Beiträge von FranciscoB

No problem , Tom. They (Uaru) are indeed incredibly greedy, as you mentioned. But very rewarding as well. I look forward to having Satanoperca sometime, but probably won't be any time soon.

Hi Tom (apologies for responding in English),

I do not keep Satanoperca so I can't offer suggestions.

Regarding Uaru, which I kept for several years, my opinion is that they need more plant matter than once a week. At least U. amphiacanthoides (I never kept panda Uaru, which are much newer in the hobby).

Uaru will eat anything (!!) but will thrive on a diet richer in veggies (with some of the other elements as well). Sweet potato, peas and garbanzos are good options, but so are Nori sheets and a variety of aquatic floating plants.

Some people feel terrestrial plant matter should not be given to fish - I don't share that opinion but there are many aquatic options. Good luck!

Do share them! Good old books may be superseded by newer ones, but usually only in part. There are lots of gems hidden within those older lines, usually uncontaminated with the newer mess of hybrids, manipulated forms, and grotesque aberrations that many like today. Fortunately, many purists remain, as well as older books. And then, there is the invaluable new knowledge arrived at in recent decades!

Beautiful fish! Thanks for sharing.

I have twice had single individuals of A. hypselonotus for several years, but this was years ago. I currently have a single Anostomus anostomus, in the same family and not too unlike Abramites in terms of needs and behavior.

I find difficult to imagine that 'marbled headstanders' (the common name in the US) will let themselves go hungry, as they are extremely eager eaters, always grazing on films on plants and aquarium decor. Also, they can be somewhat aggressive at feeding time.

If algae and plants that you don't mind them eating are not in your tank, a suggestion is to administer Nori (unsalted, unseasoned dried seaweed), hanging from clips. They will love you for it!! They will eat anything but they do love their veggies of all kinds (photos below showing an Anostomus)

I suspect you have not had your Abramites for very long, and wish you good luck. I have never had 5 individuals in a single tank, but 2 together did not work at all. It is possible you may in tome see aggression against the smallest or weaker one, and may have to split them for safety. I hope this is not the case, as they are very nice fish and are indeed a group type of fish, but in nature they live in much larger quarters.

That is an awesome tank and overall setup. Filtration seems superb, and the and plants look happy and healthy. Lucky you to be able to have such a setup in your home.

Congratulations and thank you for sharing!

Zitat von vspatz

In the afternoon we set off again and drive a few kilometers back, where the track crosses a stream that safely flows into the Oyapock.

As almost everywhere else, we see Bryconops chasing around just below the surface of the water. Catching these during the day is almost impossible. At night, however, you can scoop them out of the water with a teaspoon.

But we have these fish caught in the net:

Krobia with beautiful colors.

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Quite a few Nannacara aureocephalus (?) - This male and some others from this brook are now swimming in Aachen.

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A couple of nice tetras. Who knows the type (s)?

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The tetras - Hard to tell, but 2 species shown. The shape of anal fins cant be seen well against the background.

The upper one resembles a Phenacogaster.

Very nice!

You can get a partial list at http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com, Forums, Vendors (you don't need to be a member to browse, but you do need to register to participate or access contacts. Feel welcome to register and participate!)

Below is a screen shot of the list currently available at the link above. Some if the vendors listed are no longer active, or have had little recent activity. Others (with recent dates) are fully active. Many good vendors in North America are not listed in the link above.

Some of them are:

The Wet Spot

Tangled up in cichlids (nor only cichlids)

Aquabid (auction-like site, many vendors)

Good luck!!

Very nice.

Thank you for sharing.... and keep them coming !

This is the nori I use (3 different types) - Must be unsalted, un-oiled, unflavored. They are various other types I don't use.

Very inexpensive.

Good luck!!

So they don't eat the plants too much (hopefully)...

Nori (on clip), frog bit (in floating corral).

All plants and decorations natural. Relatively recently set-up new tank.

8 adult Metynnis, 3 species (altidorsalis, lippincotianus, maculatus).

10 different plant species (frog bit meant to be eaten).

My Metynnis silver dollars love chick peas (= garbanzos). Not as a staple food, just as treats. They go nuts!...

which reminds me, they also love sunflower seeds (roasted).

Beautiful fish. Good luck with re-homing them. I wish I could.

Hi Ralf,

I am not familiar with that particular product, nor have tried other commercially available humic substance formulations. However, I do put a few magnolia leaves in all my tanks (year round, from my backyard). I am not certain they help, but they do produce a slight tint in the water, and my fishes are healthy and go through breeding motions (including mock breeding and displaying) frequently. I replace the leaves every other week. I also have large pieces of driftwood in all tanks, but as yours, they probably don't release much any more.

