135 gallons transformation

[tinylostwine]

Yep, I sure will if it becomes necessary. Funny thing is they can eat side by side no problem. I make sure to give lots of food to keep them busy.

I have a lot of cichild like this where they are perfectly happy to eat side by side and then promptly kill each other when the meal is over.

 

[Dechi]

Royal Acara is getting bigger and more aggressive towards the EBA. I’m trying to catch it and bring it back to the store before something bad happens.

Thinking of maybe getting a second angel but I have to research it first. Any advice ?

 

[TClare]

That’s a shame about the royal acara, Oh well that was always a risk.…as for angelfish, I wouldn’t like to say if another would get on OK with the first one, they are so individual, I’d probably be inclined to get a few small ones and be prepared to remove any that cause trouble. How is the festivum?

 

[tinylostwine]

2 angels total normally works. If you have 2 males they will bicker and it will look nasty but they won't damage each other; if you have two females they might pair or fight or just ignore each other. If you have male/female they will bond and lay lots of eggs. Depending on the specific pair they will guard an area for 6 square inches to 6 square feet but mostly ignore things that are below them.

 

[TClare]

I’m not sure though, it’s not very relaxing to watch when they bicker all the time even if they don’t actually get hurt. And once I had a group of 6, they did bicker but nothing too serious until one started picking on one other particular one all the time. They were both very large at this point, nice looking marbles. The one that was picked on was quite submissive and never fought back, until eventually it was just hiding all the time and didn’t even come out to feed, if it did the other would attack it immediately, This was in a fairly large tank (over 150 gallons). I eventually removed the aggressor. Then later I had a group of 5 wild type ones but even at a small size they were very aggressive, always fighting, one was killed and the others I removed except one which was somewhat less aggressive, but has recently become more so attacking even the bigger altum and the two albino manacapuru which have all been calm. He’s really giving the white ones a hard time now and I think he’ll have to go…I don’t know, I think there is a lot of luck involved with those not so angelic cichlids. I’d rather have more festivums in the future…

 

[Dechi]

That’s a shame about the royal acara, Oh well that was always a risk.…as for angelfish, I wouldn’t like to say if another would get on OK with the first one, they are so individual, I’d probably be inclined to get a few small ones and be prepared to remove any that cause trouble. How is the festivum?

Yeah, really. I’m not sure if I was clear but the EBA is going, as the royal acara is my favorite.

2 angels total normally works. If you have 2 males they will bicker and it will look nasty but they won't damage each other; if you have two females they might pair or fight or just ignore each other. If you have male/female they will bond and lay lots of eggs. Depending on the specific pair they will guard an area for 6 square inches to 6 square feet but mostly ignore things that are below them.

That’s the plan then !

I’m not sure though, it’s not very relaxing to watch when they bicker all the time even if they don’t actually get hurt. And once I had a group of 6, they did bicker but nothing too serious until one started picking on one other particular one all the time. They were both very large at this point, nice looking marbles. The one that was picked on was quite submissive and never fought back, until eventually it was just hiding all the time and didn’t even come out to feed, if it did the other would attack it immediately, This was in a fairly large tank (over 150 gallons). I eventually removed the aggressor. Then later I had a group of 5 wild type ones but even at a small size they were very aggressive, always fighting, one was killed and the others I removed except one which was somewhat less aggressive, but has recently become more so attacking even the bigger altum and the two albino manacapuru which have all been calm. He’s really giving the white ones a hard time now and I think he’ll have to go…I don’t know, I think there is a lot of luck involved with those not so angelic cichlids. I’d rather have more festivums in the future…

You’re right about the risk but if it becomes chaotic I will rehome one easily as angels are easy to catch.

The festivum is still hiding most of the day but it’s coming out more and more, but slowly. He eats very well so no worries about that.

Everyone is doing great except the poor EBA trying to get the **** out of there by glass surfing.

 

[TClare]

Right, I’m glad you’re keeping the royal acara rather than the EBA! Worth a try with the angelfish then, and maybe the festivum will become more confident with another angelfish there?

