cichlids for a 10g - apologies to those who i have offended

[Blazeherd2306]

I have a dwarf cichlid curviceps in my ten gallon tank. He acts very much like the larger cichlids I have kept: he has his own territory (he's always defending his little cave) and he begs for food every time I get near the tank.

Also, they may not look colorful in pictures on the internet, but mine's tail lights up whenever the light hits it right.

 

[triazole]

yep, they are cute, specially with the smile. one of the stores i go to recently brought in L. curviceps, and A. thomasi.
but i'll keep the 10g as a spare (cycled with the BA tetras, as i'm no longer using them as dithers) for contingencies.
BTW, are you sure your curviceps is a he ?

 

[Blazeherd2306]

yep, they are cute, specially with the smile. one of the stores i go to recently brought in L. curviceps, and A. thomasi.
but i'll keep the 10g as a spare (cycled with the BA tetras, as i'm no longer using them as dithers) for contingencies.
BTW, are you sure your curviceps is a he ?

I just refer to it as a he because it is one mean little fish. I guess I thought that the females would be nicer.

 

[triazole]

. i have seen them with bolivian rams at my store. they didn't seem very aggressive! and for that very reason i was thinking of introducing some to the 29g. i guess i'll have to read up some more on them.

 

[Blizzard]

Could you keep a yellow lab/electric yellow cichlid in a ten gal? It would only be temporary until I get my 30 gal. They would be babies too.

-Blizzard

 

[severum mama]

Smile. i have seen them with bolivian rams at my store. they didn't seem very aggressive! and for that very reason i was thinking of introducing some to the 29g.

Are you thinking of adding them to your 29 gallon with 8 jewels? I've kept Bolivians for a few years, and I honestly believe that jewels would tear them apart. If you're thinking about buying them for your 10 gallon, bear in mind that they do grow larger than GBRs and a 10 may not provide them with enough room. I wouldn't keep Bolivians in anything less than a 20 gallon, 2 foot tank- JMO. They are very cool fish though.

 

[triazole]

blizzard, i'm sure its perfectly fine to house baby labs for a while in a 10. but be sure to transfer them to the 30 as fast as you can. also, if possible try changing 50% of the water every 3/4 days.

SM, i'm sorry i wasn't clearer before. i was talking about the A. Thomasi, and thinking about adding them to the planted 29g. from what i see so far, the 29 would house only one pair of jewels, and probably some dithers. there's an angry old rainbow shark with them now, and despite his/her aggressive nature, i'm sure i'll have to move him/her when the jewels mature.

 

[triazole]

Sorry to bring the thread back from the dead, but i wanted to apologise for my stubbornness earlier, especially to Voodoo Chilli.
After keeping the jewels for about two months, i've realised that keeping them in a 10g would've been torture. they love to spread their wings.
please forgive me for my desperate desire to raise jewels in a 10g.

Since my last post, 2 of the jewels have paired off in the 29g, colored up to am amazingly fluorescent red (only the female though), and are raising their first batch of fry. i'm thinking about starting a thread in the breeding section, and posting pix there.
the rest of the 6 jewels have been moved to a 55g by themselves (too aggressive for tiger barbs). and are currently residing there. i'll possibly give them away if the pair stablizes. till now no signs of aggression, but i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

once again, i regret saying some things i shouldn't have, and not having listened carefully to people with more experience than me.

 

[Jchillin]

I commend you for returning to this thread and offering your experience with the jewels. This will go a long way toward helping others who would like to learn about them.

 

[Menagerie]

That took a lot of guts. I am glad your experience with the jewels has been so positive and now you will be able to give others great advice thanks for letting us know.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

Not a problem, Triaz.

I guess I was so adamant in trying to "set you straight" because I've been there myself. I've learned a lot about cichlids during the past 15 years, and a lot of that has come via the hard way. (That's the nice way of saying I made a lot of dumb decisions and stupid mistakes.) Because of this, I try to keep other aquarists (and their fish) from going through the same things I did. Now you'll be able to help others that come along and need to be guided along.

Good luck with the breeder pair.

 

[triazole]

Thanks for the kind words JC and menagerie.
VC, i went through my earlier posts and realised i was being plain dumb, and was very rude to you. i'm glad you forgave me . thanks again.