# Pantano's Paradise -- My 220gal Thread



## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

For those of you who caught it.. I hope you liked my mildly clever, yet extremely cheesy thread title. :roll:

I've been pretty much MIA for some time now here on the forums. Now that the craziness of the Holidays is over, I'm really going to make an effort to be more active on here!

Some of you may remember my old ongoing thread: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=237760. Well, the days of the 135gal have come and gone and I now have a 220gal. When I initially set it up, it was quite bare and even had a divider. Fast forward a few months and after several failed attempts, I have finally integrated my female pearsei into the tank without the use of a divider.

Now that the tank is finally worthy of being seen, I put together a short video the other night.

Quick run down of the setup...
220gal (6'x2'x30")
Filtration: 2x SunSun 304's, 1x Marineland C530
Lighting: 48" Current Satellite LED+ and a single 10 watt 6500k LED spotlight
Stocking: 2x Cincelichthys pearsei aka Pantano cichlid (thread title make sense now?), 1x Maskaheros argenteus, 20x Buenos Aires Tetras (replicating the biotope correct astyanax fasciatus)

Be sure to watch it in HD!






Thanks for reading and watching. Hopefully I'll continue posting updates here! :fish:


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## Ruthiebaby88 (Jul 29, 2010)

Wow! gorgeous! I love the combo of the tiny fish with the huge ones.


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## Cichlid Debby (Mar 21, 2014)

They look fantastic, CJ!
I can barely tell the two P's apart.

Perfect set up for them!

Deb


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Thanks Ruth and Deb.

Deb, she has certainly put on some size and has even colored up more so than she was. They have been together for several months now and are doing great together. No true signs of spawning, however they do flirt quite a bit once I dim the lights in the evening.


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## smitty (May 7, 2004)

Very nice tank and everything looks really good.


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Quick update..

Nothing has changed in the 220gal however last weekend I came across (and purchased) a group of 10x Thorichthys pasionis and 9x Thorichthys meeki. They are currently in a temporary 40gal breeder grow out tank. It's nothing special, just some sand and a few oak branches. Here's a short video, be sure to watch in HD..






Hoping to move a decent number of them into the 220gal once they put on some size. As you can see from the video, both the pasionis and meeki look pretty much indistinguishable. The pasionis have a more elongated body, while the meeki have a bolder black spot on their operculum.

In other news, my "pair" of pearsei have been showing quite a bit of interest in spawning. Lots of displaying, as well as some digging and rock cleaning. Hoping it's just a matter of time before I get my first spawn from them.

I have also been contemplating selling my argentea. As much as I like that fish, each day that passes my pearsei make my 220 look smaller and smaller. With the eventual addition of the group of Thorichthys, I feel as if it just may be too much. It would certainly be hard letting him go though as he is such a good looking fish.


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## adamsfishes (Jan 29, 2016)

Sweet tank. I wish I could fit a 6 foot tank ...

Are those branches oak?

I like your taste in fish.


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Thanks Adam. Yes, all the branches (in the 220 and 40) are oak collected from around my yard.


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## Kobie (Jan 5, 2016)

Gorgeous tanks. I hope to have a beautiful and well intergrated tank setup like this one day!


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## busterny (Feb 12, 2014)

CjCichlid said:


> Thanks Adam. Yes, all the branches (in the 220 and 40) are oak collected from around my yard.


How did you pull the bark off the branches? I am soaking some now, and it's almost impossible to peel it off. 
Ps. The tank looks amazing,


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

busterny said:


> How did you pull the bark off the branches? I am soaking some now, and it's almost impossible to peel it off.
> Ps. The tank looks amazing,


Thanks. I do not remove any of the bark, they are exactly how they came off the tree. With time, the bark often begins to fall off or the fish pick at it. I catch them eating it sometimes and my BN pleco likes to chew on it as well.


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## busterny (Feb 12, 2014)

Thanks, and glad to hear. I always wondered if there was any effect on the water. It doesn't seem as if you are having any issues. Now I have to pick up a BN to help out.


