That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

Brandon here. If you’re like me and want to get the best growth and color out of your planted aquarium, you’ll probably want to add CO2 to your tank at some point.  The addition of CO2, in conjunction with adequate lighting, will greatly increase the rate of growth of your aquatic plants and is almost a necessity for certain hard to keep species.  Here at That Fish Place we carry a number of supplies for dosing your aquarium with CO2.

The first CO2 additive that I used on my planted 20 gallon was the Turbo CO2 Bio System by Red Sea.  This system is relatively inexpensive and fairly simple to use.  It works by attaching the reaction chamber to airline tubing which runs into a small powerhead.  A mixture of yeast and sugar inside the reaction chamber produces CO2 and usually lasts four or five weeks.  The downfall to this system is that the CO2 generated cannot be regulated and the duration of the mixture is usually inconsistant.

Once I upgraded to my 55 gallon aquarium, I decided I should upgrade my CO2 system as well.  To save money, I bought a 20 oz paintball tank instead of a larger tank similar to the ones we use in the fishroom.  To diffuse the CO2, I purchased a Maxi-Jet 400, attaching the airline to the venturi.  This actually diffuses the CO2 very well.  To regulate the CO2 coming out of the tank, I bought the CO2 regulator by TAAM.  The regulator comes with a needle valve for adjusting the amount of CO2 released into the tank and a solenoid so I can control when the unit operates by attaching it to the same timer as my lighting system.

My plants have never been healthier since I began CO2 additions.  I have several different species that have grown almost too large and need constant pruning, such as my watersprite, bacopa, and bronze wendtii.  If you decide to run CO2 on your aquarium, be aware of several complications you may run into:

CO2 will displace oxygen in the water.  If you add too much, your fish may suffer.

A high degree of surface agitation will drive the CO2 out of the water and make the addition of CO2 worthless.

CO2 will also lower the pH of the water.  Be sure your carbonate hardness is within the proper range (3-8 dkH).

CO2 will increase the rate of growth of your plants when used with adequate aquarium lighting.  Fast growing plants will deplete trace minerals in the water (iron, potassium, calcium, manganese). Plants that are deficient in these minerals tend to have health issues and even die.  Be sure to test your water and dose with trace minerals accordingly for the best growth.

Hope this helps,

Until next time,

Brandon

Until next time,

Brandon

Jose here. A South American brute that can give many Central Americans a run for the money (when it comes to aggression), the Red Terror is one of my favorites. Ranked in the top 5 among cichlid keepers, the festae is not afraid to bite the hand that feeds it, which is good cause feeding it should be no problem as it will eat anything. The downfall would be tank space.  As an adult male can top out at 20 inches, an adult pair would be looking at a 125 gallon just for the pair, larger if you wanted to keep tank mates. Sexing young fish is pretty hard, but it’s different with adults. Besides the size difference between male and female, the male will have blue dots on his body, while retaining the overall orange red coloration. The female festae is the one out of the pair that truly lives up to the name red terror in aggression and coloration. She takes on a very vibrant red coloration, with a black or blue area in three quarters of the dorsal fin. Males lack this marking. An adult pair of Red Terrors tending fry is an awesome and scary sight (scary for the owner trying to do a water change).

A word of caution in searching for Red Terrors if you choose to invest in them, there is another species that resembles the festae, Cichlasoma uophthalmus, the False Red Terror or Mayan Cichlid.  These fish are often misidentified in the trade, or simply labeled as Red Terrors in error, as common names are sometimes assigned for convenience.  You can tell the difference by looking at the spot on the base of the tail. The eyespot on the festae only reaches half way down the base, where on the False Red Terror, the eyespot extends below the midline.

Well there it is now you know!  In closing I would say this is definitely a fish worth keeping.  If you have an empty 75 gallon tank sitting around, and you’re looking for a “WOW” fish with a lot of attitude, Amphilophus festae will fit the bill.

