More tank pics, updated

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Always nice to see Brick, a magnificent example of one of my favourite fish species; one that is highly underrated simply because it's common and likely one of the most abused and mistreated fish species in our hobby. Oscars are a terrific fish, and Brick is practically a unicorn, i.e. a beautifully well-kept and awesome Oscar.

Boss is also...well, he's a parrot, so...he is as impressive as such things can be, I suppose...

Now, I have no intention of sifting through 2200+ posts to find the answer so I'll simply ask the question: did you decide to discontinue the use of pothos, or were they eventually unsuccessful for you, or am I just looking at the wrong pics for it? I always thought that terrestrial plants in general and pothos in particular were a great auxiliary "filter" for your tanks full of big sloppy cichlids and no aquatic plants. What gives?

Thanks for the comments on Brick. I had three goals: 1. get a big baby O. 2. Put him/her in a big tank 3. See how big I could grow it in the first year then see what happens. I have to admit when Brick stalled at 11 inches I figured that was it. Just goes to prove you never know!

Heh, parrot or no Boss is sharp as a tack.

I loved the pothos but my severum Chip and acaras did too, stripping the leaves and eating the roots eventually wrecking it. Eventually I'll get back to growing it underwater. Brick loved dragging it around and dangling in the vines. I'll have to condition it for staying submerged but strong led lights speed up the acclimation process. It actually grew really well (there's some die back at first with the leaves but the vine stays intact then the roots sprout). I have an led floodlight I got for the yard but it would work perfectly for cultivating submerged growth quickly. What you want is extended light hours but not too strong a light.

The vine pothos takes off much better underwater than the potted. I have an old thread on this

Pothos in your tank, easy peasy | MonsterFishKeepers.com

Actually I'm glad you reminded me since this is something I wanted to get back to anyway.

Other small news in cichlid city...Hrp Tank may be even bigger than his brother Hulk now...this is ludicrous. Even more ridiculous was Hive Queen Pip deciding she was going to face off against Brick, juking and shaking. He just kind of hovered in front of her like "wtf is this?" Then swam away.

 

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More news from Cichlid City

I may put hrp Hulk or Tank into the 125. They keep messing with smaller brother Buddy. Buddy is a compact, stocky version of his brothers and is also thick with a hump. His proportions are more balanced. He's similar in build to another brother Bumper (who I moved to the 125 weeks ago). Unlike Bumper, Buddy is laid back and shy.

So I tried a solution to give Buddy his quiet space in the 225. I put in another log but he never approached it. His family gives him grief chasing him anytime he finds a spot. Hulk and Tank are the worst hasslers. Brother Bruce is neutral. Red rainbow Salt isn't crazy about him either but isn't relentless. Mama Pip nudges Buddy along at times but doesn't attack. No issues with his sister Bella. Buddy does fight back at times but he gets ambushed and caught off guard. In any case I had enough.

And there's help!

BP Boss watches everything. After seeing Buddy's problems he started fending off the others and protected the hrp. Couple days later Brick started shielding him as well. So now Buddy is allowed in their space and central pit. All the other hrps get chased out.

This works because....well Brick is Brick. I stuffed the extra log for Buddy with plant pieces blocking access to the sides and back, then put it along the back wall AWAY from Brick's pit. The idea was to make sure Buddy could access it without intruders on the back side. Fast forward two hours. I went to feed everyone and the log had been pulled out, tipped over and sat in the middle of the tank. All the plant pieces were ripped out and floating at the top.

OSCARS

 

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Weekend antics.

Hulk, one of the jumbo hrp males has a busted mouth. Literally looks like he ran into a wall. He's been staying more in his area since he can't mix it up right now. Siblings Tank and Bruce likewise are better behaved now. Brick has sculpted clear demarcation areas in the tank. Center of tank is his huge pit with rocks. Big log to the right goes to the parrot. Log on top of Boss's is now the home of Buddy, the smaller hrp brother. Red rainbow Salt still shares the largest log with Boss. On the right and left is dense plant cover mashed down. So most of the upper level is wide open. Hrps prefer cover and will stay there, but if it's wide open they get jittery and dart around aggressively. A certain oscar is responsible for the new layout. The hrps are blocked until they come out to eat. They have limited time to get food before they're chased back into their hidey holes.

Buddy is now protected by the parrot and oscar so no worries there. He's allowed in the pit and their shared space. I added some more rocks today and Brick got busy cracking them around.

The lip ripper is loose again. If you're wondering who tf that is, look no further than the avatar. Boss doesn't have the biggest mouth but he has a hard one...he grips lips and yanks. My choc Bobo had perpetually messed up lips until she stopped fighting and was moved. I can tell when he's been fighting because his lips will be white but he's completely unaffected. The parrot is always game if anyone wants to give it a go.

 

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Pothos arrived in three tall boxes this past Friday. They're big with huge, healthy leaves (3 10" pots). I've got them in the rec room centered on the glass coffee table. They're already starting to reach downward! Will take a pic.

Hrp Buddy is proving that despite being picked on, he too is a cichlid. He's doing some pushback against his brothers now. Not sure what happened but Bruce has a ding on his hump. Hulk is staying in cover now (while his lips heal up). Tank still pops out looking for trouble but Boss shuts it down quick. The parrot just runs him into the plants.

In the 125 it's about time to do another mini purge. The 8-10 or so renegade babies are now at the 1-1 1/2" size. Mongo has a very small group of fry with another young striped female Bianca (out of Slade/Speck). Doesn't appear to be many at all. I left in the other older fry to help pick them off...the adults won't eat them. Mongo hasn't had his hump in weeks. Slade maintains his and swims around like a Meeki on crack, puffing at everything.

I'll start putting pothos in the smaller tanks this weekend.

 

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It appears hrp Hulk has a nick on his hump too. And I've discovered Brick likes pleco wafers (at least for now).

Meanwhile a few pics.
The pothos. Ordered from Home Depot through a third party seller. Three 10 inch pots. Huge leaves! Arrived Friday and already starting to droop.

 

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Brick relaxes in his rock pit. He enjoys it so much he doesn't swim up top nearly as much now. BP Boss loves exploring among the rocks. There's a large cylinder air stone in his pit. He sticks his face in that.

 

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Of course, Brick has his daily ball session. He popped it out of thee tank here.

 

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Any changes in the tank are immediately looked over. Boss observes a rock I freed out of the sand near his log.

 

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Some shots of Buddy the hrp. He scoots across the pit in the last pic.

 

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Boss and Buddy. Buddy is the only hrp allowed in the pit and under protection. Boss's lips are white from fighting Hulk, Bruce and Tank. The parrot is unaffected.