In the first few years they were quite active , and we had problems trying to find new homes for the young ones. Now I think they've reached the menopause as we haven't had little ones for over a year - and the tank is not particularly crowded. Do you know how long they live for?
Crumbs, It sounds like you're cichlids have earned their retirement . I'm not sure how long they live for. I have thought about keeping them before but was always worried by their reputation for agression (although less so than the african cichlids). That was why I always went for Rams as they are more peaceful. However, I tried with 3 different pairs over the space of 2 years and they all died in the same manner (fine for first few weeks, then wasted away even though they were eating). I did some research and it seemed that many others in my area had the same problem and it was due to the supplier providing weak fish which were already infected with internal parasites.
JHG, I would be very interested to see pictues of your tanks and I am always looking for new inspiration for aquascaping ideas. Maybe we could set up a thread for people to compare tanks and fishes (no coloured gravel or castles allowed ). It's good to know you're also a fan of the German rams and can hopefully provide me with some tips for breeding them (so long as I can get a decent healthy pair). I would be very interested in setting up a marine tank but with only a 2 year contract here it's not really worth it
Here are a few photos of some of my fish and tanks:
Lake Malawi Cichlid tank: I added some fake plants (perish the thought) as these fishes usually dig live plants up leaving a mess. I never buy pet store substrate (too expensive) so I bought some play sand from a local big box hardware store and added inert stones I found near clean rivers/lakes. These fishes are great to keep - full of character and very active. If you setup an East African cichlid tank ensure that you place a piece of eggcrate below the substrate as it helps to diffuse the pressure points of the rockwork.
Bristlenose Pleco, male (Ancistrus tiriadatus)
German Ram, female (Microgeophagus ramirezi)
Pepper Catfish (Corydoas paleatus)
Bolivian Ram (Microgeophagus altispinosa)
Apistogramma agassizi
Crowntail Betta aka Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens)
Ramirezi is one of more fragile of dwarf cichlids and very depends on quality of water in AQ. Where Agassissi foto above lives withou pro blem Ramies can have troubles. The water in my city (cham) is quit hard and PH is 7.5 - 7.8 which requires water treatment before adding water to AQ. the second reason is that Ramies are often imported from easterEneurope where guys (not all)to prevent disease very often put antibiotics in AQ keep water on 6.5 PH and once it arrives to ours tanks it has not enough of imunuty + different conditions and die.
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