fish in the tank and doesn't bother a soul. Hoping she/he fits in but will be quick to exit if problems arise with eating my swords or aggression. The little convict was kind of an impulse purchase. After a short QT stint, it was added to the tank at maybe 1" in length. I chose the most colorful one in hopes of a female. She has at least doubled in size in about 5 weeks or so. Again, a fish that will be removed if problems start up. Right now she's aggressive at feeding time.

IMG_2024 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

IMG_1974 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

Questions, comments and criticism welcomed. Thanks for reading...

IMG_2100 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr


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## JayD976

Tank look awesome! :thumb: working on something very similar for my 90gal.


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## Demasoni1

First off awesome tank!!! Very well aquascaped, and I love the huge piece of driftwood!

How do you plan on removing troublesome fish? Trying to catch fish out of that looks like it would be a nightmare.


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## MizOre

Nice female convict.


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## Cichlid Debby

OK Iggy, you and Notho just gotta stop with these beautiful CA and SA fish.  I am so green.
Love that Paraneetroplus Heterospila, I want one!
Tank is STUNNING! :thumb: 
Deb


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## CjCichlid

Looking really good Iggy! It's about time you showed it off!


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## Iggy Newcastle

Thanks for the compliments! I'm glad others like the tank.

Demasoni1- if a fish is healthy and eating I can get it out at feeding time. If it's sick and hiding then it'll be, as you said, a nightmare.

Deb- I have a few fish but nothing like notho. I think he runs a government funded aquarium!


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## andywoolloo

beautiful tanks and fish! :thumb:


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## notho2000

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Thanks for the compliments! I'm glad others like the tank.
> 
> Demasoni1- if a fish is healthy and eating I can get it out at feeding time. If it's sick and hiding then it'll be, as you said, a nightmare.
> 
> Deb- I have a few fish but nothing like notho. I think he runs a government funded aquarium!


I'll take that as a compliment ... or should I? Your tank is spectacular and your fish show so well in their perfect home. Love the maculipinnis. That is a fish that I have never had much success with. And I've never had heterospila. Good luck with the tank and keep us posted.
Jim


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## Iggy Newcastle

Thank you Andy. How's the JDs doing?

Notho- of course it's a compliment! Your fish pics and videos seem endless. I request a fish room tour/walkthrough! What I've read and heard from my supplier and another vendor on T. Macs is that they are sensitive to water quality. Also, more susceptible to bloat like pasiones. So far I'm providing a varied diet with emphasis on veggie based foods. Frozen/thawed blackworms once a week.


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## CjCichlid

Iggy, curious how the P. Hets behave? I know they are still quite young but are they pretty mild mannered? Any squabbles amongst themselves or others?


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## Iggy Newcastle

CjCichlid said:


> Iggy, curious how the P. Hets behave? I know they are still quite young but are they pretty mild mannered? Any squabbles amongst themselves or others?


I'll tell you what the breeder told me and my own early observations.

Breeder-
I told him I was stocking a 6' tank, and did not include any tankmates in the question. I was told that I could do a dozen in a 125 since they are so low key aggression wise. Now I've heard claims like this before regarding Africans for species that have an insane rep. The breeder has a good rep via the GCCA(local cichlid club). Lots of CA and plecos.

My early take-
Laid back as can be, but still way too early. Watched the tank for 30 minutes last night. Wish I had a good photo of these guys. The ones I posted kinda suck. They have a rich burgundy dorsal and turquoise pelvic/anal fin. Pretty sweet looking. As I watched, there was some very minimal nipping going on. No chasing. Just kinda 'move away, would ya' action. We'll see how it goes. If I could get a pair to settle in without breaking the plan, I'd be a happy camper. I'm glad I stocked these. Kinda rare and mild rep. I have you to thank about that! Great suggestion.


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## CjCichlid

I figured they were behaving themselves. All the reports I've heard is that they are definitely one of the more mild "vieja" species. I'm glad you like them though! They were one of my top picks when I was looking for centerpiece fish but never came across any locally so I went a different route.

I think a dozen would be a bit optimistic, if not just simply over stocked. But, I think a pair is very possible in a setup such as yours. Line of sight breaks and territories will play a large roll in how things pan out as the fish mature (so I have learned). You are also looking to have a couple pairs of T. macs I am guessing as well then?

Really hope you can pull off the pairs in your setup, as it's fascinating to watch.. I simply just couldn't seem to get things to work out well. Maybe I am just too sensitive to aggression? I just really hate torn fins and missing scales..