 

[Dechi]

Right, I’m glad you’re keeping the royal acara rather than the EBA! Worth a try with the angelfish then, and maybe the festivum will become more confident with another angelfish there?

Keeping the EBA instead wouldn’t have been a good choice you think ? Just wondering why.

 

[TClare]

Keeping the EBA instead wouldn’t have been a good choice you think ? Just wondering why.

Just because I like the royal acara best and it’s more unusual as well as having natural colours. as far as compatibility is concerned I don’t think there would be much difference, the diadema will probably get bigger eventually though.

 

[tinylostwine]

I’m not sure though, it’s not very relaxing to watch when they bicker all the time even if they don’t actually get hurt. And once I had a group of 6, they did bicker but nothing too serious until one started picking on one other particular one all the time. They were both very large at this point, nice looking marbles. The one that was picked on was quite submissive and never fought back, until eventually it was just hiding all the time and didn’t even come out to feed, if it did the other would attack it immediately, This was in a fairly large tank (over 150 gallons). I eventually removed the aggressor. Then later I had a group of 5 wild type ones but even at a small size they were very aggressive, always fighting, one was killed and the others I removed except one which was somewhat less aggressive, but has recently become more so attacking even the bigger altum and the two albino manacapuru which have all been calm. He’s really giving the white ones a hard time now and I think he’ll have to go…I don’t know, I think there is a lot of luck involved with those not so angelic cichlids. I’d rather have more festivums in the future…

Did you know the sexes of the angels? with my group of 4 the small male does hide a bit but not totally and he frequently comes out but avoid the large one that bicker a lot. #4 is a female and she just watches and smirk - no one is going ot mess with her. Yes festivums tend to be more peaceful though i have one that can be 'moody' at times - if your water is very soft and acidic i would get something else from the genus with a bit more flare (visible). They (festivum) are also more massive and can get fairly large over the years - mine are around 8 or 9 and the largest one is smaller then the chocolate but not exactly a small fish.

Not recommending more angels or more anythign - there are advantages to having an aquarium sparsely populated just giving you my experience. As for an actual recommendation - none but a caridinal rule more is not always better.

 

[Dechi]

They (festivum) are also more massive and can get fairly large over the years - mine are around 8 or 9 and the largest one is smaller then the chocolate but not exactly a small fish.

Don’t forget, there is no more chocolate. It was replaced by the aequidens diadema. I mean I never got one.

 

[TClare]

I don’t know what sexes the angels were but the first group never showed any signs of breeding so they might have been all males, most were very large. (I only had that group for about 2 years due to me accidentally filling the tank with cold water). The wild type ones were terribly aggressive to each other even when very small. One of the manacapuru is a female as she has spawned a couple of times with the other one, that seemed to be a male but I can’t be sure, they ate the eggs straight away.

 

[tinylostwine]

Don’t forget, there is no more chocolate. It was replaced by the aequidens diadema. I mean I never got one.

just fyi: i was comparing my festiums to chocolate since they are in the same aquarium.

 

[Dechi]

just fyi: i was comparing my festiums to chocolate since they are in the same aquarium.

I would like to see pictures of your festivums and chocolate !

I managed to catch the EBA this morning and brought it back to the store.

I had my water tested while I was there because my nitrates always show 0 on my tests and I wasn’t sure about that. Turns out they really are 0 so that’s good. I mean I have some but it doesn’t accumulate.

They had two angels that were big enough to consider for my setup. An orange and white one and a mostly black one with a bit of silver. I chose the orange and white one. I acclimated it for 45 minutes and put it in the tank. I dimmed the lights. The existing angel “ran” to it as soon as it saw it, like it was its long lost friend. At first it seemed to want to attack it but stopped in its track and has been following it everywhere since.

The festivum came out and bothered it a bit but the angel is as big as it is so it wasn’t terribly frightened. I went to feed the festivum but it went back to its hiding place.

Those two angels look really good together I think !

