cichlid tank bottom feeder

420Loach

420Loach

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#1
May 26, 2003
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Makaha, Hawaii
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#1
i have a jack dempsy in a 55(soon to be 75) gallon tank with a gold gourami(they get along fine) and a common pleco. it is well stocked with rocks and caves and im putting in more all the time. i wanted to get some crayfish to help clean the tank or maybe some crabs if i can find em. ghost shrimp would get eaten in a flash, and im going to get a firemouth and a convict in a few days, plus a huge peice of driftwood for them all to hide next to.

would crayfish be a bad idea, or will they to, be simple food? any other bottom feeders i could put in here to help instead of/with the crayfish. my jack dempsy is cool tempered and doesnt bother the pleco or the gourami(im going to look for similar traits in the firemouth and convict, and might decide against it in a few days anyway... thanks!:D

-loach
 

420Loach

420Loach

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#5
May 26, 2003
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well, i got a 3 inch convict, and six apple snails at my lfs yesterday. they had 4 inch crayfish for 98cents but they looked a little shifty. the convict is doing fine, my JD only chases him when he goes near HIS cave, other then that they get along fine. the JD even went after the convict when he tried to attack an apple snail, and he hasnt done it since:) the firemouths they had were tiny so i didnt buy one, i might not get it at all.

any kind of bottom feeder i could get to help clean the bottom that would be tough enough, and not eat my snails? thanks :D
 

catfishmike

catfishmike

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#7
Oct 22, 2002
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i'm sorry loach i can't think of too many fish that will be good bottom feeders?a good bottom feeder that won't be a bite sized treat for you jack could be striped or spotted raphael cat.i love these fish they are very overlooked catfish with a great disposition even if they are a bit shy
 

mike the zealot

mike the zealot

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#8
Oct 22, 2002
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#8
Yeah I did a bit of digging. It's actually not a lobster, it's a crayfish, but we all know how LFS's love to name their animals to confuse people ;)

http://www.picolio.com/Gallery/album60

I wish I could find some freaking apple snails around here. How big are yours? What color? African or SA? does the shell cone or stay flat?

I want some african apples to go in my shelldweller tank, since neuthauma snails aren't allowed in the states for some reason. Maybe some day I can just take that trip to lake tang and get em myself hehe.
 

420Loach

420Loach

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#9
May 26, 2003
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my snails are around 1"-11/2" right now(everytime i feed em lettuce they get bigger i swear:D) im not sure if their AF or SA and they range in color. i have one bright golden(the biggest one) and the rest are dingy looking with green-brown stripes.

the shells look like this, but the snails are never that far out of the shell.

http://www.applesnail.net/

i gotta go do some reading on em, try and get some more too:D
they do good work;)

thanks 4 the lobster pics Mike!:D
 

c_paan

c_paan

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#13
Jun 26, 2003
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#13
I have not seen those blue crawfish before, I think i would scoup one up if I saw one. Does anyone know how they are in a tank with cichilds and a plecos? Im headin to Toronto this weekend and I might get one if I see one!

The worst part about finding liks to fish pages on the net is the shipping. Alot of places that ive checked out wont ship to Canada. Does anyone know a canadian site? Where you can order fish, not just products?
 

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