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Post by corycatwoman on Feb 26, 2009 13:28:33 GMT -5
soo i lost my gourami i believe his ventral feeling fin got sucked or stuck in the filter when i was out of the room. and i came back and half of one of them was missing and he couldnt swim normal and layed completely on his side on the bottom. i let him be for awhile and he finally passed on i felt helpless.
soo i would like to know with the remaining fish i have that are all doing extremely well after a few water changes and conditionings everyone is thriving i also added 3 juli corys to the tank.
what colorful fish is compatable with cory catfish and a dojo loach and im looking for a bigger fish possibly a cichlid. yellow lab. or other type of cichlid with lots of color and less agressive.
i need a centerpeice fish an eye catcher when you look into my tank its the first thing you notice.
soo recap.
3 albino corys 3 juli corys 1 golden dojo loach
need a tank mate thats colorful and 4-5 inches that wont eat my corys
preferably cichlid. yellow lab, peacock etc...
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Post by murdock6701 on Feb 26, 2009 13:38:37 GMT -5
your tank is a 28 gallon right? yellow labs would be good....recommend from what I have learned here 1 male + 3 females - they are hard to sex so hopefully someone who knows something at your lfs will help you there - if they are all from the same batch received at the same time males are larger than the females but if they just resock the tank whn fish numbers are low for that species, it'll be hard to tell - maybe some of the other cichlid lovers here could recommend a breed that would be easier to identify and be mellow and community oriented
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Post by murdock6701 on Feb 26, 2009 13:43:59 GMT -5
oops, sorry about your gourami...... oh, if you do decide cichlids, they like lots of caves and hidey holes - do some reading before deciding.....did you ever divide your tank? if so, I don't think cichlids would be a wise choice
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Post by corycatwoman on Feb 26, 2009 13:50:42 GMT -5
nope havent gotten it divided yet. ill definately show you guyz a picture.
its either a 28 or a 32 or a 36 bow front. still not sure.
dimensions are
24 long 20 tall 12 wide 15 wide at the bow
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Post by jonv on Feb 26, 2009 14:07:30 GMT -5
The Mbuna type John is talking about, Labidochromis Caereleus would do very well with the rock settings. A Peacock or Hap type, probably not so much. It's good to have some rocks in a Hap/Peacock tank, but they don't usually dwell very low in the tank.
Consider also, depending on what your budget it, looking into the Victorian types that myself, Barb, and Brenda have. They have some very beautiful color patterns that even females have some decent looks to them, and many are not quite as aggressive as the Mbuna types too.
The advantage of going Mbuna, they are usually fairly common and not hard to find, and lower in price. The advantage of Victorians are better colors in my opinion and seem to be better off in a community type setting then Mbuna across the board.
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Post by jonv on Feb 26, 2009 14:09:48 GMT -5
Other opportunities out there would be almost any Apisto type from South American, Kribensis possibly, but I'd worry about this one. They spawn in the substrate, and this could potentially be an issue with cories. Tangyangikan Shell dwellers really could work well here, but one small draw back to these, the water needs of Tangyangikans is VERY high, like pH typically above 8 as a minimum, and very high GH and KH needs. Diet as well is very much like a Mbuna. You would need to be careful on the amount of live foods. But size is a big plus here. The females literally live their lives out of a shell.
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Post by corycatwoman on Feb 26, 2009 14:10:45 GMT -5
im thinking i might aswell transfer my cory back to the 10 gallon and just get the yellows anyway im just really frustrated and tired of losing fish when theres nothing i can do to help them. water conditions are good upkeep is regular.
first fish i lost was diseased from petstore. 2nd fish i lost was my betta ended up having amonia poisening cuz i was late changing his bowl 3rd fish was another diseased fish from the petstore. now my gourami who decided to get stuck in the filter and rip his fin off.
im just going to get the cichlids cuz my water conditions are perfect for them and they seem to be more durable of a fish than all the others ive had. and if i can transfer everyone back to the 10 gallon i can start a cichlid community tank and it should be the best way for me to go at this time.
thanks everyone. any cichlid information would be very useful also tank mates that may be compatible with a yellow lab.
