I hadn't planned to write a post about my Cichlids today, but after hours spent trying to get Tortoise Git to work with my Synology Git server (with relative success), I'm getting my mind off it.
So a little word about the inhabitants of my Tanganyika tank (2m/6.6ft length, 1000l/220gal), after all, this quest for the ultimate pH and always clean water is for them.
Yes, my tank is supposed to be a geographical one, but you will see below that I took some liberties with this rule. Shhh.
So, what's swimming in that big tank?
Neolamprologus Leleupi (about 10)
The ones I thought were bright yellow before visualizing them next to the Caeruleus, so they are rather orange after all. Lively, peaceful, pleasant hosts even if no visible reproduction for the moment.
Neolamprologus Multifasciatus (8)
The little one who loves snail shells! (even if I only provide him with snail shells from Bourgogne. And even if I am French, I will never eat such a thing). They may be scrappy, but these fish are finally too small compared to the other species in my tank, it's my fault I thought that my ground surface would be sufficient so that they could reserve a space for themselves. This is more or less true, but they remain confined around three shells in a corner. This is my alibi to buy another aquarium for them in which they will be comfortable :) Some fry still managed to survive, but I could never catch them, my tank is too deep (or I have too short arms).
Julidochromis Regani (about 20)
Discreet, they often reproduce and I have already counted at least three litters of which five or six fry have managed to exceed the critical size.
Cyphotilapia Gibberosa (4)
They are theoretically a male and three females, though it's too early to say because they are too young to reproduce, even if they are already a nice size. And later, nobody will bother them :)
There are also intruders in my tank, in the sense that they do not come from Tanganyika :
Labidochromis Caeruleus (about 30)
It is also an African Cichlid, but it comes from Lake Malawi, so it is very close to its cousins from Lake Tanganyika. These Yellow Labs breed like rabbits in my home, the eight adults have given birth to more than twenty fry that have survived beyond the centimeter. They are very active, even ... boring with the others. A real Mbuna after all, I can't say I wasn't aware of it.
Ancistrus Dolichopterus (about 15)
They're ugly, but I like them. And they took advantage of a pH of around 7 when they arrived to make a dozen fry that grew well. Yes, that's a lot of people ...
As an unexpected consequence of all these Cichlids in front of my dining table, I've never eaten so much shrimp. I buy some every week, and it's always the same ritual: one for the cat, one for the fish, and the rest for me. Do you like shrimp? Raise Cichlids.
Next time I'll talk about my water pumps.
Yes, you really have to be an aquarium lover to enjoy reading posts like this :)
