A problem with tankmates

[Frank Castle]

OK, I see what you're getting at. So, although space seems plentiful right now, it won't be for long. The lady probably should have explained that a bit better... I have a friend from work who has a 100 gal tank she's had set up for almist as long as I've had mine set up, but she doesn't have but one small fish right now. Thinking about letting her have Snowball. I think he would be more comfortable with more space and less " nosy neighbors."
The thing with the filters, you mean when I rinse them out and all those little black pebbles accumulate at the very bottom of the filter pouch thing, right? Cause I was kind of wondering about that already, thought maybe I did something wrong...

the little black pebbles are your carbon filtration, which only useful for taking medication out of the water, they don't really pertain much to Beneficial Bacteria. I don't use carbon in my sponge filters, I replace them w/ regular rocks that have lots of grooves and surface area to support Beneficial Bacteria, then Filter Wool on top and Filter Polishing Pad on top of that before putting the lid on. Are you familiar with the Ammonia Cycle?

And, yes, it is very surprising the size of fish this guy is able to eat. I would've never thought he would've been able to swallow the damn plecos, they werent as little as a few that I had in the old tank.

Ya, I think of them as snakes with gill. They only need to feed once or twice a week, sometimes they fast for periods of time and they can eat much larger prey items than their head. They also regurgitate if you feed them too much which is a very very BAD no-no for both Eels and Snakes

 

[Tifftastic]

My husband seems to be considering selling snowball, but I would really rather the fish go. Idk a lot about maintaining or setting up the tank, but I have found that I really like keeping the eels. I thought they would be boring, but they aren't. They are all different from each other. Sure, Snowball seems to be a mindless eating machine sometimes, but he is shy, reserved, and "sensitive." The peacock eel is very active and seems to swim to the front of the tank like a puppy saying "do you see me? Look how handsome I am!" And the rope fish is very curious, always bumping into and swirling around my arm when I have to reach into the tank. He also follows the kids' fingers across the tank like he is playing with them. You think maybe it would be better if I just kept the eels, space-wise? Might cut down on some of the hostility as well?

If you keep the eel ("Snowball") it needs to go to brackish and eventually full salt as it grows. It will not remain in freshwater long term.
The other two fish you refer to as eels are not eels, but are freshwater fish. The peacock eel and the ropefish will be fine in full freshwater and that size of tank long term. However, the rope fish may not succeed against the cichlids for food when the cichlids grow. Rope fish and all of the species in the Polypteridae family don't have the best vision and rely on smell to find food, they are pretty good at it, but the rope fish will never be as fast or as aggressive of an eater.
Additionally, the African cichlids and the South Americans won't be a good mix long term for many reasons. Preferred water conditions being a main one along with aggression and territorial behaviour.
Finally, the Oscar will outgrow the tank. The convicts will outbreed it. I think it is good that you are deciding which fish to keep, but keep the needs of the fish in mind when doing so.

In my experience with polypterids they are pretty interactive fish and having one in a species only tank can actually be quite rewarding. The behaviour you are experiencing from your ropefish is what I saw from my senegalus and I loved it. They are definitely one of my favourite fish.

 

[jaymekelley]

the little black pebbles are your carbon filtration, which only useful for taking medication out of the water, they don't really pertain much to Beneficial Bacteria. I don't use carbon in my sponge filters, I replace them w/ regular rocks that have lots of grooves and surface area to support Beneficial Bacteria, then Filter Wool on top and Filter Polishing Pad on top of that before putting the lid on. Are you familiar with the Ammonia Cycle?

Ya, I think of them as snakes with gill. They only need to feed once or twice a week, sometimes they fast for periods of time and they can eat much larger prey items than their head. They also regurgitate if you feed them too much which is a very very BAD no-no for both Eels and Snakes

No, I am not familiar with the ammonia cycle. And I think of snowball the same way, I affectionately refer to him as "the water snake" or "your sea monster" when I'm speaking to my husband. That's all he is, a snake that lives in the water. Sometimes he will smell the krill repeatedly but not take it, I try to be patient with him but I have three kids, a job, and the other fish which eat other food types to think of as well, so of course I'm not gonna sit there for twenty mins in hopes he will take a piece of krill.

