That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

The Marine Bio staff That Fish Place gets a lot of questions about husbandry of fish and inverts in aquariums. When adding any new inhabitant to an aquarium we recommend researching the conditions, max size, and temperament of the species you are interested in to ensure that it will be a good fit for your tank and the other creatures you may already be keeping. And, as always, quarantining new additions in a separate aquarium is highly recommended.  If in doubt, we’re always here to answer any questions you may have so you and your aquarium continue to stay happy!

 One question recently submitted was from Al in New York:

 I’m going to be starting up my 55 gallon set-up with blue rams. My questions are what will make good tank mates? What water conditioners might I need? Should I use live plants, and if so which do you recommend? How many rams should I add?

 Marine Bio Responded:

There are several fish you can keep with rams. Lemon tetras in a school of 6-10 would be nice. Serpae tetras in a large school of 8 to 10, or Brilliant rasboras in a similar school would also work well. These are fish (introduced gradually) that I would start with once the tank is established. Rams should not be added to the tank for at least 2 to 3 months after the introduction of your first fish. So you can maybe start with 6 Serpaes or Brilliant rasboras, and let the tank run for with nothing else added until the cycle is complete.

During this time, you can certainly add plants if you wish, but do not add more fish. I am a proponent of live plants in aquariums. They make for a beautiful and healthy environment, and many fish will do very well in a planted tank that is similar to their native waters. Plants that you can add may include Rotala, Ruffled swords, Ozelot swords, dwarf sagittaria, and Bacopa. These are all nice plants to start with, and there are others you may prefer, it is all according to taste and the lighting and conditions you present. Just make sure you add Flourish Iron or a similar product to your tank to help your plants to stay healthy.  

After you cycle your tank with the tetras or rasboras, you can add some Corydoras Catfish in school of 5 or 6 to help keep the bottom clean. Some smaller pleco species may also be considered.  Rubbernose plecos, for example, are great algae eaters in planted aquariums, as are Bristlnose and Medusa plecos. Gold nugget plecos and Queen Arabesque plecos would also work, and they are really attractive. When you are ready to add rams, I would think a small group of 5 or 6 would work out great for you, maybe 1-2 males and the rest females.

Water conditions? Well, rams prefer warm, soft water. So you want your temperature to be in the range of 80 to 82 degrees, and your pH should be around 6.5 to 6.8. You may need a buffer to maintain the keep the water at this pH and there are several available to choose from and keep on hand for water changes and maintenance including Seachem Discus Buffer.

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      

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