More tank pics, updated

[FINWIN]

Brick loves his ball. Big head shot!

You see the ruler, its taped to the glass. Brick sees it too. Every time I try to get a measure he angles away, curves his body or moves around. So I'll wait until he holds still. May take a week or two. The last time I measured him it took about 3 weeks being patient.

 

[Niki_up]

Not sure if you wait for him to be precisely in front of the ruler or not...but I find taping a measuring tape along the black trim of the tank and taking a couple of pictures when the fish swim by the front of the tank works great. You can open the pic and count the inches easily.

Example pic of my synspilum

 

[FINWIN]

Not sure if you wait for him to be precisely in front of the ruler or not...but I find taping a measuring tape along the black trim of the tank and taking a couple of pictures when the fish swim by the front of the tank works great. You can open the pic and count the inches easily.

Example pic of my synspilum
View attachment 1424755

Slick! That's worth a try.

 

[Dalfrey86]

Slick! That's worth a try.

Other thing to try is the burst photo feature. Only way I've been able to photograph my fishs' find when posting photos for that purpose.

 

[FINWIN]

Update.

Have plans for revising the fishroom. It's a challenge since the space is a weird diamond shape with angled walls and abutments. What I'd like to do is consolidate some of the tanks. Right now I have five. One is the quarantine tank...I'm just waiting to get the rainbow cichlid a certain size if possible. So in another month the rainbow and acara will go in the main tank.

The dilemma is getting a larger tank and partitioning it for two of the parrots. I'm limited to a max of 48". There's not a lot of(non custom) options and even that length is pushing it...15 inch depth is doable not sure about 18". Problem would be access to the main tank on one side. 60" length is out of the question. Even a 75 tall split would be about the same ~38gal each. So this option is likely out. I really wanted to do this so I could move Tango into one of the remaining 38s (he's in a 30 Long right now) and slide him into the fish room. He' s also gotten too big for his tank.

Options improve for getting two mid size tanks replacing the 38s. It's painfully clear my parrots are now at a size that 38gl has become a hassle with the bioload. I can get two tanks up to 50-60ish each that would fit in the footprint. And create less work for me. Space wise the 38s work, but they foul that volume too quickly now.

The two synos are becoming a problem, fighting with each other now. The larger one (Cash) is getting banged around by the smaller one (Spot). I'll likely rehome them or at least put them in one of the leftover tanks for the time being. Their fighting is starting to piss off the other fish...Brick briefly grabbed the head of one and shook it as a warning before letting it go. This was during a water change when the catfishes took their fight into his area. The BP Boss also slams them around and even the passive Bobo gets chippy with them. Once the acara and rainbow go in, the synos are coming out.

More news as this progresses.

 

[beau1990]

The drama unfolds in cichlid city

 

[FINWIN]

The latest

The metal stands have arrived...they will hold up to 65 gallons. By Friday I should have the support shelving. I've put in a request quote from Glasscages regarding their acrylic aquariums. Theirs actually look like glass aquariums, completely open at the top with a black frame. You can order flip top lids too. I never understood why the only way acrylic tanks are constructed is with the 'cut out' fixed top. Its a drag trying to fit decor inside, especially in the smaller tanks.

You can have up to 50 gallon acrylic tanks shipped via UPS. Will compare their pricing with Amazon and Wayfair, (Ebay's shipping is a joke) before pulling the trigger.

For the correct footprint I'm looking at the 56 tall in the Clear for Life model also. It's annoying that its 50 bucks more than the 'long' version. But this will give me max gallons for the space. Will see what glasscages says...I put in info for a 55 tall. Will see if it would still ship via UPS.

 

[Niki_up]

Very exciting!!!

 

[FINWIN]

Ok. I've been in communication with Joseph and Silas at Glasscages. They are very nice and have been patient with all my questions. They've given me a preliminary price package with shipping. The size of the tanks would be 35"L x 16"W x24"H each. This would be '58' gallons. True volume would be closer to 47 gallons. Why? Their tanks are THICK, 3/4". I've asked them about this...the tanks would be 100lbs dry weight. In comparison the Clear for Life tanks from 47 to 62 gallons weigh from 30 to 65 lbs! Their acrylic at that size is 1/4-1/2"" thick. Initially I was told framing and structure makes a difference in weight, saying glass tanks at that size would weigh 200lbs. Still sounds a bit high to me. I may have to tweak the dimensions a little...but they would be able to give me a large size opening up top. Fabrication time is 4-6 weeks...tanks can be shipped via UPS. I've asked if suction cups will damage the acrylic. They did ask for comparative tank weights so I provided them that information. They're really good at responding so hopefully my final questions can be answered soon.

And now back to the Goon show. My choc Bobo is once again sporting a busted lip. He seems to be getting fed up being the punching bag, even flaring at my O Brick. But chocs make lousy goons...he's mostly 'tough' from the safety of his house. He even gets Boss (BP) to skitter away and avoid him at times. Problem is I turn my back and who's got the bum lip? Bobo, not Boss. Then Bobo pokes his head out and puffs when Brick crowds him. But poofs don't really fight. So next he's getting lapped around the tank by the Oscar. His lips were fine this morning. Not so much now. In another month Felix the acara and Pepper the rainbow go in. I've mostly been waiting to beef up Pepper. He's doing fine and and is in range of the acara's size. They're both incredibly greedy eaters. Felix will stuff himself then has to sit on the bottom.

The main tank dynamic will change again. Hopefully so that my choc can keep his lips intact. ?

 

[FINWIN]

Typical Cichlid City weekend. Bobo won't be having any beauty shots for awhile... someone rearranged the tank last night for open lanes. Why? So they could fight, of course! The bushes next to Bobo's house were all moved away, making a clear open lane. All I know is I saw the BP Boss "running" from the Choc. Fifteen minutes later Bobo has busted lips again (the top one is flapping). And the BP was charging head on at the Chocolate. This of course is when I wasn't in the room. Never ever trust what you think you see with cichlids, I'm finding out. Somebody is playing a game...I might put the acara and rainbow in sooner than planned, we'll see. They're all due for a large w/c tomorrow.

So the parrot plays at 'running' from the Choc. Now to be honest, Bobo stinks at intimidation...he just kind of drifts at the parrot with his mouth open. But Boss would skitter away and avoid him all of a sudden. So I'm like wtf did all this come from? Later on Bobo has a sore mouth and Boss is just fine. To Bobo's credit it doesn't affect him eating or swimming about the tank (even if he is forced to the other side by Brick). Sometimes he'll go looking for trouble and finds it. But I figured out what Boss is doing...I've always said he's very tactical and deliberate. He basically 'runs' from the choc, circles back, then goes at him head on. It's almost like a setup. But then if he's not in the mood he'll hold his ground even if Bobo goes after him. It's all over the place but generally Boss ignores Bobo unless he goes over on one side of the tank. The parrot and Oscar basically nest on one side.

The elephant in the room, er, tank, is of course Brick. Depending on his mood he'll come over to either observe, interfere, or chase Bobo back into his house.

Fortunately Bobo is a quick healer. Lip salad.