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Post by murdock6701 on Feb 26, 2009 14:12:29 GMT -5
it's a 28 (little less)
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Post by murdock6701 on Feb 26, 2009 14:18:10 GMT -5
good advice Jon! was hoping you'd show up! great timing! zebra danios and neon or cardinal tetras or any species of tetra that don't frow more than 1-1/2" male great dither fish and add to movement and color - the labs may be shy for a while til they become comfortable and find their own territory so you want some fish in there so you have something to look at til the labs come out - READ! READ! READ!!!!! can't stress that enough! impulse buying usually leads to a bummer!
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Post by corycatwoman on Feb 26, 2009 16:14:18 GMT -5
so i should move my corys out of the tank before i get the labs and also all the petstores including the local one only have male labs at the moment. so i should just get 1 male and waite till i find a couple of females?
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Post by corycatwoman on Feb 26, 2009 16:28:49 GMT -5
i looked around for some rocks with holes in them most of the holes i doubt would be adequate size for an adult. so im thinking if i get a few planting pots of various sizes and place them in random places in the tank that should work well. still not sure if i would be able to mix my corys with the labs. im sure they would be fine with a juvenile lab. but not sure about when the lab reaches its adult size if they'd still be compatible.
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Post by murdock6701 on Feb 26, 2009 16:55:33 GMT -5
females should have places they can get into that the males can't - I am not the lab expert but am telling you what I have learned from experience and what I have read and been told - I would introduce them all at once based on what I have been told - that way they can all establish their own territory without constant chasing - I have a male lab all by himself, but that is not the game plan - getting a solo male may be a good idea in the sense that when he gets some females, they will not be inbreeding....I'd wait for a more knowledgable member to answer - I believe my advice is sound, in the meantime, I cannot stress reading as much as possible about them before buying them - get some dither fish as mentioned earlier......
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Post by corycatwoman on Feb 26, 2009 17:12:55 GMT -5
thanks you do help me more than i could ask for im going to most likely get my tank terrain set before adding any fish just so i can re cycle if needed so the whole bioload doesnt go into some sort of wacky change. but i just found out that my petco is having a 5 for 5 dollars community fish sale.
so im thinking 5 or 10 glolight tetras would be perfect dither fish and also blend in well with my tank considering it has black and red gravel.
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Post by eve on Feb 26, 2009 17:19:49 GMT -5
sorry about your gourami the yellows really don't get that big actually, they stay pretty small even decorations with holes in them, are perfect especially for females, since they stay a bit smaller i had a decoration with mine, which was like a coral, which had holes on top of it, and enough space for the female to fit in there even that the female was over 2 inch in lenght, she fit into it, and the holes wheren't bigger then maybe an inch or so however, i still suggest you holding off on purchasing any additional fish until your tank is completely cycled your tank is a 29 gallon www.twoofakind.info/fish/calculators/bow_tank_volume.htm
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Post by murdock6701 on Feb 26, 2009 17:40:31 GMT -5
if you use native rock, I would boil it first just to eliminate any foreign matter not conducive of a healthy tank
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Post by brenda on Feb 26, 2009 17:54:33 GMT -5
Sorry, to hear about your fish. I think it is a good idea to wait just a bit.
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Post by corycatwoman on Feb 26, 2009 18:47:45 GMT -5
i just baught 5 neon tetras and my tank is cycled completely all the levels are at 0 the nitrite nitrate and amonia. ph and kh are still high but thats normal for my source water.
im waiting on getting the rocks and decorations because they were all around 20 dollars for anything with holes in it. i might be able to find some cheap or free pots that would work well. im going to let my neons get full grown before purchasing a lab.
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Post by murdock6701 on Feb 26, 2009 19:06:23 GMT -5
nitrates should be a little higher than zero....what are your parameters if you don't mind me asking?
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Post by corycatwoman on Feb 26, 2009 19:21:15 GMT -5
i did my test last night but i can take a new one for you. give me a few moments.
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Post by corycatwoman on Feb 26, 2009 19:47:21 GMT -5
gh = 180 kh =240 ph= 8.5 no2=0 no3=20
amonia is at 0
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