 

[jaymekelley]

If you keep the eel ("Snowball") it needs to go to brackish and eventually full salt as it grows. It will not remain in freshwater long term.
The other two fish you refer to as eels are not eels, but are freshwater fish. The peacock eel and the ropefish will be fine in full freshwater and that size of tank long term. However, the rope fish may not succeed against the cichlids for food when the cichlids grow. Rope fish and all of the species in the Polypteridae family don't have the best vision and rely on smell to find food, they are pretty good at it, but the rope fish will never be as fast or as aggressive of an eater.
Additionally, the African cichlids and the South Americans won't be a good mix long term for many reasons. Preferred water conditions being a main one along with aggression and territorial behaviour.
Finally, the Oscar will outgrow the tank. The convicts will outbreed it. I think it is good that you are deciding which fish to keep, but keep the needs of the fish in mind when doing so.

In my experience with polypterids they are pretty interactive fish and having one in a species only tank can actually be quite rewarding. The behaviour you are experiencing from your ropefish is what I saw from my senegalus and I loved it. They are definitely one of my favourite fish.

Yes, the rope fish is great. Very calm, very calming to watch. I like to watch him leap up onto the top of the thermometer with his middle and just rest there a while. Its interesting. We call him "Ace," and my two yr old daughter will run up to the tank and say "Mommy I see Ace!" and she plays with him some. She also likes to look for the peacock while kind of singing "Sparky...where'd Sparky go....?" Lol, its super cute. we don't have the Oscars anymore, the cichlids tore their fins up pretty early on. One of them lasted longer than the other and we came home one day and he was dead in the corner of the tank. Not really 100% sure about the first one that died, I'm sure part of it was the other fish picking on him too hard, but from the time we put him in the tank he struggled more than all the others and kind of floated on his side unless he was startled and had to go hide somewhere. It was bad enough that we had named him "Can't-get-right." And, yes, the cichlids do eat much faster. The rope fish gets the pieces of blood worm that have been overlooked. When I thaw the block I dip it straight down to the peacock and run interference with the cichlids by scaring them away for long enough for him to eat what he wants of it first. They are very persistent and sometimes I have to thaw another block out for him because the two large cichlids will steal it from the tongs and eat the whole block themselves. I heard that cichlids shouldn't have blood worms more than twice a week, and I try to take that into consideration, anyone know if there's any truth to that? Can it hurt them somehow?

 

[Tifftastic]

It depends on what kind of African cichlids you have. Some are herbivorous and it can cause bloat. Some are piscivorous/omnivorous and it won't hurt them to have it more often. But blood worms are far from a balanced diet and should not be a staple food for any of the fish. Variety is going to be key to keeping them healthy.

 

[jaymekelley]

It depends on what kind of African cichlids you have. Some are herbivorous and it can cause bloat. Some are piscivorous/omnivorous and it won't hurt them to have it more often. But blood worms are far from a balanced diet and should not be a staple food for any of the fish. Variety is going to be key to keeping them healthy.

Okay, so what else do you think that the peacock would eat? He's been getting just blood worms since I've had him. This orange guy and the big blue one (not sire if it will let me post both pics in the same post or not) are the ones that steal the whole block, the other fish just take a few worms and move along.

 

[jaymekelley]

These two I just posted are the largest cichlids in the tank. The others are 1/3 to 1/2 this size.

 

[jaymekelley]

These two I just posted are the largest cichlids in the tank. The others are 1/3 to 1/2 this size.

Also, like I said, I don't know **** about them really, I just know that they're fish, they're aesthetically pleasing, and they all expect me to feed them every day, lol. I had to ask hubby what kind of cichlids they are to answer that question earlier in the thread.

