This fish came in being sold as ‘black chin’, which it most definitely is not…
Ray Blackburn’s Fish Room
Daniel Terminatore, Enrique Arcila, Cassandra Mabob, Tim Utne, Alex Scharnberg, Joe Bryan liked this post
Ray is a long-time hobbyist living in Liverpool, England. Matthew and I had the privilege of staying with Ray for a few days while over in England last Fall for a British Cichlid Association event. Ray is an great tour guide. He know where all the good beer is! His fish room is impressive. I say ‘fish room’, but his hobby spreads throughout his house. Ray’s passion is really whatever captures his interest, but he has a lot of interest in South American dwarf cichlids. Take a look….
February 12, 2014 · 2:43 am
What is it?
Cassandra Mabob liked this post
I recently imported a lot of dwarf cichlids from the Czech Republic, and the fish in this video was sold as sp. ‘Abacaxis’, which it most certainly is not! What is it? I have not been able to nail it down with the key in the Mergus atlas. I think it may be caetei or regani, but those are not quite right either. If you know, please tell me!
Filed under Fish, video posts
Repashy Superfood Changes
Repashy Inc. has discontinued the 4oz bag sizes of all their foods, so everything I have in 4oz is the last of the product in that size. The replacements will be a 3oz jar and a 6oz jar, so we are losing one size and getting two in return. The 3oz is a great size for trying the product for the first time, and the 6oz jar is a better value than the 4oz bag was. The 4oz bags will remain in the stock shop until they are sold out. The 3oz and 6oz jars will be available as soon as I take my first shipment of them later this week.
January 27, 2014 · 7:01 pm
Dwarf Cichlids in Stock!
I just got an order of fish in from Czech Republic. Nice fish! I am setting up several breeding pairs, but I bought enough to sell too. Check them out: FISH LIST
Filed under Uncategorized
2014 Event Schedule
I am working on setting my calendar for 2014. The confirmed events are in the calendar at the top of the left side bar. Please support your local aquarium societies!
January 7, 2014 · 2:54 am
Ted’s NEW Fishroom – Aquariums & Racks
There are many factors that you need to consider when planning a new fish room, but one of the first is to decide what size tanks are needed and a lay out for the racks (at least a rough layout… the final result rarely fits exactly). The numbers and sizes of the tanks will define the racks, which in turn will guide the layout. The other systems are dependent upon that. Think of the aquariums and racks as the functional skeleton of the fish room. It is the framework around which the rest of the room will be built. Here is a video about the tank sizes I used, the racks I built for them and how they are laid out in the room to make use of space.
Filed under Fishroom, video posts
Who C.A.R.E.S.? – Tilapia ruweti
Cassandra Mabob, American Cichlid Association www.cichlid.org, Heather Burke, Tom Wojtech, Luke Atkinson, Jim Norris, Aaron McDonald, Jennifer Strickland liked this post
T. ruweti is a small, true Tilapia found in the far southeastern sections of the Congo River basin. It is famous as being the cichlid found in the Okvangu delta, a very unique habitat where the Zambezi River literally empties into a desert, creating an incredible oasis. Unfortunately, that aqua-oasis comes close to completely drying out every dry season, and if that were to happen the population of T. ruweti in that delta could disappear. That is why the fish is a priority species in the C.A.R.E.S. Preservation Program.
This diminutive cichlid is also one of the most well-suited Tilapines for a small aquarium. Adults rarely grow larger than 3″, and they are not overly aggressive, even when spawning. Breeding reports are few for this species. The trio I am working with act like they want to spawn, but so far… no luck. Hopefully soon….
Filed under Fish, video posts
The New & Improved Ted’s Fishroom!
Here we go… it has not been a secret that I had to tear down my old fish room and build a new one, but I have not been posting much specifically about the new space. This is the first video in the New Fish Room series. Enjoy…
Filed under Fishroom, video posts
Livebearers Like Repashy Gel Foods
Cassandra Mabob liked this post
One of the hardest groups of fish to deal with in the wholesale setting is livebearers. The problems start with the shipping process, which pretty much does everything to a livebearer that one really should not do: crowd them, keep them in poor water quality, subject them to low pH and starve them. Once they are in the fish room the situation does not get much better. They still need to be crowded. I tend to spread them out into multiple tanks, but I cannot take 250 sword tails and spread them out to 25 tanks. I can give them plenty of water changes though, and I use good Poret foam wall matten filters, so water quality is pretty stable. The big difference, I believe, is that I am able to feed the fish a LOT of quality food. Livebearers have a huge energy consumption, and they will eat all the time if there is food available to them. I feed Repashy Superfood to them at least once each day, sometimes twice. I like to mix the Soilent Green and Spawn & Grow formulas together in even amounts. I will also use Spawn & Grow, Super Green and Red Rum, especially with swordtails, red guppies and platies. The fatty acids in Spawn & Grow make a big difference in the health and vitality of the fish, the greens give the fish the plant matter they like and the Red Rum boosts color quickly and brightly. The fish learn very quickly that Repashy Superfood is good to eat. The video clips were shot after these farm-raised fish were in the fish room only 48 hours.
Filed under Repashy
