Ideas for an all Amphilophus tank....

[DMD123]

Petsmart mutt update

I really like this one, hope for it to be a male to keep in the 300


The larger Petsmart devil

A true midas to the right.




Today was a bit of a turning point with the large Petsmart devil gill flaring back at the Hoga a bit and not getting chased as hard. I think it realizes its a big boy now. Hopefully it becomes the peacekeeper since it seems so mellow.

 

[DMD123]

Had to share this pic since it came from the batch my Midas fry all came from. My buddy who got me my Midas kept three to growout and the one dominant male is now about 5 1/2” and getting a nice little nuchal hump.

This one is not mine but came from same batch


My two midas in the 300 are not showing any real nuchal humps coming in and are about 4 1/2” to 5” . Starting to wonder if they are females.

 

[DMD123]

Been working from home so Ive had lots of time in front of tanks for the past two weeks. Today I was just done with the hoga chasing the other fish in the 300. It was constant turmoil in the tank. Constant splashing and it going at multiple fish.

I was planning on moving fish around and was going to put it into a 65B until the stay home ban was lifted and then take it in to a local store. In the meantime I thought it would be fine in the 75 growout for an hour or so... I was wrong. In that short time the other hoga took it out with a vengeance. When I came in to get to work on the tanks it had been beaten and descaled. I pulled it out and put it into the empty 30 and it didn’t last long. Even though it was bigger than the other one, it didnt have the “home” advantage. I really didn’t think this would happen in such a short time. Terrible mistake on my part.

The 300 gallon is now super calm. The 4 amphilophus in there are pretty calm and no real issues. Not sure how long that will last but no constant chasing anymore

 

[DMD123]

During all this stay at home time I managed to get all my tanks moved to my garage and the tank rack is done.

Some minor details to finish and a seating area to set up but here it is.

 

[DMD123]

Final touches coming along for the garage growout area. Got some bar stools and table to be able to sit and watch fish.

 

[DMD123]

Just a little update on the project.

This is really a strange tank right now. In the 300 the amphilophus get along well and the only aggressive behavior is a tiny bit of a face off between the two smallest. But not a torn fin or anything at all of significance. These four are doing well at the moment. The dominant Red Devil seems a bit shy without a bully hoga and it’s nuchal hump seems smaller. Weird since as a sub-dominate male it was more outgoing and hump was noticeably larger.

In the 75 the fish just are not growing fast. I need to get the big hoga out of there and maybe thin down a few Midas. Im tempted to just pull the 2 I want to keep out, the creamsicle midas and largest Sagittae and put them in the 300 but I feel like they need about a 1/2 inch of growth before they get moved. Not really power feeding but doing 1/2 tank water changes every two days and just feeding what I consider a normal amount.

 

[DMD123]

Maybe spoke too soon, lol. The Petsmart red devil realizes he is top dog and has been flexing his muscles a little. Started chasing the midas who is close to him in size. Much better than what the hoga was doing but typical cichlid behavior. Take out the bully and another steps up to take its place. I really need to add a couple more fish to help spread aggression. I can see the need to overstock to keep the peace.

I have always hated tanks where there is no calmness. As this project continues on Im more and more attracted to the one cichlid community tank. Really thinking about putting the trimac, 3 balas, 2 polys in the 300 and see how it goes and then keep 2 of the other amphilophus. One in each 75, and then call it good. The trimac is the one I am not sure about... will he play nice with the others? No other cichlids but how will he treat the balas and polys?

Still giving the situation more time but missing a calm tank for sure.

 

[RD.]

Take out the bully and another steps up to take its place. I really need to add a couple more fish to help spread aggression. I can see the need to overstock to keep the peace.

Yes, I think that in a community setting, with fish that get as large & powerful as Amphs, this is the only way to ever achieve long term success. As in fish not getting shredded on a regular basis.

Really thinking about putting the trimac, 3 balas, 2 polys in the 300 and see how it goes and then keep 2 of the other amphilophus. One in each 75, and then call it good.

I suspected this is where it would end all along. You have some great looking fish, it would be a shame to go into the garage one day and find one of your favourites, such as the Petsmart fish, belly up.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[DMD123]

Starting to slowly work on the rehome. fishguy1978 is interested in the hoga and then I need to start on the thin down of the midas growouts.

Im thinking the magic number of amphilophus will need to be seven to be able to get along.

 

[DMD123]

Nice to have met you fishguy1978 , enjoy the hoga. It will love being in that 220 with all that space.