Hey guys, need some input on this. Having a few minor aggression issues. Recently I added the mesoheros atromaculatus that I rescued from craigslist into my 90 gallon tank. They seemed healthy enough to skip the last part of quarantine so I plopped 'em in there. They already seem much happier to be out of the tiny 10 gallon they came with and thank god they started eating! Unfortunately they seem to be getting a bit bullied. Mainly it's my salvini starting this all. The only convict that attacks is the dad, and only if they get a few inches too close to his babies, the mom stays in the flowerpot. He gives up the chase fast though. Everyone was fine aggression wise before I got rid of the extra cons and jewels and added the new guys. I'm mostly just worried that the atromacs will be much too stressed. If they die replacements will be costly and I'm starting to like this species. I believe wetspot tropicals had 4 fry on aquabid for like 60 bucks but that doesn't include shipping, no guarantee on if they are males or females, so yikes! BUDGET GONE haha. I can live off everything stockpiled in my freezer though for a while hehe.
I already tried separating the salvini, put him in one of my 10 gallons overnight, didn't work. He seemed very stressed even while hiding in the cave in there so I put him back in the 90 this morning, he is already fine and trying to murder his own reflection as usual, eating everything in sight, and chasing the other guys around. He didn't forget his territory it seems. Little turd. I suppose I can sell him, don't want to if I can avoid it though, that fish has been on my must have list for a long time and he was very difficult to get ahold of at his size. I really don't want to part with my convict pair either, they are so fun to watch and their bond is very strong. Seems like they have produced a few marbled babies this time too and I want to keep them to feed the regular fry and eggies to the other fish as food along with the guppies. I'm thinking maybe a small ghetto barebones tank just for them. The main problem is the dad is massive for a convict, about 6.5". He needs to be able to swim freely. Do you think something tiny like a 29 gallon if there are no additional tankmates or whatnot would do the trick? Maintenance several times a week isn't' an issue for me.
The rest of my fish are pretty chill towards the newcomers. I'm probably gunna leave the atromacs in the 90 as the single cichlid species though if they change their minds and turn into jerks.
I will most likely get some type of extra tank through the dollar per gallon sale at petco or through craigslist (but craigslist always ends up with me getting more rescues that I can't turn down when they show pics of empty tanks.... grr). I can't go bigger than a 75, don't have the room. I would upgrade to something like a 150 to 225 from the 90 but after thinking about it and discussing it with the fiance, tearing it down and having to store all the fish in tubs would suck. If I got one moving it would be an absolute pain in the ass too. I would have to rent a truck and probably hire guys to help install it. Plus actually moving the tank through the apartment door would be nigh impossible haha, let alone if the landlord sees how huge it is (pretty sure she thinks I only have small nano tanks or whatever looolll). Storing it until I can sell it would be a big issue as well. Out of room in this dump. I suppose I can move the kitchen table to the patio and move stuff around here but ehhhhh. I want to avoid it at all costs if possible. The atromacs seem like they still have some growing to do (guy said they were in a 40b before so hopefully they aren't stunted) so the 90 should be ok for now. Thankfully they have plenty of tall plants to hide in and I will be getting a big driftwood or more river rocks next week to create more sight breaks.
Thoughts????? I need to save money if possible since this will only be from about 200 bucks in christmas money and I would like to save on space in here. I would try more dithers but no one in there even pays attention to the sae's or small pleco I already have and I'm out of quarantine tanks except that 10, which is gunna be a valentine's surprise with hardy tiny fishies for the fiance so meh haha.
I already tried separating the salvini, put him in one of my 10 gallons overnight, didn't work. He seemed very stressed even while hiding in the cave in there so I put him back in the 90 this morning, he is already fine and trying to murder his own reflection as usual, eating everything in sight, and chasing the other guys around. He didn't forget his territory it seems. Little turd. I suppose I can sell him, don't want to if I can avoid it though, that fish has been on my must have list for a long time and he was very difficult to get ahold of at his size. I really don't want to part with my convict pair either, they are so fun to watch and their bond is very strong. Seems like they have produced a few marbled babies this time too and I want to keep them to feed the regular fry and eggies to the other fish as food along with the guppies. I'm thinking maybe a small ghetto barebones tank just for them. The main problem is the dad is massive for a convict, about 6.5". He needs to be able to swim freely. Do you think something tiny like a 29 gallon if there are no additional tankmates or whatnot would do the trick? Maintenance several times a week isn't' an issue for me.
The rest of my fish are pretty chill towards the newcomers. I'm probably gunna leave the atromacs in the 90 as the single cichlid species though if they change their minds and turn into jerks.
I will most likely get some type of extra tank through the dollar per gallon sale at petco or through craigslist (but craigslist always ends up with me getting more rescues that I can't turn down when they show pics of empty tanks.... grr). I can't go bigger than a 75, don't have the room. I would upgrade to something like a 150 to 225 from the 90 but after thinking about it and discussing it with the fiance, tearing it down and having to store all the fish in tubs would suck. If I got one moving it would be an absolute pain in the ass too. I would have to rent a truck and probably hire guys to help install it. Plus actually moving the tank through the apartment door would be nigh impossible haha, let alone if the landlord sees how huge it is (pretty sure she thinks I only have small nano tanks or whatever looolll). Storing it until I can sell it would be a big issue as well. Out of room in this dump. I suppose I can move the kitchen table to the patio and move stuff around here but ehhhhh. I want to avoid it at all costs if possible. The atromacs seem like they still have some growing to do (guy said they were in a 40b before so hopefully they aren't stunted) so the 90 should be ok for now. Thankfully they have plenty of tall plants to hide in and I will be getting a big driftwood or more river rocks next week to create more sight breaks.
Thoughts????? I need to save money if possible since this will only be from about 200 bucks in christmas money and I would like to save on space in here. I would try more dithers but no one in there even pays attention to the sae's or small pleco I already have and I'm out of quarantine tanks except that 10, which is gunna be a valentine's surprise with hardy tiny fishies for the fiance so meh haha.
