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Centre piece fish

If you can find them, I love the Tiger shrimp (Pro Shrimp lists them but is out of stock) - they’re among the most diligent algae patrol, though can be much more rambunctious (among themselves) than cherry shrimp and are slower to establish

pm @Conort2 and see if he has some Tangerine tigers to spare ;)
 
If you can find them, I love the Tiger shrimp (Pro Shrimp lists them but is out of stock) - they’re among the most diligent algae patrol, though can be much more rambunctious (among themselves) than cherry shrimp and are slower to establish

I was hoping to buy some tangerine tigers at some point. I use to have them in my nano tank and they outbred my cherries by far. I got them from proshrimp so will purchase from there again. But don't like ordering livestock in the winter season.
IMG_20180628_162110.jpg
 
If i wait a couple of months surely the female wont let new rams into "her" tank?
I'll try find two pairs of different colour morphs then?
She won’t be able to hassle several rams at once, after a day or so, she’ll resign herself to Changed Circumstances

Though you could also add 2 juvenile males to the Aquascaper 90, then add her after a few days
(I know, I know, I keep saying Not Only 2 Males, but that’s for the long term - if you go this route just monitor that all 3 rams are actively eating etc)
Then add another 1-2 males and 3-4 females later on (depending on how it’s going and what stock you can find)

I’m less convinced on mixing various color morphs, IME the neon/electric blues are much less aggressive than the wild types, and even golds I’ve kept (also observing mixed tanks at the lfs)
Wild type fish will also communicate using their “bars” and altering coloration, the “stripeless” fish are at a disadvantage in this regard

OTOH your tank is a good size with lots of hiding areas, so mixing ram morphs may work out just fine
 
She won’t be able to hassle several rams at once, after a day or so, she’ll resign herself to Changed Circumstances

Though you could also add 2 juvenile males to the Aquascaper 90, then add her after a few days
(I know, I know, I keep saying Not Only 2 Males, but that’s for the long term - if you go this route just monitor that all 3 rams are actively eating etc)
Then add another 1-2 males and 3-4 females later on (depending on how it’s going and what stock you can find)

I’m less convinced on mixing various color morphs, IME the neon/electric blues are much less aggressive than the wild types, and even golds I’ve kept (also observing mixed tanks at the lfs)
Wild type fish will also communicate using their “bars” and altering coloration, the “stripeless” fish are at a disadvantage in this regard

OTOH your tank is a good size with lots of hiding areas, so mixing ram morphs may work out just fine

Well i have to break down my tank in a week, i've been putting it off for weeks and catching some fish here and there. So realistically i have to put her in within a week.

I think ideally i want a pair of GBR and a pair of gold rams to go with my orange theme. The GBR obviously aren't orange but they are my favourite and will stand out even more. That's the plan anyways :lol:

So would it be best to go hunting for some rams to put in at the same time as her?

Or put her in, let the carpet establish if she doesn't destroy it, and then add the other 3 rams?
 
Unless you want to add several juvenile rams later - if you only want 2 pairs - I’d add them as soon as possible, then add her to the 900

While it may be possible to add only 3 more rams once she is established, if she’s of the right (wrong) temperament, she could disincline them considerably as she will know the tank very well, and they are strangers in a strange land
(Most aggressive ram I’ve ever has was a wild type female (possibly wild), she eventually had her own 20 gal tank (with shrimp and some fast tetras ;)), that she fiercely patrolled for the next 3 years)

In terms of the MC carpet, you might want to add another 1-2-grow (or MC pot) to fill in the spaces a bit, then make sure not to feed in those areas - maybe turn the pump down for ~10min when feeding until the MC is more established

Ive never had issue with rams disturbing the soil much, or MC carpet that is growing in
 
How roomy is your 900 cabinet - can you not fit in an AIO tank to serve as a Q/H tank?

Such as this one
- just add a lid of some sort in case of jumpers
 
I'm going to get more MC but waiting for them to come back into stock this week so i can fill in some patches.

I turn my filter off while feeding and feed slowly so food doesn't really blow around the tank, it lands in the sand for the fish/shrimp to sift through at feeding times.

Got minimal room in my cabinet as i have co2 and auto doser and filter and tools. i wouldn't really want to house a hospital tank down there.

I think my best option is to find 3 other rams, 1M GBR and either a pair of electric blue or gold rams depending on health. Will have to do it soon and i think i should just add them all at once or add the new rams a day after i put her in. Will start courses of meds after they have settled to have the best chance, i also need to medicate the rummynose as you mentioned earlier as one looks a little thin compared to the rest even though everybody is eating.
 
I’ve personally kept Rams at 24 degrees

That's good to know, I'll drop the tank to 24 degrees. The black rams were very aggressive even in the fish shop. They were jet black with blue highlights.