 

[tinylostwine]

Be careful what you wish for:

 

[Dechi]

Be careful what you wish for:

Ha Ha Ha ! Love them, they’re beautiful !

The festivum is being a jerk to both angels now. Sigh… I hope I don’t have to rehome him.

 

[TClare]

Strange, mine have always been much more peaceful than angels, but I’ve always had them in a group, maybe that makes a difference?

 

[tinylostwine]

Ha Ha Ha ! Love them, they’re beautiful !

The festivum is being a jerk to both angels now. Sigh… I hope I don’t have to rehome him.

How many do you have - they really must be in a group.

 

[Dechi]

How many do you have - they really must be in a group.

One.

 

[Dechi]

How many do you have - they really must be in a group.

I had red that having one was okay too, as long as you have the right setup and tank mates. There is no way I can get a group.

I think even getting a second one would be pushing it for my tank size and current bioload :

1 x Aequidens diadema
1 x Mesonauta festivum/insignis
2 x angel fish
12 x lemon tetras
11 x diamond tetras
7 x Corydoras CW-01 orange laser
1 x Ancistrus sp. L-144 Gold short fins

24 hours later the chasing has decreased a lot so I am hopeful this will work when everyone finds its place. I just love how the tank is now with the second angel. It’s definitely what it needed. I just spent half an hour just looking at it; it is very relaxing !

 

[TClare]

Hopefully the Mesonauta may form a group with the angelfish.,,

 

[tinylostwine]

Hopefully the Mesonauta may form a group with the angelfish.,,

I don't think so mine never did much care for their angelictic tank mates - they didn't exactly hate them they just ignore them.

I do think the problem is that you are not keeping the mesonauta in a group and as a loner it is developing bad habits. I'm not recommending you go out and get more though I have a few extra if you want to drive buy and pick them up - the problem is that once a fish develop a bad habit it is not clear if it will be willing to give them up.
--
You're up in canada so a two day drive if you are on the east side should get you here and i can give you 7 or 8 - but if you are on the west side plan on 10 day to get here and of course there is the return trip but thankfully it is easier to bring fishes into canada then into the united states so i won't ask for anything in return
--
Sadly i can only appologize for the evil things said about your country by those who are brain dead and naive.

 

[TClare]

Yes, you might be right, I don’t know about the Mesonauta, I just thought it might join with the angels as they are often seen together in the wild (but more than one of each of course). I haven’t ever tried the combination but thought about it many times. In fact if I could catch my festivums easily I would consider moving them to the angelfish tank. Actually just yesterday I moved the angel that was causing trouble to the big tank and so far all is ok but I will need to keep an eye on it, also the big tank has a lot of fish now while the angelfish tank looks quite empty! Catching angels is relatively easy but I don’t think I can catch the festivums in the big tank without a huge upheaval.

Actually while researching Mesonauta years ago I did find some forum posts where single ones had been problematic, I don’t know if it’s possible to generalise though.

 

[Dechi]

I do think the problem is that you are not keeping the mesonauta in a group and as a loner it is developing bad habits. I'm not recommending you go out and get more though I have a few extra if you want to drive buy and pick them up - the problem is that once a fish develop a bad habit it is not clear if it will be willing to give them up.

It’s already better today so let’s hope it’s just the shock from the introduction. If not, sadly the festivum has to go as the angels are my favorite now, with the diadema.

You're up in canada so a two day drive if you are on the east side should get you here and i can give you 7 or 8 - but if you are on the west side plan on 10 day to get here and of course there is the return trip but thankfully it is easier to bring fishes into canada then into the united states so i won't ask for anything in return

That is very generous of you, thank you ! If I ever want to take a trip your way I’ll let you know.

Sadly i can only appologize for the evil things said about your country by those who are brain dead and naive.

This shall pass too, with time. Our contries have been allies and friends for a very long time. I am hopeful we will see the end of this. Maybe not soon but somewhere down the line.

 

[Dechi]

The festivum is definitely out a lot more since getting the large angel fish. It’s also starting to be a little nice to it. I am hoping it’s all behind us in a week.

