Diary of the 75G planted tank.... New pics 6/26/06

[sir_dudeguy]

oh, the tank prices are no problem, as i've got several tanks at home that are "waiting" for fish lol...just layin around basically. I've got a 25 or 29 with turtles in it now, they might be moving...i've got a few tens, and i've got on thats 28.5 gallons, but its weird...5 feet long, a foot high, by 9 and a half inches front to back...i'd love to get this tank up and running, as i've got a bunch of old hob filters i could use, but its got a leak somewear, and its been sittin in the sun forever and i need to get that all fixed before being used

so i'd proly just go w/the 10, and if i can get the turtles out i'll go for the 25/9

as for the prices, i was more askin prices on the rams

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I got mine here for 12.99 each. But if you want a pair and are not sure which are male or female, then the lfs can order you a pair, but might cost a little more. But at least it's guaranteed that you get a pair then.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

ya, and i'm sure someone by me has them breeding too.

If i do it in a 10, would 2 wisper 20's be good enough filtration? i know that they say up to 20 gallon tanks, but i've got one running on what was gonna be a nano-coral tank (2 gallons) and i think its not strong enough for corals..i've got 2 of the filters too, the both came w/the turtle tank

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I'm currently just running the 1 Whisper that came with the 10G. But no bioload yet, just adding ammonia to keep the bacteria alive til I get my fry in there, if I get that far. Will need to check my nitrites first, as I know the ammonia drops to 0ppm, but the nitrites sometimes does and sometimes doesn't. I'm at the very end of the cycle on it.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Nice shots!

 

[Glenc]

Absolutely amazing pics! Love the colours of your fish, can't believe you could gravel vac and they kept at it! Congratulations! Your gonna have more fish than plants soon!

 

[GlitcH]

Great pics LWB...Congrats...now the countdown to wiggler pics begins.

 

[Jchillin]

Hmmm...I'm going to reserve comments until, well.

I kinda sensed this was going to happen last night, didn't want to make it official since there were three of them in the "dance" at the time. Looks like you are gonna have your hands full, with both the GBR's and the Bolivians. Good luck.

 

[Hara]

COngratulations and good luck with them!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Absolutely amazing pics! Love the colours of your fish, can't believe you could gravel vac and they kept at it! Congratulations! Your gonna have more fish than plants soon!

Yup, when they started to dance, nothing was going to stop them, lol. I didn't do any gravel vac'in when she started laying the eggs though. I filled the tank back up and left them alone, other than taking a few pics.

This morning, nobody was by the eggs. lol. The female was with the other GBR's, and the male was above the anacharis, watching, but not close. Then the big sailfin came close, and he came down and was thinking, now how am I going to stop this thing, lol. But the sailfin turned around and went the other way. Then I dropped in a vegi wafer away from the eggs to draw the sailfins attention to it so he wouldn't bother them. They aren't like the Bolivians, where they stand guard real close. And when I fed, they all came to feed and then the male went back to the corner.

 

[czcz]

What a wonderful moment to capture with pictures!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Update:

The female is staying closer to the eggs now, and fanning them more often. Then the male comes and relieves her on occasion, but doesn't last long and she comes back to resume her duties. Quite fun to watch, and another good thing? I'm on vacation this week, hehe. So I get to watch, and not go to work, lol.

 

[Northwest-Wolf]

 

[Lonewolfblue]

No more Bolivians....

Just kidding, lol. They have been moved to their new home now. I have the lights off for a bit to help reduce stress. Talk about tough trying to catch them in a heavily planted tank, lol. I had to get my big net out. I placed it in the middle, and I used my bare hand going through the plants to direct the Bolivians where I wanted them to go. Practically had to dive in to get them, lol. But the transition has gone smooth so far. Hope they enjoy their new home. This morning, both ammonia and nitrite were 0ppm. Tomorrow will do 1 more PWC just to get a little more fresh water in there.

 

[Friendly]

No more Bolivians....

LOL good one, I really thought your Bolivians were gone!

Congrats on your GBRs! Hopefully the eggs will hatch. I bought 2 GBRs today and one looks like a female and the other a male and I'm hoping they'll want to spawn in the future. I know you said I should get them in groups of 3 but I had spotted them last minute and had already spent enough money on other fish/plants lol. How I wish rams weren't so expensive (8.99)!

Well GL with your GBR eggs and your Bolivians!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

2 will still be good. Let's hope they hook up...

Oh, and as a last note, my ick is gone. Has been gone now for 5 days. Will leave the temps up for 10 more days, and bring everything back to normal.

Edit:
I don't see the eggs anymore. Did the parents eat them? They are no longer in the corner, and wandering with the other GBR's.

 

[elliott_001]

Hey LWB, thats an awesome tank you have there, those pics of your rams are sweet! Dont know if you remember, but a while ago my rams were showing definate signs of breeding. They dug a pit and spent a lot of time around it, but in the end they didn't spawn! The male was defensive over the pit, but i never saw and action going on, or eggs! lol.
How long is it on average between spawnings? I wonder if they will have another go?

If all your rams eggs have gone they may have moved them? Dont rams move the eggs around sometimes? Just a thought..

 

[Lonewolfblue]

This was their first, so I'm not sure, lol.

As for eggs, you might have had some. They are very hard to see, and depending on your gravel, might be near impossible to see. On my Eco, it was hard to see the eggs, but they were visible.

I also found out that if the parents feel the eggs are threatened in any way, they will eat the eggs. And if the male was defending the pit, and the female was swimming around freely and occasionally coming back to the pit, you probably had eggs somewhere.

 

[elliott_001]

Oh right. Thats pretty good to know. When your rams spawn do you generally try/hope for success? Or do you just let them do their own thing, and not mind either way? It's a good sign of health and happiness when they do spawn, but just wondered if you really want the babies or not?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

The next time the GBR's spawn, I'll be moving the eggs to a 10G that I have set up. As for the Bolivians, will see if they raise their own first. If not, then the next time I'll move the eggs.

Edit:
Update on Bolivian Ram. I moved the singled out Bolivian back to the 75G, properly acclimating him, as he was getting a bit stressed out from being ruthlessly attacked a few times. I never seen them do that before. But I guess it can happen. When I placed back in the 75G, he bolted into the swords for cover. Within 10 minutes, he was wandering a bit. Then I went into town to eat at Skippers, which you'll see my thread in The Lounge (Disaster waiting to happen?) about the experience, lol, when I got back, he was out begging for food, lol. And it's like he was saying, thank you, thank you, thank you for putting me back with all my real friends that love me and not harrass me, lol. He's not being harrassed anymore, and is extremely happy.