ivanacara bimaculata

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I personally think it's a fleshwound on both males.

Same for me.

Maybe add some salt to the water?

Do this in a separate tank if you have plants. Soft water plants and sodium (Na) really don't get on.

cheers Darrel

 

[rasmusW]

Do you see any of these symptoms?
White stringy feces? Bloated? Loss of appetite?

Hey MacZ
That would be 3x no. They all look, act, poop and eat normal.

Maybe add some salt to the water? That was an old school remedy for some wounds you weren't sure of...

Thanks.
Yeah! I thought of that too.

Do this in a separate tank if you have plants. Soft water plants and sodium (Na) really don't get on.

That’ll be the plan aswell.

Thank you so much all three. Now i can hopefully sleep like a baby again.
I’ll continue with water changes and decide if i should give them a salt bath.

-r

 

[waywardchild]

Hi! Can you refer me to this wholesaler! I would love to get some bimacs too

They are in sale from a swedish wholesale.

-r

 

[rasmusW]

Hi! Can you refer me to this wholesaler! I would love to get some bimacs too

I have send you a pm.

-r

 

[rasmusW]

A little over a week ago i recieved some females from a very kind man from sweden.
The female in both tanks have been guarding eggs, infact one of them is doing so right now. So now i can only hope they become more than just eggs.
Here’s a few crappy phone pictures of the two tanks.

-r

 

[rasmusW]

I have just spotted 6-8 free swimming fry in one of my tanks.
I hope to be able to keep them alive. I’ll try hatch some artemia. Haven’t had the best of luck doing that.

-r

 

[MacZ]

I hope to be able to keep them alive.

Honestly, as vivid as the ecosystem in your tanks usually is, they will make it even without extra feeding. I'm confident in that.

 

[rasmusW]

Honestly, as vivid as the ecosystem in your tanks usually is, they will make it even without extra feeding. I'm confident in that.

Thanks a lot Sir. I really hope so.
They did look to be in fairly good shape.

-r

 

[rasmusW]

It’s time for a small update here.
While i’m in the process of catching the first batch of cool kids, the mother came out with these. A new spawn of about 30-50 fry.

-r

 

[anewbie]

Hum. In about 3 months i'll have a 40B that i can dedicate to a fish; something interesting but fearsome enough to demand the entire aquarium.... hum... what would be a good option.

 

[rasmusW]

Hum. In about 3 months i'll have a 40B that i can dedicate to a fish; something interesting but fearsome enough to demand the entire aquarium.... hum... what would be a good option.

Haha.. Hmmm… dunno
They sure are beautiful and they don’t Seem to mind neither my n. Marginatus or c. Nattereri/nigrofasciata.
My other pair haven’t had any luck yet, though they have tried a couple of times.

-r

 

[Fayej]

View attachment 13864View attachment 13865It’s time for a small update here.
While i’m in the process of catching the first batch of cool kids, the mother came out with these. A new spawn of about 30-50 fry.

-r

Congratulations! Will you be selling any of your babies?

 

[rasmusW]

Congratulations! Will you be selling any of your babies?

Thanks!
They are still very small, but yea i think so. Sure sure where or how.

-r

 

[apisto2024]

Very nice tank!

Do you ever vacuum poop out with this kinda of set up? I read somewhere you dont need to vacuum if you have a lot of rotting leaves in the tank. I wonder if theres a relationship between rotting leaves of fish poop

 

[MacZ]

Do you ever vacuum poop out with this kinda of set up? I read somewhere you dont need to vacuum if you have a lot of rotting leaves in the tank. I wonder if theres a relationship between rotting leaves of fish poop

Rotting leaf litter decomposes to a healthy layer of mulm, a healthy microbiome which handles fish waste easily. Also you keep tanks like this very lightly stocked, with very clean, soft water.

 

[apisto2024]

Rotting leaf litter decomposes to a healthy layer of mulm, a healthy microbiome which handles fish waste easily. Also you keep tanks like this very lightly stocked, with very clean, soft water.

even without plants? Thats quite interesting to know! Is there something in the decomposing leaves that handles fish waste easily? What happens if the water is hard?

 

[MacZ]

even without plants?

I would never run a tank without plants. But I have no trouble growing plants on top/out of the tank and keeping no plants underwater. Plants are an essential part of this kind of setup.

Is there something in the decomposing leaves that handles fish waste easily?

Brown leaves have little nutrients. The microbes that break them down are very efficient.

What happens if the water is hard?

If you're lucky: nothing. If you're not: cyano bacteria, fouling pockets, trouble with nitrogen compounds... It's part of the trick of plants as a filter: If they have to deal with little nutrients and minerals they are more efficient taking that out of the water.
And that in turn is positive for the fish, which do better in that water, because the conditions keep pathogens at bay.

 

[apisto2024]

I would never run a tank without plants. But I have no trouble growing plants on top/out of the tank and keeping no plants underwater. Plants are an essential part of this kind of setup.


Brown leaves have little nutrients. The microbes that break them down are very efficient.


If you're lucky: nothing. If you're not: cyano bacteria, fouling pockets, trouble with nitrogen compounds... It's part of the trick of plants as a filter: If they have to deal with little nutrients and minerals they are more efficient taking that out of the water.
And that in turn is positive for the fish, which do better in that water, because the conditions keep pathogens at bay.

Thank you! Very enlightening! Especially the poop part. Didnt know that and have always wondered why so many dwarf cichlid tanks look like they havent seen a tank vacuum in ages (which admittedly looks waaaay better than a sterile looking tank!

 

[MacZ]

than a sterile looking tank!

A visibly clean tank is a dead tank. BUT: Hygiene is still an important part. Waterchanges, addition of humic substances, the mulm layer is purposefully fed with more leaves, you need lots of plants that either grow out of the tank or can be removed easily like floating plants (a combination is best) and the tank has to season over time. So the longer the tank runs the more stable and easy to maintain. Mine is at the point I only have to add RO daily, to replace evaporation, no bigger waterchanges... But it took about 2 years.



But we should not hijack Rasmus' thread. And it's late. So much for now.

 

[apisto2024]

A visibly clean tank is a dead tank. BUT: Hygiene is still an important part. Waterchanges, addition of humic substances, the mulm layer is purposefully fed with more leaves, you need lots of plants that either grow out of the tank or can be removed easily like floating plants (a combination is best) and the tank has to season over time. So the longer the tank runs the more stable and easy to maintain. Mine is at the point I only have to add RO daily, to replace evaporation, no bigger waterchanges... But it took about 2 years.

View attachment 14236 View attachment 14238

But we should not hijack Rasmus' thread. And it's late. So much for now.

I agree! I like these mulmy looking tanks way better! Trying to get my tank to look like this.

Most of California has hard water. In some place it is over 300 PPM. I wonder if adding plants will make the water softer? Also are those plants Hydrocotele sp? I tried growing them (and Bacopa monnieri, both emersed) but they kept on dying on and I just eventually gave up on plants - if I cant keep super hardy plants like Hydrocotele or B. monnieri alive, no chance with the more delicate species.

Do you know of any emersed plants that might survive with a polycarbonate lid on the tank? I know frogbits/watter lettuce will die from the high humidty