210 gallon Frontosa build

[danotaylor]

@Caperguy99 the bullying suspect you mentioned seems to have frayed dorsal and anal fins also. I don’t suppose the smaller one is pushing back, so it seems your bullying suspect is also being bullied
I know your geographic locale makes this difficult, but I agree w @ken31cay and would really encourage you to try to get some additional fronts to add to the group mate

 

[Caperguy99]

Alright, I’m getting the message loud and clear. I’ll see if I can find a place to source 3-4 more F1 Mobas.

It’s a rough time of year for it, as it’s below freezing where I am and shipping usually takes awhile, especially from stateside. Maybe some of the Canadian distributors and speed something to me . . . Even if I meet at the airport or something.

Thanks for the advice - I’ll move forward hoping I can figure a way ahead.

 

[danotaylor]

@Caperguy99 I don't think there's a huge rush, but in the long run I think it would be very beneficial to add 4 more. One of the beautiful things I love about gibbs & fronts is their finnage. Some frayed fins & tails in the interim is no biggie and they do grow back. There's no margin for error shipping in this weather so I would just monitor the ones you have for now until things warm up.
Ideally if you could source some smaller vented females in the 4-5" range that would really help your ratio overall since it seems you have a few males already

 

[ken31cay]

@Caperguy99 I don't think there's a huge rush, but in the long run I think it would be very beneficial to add 4 more. One of the beautiful things I love about gibbs & fronts is their finnage. Some frayed fins & tails in the interim is no biggie and they do grow back. There's no margin for error shipping in this weather so I would just monitor the ones you have for now until things warm up.
Ideally if you could source some smaller vented females in the 4-5" range that would really help your ratio overall since it seems you have a few males already

I've received groups of various sizes (all wild caught) from Alison at Cichlids & Herps, the group I received last month were smaller than usual at 3"-3.5". I've never inquired about purchasing females only but it's worth asking. I've also personally never seen F1's larger than 2.5" from her.

So depending on what size/sex you're looking for I'd say contact her asap since there is usually a waiting time, and if she does have the fish you're looking for in stock I think she may probably hold them for a time. She's held 15+ wc groups for me for 4-5 months, of course I had to pay for them first.

 

[Bwirtz]

Great advice as usual in this thread. Your tank is big enough if a few of the larger Mobas do some chasing you should be fine. As others have mentioned you don't need to rush out and buy more immediately. There is some conspecific aggression but for the most part they are mild mannered.

When you do purchase more I would buy as many as you are able at a comparable size. It will allow you to be selective on who remains in the tank. Also will allow you time to dail in a good ratio and get rid of demonstrated jerk males.

I went through 20 or so Kitumba both F1 and WC to get to a balanced group of males and females that live in harmony, breed and look amazing. I have removed many fish to others that needed a breeder male or wanted one for their big show tank. You are going to have these fish for a decade or more, build the group over time.

 

[Caperguy99]

Thanks for the advice!

I will say, the two fish that were hanging back are now back to waggling around with the others and jockeying for food at feeding time. Fins are healing up also. So I’m wondering if there was something a little off with the water for a few days that my regular change took care of? Or maybe it literally was just a few days of the big dogs making sure everyone knew their place.

Either way, I can move ahead breathing a little easier.

 

[Caperguy99]

Terrible news -

One of my fish that I posted about earlier died this evening. Not the smallest one, the one I suspected of being the bully of the smallest one. However, somebody pointed out that it, too, had some frayed fins.

I had thought it was getting better, indeed it seemed to be coming out and eating with the others. Flashed a few times after the water change this week, but no major signs of distress I didn’t think.

Then, today, dead.

I took périmètre measures: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, ~5 nitrate, 8.2 ph. No major temp fluctuations.

Guessing it was maybe a combination of bullying and stress from the water changes? A quick question: do you guys turn off your FX-6s during water changes? I’ve been leaving mine on, but they splash a lot -

I sat with the tank for about an hour tonight. Everyone else looks good, no frayed fins.

A sad day

 

[danotaylor]

Bummer mate, so sorry to hear that

Parameters are great. Any signs of damage or had it been dead too long to get a clear understanding if it was aggression related?

 

[Caperguy99]

Bummer mate, so sorry to hear that

Parameters are great. Any signs of damage or had it been dead too long to get a clear understanding if it was aggression related?

Yeah man, brutal. Kids were extremely sad. They’ve names for them all.

There were some frayed fins - but nothing that would have led me to believe it needed to be separated.

It was super washed out - but I don’t know if that just happens when they die? Or a stress reaction to something?

I did do a second water change last week of approximately 20 percent in addition to the regular 50 percent weekend change. Basically I had the time and figured more was better. But now I’m wondering if it was too much stress?

 

[danotaylor]

I don’t think it was anything you did mate, certainly not the extra water change. Sometimes this stuff just happens. I would suspect it to be stress/injuries related aggression.
Sorry to the kiddos mate