Thanks, its something new. Was pretty bland and washed out for a while there. All of a sudden its got color and attitude.
With this amph. project I realized I needed some growout space so I have been hard at work in the garage making space. I really took a liking to the Dewalt racks and have one set up already and here is the rest of the project in the works still.
I am waiting on some replacement parts from Dewalt so some things are not set in place yet.
Here is the one finished rack
And the row going in place
The far left rack will have another 75g on top and a 65B below. The 20L in the middle is subject to change. Ideal tank would be a 40B but want something nice looking as opposed to utility. I really want either a 38g (36" tank) or a 46 bowfront. Since I have spent a ton of money on all this I might just splurge and get something nice for the center tank.
Sorry, no 'fish' update just an overall update on my project at home.
I am waiting on some replacement parts from Dewalt so some things are not set in place yet.
Here is the one finished rack
And the row going in place
The far left rack will have another 75g on top and a 65B below. The 20L in the middle is subject to change. Ideal tank would be a 40B but want something nice looking as opposed to utility. I really want either a 38g (36" tank) or a 46 bowfront. Since I have spent a ton of money on all this I might just splurge and get something nice for the center tank.
Sorry, no 'fish' update just an overall update on my project at home.
Noticed the Hoga in the 75g getting pretty aggressive toward the larger growouts so I decided to move the largest Midas and the Petsmart red devil out of the 75. I put them into the 300 during a water change so that the fish were not so focused on the new comers... kind of worked, lol. The fish figured out pretty quickly there was new blood and gave a little chase but was not too bad. Seemed more serious chasing in the 75g so the move seemed necessary. This morning all was well with the new additions and they were alive and eating.
Had to share this picture. This is one of the Petsmart Red Devils that went out in the first round of rehoming. The guy has been keeping me up to date on it. I believe he said it is about 7" now.
Its developing a nice little nuchal hump. Another mutt turning out well. lol
Its developing a nice little nuchal hump. Another mutt turning out well. lol
Bit of a update on the fish behavior in general.
The 75 finds the dominant Hoga very comfortable but not happy. Shows very pale but has no issue chasing the little grow outs away. A couple of the midas are small enough that if it really wanted to it could eat them, but it shows no interest in that way. Really wanting growth out of the one midas with the white spot between its eyes and the sagittae. These are ones that I want to find a keeper(s) soon for the 300.
The 300 finds the former sub-dominant Hoga now is top dog. It is showing a nice light pink/red all the time and it seems to be a lot more comfortable in its skin. Still not a 'wet pet' but comes up front for food. Not a very interactive fish. The real stars of the tank are the largest Petsmart Red devil and the largest of the midas. Both are very energetic and interactive, these are true 'wet pets' in the full sense. The larger petsmart rd is growing fast and getting a nice little nuchal hump, it gets chased by the Hoga a little but if the growth rate keeps up they will be having a show down for sure. If it gets bad the one who will lose in the end will be the Hoga because it will get moved out. It just is not wet pet material.
The two recently added fish are doing well with another midas and Petsmart rd in the mix. The one thing I do notice is whenever I add new additions they always seem to go and nip on bichir tails. This goes on for a bit and then they leave them alone. The poor bichirs will have to go through this a couple more times.
So that is some updates on the fish in general.
As I am seeing the fish go into the 300 I am thinking about the fact I have 3 large bala sharks in there and one is at least 12-13" and gets nipped at a lot by these little midas. I think I may rehome them if I decide to continue with the amph tank. I will say that I really wouldnt mind at this point to just keep the one Petsmart Red devil in the 300 as a lone cichlid and keep the 3 balas. I will continue to add/rehome amphs to the 300 until I get my batch of keepers. Will continue to update the progress.
The 75 finds the dominant Hoga very comfortable but not happy. Shows very pale but has no issue chasing the little grow outs away. A couple of the midas are small enough that if it really wanted to it could eat them, but it shows no interest in that way. Really wanting growth out of the one midas with the white spot between its eyes and the sagittae. These are ones that I want to find a keeper(s) soon for the 300.
The 300 finds the former sub-dominant Hoga now is top dog. It is showing a nice light pink/red all the time and it seems to be a lot more comfortable in its skin. Still not a 'wet pet' but comes up front for food. Not a very interactive fish. The real stars of the tank are the largest Petsmart Red devil and the largest of the midas. Both are very energetic and interactive, these are true 'wet pets' in the full sense. The larger petsmart rd is growing fast and getting a nice little nuchal hump, it gets chased by the Hoga a little but if the growth rate keeps up they will be having a show down for sure. If it gets bad the one who will lose in the end will be the Hoga because it will get moved out. It just is not wet pet material.
The two recently added fish are doing well with another midas and Petsmart rd in the mix. The one thing I do notice is whenever I add new additions they always seem to go and nip on bichir tails. This goes on for a bit and then they leave them alone. The poor bichirs will have to go through this a couple more times.
So that is some updates on the fish in general.
As I am seeing the fish go into the 300 I am thinking about the fact I have 3 large bala sharks in there and one is at least 12-13" and gets nipped at a lot by these little midas. I think I may rehome them if I decide to continue with the amph tank. I will say that I really wouldnt mind at this point to just keep the one Petsmart Red devil in the 300 as a lone cichlid and keep the 3 balas. I will continue to add/rehome amphs to the 300 until I get my batch of keepers. Will continue to update the progress.
lol, blah, blah blah and no pictures... What kind of update is that?
Okay a couple pics... Ive posted them before but its an idea as to the keepers
The Hoga looking like a million bucks
The largest Petsmart Red devil
The Midas I really want to be a keeper with the whit spot - seems like it is staying stable
The other Petsmart Red Devil - love the pattern. Will probably keep even if a female. Would likely just give it a 75g to itself. A sagittae behind it.
Okay picture update done.
Okay a couple pics... Ive posted them before but its an idea as to the keepers
The Hoga looking like a million bucks
The largest Petsmart Red devil
The Midas I really want to be a keeper with the whit spot - seems like it is staying stable
The other Petsmart Red Devil - love the pattern. Will probably keep even if a female. Would likely just give it a 75g to itself. A sagittae behind it.
Okay picture update done.
I believe in creating an all Amphilophus tank, one should consider that although many species are lacustrine and may share general habitat with other Amphilophus species in nature, a few species are riverine, and seem to be loners.
These loners (hogaboomorum, trimaculatus, istlanus) often do not play well with others, (as the OP experienced) so care should be taken when trying to make a community, so be selective about who is combined with who.
The same goes with all the Nandopsis species, they come from habitats where each is the lone cichlid of its habitat, so trying to force them to live in harmony with others cichlids in close quarters usually leads to disaster.
These loners (hogaboomorum, trimaculatus, istlanus) often do not play well with others, (as the OP experienced) so care should be taken when trying to make a community, so be selective about who is combined with who.
The same goes with all the Nandopsis species, they come from habitats where each is the lone cichlid of its habitat, so trying to force them to live in harmony with others cichlids in close quarters usually leads to disaster.
That would explain a lot about the Hoga's general behavior. Granted I have been having success so far with no death dealing aggression from the Hoga but I will watch it closely.
LOL @ "Petsmart Red Devil" maybe we just need a new acronym, PRDs!!!
And no hating on the females! They get nice too...I always like seeing a female with some size (usually you see them lookin' like jail bait with a grown male).
Everyone calls them "Midevil" but I don't like the term. I'd rather just say 'Mutt'. No hate on a female amph. Just shooting for all males in the 300.
