More tank pics, updated
- Thread starter FINWIN
- Start date
My cheeky Chocolate Bobo is now looking for his chance. He's lurking around the tussle.
Payback! Bobo gets in a cheap shot of his own while Chip is occupied with Boss.
The dope finally has had enough. But don't worry! With his sawdust brain he'll be back once more...and again...and again...
My O Brick watches the action from his vantage point casually. After seeing the outcome he retreats to his lagoon.
Not to worry about Chip. He always mopes when his antics don't work. Fifteen minutes later he was at it again (with the same result). 
I did a recent rescape of the main tank to calm my Oscar down...he seemed to be going through some hormonal young adult thing and was a bit out of control. With a more defined space he can call his own he's like a different fish. The basketball helps too. He plays with it and works off excess energy. I leave the lid up where his ball floats so he can bounce it better at the surface.
I did a recent rescape of the main tank to calm my Oscar down...he seemed to be going through some hormonal young adult thing and was a bit out of control. With a more defined space he can call his own he's like a different fish. The basketball helps too. He plays with it and works off excess energy. I leave the lid up where his ball floats so he can bounce it better at the surface.
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Welp, its official...Chip the Severum is now 4th in the tank heirarchy and officially the pinball. I almost feel bad for him at times, but not quite...months of acting like an @ss has caught up with him, and payback is hell. But his most redeeming quality is toughness. For as much as he gets harassed, he just keeps going and still eats like a horse. He will watch any activity outside the tank and will nearly eat from my fingers, but isn't quite there yet. The whorls on his head are more pronounced depending on the light. He's literally run around the tank from end to end...usually ends up in the neutral territory in the center of the tank. He strikes back in frustration but is quickly overwhelmed for any aggression shown. Sometimes he just stops and stands on his tail in the middle...there's no where in the open for him to go. The tank is scaped for retreat areas but he stubbornly avoids them unless the Oscar or BP run him there. Gets bounced between the tank bosses and they make a game of it called "catch the Severum." He's completely intimidated by the O...Brick can just look his way without doing anything and Chip flies around. The parrot makes him stall in his tracks. Gave him a busted lip once, too.
Bobo the Chocolate is now 3rd on the totem pole. He enjoys crowding the Severum and getting in his way when Chip is being chased around. He gets in cheap shots at times, spooking the Severum by going at his eyes. Chip flops sideways / falls back
when Bobo does that move. Bobo also runs Chip into the BP and Oscar on purpose, knowing they will give chase. It backfires at times because they will 'flip' and just chase him instead. (kind of funny seeing the Choc and Sev bouncing off each other trying
to get away) Bobo is a greedy fish...he can pack the pellets. His growth rate is impressive, he's getting in range of Chip's size (Severum is 7 inches). Not quite as fast as Oscar growth, but noticeable. His tail is completely healed from the split cause by the net weeks ago, and his fins are spectacular. Boss lets him stay on his side but when the Choc gets too cheeky Boss will chase him to a specific area that he's 'allowed'. Boss is known for renting his space, he did it with the Sev once. But he kind of cuts Bobo a break and doesn't chase too much. Bobo is what I'd call 'passive aggressive'. He'll often sit beside Chip peacefully as long as Chip behaves. He scoots away from the BP and O though.
Boss the BP is either co /tank boss or the 2nd, it varies. His relationship with the Oscar Brick is the most complex as they both grew up together. He has endured everything the Oscar has thrown at him over time, including hormonal attitude and growth spurts. Things changed once Brick matched his size then outgrew him by a margin. But a new dynamic is happening now...Boss will flare at Brick, something he hadn't done much after Brick passed 10 inches. He generally defers to the Oscar but will stand his ground when necessary. None of the other fish can or will do this. Although outsized by the Oscar, Boss is no lightweight...he's also growing and is massive, my thickest parrot (even larger than Kong now). The camera has a hard time capturing fish size that isn't laterally compressed. Parrots are known to get increasingly aggressive as they get older, and Boss is no exception. He's the one that actually keeps the other fish in line.
