[TheFishGuy]

So after going to the OCA extravaganza this past weekend I'm all excited about the hobby once again. I've got four more fish to adopt out then the 800 will be mine again and I plan to do a rather large mix of CA/SA cichlids in it making it "my" tank again and not MFR's...

So far this is what's going to go in:

Oscars (three)
Green severums (five)
Green Terrors (six)
Blue Acaras (six)
Pikes (five)
Chocolates (two)
Geophagus Balzani (two)
Geophagus Jurupari (one)
Keyholes (four)
Uaru (one)
Robertsoni (one)
Synspilum (one)
Vieja hybreds (two)
Midas (six)
Jaguar (two)
Convicts (ten thousand)
Nics (ten)
Festae (nine)
Hatiensis (six)

I've got all those so far, the ones in red will need to grow a bit before being added though...

I'd like to add:
Jack dempseys (six)
Black belts (six)
Bocourti (six)
Regans (six)
Texas (six) (possibly)

The idea is as they grow and pair off, and they will in the 800 ,to remove the pairs and give them their own tanks. Then leave only one male of all the other species and all the Convicts and Nics in the 800 as dithers....

What do you think?
Am I nuts?
Think it'll be over stocked?
Think it'll work?
I want thoughts and opinions :thumb:

Keep in mind the tank is 14'x3'x30"tall

TFG

 

[hslee]

ah, the famous 800

i think since you're taking all the pairs out it should work.. but it's hard for me to picture a tank that large. how will you be docorating it? will it end up with a pike, jag and midas claiming their own portions and the rest kind of swimming around those regions?

lol, sorry, i have more questions than answers (since i don't have any answers :wink: ) but any thread involving your famous tank i wanna be a part of

 

[TheFishGuy]

:lol: Well, in the past I've had vieja and midas spawn within three feet of each other. In fact, I've got about 50-60 of the midas from that spawn growing out in a custom 50 gal... only thing is two of the midas fry are viejas :lol: They were adopted. The male midas was about 11"...

The thing is... (and this is my theory) When the fish have more than six or eight feet to run from one another they kind of give up the chase. I've yet to see a dispute in the tank last more than a few minutes and the chase never makes half the length of the tank. I used to siphon fry out of the tank because as soon as some foriegn object appeared the parents would ball up the fry into a tight knot making it easier for me to suck em out. Fry from any spawn always go eaten in under two weeks though... Too many other predators to contend with...

As far as decor goes... it'll be something like this again:

 

[hslee]

i am so jealous of your tank it's not even funny. and here i was being all excited with my new 180g

but yeah, i really think it should work, especially with your experience in keeping cichlids if anything's wrong you'll be able to stay on top of it. all i can say is make sure to put up some pics when it happens :thumb:

 

[TheFishGuy]

Most definately, I'm all about posting pictures :thumb:

 

[Big Vine]

Sounds fantastic!
I'll be looking forward to lots of pics too.

BV

 

[illy-d]

Personally I think you should try to do a more natural decor... I've heard you mention a background before - My Vision would be to do the back ground like a mud bank with very little 3d relief (as opposed to a rocky BG), but with wood protruding to represent mangrove roots or what have you - something like Chefkieth's island but just epoxying in real wood 'branches'so to speak...

As for stocking do you really have the space to house 24 different species of pairs? Or would you only remove the heavy hitters? 'Cause to be honest it is my experience that a pair of Keyholes would not disrupt the chemistry of the tank with the listed tankmates one iota...

What about non-cichlids dithers instead of convicts? 100 Congo Tetras would be less of a handful then a a dozen or so convict pairs! Of course they may also be lunch...

All in all though I kind of like the stocking... My concern is that I would be torn on whether to keep the prime male of each species in the 800 or have them as part of a breeding pair?

Tough call - but I wish I had the gallonage to be the one having to make it...

 

[TheFishGuy]

I think once pairs are removed another male will rise in each group as the alfa male, he's the one who'll stay in the 800....

I always forget about the keyholes.... they're actually supposed to get their own tank, but after observing how they stand up to everyone in the 240 I was thinking they'd be fine in the 800.

These are in the 240 at the moment:

Oscars (one)
Green severums (five)
Green Terrors (six)
Blue Acaras (six)
Pikes (five)
Chocolates (two)
Geophagus Balzani (two)
Geophagus Jurupari (one)
Keyholes (four)
Uaru (one)
Robertsoni (one)

The largest of the fish is the robertsoni at about 9", all the rest average about 3-5 inches, maybe a bit bigger then that but you get the idea...

