# Fish Fans



## Brettix (Aug 24, 2007)

Hi,just sharing some pics of my tank i just finished setting up.
5x2x2 1/2 ft need some more fish now to fill it lol.





bailey 011.jpg (165.1 KB)


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## hornet (Aug 24, 2007)

if i were you, i would remove that all and start over, the wood with various different rocks doesnt do much for me, would look alot better with either just drift wood and larger pieces or just one type of rock. If you went with the rock would be awsome for some of the african cichlids. If you added larger bits of driftwood, attaches some java moss and mass plant fine feathery leaved plants at the back and a few swords at the front would be awsome for a south american community aquarium, fill it with various barbs, tetra's, loaches, catties etc woud be a very good tank indeed.


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## cuddlykylie (Aug 24, 2007)

it looks great to me, do what you want with ur tank, it looks better the way you want it set up


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## hornet (Aug 24, 2007)

if he likes it thats fine but i just gave him my opinion, I for one like natural looking tanks replicating a single nabitat, sometimes even a paticular location. At the moment plaaing for my 6-8ft mary river tank


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## Brettix (Aug 24, 2007)

Thats all the rocks i had from all my smaller tanks.
Need the driftwood in there for the cats to feed, theres peppermints,clown plecs,albino's and orange spots.
Theres a pair of geophagus somewhere in there too.I know, it needs a background too


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## hornet (Aug 24, 2007)

if you like it thats way thats fine, i was just saying what i would do. What ever you do i would be planting alot more plants in it


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## Jess (Aug 24, 2007)

*Nice!*

Thats an awesome setup  i dont have much luck with fish  they're awesome though, you'll have to post some pics when you get the fish in there


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## mblissett (Aug 24, 2007)

*Some Pics of my tanks*

Hey Guys,

These are mine, cause sharing is caring 

4ft Tropical Tank
4ft Axlotyl Tank
4 x 2 Turtle Tank
2ft Turtle Tank


Matt


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## Brettix (Aug 24, 2007)

Thanks jess,will do.

Hornet thanks for opinions all welcome,but carn't have plants with geo's or big cichlids,they will ripem to shreds.


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## Brettix (Aug 24, 2007)

mblissett said:


> Hey Guys,
> 
> These are mine, cause sharing is caring
> 
> ...


Sounds good matt but also sounds like alot of water changes with those setups.


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## hornet (Aug 24, 2007)

i wouldnt have thought they would bother plants, i know south americans are fine with them but being carnivores wouldnt think they would damage them


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## mblissett (Aug 24, 2007)

not too much actually.....

On the big turtle tank and tropical tank I have very large cannister filters with UV lights inbuilt to them..... hardly any algae and maybe 2 buckets from each every weekend - takes about 20 mins 

I have too many animals already lol - I WANT MORE TURTLES  I am addicted !!


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## Brettix (Aug 24, 2007)

oh didn't get your pics first time matt,looks awsome too.Great job.


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## mcloughlin2 (Aug 24, 2007)

Geo's won't eat plants. Other large SA cichlids like severums or uara will so steer away from them if you want your plants.

I like the loom of your tank. Throw in some more plants such as swords and anubis and it will look better. I'll try and upload some pictures of my 6ft tank with my breeding colony of burundi frontosas and some other assorted fish in the next day or two.


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## Brettix (Aug 24, 2007)

hornet said:


> i wouldnt have thought they would bother plants, i know south americans are fine with them but being carnivores wouldnt think they would damage them


No not all are carnivors most eat plant and meat,but they need alot of veg in their diets inc alge.called omnivous


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## Brettix (Aug 24, 2007)

mcloughlin2 said:


> Geo's won't eat plants. Other large SA cichlids like severums or uara will so steer away from them if you want your plants.
> 
> I like the loom of your tank. Throw in some more plants such as swords and anubis and it will look better. I'll try and upload some pictures of my 6ft tank with my breeding colony of burundi frontosas and some other assorted fish in the next day or two.


Your right ,but they are sandsifters and uproot all the plants,that why ive got anubius.


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## GEARJAMMER (Aug 24, 2007)

no matter what anyone says, you have something special there.
So dont limit yourself with just the 1 species. My 800ltr tank contains about 12 species of A/Cichlids and 10 different types of Catfish. plus a Blue yabbie and 2 fresh water Crabs.


