Complexity's 90g Planted Tank Journal

[Mzungu]

How exciting! Glad you got your first fish in there! Take pictures when you can. :)

[Complexity]

I couldn't wait any longer so I turned on the light at 8AM. An hour earlier than normal for my tanks, but you know how it is.

They're eating daphnia right now. They're funny eaters. Not aggressive at all, rather gentle. But they do seem to be enjoying themselves! At first, they didn't quite seem to get it, but then one took a bite, then another, and now all 5 are swimming all around, eating all over. Tim said they might be shy, but so far, they seem to be pretty happy. They're swimming in open water to eat.

I'll try to get some pics later today. I have some errands to run, but I should be able to get some pics after that.

[DUHK]

Post pictures of your tank with your fish! We'd all love to see your new tank!

[Zulaab]

I cannot wait to see pictures.. Vicki did you get the complete name from Tim so if you want to add to your colony you can get more ?

[Complexity]

The name I got from Tim is Paracyprichromis nigripinnis as he posted above. Is there more I should know? I've been looking up info on them and haven't ran across named variants of them.

BTW, does anyone know what their preferred diet is as far as high/low protein or veggies or anything? I didn't have time to check yesterday.

I'll try to get some pics today. I took my daughter to get her driver's license yesterday (she passed the time on her 1st try!). We ended up in line for 4 hours! It was maddening! And then we got her enrolled into her college classes (first semester for college). That ended up taking the whole day. By the time we were done, I was exhausted. So no pics last night. Hopefully, I can get some today.

My TEK light fixture arrived yesterday. As soon as the bulbs arrive, I can get some real light on the tank which should make a big difference in how it looks.

[cichlid1409]

nigripinnis and a tek fixture ...baller

[Zulaab]

The name I got from Tim is Paracyprichromis nigripinnis as he posted above. Is there more I should know? I've been looking up info on them and haven't ran across named variants of them.

There is not much beyond that except for a catch point (which is where the variations lie in) Tim might not know and its not totally important if you are deciding on getting more.. Getting others from the same catch point might be easier said than done.

BTW, does anyone know what their preferred diet is as far as high/low protein or veggies or anything? I didn't have time to check yesterday.

I feed mine (cyps) NLS 1mm cichlid formula. They all take it.
If you want to feed them something different, they feed on zooplankton and others small things that floats in the water column.
Because they have the big eyes they can see small items. Word is that baby brine shrimp are fun to feed to them because unlike most other fish they are simply considered to small while the cyps will see them and eat them.

I hope this helps
Jesper

[Complexity]

I woke up to find only 4 of the 5 Paras. I looked everywhere, but couldn't find a live or dead 5th fish. So I put some frozen baby brine shrimp in the tank, and sure enough, the 5th para appeared. One of the males has found a cave that he likes to hide in part of the time. I can only see the tips of his tail when he's in it. I need to get some Cyps for this tank so the Paras aren't all by themselves.

Jesper, I can get more of the Paras from Tim. Not sure how many more he has nor the m/f ratio. If there's a little variance between the ones from Tim and any others I might add, it'll be okay. Actually, there will be some variance because the ones from Tim are mature adults while I expect to only get juvies from a store.

No pics yet. Sorry, I was so tired, I took a nap. Only 4 full days left before I start school again so I'm going to enjoy them while I can!

[Zulaab]

If you like the Para's you got from Tim, I would recommend getting more.
Here is the deal. Cyps are like the sardines of the lake. They will school in HUGE numbers tightly together. They are open area fish, so the more rock work you put in the less they are going to school. One of the things I told Tim was when I have a job again and money is in excess again, I am going to move my cyps and xeno's into a 180/210 (depending on lenght of tank) and I am going to only have a little bit of a rock formation because this is where my ABN's will over-day (oppesite of overnight).
The one thing I want to add beyond that is areas of Val (plants) which reaches up into the water column where the smaller fish can hide and grow up for a few weeks until they get to the size where they will not be attacked or eaten by anyone else in my tank.

[Complexity]

I added more rocks to the larger pile on the right, but it's not much taller, just more dense. That leaves the entire 1/2 top of the tank without rocks. I think that will work okay for the cyps from what I'm reading.

I sold all my vals, but I have a large amount of needle leaf java fern that I think will work well for the tank. If I find that I need more plant coverage for fry, I'll add it later.

Tim's been busy these last couple of days, but I'll see about getting the rest of his paras from him. How many do you think would make a good shoal size? I don't think he has very many left, but I can always add more from others, if needed.

[Complexity]

Got my new lights in, and OMG, what a difference! I tried to get pics of the fish earlier, but it was impossible with such poor lighting. Now, if I can get the fish to stop hiding behind the rocks when I come up close, I can get some pics.

I really need to get some more fish in there for these guys. I think they're a bit stressed being the only fish in the tank. They have selected that one stack of rocks and have stayed there all day long. I'll be getting two more (1m/1f) from Tim this Monday which will give me 7. That might help them feel more secure, as well.

[jughead]

staying by the rocks=secure.paracyprichromis are a structure oriented fish.cliffs,caves etc. vertical surfaces

[armthehomeless]

staying by the rocks=secure.paracyprichromis are a structure oriented fish.cliffs,caves etc. vertical surfaces

+1

[Complexity]

staying by the rocks=secure.paracyprichromis are a structure oriented fish.cliffs,caves etc. vertical surfaces

Okay, thanks. So they should be okay then.

[Complexity]

Quick update: Sorry, no pics at the moment. Been really busy with school.

I lost one of the paracyps for unknown reasons. Scared the jeevies out of me since the tank was so new, but I never could find anything wrong to account for the death. The tank is cycled with good water parameters.

I got two more paracyps from Tim which gives me 6 now (3m/3f). They are all doing very well in the tank, coloring up nicely. I swear their blue color is becoming more pronounced. Two males have taken to hiding completely in the rocks, but they come out for food.

I added 3 busynose plecos to help with algae control. And I added 7 very small Dwarf Synodontis petricolas. I wanted them to go into the caves to clean out uneaten food that gets trapped there. I know 7 is a lot. I intend to cull them down as they grow. For now, they're so small, I can't be sure of their sexes so I wanted to be sure to get enough for a reasonable chance of getting a good m/f ratio down the road.

I'm looking to get cyps soon, as well. I have decided on the ever so popular Tri-Color cyps. I know they're jumbos so I'll have to play it by ear. I'm ordering 20 small ones with the intentions of culling them down to about 15 long term. They should be ready to ship in about a week from now. I'm really looking forward to getting them.

The only problem I'm running into is algae. I don't mind it on the rocks or even the glass, but I'm getting it on the sand, too. I have cut my photo-period down as I am positive I had it too long (12 hours). It's down to 9 hours now which I may cut back even more.