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## inth3shadows

Love this tank!


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## mlancaster

Hi Iggy Newcastle,

Your tank looks amazing. Of the cichlids you have which would you say is the most aggressive? And which is the most likely to get bullied?

Thanks,
Matt


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## Marconi

Just awesome


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## andywoolloo

i had to pull this up on my laptop to finally see all the pics. awesome, again =D>


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## Iggy Newcastle

Thanks again guys!

CJ- the T. Macs are definitely the main fish, so I want as large a group as possible. I want them pairing up and spawning above all. If that means stripping stock down to a lone Heterospila and ditching the JD and Con, so be it.

mlancaster- pretty early to tell. The Thorichthys are chasing each other regularly but it's mild. They are rarely seen by themselves, and seem to congregate with one another all day. The convict is defensive at feeding time and doesn't want anyone in her zone. Except the JD... She moves out for him/her.

Andy- are the pics not loading? I think I may have overloaded the page


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## CjCichlid

Pics are defitnely a bit slow to load..

The JD is pretty young to be positive, but I'm leaning towards male.


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## Iggy Newcastle

Ok. I removed some of the photos.


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## Iggy Newcastle

While I was editing the initial post, I realized I left something out. I was completely lying about this being a tank with fish only from Mexico...

There are a pair of Bristlenosed plecos in the tank. I did not buy them for this tank, but they were not working out where they were. So I moved them here, unfortunately.

IMG_1644 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

They're very active now, especially at feeding time. Also, they've spawned. Only saw a few babies one night. I imagine there aren't many left in the tank. So the first fish to spawn in my Central American tank are from South America. Way to go Adam! Moron.... that's what I get for stocking a pair, I suppose.


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## andywoolloo

On my phone and work computer I couldn't see them all. But on my Mac at home I could

I love the BN pleco. I had a colony of them in a 40 gal breeder. Many spawns many trips to pet store w coolers. Awesome pleco


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## CjCichlid

Hah, ahh BN plecs don't count. They deserve a spot in pretty much every community. I have a female in my 135gal that I've had for about 4 years. I've been considering getting her a boyfriend. Did you see the spawn, or just a few mini plecs swimming around?

Out of all the expensive fish I have/had it's my girlfriends favorite... go figure. :roll:


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## Iggy Newcastle

Yea they are well liked around here for sure.

I didn't see the male for about 12-14 days. I figured he was guarding eggs or had died. Then one night I saw a glimpse of his tail for a second from the large piece of driftwood so I knew he had to be in there protecting. The next night we saw 4 or 5 babies on the opposite end of the tank from the male. None since. I'm sure a couple are tucked away somewhere...


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## CjCichlid

Yeah, the male does most of the work after the eggs are laid. I may just have to get a male.. I just don't want to end up with a swarm of BN plecs. :?


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## Demasoni1

Not to bomb your awesome thread Iggy, but I was wondering how you sex the BN Plecos? Haven't had any experience with them and I am considering adding a few to each of my tanks.


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## Iggy Newcastle

Demasoni1 said:


> Not to bomb your awesome thread Iggy, but I was wondering how you sex the BN Plecos? Haven't had any experience with them and I am considering adding a few to each of my tanks.


No prob. The male is pictured above, with all the gnarly bristles. It gets more intense as the fish grows. Females do not have this.

I do not have any diatoms in this tank. Occasionally I'll see a few 'spots' on a rock or two, but they're gone within a day. There is an AquaticLife T5 HO fixture on this tank. I bought them for a tank that has Rift Lake fish, and wanted to keep the rocks kinda clean. They were getting picked on pretty bad, and I removed them after a day. That's why they ended up here. They're virtually unnoticed and are now thriving in this tank. I'm guessing that they're about 3.5" with the female slightly longer.


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## Demasoni1

So females don't have the bristles? Or they are just shorter?


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## CjCichlid

Correct. Females will not have the bristles present like the one in the above pic. Occasionally my female will "flex" her mouth and some small bristles will protrude out from under her eye but that's about it.


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## Demasoni1

Great!!

Now back to praising Iggy's tank :thumb:


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## andywoolloo

Some of my female BN had bristles around their mouth. Short ones. But none up the nose or face like males 
So it's harder to tell when young


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## CjCichlid

Iggy, saw your tank over in the "rate the tank above you thread" and it dawned on me that you didn't use a 3D background. What made you decide against one? I remember talking to you about them a while back and you were pretty adamant about using one in this setup..