 

[Frank Castle]

No, I am not familiar with the ammonia cycle. And I think of snowball the same way, I affectionately refer to him as "the water snake" or "your sea monster" when I'm speaking to my husband. That's all he is, a snake that lives in the water. Sometimes he will smell the krill repeatedly but not take it, I try to be patient with him but I have three kids, a job, and the other fish which eat other food types to think of as well, so of course I'm not gonna sit there for twenty mins in hopes he will take a piece of krill.

Yes, the rope fish is great. Very calm, very calming to watch. I like to watch him leap up onto the top of the thermometer with his middle and just rest there a while. Its interesting. We call him "Ace," and my two yr old daughter will run up to the tank and say "Mommy I see Ace!" and she plays with him some. She also likes to look for the peacock while kind of singing "Sparky...where'd Sparky go....?" Lol, its super cute. we don't have the Oscars anymore, the cichlids tore their fins up pretty early on. One of them lasted longer than the other and we came home one day and he was dead in the corner of the tank. Not really 100% sure about the first one that died, I'm sure part of it was the other fish picking on him too hard, but from the time we put him in the tank he struggled more than all the others and kind of floated on his side unless he was startled and had to go hide somewhere. It was bad enough that we had named him "Can't-get-right." And, yes, the cichlids do eat much faster. The rope fish gets the pieces of blood worm that have been overlooked. When I thaw the block I dip it straight down to the peacock and run interference with the cichlids by scaring them away for long enough for him to eat what he wants of it first. They are very persistent and sometimes I have to thaw another block out for him because the two large cichlids will steal it from the tongs and eat the whole block themselves. I heard that cichlids shouldn't have blood worms more than twice a week, and I try to take that into consideration, anyone know if there's any truth to that? Can it hurt them somehow?

I truly want to advise you guys to research everything going on here that's being discussed. The Ammonia Cycle is something that needs to be well-understood by ANY fishkeeper from Guppy to Whale Sharks. It explains how fish waste is converted into fuel to run your bio-filter and it's something that people should know before starting a tank.

My other advice is that you need to research each and every individual species you own and learn everything you can to the fullest extent to care from them properly. Impulse buys will happen but you can fix the issue quicker by arming yourself w/ an education. Knowledge before going into the process of buying/doing - like finding out that Oscars have no teeth and poorly defend themselves - is of the utmost importance in this hobby. Now you will to work twice as hard and twice as fast to sort things out properly.

Also, you got Kenyi cichlid, which happen to very EXTREMELY aggressive so good luck w/ tankmates. and make sure you get them eating a good staple pellet like Hikari

 

[jaymekelley]

I truly want to advise you guys to research everything going on here that's being discussed. The Ammonia Cycle is something that needs to be well-understood by ANY fishkeeper from Guppy to Whale Sharks. It explains how fish waste is converted into fuel to run your bio-filter and it's something that people should know before starting a tank.

My other advice is that you need to research each and every individual species you own and learn everything you can to the fullest extent to care from them properly. Impulse buys will happen but you can fix the issue quicker by arming yourself w/ an education. Knowledge before going into the process of buying/doing - like finding out that Oscars have no teeth and poorly defend themselves - is of the utmost importance in this hobby. Now you will to work twice as hard and twice as fast to sort things out properly.

Also, you got Kenyi cichlid, which happen to very EXTREMELY aggressive so good luck w/ tankmates. and make sure you get them eating a good staple pellet like Hikari

Which one is a Kenyi? The two large ones came with the tank, one of their babies is here too, he's a little brown one. The two big one are kind of the bosses of the tank. The blue one is more chill, but chases for longer when one of the other fish bothers him. The orange one is kind of a jerk, in general. And what's the deal with the blue one spitting sand everywhere? He has built a huge mound of sand in the front of the tank doing it, idk why, but the peacock likes to rest in there, so I just let him do it. Def going to research the ammonia cycle though.