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## GEARJAMMER (Aug 24, 2007)

mcloughlin2 said:


> Geo's won't eat plants. Other large SA cichlids like severums or uara will so steer away from them if you want your plants.
> 
> I like the loom of your tank. Throw in some more plants such as swords and anubis and it will look better. I'll try and upload some pictures of my 6ft tank with my breeding colony of burundi frontosas and some other assorted fish in the next day or two.


Bring on those FRONTOSA'S.....please


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## WombleHerp (Aug 24, 2007)

mblissett said:


> Hey Guys,
> 
> These are mine, cause sharing is caring
> 
> ...


 
not to burst your bubble darl, but those turtles need somewhere to dry themselves. they do need a large swimming area yes, but just as that is important, they also definately need a dry place to climb onto, big enough to allow the turtle to bask without hanging in the water.


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## GEARJAMMER (Aug 24, 2007)

loook clooserly....


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## WombleHerp (Aug 24, 2007)

oops lol sorry... didnt see the tip top of the water  my bad! well done for taking my advice soo quickly! :lol:


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## Brettix (Aug 24, 2007)

Fronny's lol, and who said severum dont like plants? i breed those, carn't have plants in with them they rip them too.Maybe when their young but when their big like myne say 28cm they do.


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## GEARJAMMER (Aug 24, 2007)

COOL BANANA's


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## WombleHerp (Aug 24, 2007)

GEARJAMMER said:


> COOL BANANA's


 

:shock:


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## Southside Morelia (Aug 24, 2007)

hornet said:


> if i were you, i would remove that all and start over, the wood with various different rocks doesnt do much for me, would look alot better with either just drift wood and larger pieces or just one type of rock. If you went with the rock would be awsome for some of the african cichlids. If you added larger bits of driftwood, attaches some java moss and mass plant fine feathery leaved plants at the back and a few swords at the front would be awsome for a south american community aquarium, fill it with various barbs, tetra's, loaches, catties etc woud be a very good tank indeed.


 
It's all about Hornet... come on bud you have to be the biggest pessimest on this site, he's doing a good job and proud of what he has done, it is not about WHAT YOU THINK!
Good job mate, you obviously know more about Cichlids than some!!!
It looks good!


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## Dan123 (Aug 24, 2007)

yeh back the hell of hornet...............


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## Brettix (Aug 25, 2007)

Thanks SCM1.Loveit


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## hornet (Aug 25, 2007)

this site is somewhere to share our opinion, i didnt say he had to do it, i just stated what i would do, constructive critisism is what its called. Brettix didnt chuck a little hissy fit just because someone has a differing opinion.


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## GEARJAMMER (Aug 25, 2007)

:evil: little HORNET....

where's those frontosa's photo's...PLEASE


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## cris (Aug 25, 2007)

Looks like a good setup(although i do think hornet has a point if you want a more natural look).

What fishes are you planning on getting? It would make a great community tank, i would go for a heap of differant native species(rainbows, gudgeons, gobies etc.) that get up to around 120mm or less or so and maybe a few exotic fishes like marbled lizard fish etc.

or you could drain out the water and put some pygmy goannas in it


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## da_donkey (Aug 25, 2007)

I have bred litteraly thousands of American cics. mainly larger ones like jags, oscars, jack dempsys, red devils, etc and also alot of sevrums etc and discus.

And as far as real plants go, i find them a pain in the butt. 

Not as much eating the plants, but just digging them out of the gravel, most plants end up floating on the top of the water and as fast as you replant them the little buggers dig them out again.

jmo

donk


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## Tatelina (Aug 25, 2007)

mblissett said:


> not too much actually.....
> On the big turtle tank and tropical tank I have very large cannister filters with UV lights inbuilt to them..... hardly any algae and maybe 2 buckets from each every weekend - takes about 20 mins
> I have too many animals already lol - I WANT MORE TURTLES  I am addicted !!


Why does the first pic look...grimey?
Well to me anyway...


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## kandi (Aug 25, 2007)

your tank looks great as time goes your taste changes and u soon find what works and what does not. i like discus myself and yes plants were a nusisance but were essential for the overall well being of these fish. have fun trying different setups etc cheers debbie


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## Midol (Aug 25, 2007)

Go marine


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## bouncn (Aug 25, 2007)

hornet said:


> i wouldnt have thought they would bother plants, i know south americans are fine with them but being carnivores wouldnt think they would damage them



have been breeding cichlids for a long time and they tear all greenery to bits. The only thing you can do is use planted driftwood - then they just destroy it slower...
:evil:


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## bouncn (Aug 25, 2007)

oh and brettix - BTW you know how you said you need a background?

have you considered sticking a solid colour vinyl to it? That what we use I prefer solid colours to those printed backgrounds. And vinyl will stick and not fall down like the aquarium backgrounds do.

we used black for our last big cichlid tank it makes their colours look awesome. Then again, it's not much of a 'natural' look, but how many fish tanks do you see in Lake Malawi?


