sneakymission
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hey i just got a job at my LFS. Hoorah for me! It's an awesome job (at least for a 17 year old). I have a nice 38 gallon thats been ready for fish for a long time because i haven't had any money. Now i have money and don't even have to spend any on my aquarium! (btw i have 2 ac 300s and 2 corner filters, a 200 watt heater, florescent light)
Anyhoo... my boss (the owner) gave me a mated pair of electric yellow labidochromis. He wants me to breed them at home and then bring in the fry to sell at the store. So they made separate territories in my tank (I've got plenty of rock and driftwood). I also mixed some really awesome crushed coral (got from my work for free from a 20 + year old tank) in with some regular gravel. i heard that helps raise the ph a bit and acts as a buffer. I raised the temp to about 79-81 degrees. I had take this puffer and a red tail botia loach from my friend in an emergency and im worried about what they might do or get done to them... so far i haven't had any problems other than the loach getting chased out of their territories every once and a while. should i be worried? I was wondering if theres anything else i could do to ensure breeding. I was thinking maybe i should add another female. i also really wanted to add another species to the tank with contrasting colors. (maybe a electric blue hap or johanni) what would be the best compatibility wise? and also for breeding ease? wow i wrote a lot.... srry.
one last think. i was thinking of planting my tank but i thought live plants got destroyed by any cichlids. anyway i wanted to know peoples opinion on cheap lighting options and also on how unnecessary co2 or anything other stuff i would need. do those antic bulbs work even though they would still be below the 2 + watts per gallon? i have a 36 inch tank and i cant find anyplace that even sells any fixtures that size for a double strip or anything. i was thinking about investing in a t5. wow this is like a novel! ill stop now...
Anyhoo... my boss (the owner) gave me a mated pair of electric yellow labidochromis. He wants me to breed them at home and then bring in the fry to sell at the store. So they made separate territories in my tank (I've got plenty of rock and driftwood). I also mixed some really awesome crushed coral (got from my work for free from a 20 + year old tank) in with some regular gravel. i heard that helps raise the ph a bit and acts as a buffer. I raised the temp to about 79-81 degrees. I had take this puffer and a red tail botia loach from my friend in an emergency and im worried about what they might do or get done to them... so far i haven't had any problems other than the loach getting chased out of their territories every once and a while. should i be worried? I was wondering if theres anything else i could do to ensure breeding. I was thinking maybe i should add another female. i also really wanted to add another species to the tank with contrasting colors. (maybe a electric blue hap or johanni) what would be the best compatibility wise? and also for breeding ease? wow i wrote a lot.... srry.
one last think. i was thinking of planting my tank but i thought live plants got destroyed by any cichlids. anyway i wanted to know peoples opinion on cheap lighting options and also on how unnecessary co2 or anything other stuff i would need. do those antic bulbs work even though they would still be below the 2 + watts per gallon? i have a 36 inch tank and i cant find anyplace that even sells any fixtures that size for a double strip or anything. i was thinking about investing in a t5. wow this is like a novel! ill stop now...