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## Sinister-Kisses (Jul 19, 2013)

Sorry, I might have missed it in the details somewhere, but what sand did you use for this? I'm in a position where I can change the sand in my tank if I want to (from the stuff I've been complaining I don't really like - but it has grown on me so I'm debating whether to keep it or change it). I can get pool filter sand locally and am trying to get a visual of how the pearsei will look over it.


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Sinister, I'm sure my answer will be of no help as I am so late in replying but I used a pool filter sand that I bought locally. It is a larger grain sand and settles very quickly compared to the old quikrete sand I used previously in my 135gal. I also have some gravel and river rock mixed in to give the substrate an overall more natural appearance.


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

A few recent pics from my phone..

Follow the leader.. male pearsei following female.


Male pearsei


Male argentea


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## puddleglum (Sep 11, 2014)

Wow. Great setup, I am envious. Although if it were mine, the Thorichthys would be the stars of the tank and the big guys would be there for contrast. Well done.


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## Rob S (Sep 11, 2002)

Do the Pearsei pay any attention to the tetras at all? Was thinking of doing something similar. Thanks.


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

puddleglum said:


> Wow. Great setup, I am envious. Although if it were mine, the Thorichthys would be the stars of the tank and the big guys would be there for contrast. Well done.


Thanks. It's pretty hard for the pearsei not be the center of attention simply due to their sheer size. They have pretty big personalities to match as well. I am however looking forward to the addition of the Thorichthys, as it will add a new dynamic to the setup being how gregarious they tend to be.



Rob S said:


> Do the Pearsei pay any attention to the tetras at all? Was thinking of doing something similar. Thanks.


The pearsei will certainly snack on the BA tetras if an easy opportunity presents itself, however very rarely do I ever see them make an actual effort to hunt them down. I think I started with 20 or 21 and can only count 17 now. So, I've lost a few over the course of the year. I'll continue to replenish the numbers as needed. I think they typically get them when I am doing water changes as the tetras freak out and nearly swim into the pearsei's mouths..


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Figured I'd post a quick update while I was browsing the forum..

I'll begin with the sad news... I sold my argentea.  I have been considering selling him for quite a while now and even had him listed for sale on a few local cichlid FB groups. After many months of low ball offers someone finally came along that truly appreciated him and gave me my full asking price. He will be missed but it was the right thing to do. He was beginning to regularly test my female pearsei and with my group of Thorichthys finally of decent size, I was wanting to move them into the 220 as well.

The good news... After ripping apart the aquascape to catch the argentea, I rescaped and added my group of 19 Thorichthys (10 pasionis and 9 meeki). With the addition of the Thorichthys and their constant antics, the tank has never been more interesting to watch! The pearsei have been in with them for a couple of weeks now and, to my relief, completely ignore them. The Thors look very comfortable in the tank now, but once they begin pairing off I will most likely begin to slowly remove some. I do, however, want to keep a decent sized group as that's when they show the most interesting behaviors.

Once the aquascape matures a bit and is 100% to my liking I'll be sure to post a video and pictures! :fish:


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## inth3shadows (Sep 1, 2008)

Nice Setup!

I am actually trying to sell my Argentea, Pearsi, and Syspila if I can. You arn't too far away (only a state or so), if you were interested in any I'd love for them to go to someone who appreciates them. While I doubt you'd want another Argentea. Thought I'd offer.

For reference, tip to tip the Syspila is ~9".


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Thanks for the offer shadows, but I am pretty stocked up as it. Your pictures are not showing up for me either?


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## axia55 (Aug 5, 2007)

Stunning setup and fish! Can you tell me what type of LED spotlight you are using? I have been looking for something that look halfway decent and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

axia55, thank you. The LED "spotlight" I am using was sourced from Ebay. It's just a slim style 10W, 6500k outdoor LED flood light. Very inexpensive.


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## Hybrid_Creations (Apr 25, 2017)

axia55 said:


> Stunning setup and fish! Can you tell me what type of LED spotlight you are using? I have been looking for something that look halfway decent and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.


Believe it or not, Tetra makes a pretty sweet little LED strip light that mounts to the inside rim of your tank. It's totally hidden and discrete, while also putting off about as much light as OP's does. $20.00 at Walmart. They're fantastic.


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