View Full Version : one hundred and fifty g's
I purchased a 150 g oceanic today. I have two Festae males (1")to put in it, once its cycles. Many questions: what filtration does everyone think? What substrate? Do I need dither fish? Should I get a female for breeding? Is this tank to small for two males? Bottom feeders/algae eaters? As you can see I have alot of questions.... thanks for you response. More questions on fishless cycling to follow.
cool. where did u get those festae from? and how much? at 1", how can u determine their sexes? they should be fine in a 150G, but at 1", I'd rather stick them in a 10G to grow a lil 1st.
Tightdog1
03-28-2003, 2:56 PM
filtration eheim pro 2 for your tank size.
sand to small gravel natural substrate.
if you get a female and you do get a pair the other male may get killed, the female mey get killed too during breeding.
dithers would have t0o be just play by ear unless you want dithers.
ChilDawg
03-28-2003, 3:06 PM
Do Festaes really need dithers? I thought that they had that killer instinct going for them and would come out to see the world on their own.
Target fish, however, during breeding time would not be a bad idea. (If, of course, they were improperly sexed at such a small size. I wouldn't count that out as I didn't think dimorphism reared its beautiful head at such a small cichlid size, with obvious exceptions being the dimorphic dwarves.)
ChilDawg
03-28-2003, 3:08 PM
I would think about a big-ol' common plec for the bottom as they can easily hold their own (against most things, anyway) and have some serious armor. Plus they will take care of any algae which you may have.
Otherwise, if you want a non-algae-eating bottom dweller, Bagrids are great catfish in that they are well-armored as well as beautiful.
Best of luck,
Matthew
Tightdog1
03-28-2003, 3:16 PM
i dont know if they would need dithers but it normally jsut depends on the fish. you kinda have to play it by ear. if they hide all the time then dithers would be a good idea but if the run around everywhere then no dirthers.
but a common pleco would be the best idea for algae control cause they cheap and they love to eat that algae, except when the get really big!
ChilDawg
03-28-2003, 3:19 PM
Yeah, but at that point, you might be able to sell back a big "Common" and start over. The only question is if the Festaes would treat such a newcomer with the respect that any Loricariid deserves.
The problem is that I cannot think of anything smaller able to withstand Festae-beatings and clean algae at the same time.
Tightdog1
03-28-2003, 3:24 PM
yea but most plecos are ignored by most cichlids because they only come out and move at night mostly.
ChilDawg
03-28-2003, 3:34 PM
Fair enough on that. I, personally, would have something at least as large as Festaes for safety's sake, but I definitely see that staying away from diurnal Loricariids is part of the key.
Thank you for all of the replies and the info. I gues I need to answer some questions, and ask some.;) TTman I got them at my LFS, the manager there knows a breeder in Illinois, I think the Chicago area although I am not certain, and anyway they get in some real nice fish.:D They were $12.95 ea so I picked the bigger one as the smaller one had some tattered fins and was well smaller. The guy at the store told me he would never sell the small one so gave me both for the price of one. I have them in a ten gallon right now and my 20 long finished cycling today. I will do one more check tommorrow and then put them in it until I get the big tank ready. Tightdog is one eheimpro2 enough or do I need two? How many gph are they? Do I need a HOB like a couple of emperor's or penguin's for bio filter? Childawg, I am not familiar with the Bagrid catfish but I love cats, is there a link where I could get some more info? Oh I think I sexed them correctly although they are small. They both have the blue sparkles in their tail and dorsal fin and there is no black in the front of the dorsal the sparkles go all the way up. From what I have gathered that is the easiest way to sex them although they are still really small. Thanks all
ChilDawg
03-28-2003, 7:04 PM
Okay, Bagrid cats are any cats belonging to the family Bagridae. However, I am a little frustrated with the fact that I told you that Bagrids were what you should look for. Doradids are what you want--things along the lines of Rafaels, Chocolate catfish, and Ripsaw Cats (40" long, you don't want those).
Here is a link to a small list of Doradids: http://www.aquariacentral.com/species/db.cgi?db=fresh&uid=default&Family=Doradidae&view_records=1
I can't believe that I told you the wrong thing at first. I apologize, but hopefully this will help!
Thanks for the link. I really like the talking cat and they have a couple at my LFS. They also have one labeled a Peruvian Jaguar Cat and it looks very similar to the talking cat have you ever heard of this one? They don't have a scientific name or more acurately I didn't ask.
ChilDawg
03-28-2003, 8:01 PM
From what I have found, the fish about which you are talking belongs to Auchenipteridae, the Giraffe Catfish family. I believe that it is called Liosomadoras oncinus, so it is not quite the same as the Talking Catfish.
Here is a link: http://www.aquariacentral.com/species/db.cgi?db=fresh&uid=default&ID=0040&view_records=1
Yeah, that's him, thanks. Being carnivorous I reckon he'll eat frozen food won't he?
ChilDawg
03-28-2003, 8:21 PM
As long as you thaw it first. Just make sure that you don't feed too much red meat, as fish aren't really built to digest it. I have heard people swear by beef heart, but I have also heard that it is beyond nutritionally deficient.
thanks for the info on fish, any advice on filtration? Between a big cat and some festae that seems like alot of mess.
ChilDawg
03-28-2003, 8:43 PM
It will be a lot of mess, but, unfortunately, I know very little about large filters, so hopefully someone else will chime in, but if they don't in a few days, try writing a new thread.
TTman
03-28-2003, 10:55 PM
hey what's the name & location of dat store (I'm also in GA).
The Pet Store in Athens. The manager is John but the guy I usually talk to is Tom. He was the one telling me about the breeder. They also just hooked up with an apisto breeder in Athens and always have a couple of pairs, although they go quick. There is also a good one in Marietta called Atlantis Aquariums (?) Its on Roswell rd just past Johnson Ferry on the left if you are coming from Roswell to Marietta and one in Alpharetta called Aquariums something its at the end of Windward Parkway where it hits 9 just north of the mall. Its across from Wal-Mart. They have mostly saltwater but occasionally they will get in some nice central americans and they almost always have a nice selection of rams and apistos. My favorite all around for fish though is in Duluth on Pleasant Hill Rd by the Gwinett place mall they usually have an awesome selection from Discus to Cats to SA/CA almost all juvenile. From what I can tell most all of them get their shipments on Tuesday so Wednesday is usually the best day to go.
wow u seem to know yer way around (that's a WIDE stretch). what part of GA u in? when r u hitting those stores again? A friend & I would love to tag along.
I live in a town called Jefferson which is mid way between Athens and Gainesville but I work in Alpharetta. I usually go to the store in Athens if I want something on my day off and Alp or Marietta if I need something on the way home from work or am browsing on my lunch break. I get paid on Friday:D but my wife's birthday is on Sat;) so I probably won't go until weekend after next or so. I can put up a post next time though if you want to go. By the way the one in Alpharetta is called Aquarium Showcase.