Complexity's 90g Planted Tank Journal

[jughead]

get sand sifters-callochromis,xenotilapia,opthalmotilapia,etc to keep the sand looking good

[Complexity]

Thanks, I'll do that. I want to get some xenos anyway. I'm not familiar with opthalmotilapia. Can I put both in the same tank?

Anyone with suggestions on how many sand sifters to put in the tank? Keep in mind I'd also like to add some shell dwellers, as well.

[Zulaab]

A fish I always think is nice looking..
Callochromis melanostigma Burundi
Google Callochromis melanostigma and click on the first link... I think you will find it facinating..

[Complexity]

I got tired of having a nearly empty tank (fish-wise) so I got a few fish that I could find locally. May not be the best choices, but I like the fish, and at least there's some movement now!

2 med Geophagus surinamensis <-- unfortunately, one died the first night. Not sure why?
3 small Neolamprologus leleupi (yellow leleupi)
3 small Julidochromis transcriptus

Of course, the eartheaters aren't Tanganyikan, but I needed something to keep the sand turned over, and these guys really do a great job of it. Really pretty fish, too. I love the way they come to me like little puppy dogs!

The one that died had a wound on his side. Could any of the new fish I got have attacked him? I think the Julis are the only aggressive fish to worry about, but I thought they were only aggressive towards their own kind, not a fish so different.

[mark razmandi]

julies! but suris can be aggressive towards each other at times too...not enough to would the side but fray fins, yes

[TaTeR ToT]

it was likely the juhlies, but leleupis ive had in the past have put my juhlie to shame asfar as aggression.

they have a mean set of teeth..

btw vicki, ultimate fish on 2920 has a bunch of nice shell dweller species, aswell as neolamprologus cylindricus, aulunocranus dewindti, sp?
callochromis melanostigma ndole bay, and several other tangs.

id drop by there and see if they have anything you might like.

my callochromis i got from them keep the sand in my 20g long spotless, he turns it over nicely.

i think they also had some telmatochromis orange scribble and tretocephalis.

[Complexity]

One of the suris was mouthing (not really biting) the other in the bag, but they seemed fine in the tank. They stuck together the short time I had them both. I want another one for the one I still have left.

Do they usually prefer to be kept in small groups? How many would be a good number to keep (for their comfort)?

[Complexity]

I'll check out Ultimate Fish when I get the next break in my school schedule. I have 1 report and 4 exams coming up in the next two weeks so I can't take that much time away, but after that, I can probably give myself a day off for a trip to see them.

I had hoped to have my cyps by now, but I haven't heard from the guy I was going to buy them from. So the tank is just too bare for me right now. I don't like to make rash purchases like I did, but I really wanted something in the tank to enjoy.

[mark razmandi]

what year are you on? and geos LOVE to be in groups...you can do two if you dont wanna spend the cash...id recommend three total if you dont mind droppin the dough.

[Complexity]

3 sounds good to me! That will give them a presence in the tank without overwhelming it. They are really pretty when they're full grown.

And, boy, do they live up to their name. In the short while I've had them (and now just the one), they've done a nice job of turning over the sand. I may be able increase my photoperiod with their help.

[TaTeR ToT]

the surinaminsis you have are likely geophagus altifrons, true g. surinaminsis are rare in not unfindable int he hobby and in the wild.

the last import i can remember was almost 8 years ago.

i can tell you what they are by you telling me where you purchased them from.

if you got them from aquatic world on jones rd. then they are g. altifrons 'manaus'

if you got them from extreme, then they are g. brachybrancus.
or g. rio brancho, post a pic of the one you have and i'll tell you for sure.
they sp. it truely is will determine whether it will like to be in a group or not.

however, most male geos, especially altifrons variants do not like other males of there sp.
however, they can be kept together and almost never fight even close to the extremes neccessary to inflict damage enought o kill one another.

i have had 27 adult 6"+ wc geos in my old 125g, and they never did anything other than lip lock to establish territoties.

generally sp, i would say geos like to be with other geos more than cichlids other than geos.

they are usually comfortable in a group once territoies have been established.

also, g. altifrons sp. get big, the largest variant, the trombetas gets to be 16"tl, and the smallest the tapajos get to be around 8"tl, they are large growing showy sp.

they often get their trailer/fins nipped by other fishes.

to enjoy them with their fll trailers, which can reach upt 15", on the tapajos altifrons which is nearly 2x the lenght of the fish itself, they must be kept with non nippy fish.

otherwise the trailers will be nipped and never reach their full potential.

[mark razmandi]

the species type at aquatic world is much nicer than XFP IMO...they tend to be slightly more aggressive though, nothing to be concerned about, however...they growth is not too rapid and you would not have to worry about them out growing your tank for a good while...

[Complexity]

I got them from Xtreme. They had 3 types. One had a red spot on the head, and two looked similar to each other. Of those two similar ones, one looked more regular shaped while the other had a downward slant at the head. The slanted ones is what I got. I had him write down the name, but we all know how that goes. There's also a black spot, not real dark, on the side. I'll post a pic when I can.

In the meantime, I'll look up the ones you suggested and see if I can match it that way.

[mark razmandi]

the ones you are referring to are geophagus heckelli, or thread-fin acara and the geo steindachneri, or red hump....the heckelli and surinamensis both have a black spot on their side..although the heckellis is far more pronounced

[mark razmandi]

oh and they different types almost look identical...