Brick the O is at 12 inches and counting...his mass is now going 3D. Between 2-3 inches thick, 5+ going on 6 inch girth. Not fat, just big...sometimes I can't believe it myself. Such a tiny thing last december! He has his own 'jungle' area of the tank he retreats and nestles in. He'll sleep on the floor of his grove after digging his pit. Chases the Severum and Choc for exercise. Loves to explore and swim between/into plants. Loves his basketball and will play with it all day, scooting it around the surface. I leave the lid up in one spot so he can grip and bounce it at the top. Living life large and loving it. He also likes lots of water current. He'll hang crossways in front of the powerheads with his tail flapping. Does his 'decorating' by moving plants into an enclosure type space. And of course he has to have his pats and tickles...I get a bath when everyone sees the 'dinner bowl.' He's so thick now its hard for him to 'waggle' when he wants food, so he just throws water out of the tank with his tail.
Funny deal with my parrot Kong. He's going through this 'seeing monsters' phase. When I get home in the evening I have to remove my coat, hat and scarf before entering the fish room or Kong will hide. He refuses to eat until I remove those items...its ridiculous. No one else is phased, but not my 'macho' parrot. He runs into his house and won't move. So after I wave the bowl he'll peep out and then come eat. But yesterday he didn't react at all to my winter gear. Screwball. He's got some overbite going on, too. Might call him "Bucky the Parrot." More than ever I'm convinced he and Boss are brothers. There's enough similarity in their features (esp eyes and head), although Kong's more elongated and Boss blocky. Like a power lifter build vs a sumo. They were both purchased from the same group of parrots. Still has the worst taste in decorating. He's just not happy unless something is knocked over or piled up.
My female parrot Patch bit me the other day because she didn't like the siphon hose. She's no dummy...she'll ignore the equipment and go straight for your hand. She likes gulping bubbles from the airstone and spitting them out as she swims.
My 'sweetheart' parrot Tango loves watching TV. Since his tank is isolated in another room (my office), I'll leave the tv on with the sound off a couple of hours. I put on cartoons because of the motion and color. He won't move from a spot when watching. He also has marbles and hollow balls to play with. A staple in all the smaller tanks with the individual fish to combat boredom.
Not too much going on with the Synos Cash and Spot, other than they squabble sometimes and Spot is catching up in size to Cash. They have plenty of hiding logs under the floor canopy. Spot's much lighter in color now than Cash, who's gone dark for whatever reason. Kind of like sand vs army green color. Cash tries to force his way into Boss' home at times and gets shoved out, its really funny. He really goes out of his way to do this, who knows why?
I bought some freeze dried blackworm/tubifex/beefheart cubes from Aquatic Foods, their deluxe combo. They were a hit! Everyone went nuts, fighting over clumps and loose worms. Of course Brick had to make a mess, gulping cubes whole then blowing them from his gills like an after dinner smoke. I pressed some on the glass and Bobo snatched some and crammed a cube down. Boss and Chip went after the loose ones in the water, catching floating clumps. I'll be getting more of these in the future.
Have to give a shout out regarding the Finnex 24/7 led light strips. They are without a doubt the best I've gotten. Ultimate control, there's even a 24/7 custom light setting feature. Or you can use the default 24/7 lights. 3 hour increments you can set as you will. Goes like this:
12am 3am 6am 9am 12pm 3pm 6pm 9pm. I used the custom 24/7 settings. Mine are set to two periods of total darkness, from 12-6 am. The water even looks different, more like a crystal prism from the light wavelengths. Tank clarity /visual depth is astounding.