I like natural set ups but you don't get nearly the amount of hiding spots as you do when using the clay pipes. Rocks tend to get real real heavy and I'm not going to go out and buy 10,000lbs of lava rock :lol:

I could cut a tree down in the back and lay it in the tank :lol:

 

[Burtle]

Sounds like lots of fun but that is a lot of fish to handle I'm not going to lie.
When does the store open?

 

[TheFishGuy]

:lol: Yes, it will be a handful and not fun catching fish out of the 800...

The store will open for adults when pairs start to form

 

[Frameshift]

The Geophagus (actually Gymnogeophagus) balzani need a couple months cool down (temps in the mid 60's) to survive. If not given the cool down time they don't last more than a year or two and just waste away.

If you downsize on the GT's, let me know. I tried to bring some to Wa when I moved from Hawaii, and the airline wouldn't let me.

 

[TheFishGuy]

I will definately let you know.... I've got 8 or so left, all doing great, one has two spots on it's side... We like that one, he's got an attitude already too :lol:

I'm aware of the cool down period, They're actually going to be getting a tank of their own in my daughters room for a few months over winter. She keeps her heat register shut and it's the coldes room in the house. Should work perfect. They'll get their cool down before going into the 800, then every winter I'll net em out and she'll get a tank in her room

I was out today with the kids and got 6 JD's about an inch long for $.60 a piece and (I know I'm going to regret this) I also got 5 green texas :roll: These things are NUTS even at 2" they are aggressive! Should be interesting!

I've got three fish left in the 800.... as soon as they're re-homed I'll start introducing the smallest fish first.

JD's:

Green Texas:

 

[cole]

This is probably going to be a little off topic, but I have been watching this thread and just wanted to spit something out here. I had been thinking over the past weekend what I would do with a tank this big, or one close to it. I like what TFG has done with this tank, and some had mentioned how they would go about aquascaping it. I'm not the most experienced on here to be giving advice on this sort of thing, but I had a pretty good idea I thought I would share.

I've been looking at different shaped concrete pavers commonly found at lowes and home depot. They got some pretty neat designs these days, and I am curious how they would look in a tank this large. I wonder if you could take some pavers, and mount them to the background to kind of mock the shape of pillars. I was thinking perhaps you could mount a series of them across the bottom of the back wall, to sort of resemble an ancient stage. Then on either side of the back, and in the middle, I would do pillars going from the bottom, all the way up the background to the surface of the water. You may even be able to find nice end caps to mimick the tops of the pillars.

Anyway, I thought it was a good idea, and could help you contrast the difference between natural and sureal. My only question is, do concrete pavers contain dangerous chemicals that may leach? Just curious, incase I should take this approach in the future.

Cheers,
Cole~

BTW- Very nice carpinitis Escondido you have there kind sir...can't wait to see them critters grown out!

 

[cole]

Oh yeah, I tried to find clay pipes in my area the other day. I called everyone in my state that deals with plumbing supplies. Noone carries them around here anymore. Where in the heck did you find those awesome peices?

Cole~

 

[TheFishGuy]

Those pipes are from job sites, they've been buried under ground for many many years!

One of those Texas died last nite :? The pet store's 45 minutes away... :?

Good idea cole, but I can't glue anything to sanitred :x I HATE SANITRED!!!!

 

[sick_lids]

TFG, if i was you, i would NEVER leave my basement, my fiance' already says i stare at my 120 gallon too much! i am always cleaning, decorating, or just messing with one of my tanks. gets on her nerves honestly! haha! once again, you are truly my hero!! LOL!!!!

 

[BlackShark11k]

Sounds interesting. Be wary of the knife though, I've seen some 48 inchers gobble up 12'' bala sharks...the dempseys, roberstoni and severums may be gone before you know it. You do still have the knife, right?

Cheers,
Art

 

[TheFishGuy]

I do still have the knife, but once he's the last one left in the 800 he'll get put in the 240 since all those fish will be in the 800

ALSO.... I just ordered six black belts today I'm excited. I hope I don't get a stinkin hybrid like last time.... I'm still kind of P.O'd about that......

so all that's left for the wish list are the ones that won't be that easy for me to find:

Vieja Regani and Bocourti.... And know, I'm not taking out a loan to order from rapps... I'm a cheapskate :lol:

 

[Frameshift]

Good deal with the balzinii. Going to be fun times catching them every 8 months or so from the 800 I bet.

 

[BlackShark11k]

I do still have the knife, but once he's the last one left in the 800 he'll get put in the 240 since all those fish will be in the 800

Good, but do realize he will outgrow that tank quite soon, and moving him will be difficult. Once he's back in the 800(unless you find a home for him) he'll eat everything that moves...my 7'' knife took down three 2-3'' convicts in less than a week :?

BTW, blackbelts rock!!!

Cheers,
Art