i love this african cichlid tank/assortment. i'm jealous....but i like mine better.

[AquariumNoob13]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=H0V1bcoFdEM

[kjenber]

Is that your tank ? Props to you nice I like you assortment of fish
I see some rely nice fish . :headbang2:
AquariumNoob13 I just read the hole title , if yours is better give us a pix
please not that im challinging you I just like my Aff's

[AquariumNoob13]

i don't have a nicer assortment of fish.....yet, but i like the way i have my plants and ornaments set up.

[kjenber]

LOL I like it your plans are big :)
I cant weight to see , If only I culd look into you head to see what you have in mind i am sher it :headbang2:.
I one too had a dream tank , So I made it happen Now Im a addict :devil:
BIG:ER BIG:ER BIG:ERI cant stop .

[AquariumNoob13]

hahaha. if u cud look into my head you would be looking away after 20 seconds of all the awesome things that i have planed. u just can't comprehend! muahahaha!

[kjenber]

Here is a look at my tank . I need a bigger one :wall:, No rely .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCoYhOkQsDY

[tarheels910]

It is not safe to feed the haps in his video feeders. Even though they can handle large portions of protein, feeders is a bit overboard. I have seen 10 times better set ups than the one on this video.

[AquariumNoob13]

It is not safe to feed the haps in his video feeders. Even though they can handle large portions of protein, feeders is a bit overboard. I have seen 10 times better set ups than the one on this video.

hehehe. well it isn't my tank, so u might wanna tell whoever posted the vid that. ^_^

[AquariumNoob13]

Here is a look at my tank . I need a bigger one :wall:, No rely .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCoYhOkQsDY

that is a freaking big tank! what gallons is it? (u need more color ^_^)

[Mr Meaty]

tarheels, you may know your stuff, but in all seriousness, it seems like EVERY one of your replies to fellow hobbysts are put downs. Chill out man.

[AquariumNoob13]

tarheels, you may know your stuff, but in all seriousness, it seems like EVERY one of your replies to fellow hobbysts are put downs. Chill out man.

hahaha. as said in a very VERY old song "You gotta be cruel to kind.";)

[Mr Meaty]

Oh by all means, I agree. I just have yet to see anything positive. But hey, Tarheels, no hard feelings man.

[AquariumNoob13]

Oh by all means, I agree. I just have yet to see anything positive. But hey, Tarheels, no hard feelings man.

now that u mention it, i have no idea what you are talking about. ^_^ he/she (i still don't know which) gives me positive enforcement all the time.

[ChunkyMonkey]

Me too, he's been a great help on stocking advise:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127606&page=2

[nickmcmechan]

tarheels, you may know your stuff, but in all seriousness, it seems like EVERY one of your replies to fellow hobbysts are put downs. Chill out man.
i would not agree, i keep africans and value this guys posts, he has some good stuff to say

please take direct criticisms of posts by sending a pm to the person or a mod

its gr8 to have al the different opinions, but it is not good to make direct criticisms of a persons contribution in open forum

[nickmcmechan]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=H0V1bcoFdEM
i dont agree with showing this vid on open forum

[Mr Meaty]

I agree with you all, he always has excellent advice. I think everyone who has replied has taken what I have said the wrong way. I apologize. I will say no more of this subject.

[tarheels910]

I agree with you all, he always has excellent advice. I think everyone who has replied has taken what I have said the wrong way. I apologize. I will say no more of this subject.
I do agree, I can be harsh at times. But sometimes its just the person's fault. I mean feeding rosy reds to africans, or keeping 9 mbuna in a 10 gallon. Some of this stuff is far beyond what is right.

[AquariumNoob13]

I do agree, I can be harsh at times. But sometimes its just the person's fault. I mean feeding rosy reds to africans, or keeping 9 mbuna in a 10 gallon. Some of this stuff is far beyond what is right.

SOMEONE KEPT 9 MBUNA IN A 10 GALLON?!?!?!?! omg! omg! i feel so so sorry for those poor poor fish. =[

[AquariumNoob13]

i dont agree with showing this vid on open forum

i get why you disagree with showing this vid, but i did not post it because it was fish eating fish. i posted it because of all the beautiful africans in that tank.

[nickmcmechan]

i get why you disagree with showing this vid, but i did not post it because it was fish eating fish. i posted it because of all the beautiful africans in that tank.
fair enough, was just my opinion, and probaby not stating a fact that it shoud not be dispayed, if that makes any sense?

[AquariumNoob13]

fair enough, was just my opinion, and probaby not stating a fact that it shoud not be dispayed, if that makes any sense?

ah. ok. i see. and yes, it makes perfect sense. :)

[n0zqh]

i dont agree with showing this vid on open forum

Why not? All I seen was someone feeding their fish.

[MySpace Mike]

I agree with nozqh, all i seen was a person feeding their fish. The fact is live feeders are now a part of aquaria more than ever. Feeding live feeders to your fish isnt mean, its another source of food, so the fish doesnt become dependant one one certain food source. It's no different than feeding your fish brine shrimp, brine shrimp is an animal too just like live feeders are, but we look at brine shrimp differently because why? Because they're mainly frozen, but it makes no idfference because brine shrimp were living animals at one time right.

