Guess I joined the cichlid club last night.

[BPSabelhaus]

Saved this gentleman (99.9% sure) last night after being abandoned at a boat shop in Tacoma. Had minimal info. 2 gallon tank with a cichlid and a lot of shells. Guy has gone to Florida for a few months and hired a guy to do work on his shop

Instead the guy moved in, did no work and split leaving this guy and an empty 10 gallon behind.

Got him out of the approx 8g bow front (what I actually wanted lol) and into the 20 when I realized his size. Calling him Woodstock. He's happier in the 20, but I know he'll need more tank and I guess this is the fish to force me into larger tanks lol

Kind of like buying a butterfly koi two years ago lol Yeah yeah, we'll do a bigger pond in 5 years or so lol He's a curious fish, but shy. Hides then peeks out from his hidey holes to look out a few times then back out.


Keeping fish for free 101: You gotta take chances and use the opportunity to learn.

I buy food, sometimes lol Sometimes fish when something catches my eye. Like all my fish keeping, he started as free and he will stay free

Believe it or not, it's easier for me to get free large tanks than it is to get more practical sizes like 20/30/40. I've probably passed over more free 50+ than I have picked up total 2.5-30 gallons. I have disorganized boxes (the main boxes are organized lol) of spare heaters, pumps, filters etc... just from combing craigslist and offerup within 10 miles of my house. I don't even go crazy lol Set an alert and just scroll the free section every so often (people often list as tank or hamster cage so alert for free aquarium doesn't get them all)

The kindness of others has allowed me to help them re-home pets they can't keep, equipment inherited that actually has family history but no real value so it was going to go to recycling (angel fish breeder and former fish store owner who passed) and meet some nice people.

In Woodstocks case he was a surprise burden on someone. After arriving I found out he had been in danger of being flushed tomorrow if nobody had responded. But, the guy was stuck in a weird spot. I helped him and ended up with a bit more than expected lol

 

[sir_keith]

I have two acrylic 10-gallon tanks with lids that you are welcome to rescue. I can take pics if you're interested.

 

[BPSabelhaus]

Thanks for the offer, but I don't think anyone here is in danger of recycling good tanks or flushing cichlids lol But on the same note, if anyone needs emergency supplies like a tank, heater etc... I'm happy to help

 

[BPSabelhaus]

It's like 4 hiding spots and a parkour course for him, but the stick thing has to go to give him more space. I'll give him an actual cave in exchange plus some large java ferns. A temporary solution to give more space until I can truly give him more space. Don't know how long he was in the 8 for, so the 20 is definitely an improvement. But it's just an apartment until he gets his 10 acres and a pleco lol

 

[BPSabelhaus]

Still a shy guy, but warning up. When he's out and about he doesn't immediately run for his cave now. He'll hang out and if you watch too long he'll go to his cave and just watch from there.

 

[sir_keith]

He's not shy; he's traumatized. Mbuna are highly social fishes that live in large multi-species groups, so being in solitary confinement in this tiny tank is something that his neural circuits are not equipped to deal with.

 

[BPSabelhaus]

He's not shy; he's traumatized. Mbuna are highly social fishes that live in large multi-species groups, so being in solitary confinement in this tiny tank is something that his neural circuits are not equipped to deal with.

Agreed. He has been through a lot, including a small shuffle once in that tank which didn't help. I want the next big interruption to be a bigger tank, so him coming out of his shell a bit is good. Which he is. Earlier today while sipping coffee he was out and about. I got closer to the tank and he was good. Reached toward the tank and he darted back a bit, but not into a hide. After a moment he came up to the glass like "jerk, you startled me!" So while he was staring at me I reached forward to touch the glass. Again he backed up a bit, but came up to my hand and hung out for a moment before being startled and going to his cave. But he didn't hang out there for long and was shuffling around in the java ferns not long after.

Forgot to add. Since that last interruption and removal of the stick decoration, he has not glass surfed that I have seen. That first day or two with the stick he was not happy (hence removal, otherwise I would have let him be). The plant lights over the tank are off. His light is set to night time but the Bettas next to him do have a light. He seems to like that corner sometimes.

So, I had read that they're nest builders and like a sandy area to build a nest. I like watching the pumpkinseed do it at the park so I figured when I get a bigger tank, I want to make sure he has room to do that. Our dragon Alex is a digger and climber so she has access to both and I love when she's using them.

Well, he dug a nest in the gravel anyway Looked in and he's chilling in a divot just a bit larger than him with banked sides. Hope I get to watch him dig in the future. Often times I only hear Alex digging lol

 

[BPSabelhaus]

So, still plotting/ planning. Going to Sierra tomorrow to drop off some Bettas and compare a 40 breeder and 55 in person to confirm suspicions before I actually start shopping.

Pretty sure I'm going with a 40 breeder for him. A 55 is going to be the same narrow tank, just longer. In the 20 he has been digging and adding on to his nest in the dirt. One side is pressing up against the front glass as is. He loves hanging out in the lower end of the tank exploring and building nests. I think the 40 will give him the space for a nice nesting area and more space for caves and other crevices for him. Food wise he's been gobbling up the pleco chow when offered 1-2 at a time. He does better catching the second one lol First one he'll pick at after it touches the substrate.

So, with his digging I'm cleaning the prefilter weekly. It's a behavior I want to encourage so I'm thinking about an external filter. Either a canister I can clean out in the garden or maybe a small indoor aquaponics herb garden bog filter.

And I'm taking curious cats into the equation, so I'm gonna have to figure out a better lid for this one.

 

[DMD123]

A 40 is a nice (and necessary) upgrade for him. But dont rule out a bigger tank, higher water volume does make a difference in keeping tank parameters stable. The Aquaclear 110’s are great filters for media volume and super easy to clean compared to a canister.