Gold Saum

DrawnToBeaches

Gambusia
MFK Member
Aug 31, 2011
216
5
18
Orange county, CA
imo if you are going to not use live plants the best route is all hardscape, you can make it look beautiful without any green just need the right rocks and wood. give thick branch manzanita wood a good and lace rock or slate[or similar color texture rock] i like lots of rockwork but it may be because i love seeing fish swim in and out of caves and rock arrangements.
 

alexanian

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2011
905
21
33
45
Damascus
Thank you for the advice. You're not exactly late, I could still switch them or add them in the future. :)

What I like about the Silver Dollars is the difference in their body shape, they do have shiny silver spots as well(not just a dull silver color), and they do school also.

I have the temperature that satisfies all parties, which is 75 degrees. Is that low enough?

How big was your setup when you had both in your tank?
Believe it or not they were in a 40G long with some rocks around and gravel, no plants of course cuz they would b uprooted. The convcit pair stayed to the left bottom side of the tank where their nest was and the GT were swiming around in mid area. The only spot they weren't allowed in was the left bottom side. It was amazing watching the convict pair fight the GT's twice their size away from the nest!!! Once the offspring was free swimming I put a separator between them with the convicts getting one third of the tank but once the babies got to about 1.5" i removed the separation and they still were getting along fine. Once the GTs were too big around 8-9" I took them all to the lfs and exchange it for a different stock. So in ur tank size they will do great and u could grow them to full size. Remember it's normal they chase eachother from time to time after all they r cichlids as long as they don't seriously hurt eachother. the convicts will run away and run them out untill they spawn and they can stand their ground against a green terror twice their size, both attacking him from two sides till they drive him away. I've seen it with my own eyes i'm not telling u smth i read somewhere
 

Mr. Rain Cloud

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 18, 2010
691
0
0
Las Vegas, NV
Believe it or not they were in a 40G long with some rocks around and gravel, no plants of course cuz they would b uprooted. The convcit pair stayed to the left bottom side of the tank where their nest was and the GT were swiming around in mid area. The only spot they weren't allowed in was the left bottom side. It was amazing watching the convict pair fight the GT's twice their size away from the nest!!! Once the offspring was free swimming I put a separator between them with the convicts getting one third of the tank but once the babies got to about 1.5" i removed the separation and they still were getting along fine. Once the GTs were too big around 8-9" I took them all to the lfs and exchange it for a different stock. So in ur tank size they will do great and u could grow them to full size. Remember it's normal they chase eachother from time to time after all they r cichlids as long as they don't seriously hurt eachother. the convicts will run away and run them out untill they spawn and they can stand their ground against a green terror twice their size, both attacking him from two sides till they drive him away. I've seen it with my own eyes i'm not telling u smth i read somewhere
Wow, that's something else. Thank you for sharing!

I'll give the convicts a go if I decide to take out the SDs. :)
 

alexanian

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2011
905
21
33
45
Damascus
Wow, that's something else. Thank you for sharing!

I'll give the convicts a go if I decide to take out the SDs. :)
Ur welcome and I wish u the best luck with ur fishes. I guess all I'm trying to say is don't be afraid to try and experiment. Worst case scenario u can take them back to the lfs and exchange them for smth else :)
 

DrawnToBeaches

Gambusia
MFK Member
Aug 31, 2011
216
5
18
Orange county, CA
Ur welcome and I wish u the best luck with ur fishes. I guess all I'm trying to say is don't be afraid to try and experiment. Worst case scenario u can take them back to the lfs and exchange them for smth else :)
worst case would be the convicts kill his gt =p good case is you catch the aggression early and return it if it is at all possible, not saying it can't work =p but convicts can and will kill a gt twice their size if they feel threatened. though alot of convicts i have seen arent as bad as their rep
 

alexanian

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2011
905
21
33
45
Damascus
worst case would be the convicts kill his gt =p good case is you catch the aggression early and return it if it is at all possible, not saying it can't work =p but convicts can and will kill a gt twice their size if they feel threatened. though alot of convicts i have seen arent as bad as their rep
It didn't happen IME I didn't even have nipped fins on any of my fish and plus even if they were super agressive it won't be so easy to kill a GT larger then they r and it surely won't b as fast to not notice injuries. So unless the owner doesn't look in his tank for a whole week i don't think any of the 2 fish being beaten to death will pass by unoticable. It's different when u have a strong fish and a weak fish wich can b beaten over night, but both Gt's and convicts r pretty tough when it comes to being beaten
 

Mr. Rain Cloud

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 18, 2010
691
0
0
Las Vegas, NV
When I started to add the plants and a couple of lighting gels:

IMG_1197.JPG


IMG_1200.JPG



I took all the pictures with my iPhone but this second batch seems to be more blurry, which I believe is because of the addition of more lighting gels on the splash guard. So maybe either that or the fact that I took out a bulb to reduce the algae growth in the tank.
After I added more lighting gels and plants:


IMG_1241.JPG

I should have another driftwood ready by the end of the week which will go somewhere in the middle(branchy type) so there's more to come. :D

I would like to hear your opinions!


Was it better without the plants?

IMG_1197.JPG

IMG_1241.JPG

IMG_1200.JPG
 

k0y0te

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 8, 2009
1,487
6
38
Florida
www.myspace.com
I really like the plants in the tank. Cool set up :)
 

Batboi3000

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 30, 2009
717
1
0
40
Huron, SD
Just found this thread and lovin it! You have some awesome little green terrors there! That one has way more color than my 2 do and they are about 4-5". You should have some real beauties growin up in there! I love the look of the tank. That is my opinion. I love the look of silver dollars as dithers. I wouldn't change a thing. Sit back, watch em grow and enjoy! Looking forward to watching this tank develop. Good luck!
 

Mr. Rain Cloud

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 18, 2010
691
0
0
Las Vegas, NV
I really like the plants in the tank. Cool set up :)
Thank you! I finally found the plant arrangement that feels right. :D

Just found this thread and lovin it! You have some awesome little green terrors there! That one has way more color than my 2 do and they are about 4-5". You should have some real beauties growin up in there! I love the look of the tank. That is my opinion. I love the look of silver dollars as dithers. I wouldn't change a thing. Sit back, watch em grow and enjoy! Looking forward to watching this tank develop. Good luck!
Well I'm glad you stopped by.

:)

I can't wait for them to grow into beasts either! I actually have a pair already, and with eggs too, which is surprising to me considering their current size 2"-3"! The "extra" green terrors will be taken out later this week.

I appreciate your positive comments as well. I will try to have a better quality picture(s) once I have the additional driftwood in there(anytime soon/this week).
 
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