Until next time have fun with cichlids,

JOSE

Hey cichlid fans, Jose here again. I want to share a little story about the first time I tried to mix Centrals with Africans and Madagascars.  This is just an experience that I had when I was much younger, and I DO NOT condone my actions, nor am I proud of how I handled the situation at the time.  I have learned a lot from my mistakes, and most who have been in the aquarium hobby for as long as I have will have some similar, horrifying experiences to share. Sometimes you get lucky with a mix and sometimes you don’t, so you learn by experience and not necessarily just from the advice of others.

 The tank size was a 75 gallon, and the species were 1 Parapetenia dovii (wolf cichlid), a pair of Dimidiochromis compressiceps (Malawi eye biter) and 1 Paratilapia bleekeri (large spot). I purchased them at the same time, and they were about 3 to 4 inches.  I was told if they grew up together they would get along fine (ha ha ha). Everything seemed to work out fine for about 7 months then the fun began. On a daily basis they would take turns fighting with each other in the tank, even the 12 inch gibbicep pleco got a work out. Then one day I noticed that the compressiceps were preparing to breed (hooray!). The aggression level from the compy pair went up a notch as they both defended their spawning site.

Ok, now here is where the story really gets messed up.

So I went to work, put in my 8 hours and went home.  My girlfriend at the time tells me my fish are acting weird, and I thought it was because they were spawning (boy was I wrong). Upon entering the room, what I saw was a shock. The female compressiceps‘ head was in the dovii‘s mouth, while the bleekeri had the rear half.  There in the middle was her gravid belly. Before I could even reach for a net, they decided it was time to end the game of tug of war.  I tell you it was heartbreaking as what looked like 100 eggs fell to the bottom of the tank.

A lesson in mixing I had to learn the hard way, and a tale I hope that encourages others to research a lot before deciding which fish to house together.

Write in if you have any tank horror stories that you’ve learned from that you’d like to share.

Until next time, have fun with cichlids.       JOSE      

Brandon here. Now that pond season is over, lots of aquarists are looking for the opportunity for those aquatic green thumbs to keep busy all winter long. Much of the time planted set-ups are overlooked for the more elaborate (and more expensive) saltwater reef tanks. I personally find a lot of enjoyment in keeping my favorite aquatic plants indoors where I can view them all year long.
This may be old news for some of you, but last month the winners of the 2008 ADA (Aqua Design Amano Co) Aquascaping Contest were announced. These are some serious planted tank people! The tanks are well laid out and must have taken countless hours of planning, planting, and trimming. My personal favorites are second, fourth, and ninth place. Maybe someday I’ll have the time and patience to make my tank look like one of these!
Pictures of the top ten can be viewed at Aquatic Eden, a blog about the planted aquarium. You can also see the top twenty-seven layouts at Aquatic Plant Central, a forum for the planted tank enthusiast. They’re some amazing tanks, so if you have a moment, take a look!http://www.aquatic-eden.com/
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquascaping/55958-2008-ada-layout-contest-top-27-a.html

Hey cichlid fans, Jose here. We are going to profile dimidiochromis compressiceps the “Malawi eye biter”. Found throughout Lake Malawi this species inhabits the open water. It is also a large predator. One interesting method of hunting is the way they ambush prey. Dimidiochromis compressiceps uses its compressed body to hide in beds of reeds and vallisneria and when prey (small fish) swim by they tilt their head down at an angle until they are close and then with a burst of speed and a large mouth they dispatch their prey.When choosing an aquarium I would recommend a 75 gallon for a group of 4 to 6 fish due to their adult size of 12 inches. Keep the aquarium lightly decorated due to them being an open water predator.

Malawi Eye Biters like to hang close to the surface or in plants. They are not very territorial unless they are breeding.

Be careful with tank mates that may fit in their mouth, and if your going to feed them feeder fish know that it may make them more aggressive: especially towards tankmates.

This is an awesome looking fish that in my opinion is better looking than the electric blue ahli, when young. Males and females are a whitish silver with a single brown horizontal stripe. At 4 to 5 inches the male should start turning metallic blue with red and orange in his dorsal and anal fin. An adult male in breeding dress is a sight to behold. There is a gold version of this fish that although not as stunning it’s still an awesome fish to own.

Keep on keeping Cichlids,

Jose