Sunday 28 December 2008

two rainbow cichlids arrive


i have just finished acclimatizing two rainbow cichlids i bought this morning from a new found pet hop i visited yesterday. i'd heard there was an aquarium shop in timperly up the road from my house and yesterday, while i still had access to a car, i decided to try and find it. and find it i did. :-)

initial impressions of the shop are good with some species of fish i'd never seen in any of the usual shops i visit. and you guessed it, i fell for the charms of the rainbow cichlids. after having introduced two blue acara cichlids into the tank about a month or so ago (see previous post), i have been researching what would be another suitable cichlid species to add to the tank. not having read about or seen this species before, i decided to go home and read up on their habits and requirements like a good sensible fish keeper :-)

i was going to take back one of the acaras as one is definitely being picked on by the other. one is now in perfect condition and the other still has his fins torn and i have seen him bullied by the other. nothing too alarming but it is obvious that it is not ideal for the less dominant male. however, due to circumstance, i did not manage to take one back and thought i would at a later date.

sitting here watching the 4 cichlids and writing this blog it looks to me like the cichlids are all behaving extremely well towards each other. i know they are 2 male acaras and a male and female rainbow. both the acaras have come and had a nosy at the rainbows as if to say "jolly nice day isn't it?" and then happily moved on and both the acaras seem happier about each other at the moment. as to whether or not the two rainbow cichlids decide to pair up then only time will tell.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

So... have the two rainbow cichlids decide to pair up yet?

Stuart
Sea Fishing and Walking in the UK

Chas said...

its been around 6 weeks or so now and no pairing up activity as such yet.

the more i read on the subject, the more and more i read about cichlids and their breeding behaviour the i find that people have different experiences with the same species of cichlid. so only time will tell i guess.

which is fine as all the fish seem to get along fine now. :-)

Anonymous said...

Do the acaras pick on the rainbows at all? I would have thought they would have picked on them before picking on each other? Hope they have settled down anyway!

Fish Tank Aquariums said...

Yep, I also love Rainbow Cichlids. I've has about 7 of them over the last 3 years. Looks like your tank is coming on nicely. Hope they adapt well - the next few days will tell.

Cool blog and I really enjoy reading it!

Deon.

fish tank custom aquarium said...

In my personal experience these are some of the best fish to own. When it comes t feeding time for mine i can actually feed them right out of my hand. The kids really enjoy it and it is a great bonding moment for us.
thanks for the post and i look forward to seeing some more.

Goldfish Care Expert said...

Great blog!

I love your fish tank set up as well as your new cichlids. I know my brother use to have some but I never did get into the tropical fish much. I've always been into the goldfish and koi. Lately I've been meaning to as I want a beautiful looking tropical tank set up in my home. After looking at your blog I think I may go ahead and do it soon.

Keep up the great work and will stop by again to see how your fish and you are doing.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
Goldfish Care Expert