Poll --- Convict/Kribensis

[FishNMusic]

Ok This Is now Something like a double Poll. There is two Questions Im asking, one on Convicts the Other on Kribensis.

~~Kribensis
~ What is better For a kribensis 20 gallon Long tank
1 Gravel and sand mixture with rocks and shells
2 Gravel with rocks and shells
3 Sand with rocks and shells
4 Sand with rocks
5 Sand with shells
6 Gravel with rocks
7 Gravel with shells
8 Im wrong with all these ideas and Im correcting you



~~Convicts (All Info Wanted)
~ What is better for A convict in a 20 long
1 Gravel and sand mixture with rocks and shells
2 Gravel with rocks and shells
3 Sand with rocks and shells
4 Sand with rocks
5 Sand with shells
6 Gravel with rocks
7 Gravel with shells
8 Im wrong with all these ideas and Im correcting you

Thank you

[scott]

1 for the kribs. I would use flourite by seachem and add some easy hearty plants like java or sword. Six for the con with the rocks built into a cave.

[FishNMusic]

what is Flourite and seachem??


Thank you

[ChilDawg]

Seachem is the name of a company that sells aquarium products.

Fluorite (which is made by Seachem) is a newer substrate that is very popular in planted tanks.

[scott]

Sorry. Like Childawg said it is great in planted tanks. I have a black thumb and my swords are doin great with the seachem flourish nutrient additives and the flourite substrate. The softer substrate and finer grains make it easier for the roots to grow (or so I've heard). It is kinda a mixture between sand and gravel, so to speak.

[Samala]

Lose the rocks. I gave my kribs rocks and the female excavated herself a lovely cave beneath a large sheet of slate. Trouble is that fish don't hold degree in Structural Engineering.. she excavated too far beneath the rock and crushed herself. Poor girl. I was heart broken.

My vote for the aquascape:
>Fine non-aragonite (non-coral) sand. I've had good luck with 2 lb. bags of sand from Home Depot called "western desert sand".. it's silica based, a decent color, and just the right size. (I won't tell you to use gravel since I hate the stuff.. sand is great.. plants root well and you just vacuum off the top to clean up detritus.)

>Lots of plants. My kribs were great with the plants.. get some easy stuff, amazon swords (Echinodorus sp.) do well under nearly all lighting conditions. Also try out some java moss (Vesicularia dubyana).. this would be a nice source of food for possible fry and is also a low light plant. You can't go wrong with a clump of Hygrophila sp. either.

>For hiding spots.. use small NON-glazed clay pots.. the sort you can get for two quarters in a garden section. Some people saw these in half.. I bury the bottom half in the sand. That way momma-Krib has to excavate a LOT of sand before she could possibly get herself into trouble. Or.. go the driftwood route (but beware the cave-in possibilities and try to brace them somehow.)

Last, water conditions.. slightly acid (6.5 to 7.0 ish) and slightly soft (gH's in the 4-8 range) have been the best conditions for me. Oh.. and if you think Pelv. pulcher (common Kribensis) is bland.. look around for sources of Pelv. subocellatus or Pelv. taeniatus. This genus is a lot of fun to play with and all of the fishes stay relatively small.

Good luck!

[FishNMusic]

Did you have a breeding a pair of Kribs? and i will take your word for it i will Get the sand and some NON_glazed pots.

Thank you

*did you have any other fish in with your Kribs?

[Skittyfish]

My albino kribs are doing the dance...they are in a planted tank with gravel/laterite. So far they seem to prefer the coconut shells over the clay pots. They also seem to like playing in the dwarf sag growing in the front of the tank.

[FishNMusic]

What is gravel/laterite. I know its probably a mixture of gravel and What. Coconut shells do you mean Real one like you buy at the store. Nad a Dwarf sag is that a Plant.

Im a newbie at Kribs i only had them for about a week and a half.


Thank you All for helpping me

[Skittyfish]

I'm new at them too, only had them a month. I have gravel mixed with pure laterite...a clay gravel. Dwarf sag looks like grass. And the coconuts came from Wal-mart. I carefully split them open and broke off a bit on the bottom to make an entrance. I have pictures you can see them in.

[FishNMusic]

The Cocnuts are they real? do they have milk in them? Could i go to the store and buy them?

[ChilDawg]

I'll chime in. I imagine that they are real, but they have been dried out!

[Skittyfish]

LOL...yes, they are real. I hammered them open, they were already scored as to where they would break. Then I worked for an hour getting the meat out. I rinsed them and then boiled them 15 minutes, three times, to get all of the tannin out. Then I let them set in water over night, rinsed them off and plopped them into my tank. One thing though, be sure to get as much of the loose fibers off as you can, they are algae magnets!. I have a bunch of Java moss tied to the top of one, and Java fern on the top of another.

[ChilDawg]

Dang, you didn't buy them pre-done?

[FishNMusic]

Would this be good for kribs in a 20 gallon LONG. A mixture of 25% gravel and 75% sand. A Landscape of of NON-Glazed pots, shells(would Beach shells work like a regular shell), and some flat rocks. An above ground filter and the Ph and temp Salama Said.

Would That Work??

Thanks To EVERYONE helpping Me

[Skittyfish]

The LFS owner told me I should NEVER put anything into my aquarium that wasn't made for it. Needless to say I didn't listen to her.

[FishNMusic]

you didn't buy them pre-done?

Posted by ChilDawg

What does that mean?

[ChilDawg]

Well, there is the possibility of buying coconut shells gutted beforehand.

[FishNMusic]

Would My last post about the mixtures be okay or is it a terrible idea?

[Skittyfish]

From what I have read, they prefer softer more acidic water...my pH is 6.6 kh is 3-4. The shells...do you mean like snail shells? that would raise your kh and ph I would think. I don't know about the sand and gravel as I have gravel.

[ChilDawg]

The beach shells would raise KH/GH, et cetera, and Kribs like acidic water...not sure that they would be the best idea, as Skittyfish said.

[FishNMusic]

THEN WHAT WOULD MAKE THE BEST 10 REG OR 20 LONG TANK. WHAT WOULD BE MIXED WITH THE GRAVEL. WHAT WOULD THE LANDSCAPE BE LIKE? WOULD IT HAVE ROCKS, COCONUT SHELLS, OR JUST SHELLS. wHAT WOULD THE pH BE AND WATER TEMP AND ALL THAT STUFF ??


tHANKS TO ALL WHO ARE HELLPING ME!!

[Skittyfish]

Plain small gravel is fine. You can use coconut shell, or 3-4 inch clay pots (I soak mine to make them soft and then take pliers and break of a bit for an entrance, and put them big end into the gravel.) Plants are good, you could have Java moss, java fern, anubias...anything low light, unless you have a lot of light.
They prefer (from what I have read) soft, acidic water. I keep my temp at 78 F.
HTH

[FishNMusic]

Like wood pilliars?

[Skittyfish]

I guess:confused: . Whatever you use, just do it gently or you will shatter the whole pot. You can also use a Dremel tool and cut a bigger hole from the bottom.