The new angel fish has a bit of ich, as it is in my tank. The UV was running before its introduction so it is helping. I’m watching it closely and will use Kordon ich attach if need be.

Yesterday I cleaned the sump with my python. It was a pain because I could only siphon for 1-2 minutes before having to run to the sink to turn it off and let the water go down before it spills. Not enough gravity to use it without turning on the water. Next time I’ll use a return pump.

There was lots of dirt on the bottom and also in the biomedia bags. This will help slow down the snail population in there. I’m using a plastic bottle with bait but only catching 5-6 per day. I’m also crushing every one I see. These things can potentially do damage to all my equipment that’s in the sump.

 

[TClare]

Have you tried feeding small snails to the acara? All my larger cichlids love snails (to eat..,)

 

[tinylostwine]

Yep that angel is definitely a bit defensive around the festy; most of the time mine are pretty laid back with the festy though as i've mentioned one of the festy can be moody and then the angels see the posture change and they stay away. The festy are all natural colour which is important because it means they can correctly signal when they are being aggressive so those around it know to stay clear. Unfortunately the angels can't do the same as they have line-bred colouring.

 

[Dechi]

Have you tried feeding small snails to the acara? All my larger cichlids love snails (to eat..,)

I’d be afraid they get away and reproduce even more. What if I buy some (dead) ones from the grocery store ?

 

[TClare]

Have you tried feeding small snails to

I’d be afraid they get away and reproduce even more. What if I buy some (dead) ones from the grocery store ?

I idon’t think they would last long in your tank, what kind of snails do you have? I prefer to have some snails in my tanks but I can’t keep any in the tank with the Bujurquinas, or the big tank with large cichlids, if there are too many in the other tanks I drop a few in the big tank and they are gone in seconds. I only have ramshorn snails.

 

[Dechi]

Have you tried feeding small snails to

I idon’t think they would last long in your tank, what kind of snails do you have? I prefer to have some snails in my tanks but I can’t keep any in the tank with the Bujurquinas, or the big tank with large cichlids, if there are too many in the other tanks I drop a few in the big tank and they are gone in seconds. I only have ramshorn snails.

I think I’ll try some from the grocery store as an occasional treat.

The snails I have are the tiny, tiny ones that come from the plants you buy. They reproduce super fast. I bought a half dozen assassin snails to kill them but the cichlids killed the assassin snails in no time.

I never see the tinies in the tank, only in the sump where the fish can’t get to them.

 

[TClare]

I think I’ll try some from the grocery store as an occasional treat.

The snails I have are the tiny, tiny ones that come from the plants you buy. They reproduce super fast. I bought a half dozen assassin snails to kill them but the cichlids killed the assassin snails in no time.

I never see the tinies in the tank, only in the sump where the fish can’t get to them.

Yes I’m sure they’ll all get eaten in the tank

 

[Dechi]

Ok, now bear with me. I have been thinking about getting discus for the tank. My set-up is already perfect for them, nothing to buy except the fish themselves and a bigger heater. With the automated daily WC, the rodi water top-off, low nutrients, I think I have the right environment for them to thrive.

I would keep all my existing fish (diamond tetras, lemon tetras, ancistrus, cories and angels) except the royal acara and festivum. I would get a group of six, 3.5 inches to 4.0 inches discus. All from the same place, at the same time.

My PH is 6.0-7.0 with co2 and 7.4-7.5 if I ever stop co2
Temp would be 28C-29C (82F-84F)

This would only happen after the Holidays so the tank will be more mature then.

Ideally I would set up another tank but it’s not possible and I’m not getting younger and I want to enjoy different species while I can.

From what I’ve researched, this would work. What do you think ?

 

[tinylostwine]

Just say no. The tank is already too crowded and the discus is more vulnerable to poor water quality also they should be kept in a group not solitary. The festius just misbehaves when alone but the discus might sulk (each fish is different) in a corner. Also 82 is borderline too low and already too warm for the fishes you are keeping not to mention at 83 or 84 your plants will suffer.

