No cichlids except for a female Firemouth that he grew friendly with.
He hates all other cichlids, and goes out of his way to kill them.
I have been power feeding & giving bi weekly water changes to other cichlids that I wanted to grow quickly so I could eventually add them to his tank.
After waiting for a few months, I finally got my 6x2x2.5 home. I then had to wait another 2 weeks for the cabinet to be made as I wanted it to be custom made.
I wanted it a little higher than normal as my Daughter loves to look in the tank as Bill is her favorite fish, but he doesn't feel the same way and smashes the glass every time she comes near, so having it a little higher would put him out of reach
Tank size: 6ft x 2ft x 2.5ft Approx 850 ltrs.
Overall size with cabinet & hood: 191cm x 66cm x 180cm.
Filtration: Fluval FX5, Internal Canister with media & sponges.
Lighting: 1x 6ft single with 2x 3ft Power Glo tubes, daily 8hrs. Soon to be upgraded to HO T5 double
Heating: 1x Eheim Jager 300wt, Soon to be upgraded to 2x Eheim Jager 300wt
Temp: 25c
pH: 7.0
GH: 120ppm
Water additives: A.P.I tap water conditioner, A.P.I Pond Melafix, Indian almond leaves
Tank when I got it home:
2 weeks later the cabinet arrives:
My daughter Lucy was absolutely amazed. She couldn't wait for her Bill, Friendly monster (Senegal Birchir) Bristles (Hoplo pair) & Scary Monster (RTC) to be added. These are names she has given to the fish except for Bill.
So at 7pm Friday 25-09-09 I started, I had to take most of the water out of the 6x14x14, Before I did that I started filling up from the hose and added the A.P.I Tap water conditioner. And also started to add some gravel from the 6x14x14
After filling halfway I started taking water from the 6x14x14 and adding it to the larger tank. I took out some more gravel, wood & plastic plants and put them in the new tank.
I also added the heater & Fluval FX5 and got it started, Ive had the FX5 on the 6x14x14 for approx 6 mths getting it ready for the new tank.
When I got to about 3/4 full I added some fish (Albino Tinfoil Barbs) I added some A.P.I Pond Melafix at this point as the ATB's have been taking a beating from Bill over the last few days.
I then completely emptied the 6x14x14 into the new tank and added the rest of the fish. I also added the cichlids that I have been growing out. I added 3 airstones & an airwall. Not something I want to keep in the tank long term, but added as I wanted plenty of flow in tank to stir the fresh water with the old.
I finished filling that tank with warmish water to bring it up to temp. I tested parameters Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate & pH with 0 Ammonia, Nitrite, 20ppm Nitrate & pH 7.4
The whole process took approx 2hrs with a couple of smoke & Bacardi breaks.
I added another 20kg of natural brown gravel & a black backing today, Also I tested water with the same readings as last night.
I haven't finished it as yet, I would like to remove the airstones and redecorate the tank again. It was a quick aqua scape as I wanted the cats to be able to hide and also the new fish to find quick homes from Bill
The fish in the tank:
Wild Bill - Texas Cichlid
Friendly monster - Senegal Birchir
Scary Monster - RTC
Bristles - Hoplo catfish pair
Dovii pair
Jaguar male
Jaguar cichlids x2
Gibbiceps
Albino Gibbiceps
Firemouth Female
A. pectinfrons x2
P. costatus x4
Albino Tinfoil Barbs x4
At the moment I'm deciding whether to put in 10x Silver dollars as more dithers.
More to come as I re aqua scape in the next few days.
People I'd like to thank:
Midland Pet & Aquarium Centre - Tank, Cabinet, Gravel, Heater, Globes, Backing
Terry - Firemouth, Birchir & delivering tank
Clint - Awesome airwall
Pacco - Tank
Kris - Building cabinet & lifting tank
Steve - Help lifting cabinet & tank
Lawdog - Little Jags
Facundo L. Bacardi - The few Bacardi's I had while doing the job
Perth Cichlid Society, Cichlid Madness, Tassie Cichlid Scene & its members - For keeping my interest in the hobby.
And most importantly,
Jayde - Helping get the warm water, Lifting the tank, hood, light & pouring me drinks.
Lucy - Being so enthusiast
Briley - For getting in the way (My 11 mth old Daughter trying to help)
Thanks for reading
