South American Stocking

[lohachata]

or brichardi;i gots a billion of em.....julidochromis...neolamprologus...altolampro logus and a few other africans that don't get too big..

altolamp.


n. pulchur(daffodil)


n. brichardi..


n. leleupi(yellow) and juli. transcriptus.

[ZebraDanio12]

loha, how big do those altolamps get? They are gorgeous, and I've been thinking about shellies.

[Vayurules]

I've never even thought about looking into those. I've actually never krpt a Cichlid of any type. And I've already spent so much money and plants are on the way...


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[lohachata]

altos can get to 5-6"...but there is a species called Sumbu Dwarf....ralph at archaquatics usually has the,...we had some but for some reason we lost the whole tank...but the Sumbus stay under 3 inches...
we currently have yellow....black congo....ink fin and chaitika whites.......

female chaitika white...

[ZebraDanio12]

Will have to look in to those. They are beautiful.

[lohachata]

altos are slow growers....may take 3 years to reach mature sizealthough they may start spawning at 2 years..
but they are beautiful fish...

[ZebraDanio12]

Originally Posted by lohachata altos are slow growers....may take 3 years to reach mature sizealthough they may start spawning at 2 years.. but they are beautiful fish...

Are the difficult? I'm really likeing them.

[lohachata]

substrate needs to be something like crushed coral or dolomite...different sized shells..
very easy to keep..30% weekly water changes...good varied diet...

[C. King]

I have super hard water, and I use RO (reverse oasmosis) water for water changes, mixed with tap (dechlor treated, of course.) RO water is easily obtained at grocery stores--my store sells it in 3-5 gal. jugs, which are refillable and refills are cheaper. I also use a "blackwater" liquid additive that my fish love. Just be sure to use less than instructions say to the first time because it will turn the water brownish, for a while.

[Vayurules]

C, are you referring to my amazon tank? Or their separate conversation?

But I'm going to try to use peat filtration, so is black water extract necessary?

[C. King]

oops! must have posted this on the wrong thread! Sorry! No, blackwater is not necessary.Peat filtration is good.

[MainelyFish]

I think my next tank is going to be a 90 gallon south american tank if everything comes together like I am hoping... I want to do a sand bottom... Do I need to buy the sand from the pet shop or can i got to Home Depot and buy the fine play sand that seems like its about the same... Anyone here ever do this before?

Its a heck of allot cheaper if I can....

[lohachata]

use coarse builders sand...it is more like the natural SA substrate.the darker the better...lets the fish colors stand out ..

[MainelyFish]

Thanks sorry didnt mean to hi-jack the thread but it was about the same style tank thanks...

lohachata something like this?

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...1#.UOxh2W-U7zM

[lohachata]

check you phone book for local builders supply places that sell brick and block and such...
call and ask about the coarse builders sand.....buy extra to replace lost fine stuff and dirt...it won't be washed for you....lol....i am not fond of the fine sands although they can be used..
and the stuff from the builders supply will be a lot cheaper...all you need are a couple of home depot 5 gallon buckets and a shovel..