My PH is 6.0-7.0 with co2 and 7.4-7.5 if I ever stop co2
Temp would be 28C-29C (82F-84F)

And this is a prime example why ph is worthless esp when dealing with tap water which might have an additive to arbitrarily raise ph (to protect pipes); what you want is tds/kh/gh. You can make 500 tds water (extremely unsuitable for the fishes you keep) have ph 6.0 just add a bunch of co2 but that won't help the fishes.

 

[Dechi]

Just say no. The tank is already too crowded and the discus is more vulnerable to poor water quality also they should be kept in a group not solitary. The festius just misbehaves when alone but the discus might sulk (each fish is different) in a corner. Also 82 is borderline too low and already too warm for the fishes you are keeping not to mention at 83 or 84 your plants will suffer.

I don’t agree the tank is too crowded. I went with recommendations from this forum and my research. It’s at max capacity, but not overcrowded.

The festivum would not be here with discus in the tank and will not be staying if it keeps bullying. So that’s not an issue. 28C is said to be the lowest acceptable temp but I can do 84 no problem. As mentioned I would have to buy a bigger heater. Most of my plants are echinorus and they do fine at 29C. Whichever ones die will be replaced with suitable ones but I don’t expect a lot of loss.

And this is a prime example why ph is worthless esp when dealing with tap water which might have an additive to arbitrarily raise ph (to protect pipes); what you want is tds/kh/gh. You can make 500 tds water (extremely unsuitable for the fishes you keep) have ph 6.0 just add a bunch of co2 but that won't help the fishes.

TDS is steady around 140-150. GH is 5 and KH 50 from the tap. Nitrates are zero (so are ammonia and nitrites) and my actual 8 gallons daily water changing capacity can be easily doubled or even tripled. This is far better than most tanks IME.

I’m not sure I get what you mean about the PH ?

 

[TClare]

That you can reduce it by adding CO2 but this won’t change the hardness or TDS. I don’t know what to recommend as I’ve never kept discus, but I do think that your tank is very nice as it is.

 

[Dechi]

That you can reduce it by adding CO2 but this won’t change the hardness or TDS. I don’t know what to recommend as I’ve never kept discus, but I do think that your tank is very nice as it is.

Ok, yes, I understand that. Thank you for clarifying.

 

[coralbandit]

If I was going to keep discus with angels I would introduce the discus well before the angels to establish their territories.
If you are going to remove some fish to accommodate this I would remove the angels also and re-introduce them after the discus have settled in and are eating properly.
There were myths that angels carried some pathogen that was deadly to discus and forums are riddled with stories of such. But there has been no scientific evidence presented that angels carry such a specific pathogen.
Many of the discus keepers on Simply Discus do and have kept them together. Although usually they are Altum angels which are much more shy like the discus.

Discus prefer higher temps but as long as you keep your tank with discus being the #1 fish it can work out. They also require higher protein food than the angels so make sure you offer proper food for the discus as the angels are going outcompete the discus for food every day and the discus will need all the help they can get.

I bred both angels and discus and had Altums but never mixed them.
I did keep my Altums with Dantum angels without issue.
The Altums really were super chill compared to any other angel beyond being a holy grail fish.

 

[tinylostwine]

I bred both angels and discus and had Altums but never mixed them.
I did keep my Altums with Dantum angels without issue.
The Altums really were super chill compared to any other angel beyond being a holy grail fish.

A bit off topic but do you know a source for Rio Atabapo altum specifically the ones with red tails ?

For the record i have 8 wild caught discus in a 180 for the past 3 years (well closer to 2 1/2 years) and they are the most finicky fishes ever - they fight almost as much as my angels mostly because the two largest one decide when the others can eat or not eat and if they break the rules they get a nasty bite. They will whine if the light is too bright or not bright enough and they hate it when i put a python in their aquarium. The bullying part shocked me and bothers me becauase the smaller ones are really quite thin now as the large ones limit when they can eat (it isn't so much that there isn't enough food to go around but they get beat up if they eat when they aren't suppose to). I'm sure there is more going on but the aquarium is in the basement so it only gets sometime viewing:



The plants died back due to bba outbreak (no i do not eject co2) but now the bba is nearly all dead and some the plants are recovering. I do have two little domestic gold rams in there and 2 male d. maculatus. I had some adult cardinals but i guess the discus got hungry and ate them one by one. I'm sure they would like more cardinals but ..... that is a bit more then i'm willing to do for them. There is also 2 L183 but they spend all their time under the wood so they might as well not exist.