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## Iggy Newcastle

Early on, yes. But I decided against it many months ago. With only an 18" depth, I thought it was a bad idea. I'm glad I skipped it.

My 180 BG looked really nice, but I had issues in the tank mainly with the BG. I won't bore you with the specifics. I ended up removing it. I still have it, and will use it in the future.

This is what it looked like a couple of months before I yanked it-

IMG_0850 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

This is kind of a tripped out pic-

IMG_0858 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr


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## CjCichlid

Ah gotcha. Now that you say that, I do believe I remember you deciding against one due to the width. Probably a solid choice.


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## Iggy Newcastle

Managed some nicer shots of the T. Maculipinnis...

IMG_2269 (2) by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

IMG_2261 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

IMG_2260 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr

IMG_2259 by AJK Aquaria, on Flickr


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## CjCichlid

Great pics Iggy. They are looking great, lots of red already showing! :thumb:


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## Iggy Newcastle

Appreciate it Chris. They remind me of our colorful native sunfish.

Their growth is slow. You mentioned something about your Meeki possibly being stunted. I've recently(month or so) increased the amount I feed and haven't noticed any ill effects. Hard to judge growth when you look at them everyday. Need to bust out a net and a tape measure...


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## CjCichlid

I believe mine were stunted a bit but I've been feeding them 3-4 times a day and they act like they haven't been fed in a week each and every time. As long as you are feeding them a quality pellet and doing frequent water changes, I don't foresee any problems feeding them that often. I feed NLS thera A and Omega One super veggie pellets.

What is your water change schedule currently?


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## Iggy Newcastle

WC is 50% once a week. Sometimes a day sooner, or a day later.

I try to feed a few times a day, and usually do. My fish really don't go nuts for pellets. I've offered NLS, but mostly feed Xtreme cichlid pellets. The majority of the diet is Omega One flake. I have big tubs of Supper Veggie and Color. I combine both in a smaller container and mix them up. They go bonkers for it. The JD I have will not eat pellets, but crushes flake. I throw in some Repashy Soilent Green cut into small cubes occasionally. Blackworms once every week or two.


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## CjCichlid

Even though I am sure your water params are spot on, I'd try upping your water changes to, two 50% changes a week if you can swing it. That should help kick their growth into high gear, especially since you have a pretty high density of fish which all release hormones into the water. I've been doing 25-30% changes pretty much every other day since I've had the T. meeki and they are coming along nicely. Also something to note, as soon as I removed the syn and sajica from the tank, the pearsei and argentea literally seemed to have a sudden growth spurt over the coarse of a few days. I really feel stocking densities plays a pivotal roll in how fast fish grow. I see it similar to when you move a fish into a larger tank.. they often have a sudden growth spurt as well. Just food for thought.. opcorn:


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## Iggy Newcastle

I've thought about that for sure. Can't go wrong with more freshwater. The larger the tank, the easier it is to keep better water parameters, but more frequent water changes can only help with growth, condition, spawning.... Well everything really.


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## CjCichlid

It's been a month! Any updates? How's everyone coming along?


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## Iggy Newcastle

I sold all the fish so I could setup an African tank....

Juuuuussssst kidding. Everything is well. I'll try for some pictures this week.


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## stalefish83

Iggy Newcastle said:


> I sold all the fish so I could setup an African tank....
> 
> Juuuuussssst kidding. Everything is well. I'll try for some pictures this week.


Hits pretty close to home.

...or at least I wish it did :lol:


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## CjCichlid

Iggy Newcastle said:


> I sold all the fish so I could setup an African tank....


I would have had you banned! :x

Patiently waiting for pics.. opcorn:


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## Iggy Newcastle

So I never took any pictures, but I did make a video...
Available in 1080 HD

Initially, it seemed as if I would have a copyright issue, but I believe I have it cleared up. Let me know if you cannot watch the video for whatever reason. Thanks!






or just the video...


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## CjCichlid

Great vid Iggy, thanks for sharing! They all look like they're coming along nicely. Any pairing behavior from the T. macs yet?


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## Iggy Newcastle

Thanks Chris.

No pairing as of yet.


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## CjCichlid

Ah, I figured you'd at least see some flirting by now. Are you starting to see some visual clues as far as your male and female ratio?

Also, is it the lighting or tannins giving the tank that overall color/look?


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## Iggy Newcastle

The color is from the lighting and the camera. Tannins have mostly ran their course.

So far they've kept me guessing on sex.