I do believe the addition of the leaves brings positive effects, even if they may not be dramatic and of I cannot fully demonstrate the beneficial effects. Conversely, I have not noticed any deleterious effects.

I am not certain of what is a " 36W UVC clarifier", which you say you have "currently in continuous use, has any effects on the humic substances, similar to drugs or water conditioners."

I assume it is some sort of ultraviolet device?, but I am uncertain why is deemed necessary. Regarding medicines, those should be used rarely or very hardly often so medicine removal needs should also be rare. Regarding water conditioners (dechlorinators?) Those may not need to be removed at all.

So I cannot not answer any of your questions, except to say I do use leaves (thought to release tannic substances) and believe them to have been beneficial.

Good luck!

Francisco

Beautiful tank!

The way I see it, it is a personal choice, itself dependent on what else you have going on.

For myself, I consider that few plants require the CO2, most can benefit from it but don't strictly need it, and yet others couldn't care less less (grow ok even if slow without it).

And again, for myself, getting the CO2, constantly having to tweak things, and dealing with pH fluctuations, is just not worth the hassle.

I would use weekly fert and occasional root tabs, and call it done.

Good luck!

Beautiful fish. My patriotism (Colombia) gets a jump seeing the great images of such nice Eartheaters!

Thanks for sharing,

Francisco

Thank you!

I don't know for sure how it has worked for me, but I can say that it has worked twice, in two different tanks, and this has been going on for nearly 4 years. As I said earlier, I am currently setting up a third tank (6 feet long), where all silver dollars will be consolidated. There will be a total of 12 fish, 4 species of Metynnis.

The tank has been running for 2 weeks now, has been planted (with the same plant species as I had success before + 4 additional species which I will be trying out with the dollars). I am letting the plants get a good hold, become well established, and only then will introduce the Metynnis. Prior to that, some Otocinclus, Corydoras and some Colombian tetras (H. columbianus) will be introduced.

I have some 'Hypotheses' as to how to explain my apparent success with Metynnis spp. in planted aquaria. I don't know which of these explain more, but I think all play some role -

Hyp. 1 - Some plants are unpalatable to them, hence they don't eat them or not beyond trying it.

Hyp. 2 - For whatever reasons, some of my individual fish don't seem to eat the plants (at least not much), and other fish can 'learn' from them. I should be able to use 'good role models' to teach new fish. My fish have come to me at 3 different times, the oldest (26 year olds) arriving first.

Hyp. 3 - Some plant eating is OK (on certain specific fast-growing plants), so long as it is not excessive and the plants can grow fast enough so as not to decline over time, thus maintaining themselves and looking good.

Yet another set of possibilities is related to how I feed them. I provide a varied diet, including 7 different types of pellets and flakes (insect & veggie based), frozen (insect, crustacean + Spirulina enriched), seeds and grains (sunflower + garbanzo), veggies (cucumber + nori). In addition, I provide frogbit + duckweed as permanent floating plants for food.

The truth is I don't really know the secret, but are enjoying some success, and I am trying to understand it and attain it once more in yet another tank.

Photo - Nori for breakfast!

Cheers!

I believe not what people say but what swims in my tanks ...

3 Metynnis species - M. maculatus, M. altidorsalis, M. lippincotianus

A request, Would you please post here picture of tour tank and your silver dollars?

Thanks!!

There are several plants that I have been able to see thrive with my Metynnis spp. silver dollars, including my only specimen of M. altidorsalis (an adult male). I hope to get one or two female altidorsalis in the near future.

In the photo, he is in the foreground, the two other specimens are male M. lippincotianus. Floating plants (in floating corral) are Salvinia, place there as food, and replaced regularly. Rooted plants (not food) are Cryptocoryne wendii 'bronze' on floor mat at left, Microsorum pteropus (on wood, -but can be left floating), and Hygrophila sp. (at left, also could be left floating). In the back, there is some Bacopa monnieri, but they do eat that plant too much.

The same fish when he was in my other planted silver dollar tank, together with M. maculatus, and L. lipponcotianus. Same plants, plus rooted, Cryptocoryne usteriana. He is at left, bottom, partially covered.

In all his splendor ..

I am now in the process of consolidating my 2 Metynnis tanks into a single, larger planted tank, currently being set up. I will soon show it here!

Good luck!