I've moved cherries to a different tank, even my juveniles Germanrrams are proper little shrimp hunters, I feed them frozen mysis shrimp occasionally and they love them. Not much smaller than cherry shrimps.
 
I'm going to my nearest maidenhead aquarics in St Albans on sunday to hopefully pick out some new additions.

I still haven't made up my mind on what i want, but i am definitely on a mission to find a male GBR for my female, that's for sure. I really want the gouramis too, but i just dont think my scape has enough room for 2M 4F, especially fully grown? Also i have no place of low flow for a bubble nest, my flow is in a circlular motion and each corner has decent flow apart from maybe the front right, but thats where my lily pipe goes. :banghead:
 
I've moved cherries to a different tank, even my juveniles Germanrrams are proper little shrimp hunters, I feed them frozen mysis shrimp occasionally and they love them. Not much smaller than cherry shrimps.

My German ram has been fine with my cherry shrimp. It depends on the individual personality of the cichlid. I had two apistogramma two years ago. The male ignored the shrimp whilst the female would hunt the cherry shrimp. I've also got the temperature around 24°C.
 
really want the gouramis too, but i just dont think my scape has enough room for 2M 4F, especially fully grown?
If you find true honey gourami, you can try 1M 2F or 2M 2F, beginning with small juveniles they’ll likely remain on the smaller side
If the male wants a bubble nest, he’ll find a suitable leaf etc ;)

What else are you planning fish wise?
 
What do you mean by true? Wild type? In an ideal world 4 would be cool, maybe a M/F pair of sunset honeys and a M/F pair of the red flame honeys?. Do the colour morps recognise eachother as the same fish?

I probably wont stock anymore to be honest i don't want to over do it right now, but if i see some amazing looking fish i may be tempted. But my ideal number right now would be:

14 asian rummy nose
14 ember tetra
4 honey gourami (sunset and flame)
2 GBR
20+ red cherry shrimp
4 amanos (will be more later)

I would like to add some tangerine tiger shrimp at some point too, maybe when the weather is a little better for shipping.
 
If you can find them, I love the Tiger shrimp (Pro Shrimp lists them but is out of stock) - they’re among the most diligent algae patrol, though can be much more rambunctious (among themselves) than cherry shrimp and are slower to establish

pm @Conort2 and see if he has some Tangerine tigers to spare ;)
Sorry just seen this, I do have plenty to spare. I’ve never shipped livestock before so would be a but nervous in doing so as I wouldn’t want you getting any dead shrimp. However once the weather warms up I could give it a go! They’re pretty tough so hopefully they’d be ok.

cheers

Conor
 
only the wild type “honey” gourami display minimal aggression as they mature, the (hybrid) colour morphs are larger adult size and usually show their origins with increased aggression among individuals, I’d not attempt to keep single M/F “pairs” of these as the females will likely end up harassed/stressed (though it’s possible subordinate fish will manage by remaining well hidden as your tank has excellent plant thickets and hardscape)

The colour morphs will “know” each other as essentially “same species” - re general body shape, behaviour

Check Seriously Fish Profile photos

Re livestock, you still have significant “space” in terms of bioload, depends on what you like to see when viewing the tank
 
Thanks will see how big they are in the LFS and decide. Might just have to get 1M 2F and see how they get on.

Always liked the look of killifish, but no experience with them. The lyretail killifish looks amazing. But they probably kill stuff like shrimp with a name like that?
 
These are gorgeous killifish
(as usual, you’ll find a Mark Evans journal with some gorgeous photos ;))

Other than these, I suggest contacting a killiclub and obtaining eggs (many of those stunning killifish you see in the shops are essentially “annual” fish) and discussing suitable species for your tank (most are extraordinary jumpers - not if, but when, and likely soon) and fish keeping goals :D
 
But they probably kill stuff like shrimp with a name like that?

This is exactly what I thought when I heard first time about them, their name actually means something like small stream fish (kil = small stream in Dutch), personally I think they should be called post mail fish ;)
 
Ahh thanks, i don't want any jumpers! Will the gourami be fine seeing as they are mid/top swimming fish?

Can't wait to go fish shopping it's been so long hunting for the perfect fish!
 
Other than the chocolate gourami sp, most gourami don’t seem to be keen jumpers

As when adding any new fish, I’d drop the water level a few cm’s for the first week

Most fish jump as a “startle reflex” so having a room nightlight so you don’t need to suddenly blast the tank with room lights (when tank is in darkness) will help reduce losses, also if car headlights can pass over the tank (suddenly at night) close blinds etc

(did you watch Balazs kitchen tank maintenance - the black card was so funny )
 
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