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## CjCichlid

A bit off topic but I was watching your video again and happened to see who all you were subscribed to. Out of sheer curiosity I took a look at "TheAngryFishman" and had a pretty good laugh at his intro vid.. :lol:


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## Iggy Newcastle

CjCichlid said:


> A bit off topic but I was watching your video again and happened to see who all you were subscribed to. Out of sheer curiosity I took a look at "TheAngryFishman" and had a pretty good laugh at his intro vid.. :lol:


I'll have to check out that video. That guy is pretty funny.


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## Iggy Newcastle

Available in 1080p


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## CjCichlid

Looking really good man! The Hets are actually starting to look like Hets and the T. macs are really coloring up! They are definitely the best looking Thoricthys species.

I've been really slacking with updates over in my thread. I'll try and put together a video tonight!


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## Iggy Newcastle

Thanks Chris. They were all looking really sharp last night, so I busted out the camera. I'm going to try some of the Current LEDs next time I shoot video of this tank. I love the way the T5s look in person, but it gives such a sharp glare off the substate in video.



> I've been really slacking with updates over in my thread. I'll try and put together a video tonight!


Yea no kidding ya bum! :lol:


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## Iggy Newcastle

Something else, as well. I'm losing the swordtails. My largest and best male has been circling since last night. This happened to a female I had a couple months ago. I ended up euthanizing her. Lost a female a couple weeks ago. Zero signs of physical damage. I've never seen a single cichlid take a run at a sword. I know this doesn't mean it hasn't happened, but I do watch this tank a lot. I currently only have 1 gravid female. Once this male dies, I think I'll be down to 6 total left. I've tried sourcing the Mexican tetra, but have had no luck. One vendor had 3, which is not nearly enough and certainly not worth shipping. Buying more of these X. alvarezi definitely requires another shipment. Not sure I want to do that. Should have probably saved some fry when I had anywhere between 4-6 gravid females at all times. I could do the Green swords. Any other recommendations? I'd like to keep it the Mexico theme.

Thanks....


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## CjCichlid

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Yea no kidding ya bum! :lol:


Hah, I know I know.. 

How's the little JD getting along with everyone? Also, what are you currently feeding? I was feeding "Omega One Super Color Veggie" almost exclusively until this past week where I switched back on to NLS thera A. I can already see a difference in the fish's appearance, colors are popping a lot more. I really like the Omega One as it's a very "clean" food. The NLS always seems to have a lot of fine particles that cloud my water after feeding.


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## Iggy Newcastle

JD is fine. No one messes with him and vice versa. A timid fish I would say. I think the Con lays eggs somewhere in that stump, as she goes into defensive mode for several days, then returns to normal.

That's funny. I feed Omega One Super Color flake mixed with Super Veggie. I also offer Extreme cichlid pellets a few times a week. The video above was shot after I threw in pellets. They all start digging non stop. I have not fed any blackworms in over a month. I have NLS that I feed my Africans, including Thera A. I'm happy with the results of the Omega One. Been feeding several times a day. There's a couple Thorichthys that are quite smaller than the rest, but I don't believe the food to be the culprit. Everyone gets their fair share.


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## CjCichlid

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Something else, as well. I'm losing the swordtails. My largest and best male has been circling since last night. This happened to a female I had a couple months ago. I ended up euthanizing her. Lost a female a couple weeks ago. Zero signs of physical damage. I've never seen a single cichlid take a run at a sword. I know this doesn't mean it hasn't happened, but I do watch this tank a lot. I currently only have 1 gravid female. Once this male dies, I think I'll be down to 6 total left. I've tried sourcing the Mexican tetra, but have had no luck. One vendor had 3, which is not nearly enough and certainly not worth shipping. Buying more of these X. alvarezi definitely requires another shipment. Not sure I want to do that. Should have probably saved some fry when I had anywhere between 4-6 gravid females at all times. I could do the Green swords. Any other recommendations? I'd like to keep it the Mexico theme.
> 
> Thanks....


Didnt see this until now..

That's a shame, those swords looked great. Not sure what it could be if they aren't being picked on. I suppose livebearers have relatively short life spans, especially when compared to cichlids? I really miss the look my colony of Yucatan Mollies gave to the tank. I attempted to reintroduce more but as soon as the lights go out it's game over.

Not sure what else you could go with that would be "biotope" correct. I really like the astyanax tetras but they are pricey and almost impossible to find. Could always cheat a bit a go with Buenos Aires Tetras..