Now I would understand if he posted a video of say a live mouse being tossed into a piranha tank, but it's a video of feeders, which is a common source of protien that hobbyist feed to their fish. I see it this way, fish in the wild eat other small fish right, do see someone running around your local lakes throwing in pellets to feed the fish? Of course not because we would think the person has lost their mind.

[nickmcmechan]

i agree in a way, however, my opinion, and not a fact, is that i see it differenty, thats all...i eat cows, sheep, and fish!...i just see it differenty on this one, but happy to accept

[AquariumNoob13]

lolz. lots of argument over someone's opinion. (at least that is MY opinion) ^_^

[Coler]

I'm always a bit uncomfortable with feeder fish. So fish eat fish in the wild...it seems to me that this is often hauled out there as a reason to feed fish in captivity...usually with a rider that 'they need to eat other fish...its natural'. However, once you make a decision to keep fish in an aquarium you are removing them from nature and the same rules don't apply.

For instance, in nature, those fish would have to hunt for their food and their food could try and escape. So, 1) keeping fish in an aquarium is distinctly unnatural. 2) feeding fish other fish in an aquarium is distinctly unnatural and 3) most aquarium carnivorous fish will never even have seen a prey fish before it is tossed into their tank.

I accept an exception in cases of wild caught carnivores...which clearly require proper sized tanks and likely a prey diet...and are not suitable for most home aquarists.

In reality, nothing in feeder fish is unavailable in a proper diet which does not incorporate feeder fish. That and the fact that feeders can be a wonderful source of disease tends to put me in the don't feed fish live fish in captivity camp.

[AquariumNoob13]

well everyone has a capacity for which they can handle. i know a bunch of people that don't mind the fact that animals eat other animals in the wild, but they would never in a million years feed anything alive to something else.

[Ruben Tolon]

In reality, nothing in feeder fish is unavailable in a proper diet which does not incorporate feeder fish. That and the fact that feeders can be a wonderful source of disease tends to put me in the don't feed fish live fish in captivity camp.

This is exactly why I'm against the culture within the hobby of just buying feeders at the LFS/petstore and feeding them to the predator fishes that same day. It's a whole different thing if an aquarist raises their own convicts or guppies to use as feeders, but there are a lot of people who will go down to petsmart buy a couple dozen rosy reds and feed them to the oscars that same day without thinking of nutritional value or quarantining.

[AquariumNoob13]

i do not raise my own guppies that i feed to my JD, but i do not get them at pet stores either. my friend breeds guppies and every now and then gives me a few. he is very knowledgeable about guppies and i trust him that his guppies are perfectly healthy.

[charlie_stubbs]

Behold my multi quoting skill:


I do agree, I can be harsh at times. But sometimes its just the person's fault. I mean feeding rosy reds to africans, or keeping 9 mbuna in a 10 gallon. Some of this stuff is far beyond what is right.

I have asked for, and recieved, good advice from Tarheels. Though he may need to work on his bedside manner, he would make a fine cichlid doctor.


I'm always a bit uncomfortable with feeder fish. So fish eat fish in the wild...it seems to me that this is often hauled out there as a reason to feed fish in captivity...usually with a rider that 'they need to eat other fish...its natural'. However, once you make a decision to keep fish in an aquarium you are removing them from nature and the same rules don't apply.

For instance, in nature, those fish would have to hunt for their food and their food could try and escape. So, 1) keeping fish in an aquarium is distinctly unnatural. 2) feeding fish other fish in an aquarium is distinctly unnatural and 3) most aquarium carnivorous fish will never even have seen a prey fish before it is tossed into their tank.

I accept an exception in cases of wild caught carnivores...which clearly require proper sized tanks and likely a prey diet...and are not suitable for most home aquarists.

In reality, nothing in feeder fish is unavailable in a proper diet which does not incorporate feeder fish. That and the fact that feeders can be a wonderful source of disease tends to put me in the don't feed fish live fish in captivity camp.

Well said, my hairy friend. I would agree with such reasoning. If you were those feeders lawyer, and I was the judge, they would walk. Or swim. Whichever may apply.


i do not raise my own guppies that i feed to my JD, but i do not get them at pet stores either. my friend breeds guppies and every now and then gives me a few. he is very knowledgeable about guppies and i trust him that his guppies are perfectly healthy.

I must say AquariumNoob, your excitement for the hobby certainly shines through. You ask alot of questions and do alot of research before you make your decisions, I think at this rate you will have more posts than RBishop in no time.

[AquariumNoob13]

hahaha. i love keeping fish, and love the fish i have, so before i ever make a decision, i always do research. i like this site because most of the time i can find helpful friends (like tarheels) who give me great advice. it is much easier starting a thread on here than googling. hehehe. sorry if i seem lazy, but a lot of times you search for one thing on google and u get results for completely different things.