With the Aquaneat the water just looked 'colored'. Biggest impact on my fish is that they now actually rest for extended periods. When the light shifts to early evening mode (magenta ish to blue ish) they totally relax and suspend. By the time deep blue night mode kicks in they're pretty much in their hidey holes for the night. Then total darkness mode, then early dawn to daylight (purplish blue to paleish reddish orange light) through full daylight mode (noon thru 3) neutral white to deep magenta, bluish white and cycling back again. The biggest change I note is their behavior is more natural. They sleep better. My Oscar is no longer cranky when he wakes up, throwing his weight around. Their appetites have taken a tremendous upswing. Less pickiness, just straight up eating. Makes my fishkeeping more efficient too, I don't have to manually change lights all the time. Just leave the settings and go. Pretty cool to see how the tanks just 'change' after a few hours! The finnex lights aren't cheap, but worth the investment. Only drawback is that the longest strips they have are 48" so if you have a 6 footer or longer you will need two lights. You can operate multiple units with one remote BUT I discovered the signal will interfere with pre-sets on each strip. So if you have multiple strips do settings one at a time, then turn them off until you're ready. Then you just turn on, select the time, hit '24/7' and the lights will resume. Cool deal!
More pics on the horizon. My cichlid community is complex!!
Bobo the Chocolate is now 3rd on the totem pole. He enjoys crowding the Severum and getting in his way when Chip is being chased around. He gets in cheap shots at times, spooking the Severum by going at his eyes. Chip flops sideways / falls back
when Bobo does that move. Bobo also runs Chip into the BP and Oscar on purpose, knowing they will give chase. It backfires at times because they will 'flip' and just chase him instead. (kind of funny seeing the Choc and Sev bouncing off each other trying
to get away) Bobo is a greedy fish...he can pack the pellets. His growth rate is impressive, he's getting in range of Chip's size (Severum is 7 inches). Not quite as fast as Oscar growth, but noticeable. His tail is completely healed from the split cause by the net weeks ago, and his fins are spectacular. Boss lets him stay on his side but when the Choc gets too cheeky Boss will chase him to a specific area that he's 'allowed'. Boss is known for renting his space, he did it with the Sev once. But he kind of cuts Bobo a break and doesn't chase too much. Bobo is what I'd call 'passive aggressive'. He'll often sit beside Chip peacefully as long as Chip behaves. He scoots away from the BP and O though.
Boss the BP is either co /tank boss or the 2nd, it varies. His relationship with the Oscar Brick is the most complex as they both grew up together. He has endured everything the Oscar has thrown at him over time, including hormonal attitude and growth spurts. Things changed once Brick matched his size then outgrew him by a margin. But a new dynamic is happening now...Boss will flare at Brick, something he hadn't done much after Brick passed 10 inches. He generally defers to the Oscar but will stand his ground when necessary. None of the other fish can or will do this. Although outsized by the Oscar, Boss is no lightweight...he's also growing and is massive, my thickest parrot (even larger than Kong now). The camera has a hard time capturing fish size that isn't laterally compressed. Parrots are known to get increasingly aggressive as they get older, and Boss is no exception. He's the one that actually keeps the other fish in line.
Brick the O is at 12 inches and counting...his mass is now going 3D. Between 2-3 inches thick, 5+ going on 6 inch girth. Not fat, just big...sometimes I can't believe it myself. Such a tiny thing last december! He has his own 'jungle' area of the tank he retreats and nestles in. He'll sleep on the floor of his grove after digging his pit. Chases the Severum and Choc for exercise. Loves to explore and swim between/into plants. Loves his basketball and will play with it all day, scooting it around the surface. I leave the lid up in one spot so he can grip and bounce it at the top. Living life large and loving it. He also likes lots of water current. He'll hang crossways in front of the powerheads with his tail flapping. Does his 'decorating' by moving plants into an enclosure type space. And of course he has to have his pats and tickles...I get a bath when everyone sees the 'dinner bowl.' He's so thick now its hard for him to 'waggle' when he wants food, so he just throws water out of the tank with his tail.
Funny deal with my parrot Kong. He's going through this 'seeing monsters' phase. When I get home in the evening I have to remove my coat, hat and scarf before entering the fish room or Kong will hide. He refuses to eat until I remove those items...its ridiculous. No one else is phased, but not my 'macho' parrot. He runs into his house and won't move. So after I wave the bowl he'll peep out and then come eat. But yesterday he didn't react at all to my winter gear. Screwball. He's got some overbite going on, too. Might call him "Bucky the Parrot." More than ever I'm convinced he and Boss are brothers. There's enough similarity in their features (esp eyes and head), although Kong's more elongated and Boss blocky. Like a power lifter build vs a sumo. They were both purchased from the same group of parrots. Still has the worst taste in decorating. He's just not happy unless something is knocked over or piled up.