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## CjCichlid

Iggy Newcastle said:


> JD is fine. No one messes with him and vice versa. A timid fish I would say. I think the Con lays eggs somewhere in that stump, as she goes into defensive mode for several days, then returns to normal.
> 
> That's funny. I feed Omega One Super Color flake mixed with Super Veggie. I also offer Extreme cichlid pellets a few times a week. The video above was shot after I threw in pellets. They all start digging non stop. I have not fed any blackworms in over a month. I have NLS that I feed my Africans, including Thera A. I'm happy with the results of the Omega One. Been feeding several times a day. There's a couple Thorichthys that are quite smaller than the rest, but I don't believe the food to be the culprit. Everyone gets their fair share.


I've been tempted to pick up a young JD the last few times I stopped at my LFS.. :roll:

I usually feed twice a day.. I too have a T. meeki that seems to be a runt. Little guy just wont grow no matter how much food he eats!


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## Iggy Newcastle

I talked to Rick Borstein with the Chicago Livebearer Society(among other things). He told me 18-24 month lifespan, if I remember correctly. Pretty upset about it. I really want a dither type fish in this tank. Those black mollies did look nice.

The JD looks pretty nice so far. A very nice red glaze over him that the video doesn't due justice.


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## CjCichlid

Ah, so are you thinking they are simply dieing off from old age then? Could be worse I suppose..

The one thing I really liked about having the livebearers versus the BA Tetras or SD I have now is the fact that they didn't "overpower" the setup. The tetras and SD's almost seem/ed to detract from the cichlids and overall setup. I liked the calmness the livebearers bring. Maybe I'll try adding something larger like Sailfin mollies sometime down the road..


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## Iggy Newcastle

Probably not age. I'm not sure, really. I've had them for about a year and got them as 1.5".

I found some potential livebearers locally. We shall see....


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## Iggy Newcastle




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## notho2000

A beautiful pair and sight! What is the fish that your pair is sparring with?


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## Iggy Newcastle

Thank you Jim.

That is Paraneetroplus heterospila. Still a youngster so not showing the typical colors.

How did you get the snap shot from the video? Im kinda dumb when it comes to stuff like that. I may need to use that as the video thumbnail...


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## lilscoots

Probably not the way he did it, but you can pause the video, hit print screen, open paint, paste, crop, save.


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## Greg92056

Great video, they really are beautiful fish! Gives me hope that down the road some of mine will pair up. Do you still have all 12?


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## Iggy Newcastle

Thanks Greg. Yes, I still have all 12. Everyone is in this tank.


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## Iggy Newcastle

lilscoots said:


> Probably not the way he did it, but you can pause the video, hit print screen, open paint, paste, crop, save.


Sounds like a lot of work....


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## CjCichlid

Congrats on the spawn Iggy! Great vid as well, everyone is looking really good.


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## Iggy Newcastle

Thanks Chris. Much appreciated. If you liked that one, you'll probably enjoy this vid as well...


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## CjCichlid

Naah, that one was no good. :wink:

Did you condition them in any way to get them in the mood or did they just decide it was time? I feel like my group of T. meeki are about due to start spawning soon as well..


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## Iggy Newcastle

No changes in husbandry whatsoever. Saw the female digging around a couple weeks ago and being moody. Then one day they were working together, defending an area so I started filming. Next day the male was chasing her off so I figured it was over. Day after that it seemed they reconciled. I had been checking frequently and lucked out on the spawn. Really lucky getting the egg laying. Was actually going to shut the light down to set the mood for my new Alien Isolation game and saw some eggs. Look good as of today so I'm hoping for a cloud of fry. Been out of town and busy as he'll lately so hoping to get some footage of some wigglers


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## CjCichlid

Any updates? Should have fry by now if everything went well?!


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## Iggy Newcastle

Everything looked good Saturday morning. Left town, and returned the next day. Most of the eggs were gone. By the end of the noon NFL games, there were only a few left. So the pair ate them all. Definitely bummed, but it's their first time. They'll figure it out. Or another pair will form soon enough...

Thanks for asking.


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## Iggy Newcastle

Ok, so I was wrong.

The pair did not eat the eggs, but moved them. The male has been defending the original spawn site for this entire week. The female had been ran off(or so I thought) to behind the large piece of driftwood. She's in a dark area, and tough to see anything. Upon closer inspection, she's sitting in a pit full of fry. They're just starting to go free swimming, but are mostly bouncing off the substrate.

It'll be tough to get any good photos or footage, but I'll give it a go later tonight.