Anyway domestic discus might be easier to deal with but these guys are so finicky i just can't see keeping them with the fishes you have - if the temp gets below 82.5 they throw a tantrum - and i mean a serious tantrum - my target is 83 and when it gets to 83.5 or 84 they throw a party. They have laid eggs a few time but i wasn't prepared to deal with them and nor where they but maybe next time. Anyway i stand by my recommendation that your mix of fishes i not optimal for discus and keeping just one isn't great. If i were to ever keep discus again i would keep 6 in a 240 or 300 or maybe 8 in a 400+ so they have more room to spread out.

 

[Dechi]

Anyway i stand by my recommendation that your mix of fishes i not optimal for discus and keeping just one isn't great.

Maybe I made a typo somewhere but we’re talking about a group of six, not a single one.

Can you be specific about which fish you think are not compatible ?

 

[coralbandit]

For quality angels or discus I can only highly recommend Discus Madness in NJ. They take orders and ship. I made daytrips of going there even having a couple meet ups with members here.

 

[Dechi]

Day 1 (fish introduction)


2 months later


(I have trouble inserting images full size)

 

[TClare]

You can’t post full size images here, not allowed.

 

[Dechi]

You can’t post full size images here, not allowed.

I meant the size of my first image. Is that allowed ? I wanted the second picture to be the same size.

 

[TClare]

I’m not sure, normally only thumbnail images are allowed, I once posted images full size but they were reduced by moderators afterwards, now it only gives the thumbnail option I think, I’m surprised your first photo looks quite big…

 

[Coradee]

I meant the size of my first image. Is that allowed ? I wanted the second picture to be the same size.

I’m not sure, normally only thumbnail images are allowed, I once posted images full size but they were reduced by moderators afterwards, now it only gives the thumbnail option I think, I’m surprised your first photo looks quite big…

Hi, members can still view the full size image if they want by clicking on the thumbnail.
I’ve been searching for Mikes explanation since I saw your post, I knew Mike had a reason for not allowing full size images and this should explain it far better than I can…

Hi - good question!

I believe the max file size for images is actually around ~18 to 20mb but the forum software looks at image dimensions. If the image dimensions, either height or width, are greater than 1200px it gets resized down to 1200px. It keeps the aspect ratio. We would quickly run out of space if the software didn't do this.

The file type shouldn't matter. JPEG, GIF, PNG, etc all work fine.

One of the main issues that slows down the forum is when full size images are used in posts. Or if they manually specify the width on the attach bbcode for the image. By default the forum should be including thumbnails in posts once you click attach because I removed the "attach full" from the editor. Some members are still using full size attachments though and that slows down the forum. The best thing to do when attaching pics to a post is to use that insert "Thumbnail" button to attach the pic as a thumbnail into the post. See below:
View attachment 751259

The big, huge, large, enormous, gigantic advantage to attaching images as "thumbnails" is that the thumbnail image is much smaller in file size and is hosted on one of the fishlore CDN servers near you, so it makes the loading of images much, much quicker. Members can still click on the thumbnail to view the full size image when/if they want. The other consideration is that most visitors (like 90%) are on mobile devices nowadays, so full size images are totally unnecessary.

 

[Dechi]

There was disruption of the peace in the tank since adding the big golden face angel 3 weeks ago to replace the EBA. At first only the festivum was chasing it but for the last week the diadema was also doing it. And sometimes the angel too.

This fish was not able to defend itself and was stressed, sometimes trying to disappear in a corner or glass surfing. He had torn fins once and it was healing well. And then a second time, this time more serious although not life threatening.

