My aquaria

[eds]

In another thread I was asked to post pictures of my aquaria so here they are.

I've always had fish tanks and when my wife and I bought this house the deal was I'd stick to two. So I'd better make them big ones!

Malawi tank
The Malawi tank is 2.4 metres long (just under 8ft) and 2ft wide and tall.


It has a central weir that feeds into two quarantine / breeding / growing on tanks.


The water then passes into the filter,

The pipework from the weir and between QT and filter all passes behind our very ancient leopard gecko's enclosure.

The tank still needs finishing off - I have all the material to make the cabinet bit have been busy in the garden while the weather has been so nice over here on days when I'm not in work!

Amazon tank (to be!)
This will be my Amazonian tank. It's currently home to 4 fancy goldfish that summer outside in the pond that I mentioned in the other thread.


When it's finished there will be a black backdrop above the tank on the sides and rear to enclose the top. Branches (I have some corkscrew hazel drying off outside) will stretch above and below the water from the right rear corner with some larger pieces of wood forming a trunk effect in that corner.

The back, sides and weirs will be covered with black plastic inside or out.

Plants will be growing mainly above the water (not the agave and other seedlings there at the moment!) But there will be some large Amazon swords in the rear left corner that should grow out of the water. Some wood will hide the pots they are planted in.

 

[eds]

Altum angels? P. leopoldii? Heckel discus? Any fancy plecos? (I’m growing up an L14)

I'm looking at 6-8 red shoulder Manacapuras or similar. I think quality wild or near wild scalare are the best looking angels out there!

For discus it will be 6-8 Red turquoise or possibly red spotted tefe greens. Again wild looking are the aim.

I have a group of six white seam / starlight plecos in QT in my Malawi set up ready to go in plus my friend has some great scribbled small panaques that I'm tempted with. I also want some giant whiptails (though I'm worried they will be too big and look out of place).

 

[Linus_Cello]

If you’re interested in catfish, and Covid 19 permitting, our fish club hosts the Catfish convention outside of DC in October.

https://www.catfishcon.com/

 

[eds]

If you’re interested in catfish, and Covid 19 permitting, our fish club hosts the Catfish convention outside of DC in October.

https://www.catfishcon.com/

Catfish are nice but cichlids are more my thing! And unfortunately DC is a bit of a trek from Nuthall (a little village on the outskirts of Nottingham in the UK!)

I used to be a member of the BCA (British Cichlid Association) and BKA (British Killifish Association) back in the day!

 

[Don I]

Neat.
Don

 

[Linus_Cello]

We often get speakers from Germany, but understand it’s a bit far for you. So you are in the UK. Have you met aquascaper George Farmer?

 

[eds]

We often get speakers from Germany, but understand it’s a bit far for you. So you are in the UK. Have you met aquascaper George Farmer?

I've not met George but used to be part of UKAPS and was a moderator and wrote an article or two for the website. High tech planted tanks are too much like hard work these days! A lot of trimming, water changes and not enough fish!!!

 

[Ernesto]

If you’re interested in catfish, and Covid 19 permitting, our fish club hosts the Catfish convention outside of DC in October.

https://www.catfishcon.com/

I had been meaning to go to Catfish Con last year, but was stuck at work.

 

[Linus_Cello]

I had been meaning to go to Catfish Con last year, but was stuck at work.

There are several Catfish Conventions in the US. The one near DC is held every 2 years on the even years.

 

[abax]

Cichlids!!!! I used to breed the small African
Cichlids and love them for the color and ease
of breeding. Have you got an Oscar? Oscars are
the only fish I'd call a pet...came to me when I
approached the tank and fed from my hand...also
ate a couple of other fish.

 

[Ernesto]

There are several Catfish Conventions in the US. The one near DC is held every 2 years on the even years.

Ah I must have been thinking about two years ago then. I attended the big all-day PVAS auction last fall and sold a ton of bettas. I wanted to attend more meetings after that but with the state of the world at the moment I don’t know when the next one will be.

 

[Linus_Cello]

Ah I must have been thinking about two years ago then. I attended the big all-day PVAS auction last fall and sold a ton of bettas. I wanted to attend more meetings after that but with the state of the world at the moment I don’t know when the next one will be.

I was one of the auctioneers. Right now PVAS (CCAA and GWAPA) are doing virtual meetings. Shame the anniversary celebration and shrimp festival had to be canceled.

 

[TyroneGenade]

I used to be a member of the BCA (British Cichlid Association) and BKA (British Killifish Association) back in the day!

There are some BIG killifish coming out of the Amazon... Look up Moema quii. And Gnatholebias. I know a few BKA members breeding South American killifish...

 

[eds]

Cichlids!!!! I used to breed the small African
Cichlids and love them for the color and ease
of breeding. Have you got an Oscar? Oscars are
the only fish I'd call a pet...came to me when I
approached the tank and fed from my hand...also
ate a couple of other fish.

Not got an Oscar, though we did toy with a pair for the 5ft tank for a while as my son loves the larger fish with a bit of character. Our two Nimbochromis venustus in the 8ft tank are good characters though - the female launches herself out of the water when you're trying to feed them.

Cichlids in the Amazon tank will definitely be more sedate choices - angelfish, discus and maybe Mesonauta and then multiple pairs of a dwarf species (which might be West Africans!)

There are some BIG killifish coming out of the Amazon... Look up Moema quii. And Gnatholebias. I know a few BKA members breeding South American killifish...

Now that sounds good! The other species than the dwarf cichlids that I thought might break the South American biotope might be some Aphyosemion but will look at the South American species too though worried that the open riparium design might let them launch themselves a bit too easily!

 

[TyroneGenade]

Yeah, some of the Rivulus could decide to explore drier ground... but my Rivulus rarely jump out the tank even though catch them above water quite often. The only exception is Kryptolebias marmoratus... I don't know how it is able to navigate my aquaria so effectively. I have found them two tiers up from where I put them.

Check out http://www.itrainsfishes.net . See https://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?disp&viewseller&Strathclyde , George (strathclyde) is a friend of mine.

 

[eds]

I think I've bought fish or eggs from him in the dim and distant past (or another Glaswegian seller!).

When I finish setting up the rest of the fish room there will definitely by a rack of small tanks for killifish breeding again, though the West Africans will win I think - certainly some of the newer Chromaphyosemions...

 

[Ray]

I have had tanks on and off since junior high. Typical community tanks, African cichlids, marine, etc. When I was in high school I raised a bunch of typical “tiger” oscars, getting it down to a breeding pair in a 55 gallon tank. The 55 below was kept full of feeder goldfish. There used to be a place in Lilypons MD that raised goldfish, and you could buy 1000 for about $20.

When I took my first job out of school, we lived outside of Louisville KY. There was a pet store that got a bunch of African cichlids in - no doubt for the color - but didn’t realize they were not great for a community tank, so they ended up getting most of them back. They discounted the hell of out them, so I bought them all (about 30, 3” fish for $25), and they even gave me a 10% discount if I could catch them myself.

 

[Linus_Cello]

When I took my first job out of school, we lived outside of Louisville KY. There was a pet store that got a bunch of African cichlids in - no doubt for the color - but didn’t realize they were not great for a community tank, so they ended up getting most of them back.

Malawi?

 

[Ray]

It was an assortment.

 

[NYEric]

I uaed to do fish. Guppies and =swordfish when I was a kid, on to salt water mini reef system. No mas. Plants only.