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## Greg92056

Sounds awesome. So are you now able to tell how many males and females you have? I read somewhere that like the C. Chets the females have a dark splotch on the dorsal and males have clear dorsal? Is that what you're seeing?


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## Iggy Newcastle

Well I've read the same thing. Not the case here. Or its possible the 'blotch' faded with breeding dress. To me, they look identical, except the male has a longer, flowing point to the dorsal.


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## Iggy Newcastle




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## CjCichlid

Cool vid Iggy. Any fry still left? I'm guessing your letting nature "take it's course"?


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## Iggy Newcastle

No fry brother. All gone awhile ago. Have another pair(possibly 2) forming now. Didn't get a chance to even look at the tank yesterday. Work sucks. See if anything happened in the last 48 hours tonight.


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## CjCichlid

Ah I figured the others would make quick work of them. I can't believe I don't have any spawning from my meeki yet! They are constantly bickering amongst each other, but no real pairs forming. I honestly can't even sex them 100% yet. They are growing bolder by the day though as I am starting to see them punk my pearsei which is 4x their size! Still have yet to post an update.. I've been pretty swamped myself!


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## Iggy Newcastle

I figured you just sold all your fish... you've been so quiet...


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## CjCichlid

Haha.. no still have em'. Just been stupid busy! Work.. school.. weddings.. the list goes on!


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## Iggy Newcastle




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## CjCichlid

Pretty big difference watching your vids back to back when comparing the lighting. The T5s were A LOT yellower. What setting are you using with the Current fixtures in the most recent video?


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## Iggy Newcastle

I was using a 'custom' setting. I believe I started on the Blue default and then maxed out Blue and dropped the Black to get the desired effect.


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## CjCichlid

Gotcha. I'm a fan of the dark purple default setting myself. Helps bring out the reds as well as the blues in the fish.

Do both 2ft fixtures run off the same remote simultaneously?


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## Iggy Newcastle

Maybe it was purple.... don't remember. And yes, they will both respond to one remote simultaneously. A very nice bonus IMO...


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## Iggy Newcastle




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## Iggy Newcastle

Forgot to put this one up...


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## CjCichlid

Looking good as usual Iggy. Your Tmacs could teach my meeki a thing or two!


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## Iggy Newcastle

Thanks CJ...


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## plumdogg

I think your a tank expert your tank is amazing wished you lived close to me and could help mine to look like that..


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## Iggy Newcastle

Thanks plumdogg but I'm no expert! Just used wood, sand, branches and like colored stone. Just try to set everything up as natural as possible, and not 'structured' in any way. Using the 'Rule of Thirds' can help it look more appealing to the eye.


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## TechnoCrackOC

Lovely


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## Iggy Newcastle

TechnoCrackOC said:


> Lovely


Thanks


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## CjCichlid

Looking good mane! When are you going to sell me a pair of those Hets?!


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## Iggy Newcastle

Thanks Chris!

As soon as I know for sure on the Hets I'll send you/give you a pair. They're continuing to look better and better.


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## illy-d

Great video! Really nice looking tank - what's your stock list look like now?


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## CjCichlid

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Thanks Chris!
> 
> As soon as I know for sure on the Hets I'll send you/give you a pair. They're continuing to look better and better.


They really are looking great. I'll be patiently waiting! It even looks like you may have some pairing going on with them? Have you attempted to keep any of the T. mac fry yet?

Your stocking density still boggles me. I am definitely upping my numbers once I get the new 220gal setup. I already have a female pearsei lined up for my male and plan on adding a group of A. robertsoni. Not sure what I am doing with my small group of T. meeki yet. May swap them out for a larger group of T. pasionis if I can source them. I came across some T. macs locally and almost grabbed them, however I can't be copying you! Not to mention I am really trying to follow a strict Usumacinta River biotope this go around. We'll see how it plays out.. oh and end of thread jack!


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## Iggy Newcastle

illy-d said:


> Great video! Really nice looking tank - what's your stock list look like now?


Thank you!
Lost all but one of the X. Alverezi swords so I need to source another livebearer. Euthanized 1 Thorichthys that slowly declined in health. Attempted isolation and treatment but never got out of the funk. That was about 6 months ago I'd say. Everything else is the same.


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## Iggy Newcastle

It looks like a pair starts to bunker down, but then nothing happens. Slowly growing.

I have not saved any T. Mac fry but I may be doing so with the batch of eggs in the video. They are just now forming into wrigglers and will be easy pickings. Just need to be careful I don't take too many!

I wanted to keep a Biotope as well but in the end said screw it. Looking forward to the 220!


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