My female parrot Patch bit me the other day because she didn't like the siphon hose. She's no dummy...she'll ignore the equipment and go straight for your hand. She likes gulping bubbles from the airstone and spitting them out as she swims.
My 'sweetheart' parrot Tango loves watching TV. Since his tank is isolated in another room (my office), I'll leave the tv on with the sound off a couple of hours. I put on cartoons because of the motion and color. He won't move from a spot when watching. He also has marbles and hollow balls to play with. A staple in all the smaller tanks with the individual fish to combat boredom.
Not too much going on with the Synos Cash and Spot, other than they squabble sometimes and Spot is catching up in size to Cash. They have plenty of hiding logs under the floor canopy. Spot's much lighter in color now than Cash, who's gone dark for whatever reason. Kind of like sand vs army green color. Cash tries to force his way into Boss' home at times and gets shoved out, its really funny. He really goes out of his way to do this, who knows why?
I bought some freeze dried blackworm/tubifex/beefheart cubes from Aquatic Foods, their deluxe combo. They were a hit! Everyone went nuts, fighting over clumps and loose worms. Of course Brick had to make a mess, gulping cubes whole then blowing them from his gills like an after dinner smoke. I pressed some on the glass and Bobo snatched some and crammed a cube down. Boss and Chip went after the loose ones in the water, catching floating clumps. I'll be getting more of these in the future.
Have to give a shout out regarding the Finnex 24/7 led light strips. They are without a doubt the best I've gotten. Ultimate control, there's even a 24/7 custom light setting feature. Or you can use the default 24/7 lights. 3 hour increments you can set as you will. Goes like this:
12am 3am 6am 9am 12pm 3pm 6pm 9pm. I used the custom 24/7 settings. Mine are set to two periods of total darkness, from 12-6 am. The water even looks different, more like a crystal prism from the light wavelengths. Tank clarity /visual depth is astounding.
With the Aquaneat the water just looked 'colored'. Biggest impact on my fish is that they now actually rest for extended periods. When the light shifts to early evening mode (magenta ish to blue ish) they totally relax and suspend. By the time deep blue night mode kicks in they're pretty much in their hidey holes for the night. Then total darkness mode, then early dawn to daylight (purplish blue to paleish reddish orange light) through full daylight mode (noon thru 3) neutral white to deep magenta, bluish white and cycling back again. The biggest change I note is their behavior is more natural. They sleep better. My Oscar is no longer cranky when he wakes up, throwing his weight around. Their appetites have taken a tremendous upswing. Less pickiness, just straight up eating. Makes my fishkeeping more efficient too, I don't have to manually change lights all the time. Just leave the settings and go. Pretty cool to see how the tanks just 'change' after a few hours! The finnex lights aren't cheap, but worth the investment. Only drawback is that the longest strips they have are 48" so if you have a 6 footer or longer you will need two lights. You can operate multiple units with one remote BUT I discovered the signal will interfere with pre-sets on each strip. So if you have multiple strips do settings one at a time, then turn them off until you're ready. Then you just turn on, select the time, hit '24/7' and the lights will resume. Cool deal!
More pics on the horizon. My cichlid community is complex!!
More pics today.
Here's Kong. Like Patch, he loves his airstone at his 'door' so he can sit with his face in the bubbles. Some of these pics are "magenta" because the tanks were in late afternoon/early evening settings. Love these Finnex light strips.
Here's Kong. Like Patch, he loves his airstone at his 'door' so he can sit with his face in the bubbles. Some of these pics are "magenta" because the tanks were in late afternoon/early evening settings. Love these Finnex light strips.
Brick comes out of his lagoon for some early evening basketball.