So I observed the tank a lot and really thought about who I needed to rehome. The golden face angel was my favorite but even if I rehomed the festivum, the diadema would still chase it, and the other angel might too. So for this little guy’s sake, I brought him back. He is now in his old aquarium, with smaller angels so he will be fine.

I talked to the store owner about options for a new occupant and decided not to try a smaller angel like I had planned, as it would be hit or miss. I went in a totally different direction : smaller fish that could hold their ground, be really fast and occupy the bottom area mostly : laetacara araguaiae. The owner was able to sex them and I have a male and a female.

They are staying hidden for now so we will see how it goes in a few days. For now the peace is back in the tank. The festivum is out a lot and has even traded its camouflage dress for the lighter, golden one.

Hoping this is my last swap.

It looks like the festivum likes the angel…

 

[TClare]

Shame about the angelfish but always they are somewhat unpredictable…I hope all goes well with the Laetacara. I had two pairs in a tank of just over 150 gallons (160 x 60 x 60 cm) with angelfish and tetras. They were nice and didn’t hurt plants. The males got quite impressive nuchal humps, they only lived about 3 years though.Once they matured (only about a month after I got them) they bred non stop but were never able to raise any fry beyond a few days free swimming (I took some fry out to raise separately on a couple of occasions).. they got fairly aggressive while breeding, but nothing too drastic, I didn’t have any other bottom living cichlids at the time so it remains to be seen how they get on with the acara.

 

[Dechi]

Update on the laetacara araguaiae. Unfortunately they went their separate ways : one on each end of the tank. I think the male is on the right and I see it come out and search for food sometimes. I’ve seen the female on the other end the first two days only. Sometimes hiding at the surface or under a piece of wood with plants around it.

For sure my royal acara won’t be one of the cool ones… He is very territorial and goes after the dwarf acaras. I plan on adding more plants to make it easier for them. I think they will be fine if I do, but they need to regroup.

I’ve been having BBA problems for the last month or so. I tried peroxyde but it comes back really fast. I still have 0 nitrates and I’ve done maintenance on the substrate and in the sump so it can’t be from elevated nutrients. In the past I’ve had success with siamensis so I ordered 2 small ones. When they get big maybe I’ll rehome one.

I’m breaking the biotope rule but I don’t see any other way. Black beard algae can destroy a tank. I also ordered 2 plants for the mid section and hopefully I get my order this week.

 

[TClare]

It will be interesting to see if the Laetacara can get on with the acara. The trouble is the acara was the first cichlid in the tank and now thinks of the whole tank as his territory. The Laetacaras might not be mature enough to pair up yet, but once they do the pairs are very stable, however I am not sure if they will be able to establish a territory with the acara there. My Laetacara pairs occupied roughly a third of the tank each.

As for BBA, I’m really not sure what causes it, I had a lot in one tank once, not on the plants except a few old leaves, but on the wood and rocks. Then it just disappeared, no idea what changed. I have a bit in my big tank on the branches, it doesn’t bother me and looks quite natural, but there are no plants except water lettuce in that tank. If it gets on healthy plants that is not good…

 

[Dechi]

The trouble is the acara was the first cichlid in the tank and now thinks of the whole tank as his territory

Yes, I wish I could go back and redo it. I tried catching them but it won’t work. I would have to destroy the whole tank. I might do a different set up with different fish eventually (I can only have one tank) so things might change.

I will keep feeding the acara well and hopefully it calms down. Today I offered a shrimp on a clip and both the diadema and festivum had a feast ! The little male is quite game and doesn’t look traumatized by the diadema’s attacks.

I think the female is now with him, so I’m happy about that. I offered a shrimp stick today (that others don’t like) and it went for it so I’ll keep doing that. He’s so cute I’m already attached to him.

If it gets on healthy plants that is not good…

Yes, it’s on my plants so that’s why I need the SAE.

I forgot to mention that the diamond tetras are now displaying mating behaviors. They like to use the roots of the peace lily to claim as breeding territory.

I’m happy about that !