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## mblissett (Aug 26, 2007)

Tatelina said:


> Why does the first pic look...grimey?
> Well to me anyway...



Thats cause its the small turtle tank...... Hatchlings and internal filter.....

Thats the only one which requires a bit more work


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## Brettix (Aug 26, 2007)

bouncn said:


> oh and brettix - BTW you know how you said you need a background?
> 
> have you considered sticking a solid colour vinyl to it? That what we use I prefer solid colours to those printed backgrounds. And vinyl will stick and not fall down like the aquarium backgrounds do.
> 
> we used black for our last big cichlid tank it makes their colours look awesome. Then again, it's not much of a 'natural' look, but how many fish tanks do you see in Lake Malawi?


 Thanks bouncn,is the vinyl sticky allready ?
or how do you stick it on?


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## Riley (Aug 26, 2007)

my friend has like 25 fish


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## hornet (Aug 26, 2007)

i have probably 20-30 at the moment, only natives but i have friends who have thousands. Takes a bit of time when you have that amount with water changes etc


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## Fester (Aug 26, 2007)

A bucket never goes near my tank. I heat two 90L plastic tubs with 2 X 300W aquarium heaters overnight, outside. I have a 20 metre length of plastic tubing I got from Bunnings. I modified a small internal filter pump which has 4 suction cups that attach to the inside of the aquarium and that is connected to one side of the tubing. That gets the syphon going (try sucking on 20 metres of tubing!). The water is drained onto the garden. When the tank has dropped sufficiently the garden end of the tubing is placed on the pond pump in one of the tubs and the flow is reversed. Easy, doesn't take long and no mess!


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## GEARJAMMER (Aug 26, 2007)

fester maybe no mess but mate my tanks 800 ltrs. and i hate doing water changes but thats the price you pay for the enjoyment of watching all my fish busy doing what most of use do in everyday life....living together


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## rodentrancher (Aug 26, 2007)

Not into fishtanks at all, but we love going fishing and getting something to eat out of the Murray. Dave is off on a fishing trip next weekend, but its a real pity the Cod fishing time runs out next Friday. That's it! No more Cod for about 6mths is that right.?


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## cobb (Aug 26, 2007)

what are the fish that move the rocks and stuff around the tank? sorry if that is a stupid question lol.
hornet can you post some pics of your fish tanks please? would love a look.
missblissett how big is your axolotl? mine is appox. 25cm long. nice to see someone else who doesnt think they are gross lol.


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## Bourbs (Sep 2, 2007)

cobb - oscars will move rocks around.. they also like to play with marbles. They get a bit annoyed if you move a rock back to its original spot though  either that or they will sit in the corner and sulk for a few hours before they move the rock back to where they put it


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## Brettix (Sep 7, 2007)

*filter*

Thought i'd post a pic of the filter that goes with the tank.
Built it myself out of a standard 4ft tank and a 3000lph pump.
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa213/picsBrettix/fish003.jpg


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## GEARJAMMER (Sep 17, 2007)

hornet said:


> i wouldnt have thought they would bother plants, i know south americans are fine with them but being carnivores wouldnt think they would damage them


FORGET about any ideas with trying to keep Malawi's or Tanganikan's in a planted tank..Its natual for these guys to spend all night digging and shifting gravel, so the next morning when you come and look your beautiful set-up,at all the EXPENSIVE plants are shredded and floating at the top


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## GEARJAMMER (Sep 17, 2007)

between the tank and the filter i hope your house is on a concrete slab:shock: thats great set-up mate


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## Tsubakai (Sep 18, 2007)

I like your filter. I was toying with the idea of putting a big sump like that on my 6 footer but went with a great big fluval canister in the end and filled it with Seachem's Pond Matrix. Got two turtles in it at the moment to cycle it then I can bring home my giant gourami. He's about 6 years old and 2 foot long at a guess. Pics will be posted  

I've got no plants, just driftwood in it at the moment cause turtles are as bad as giant gourami's at killing/eating plants.


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