Greetings

[wespastor]

New to forum not to aquaria keeping
Pending membership also new to Cichlids but not fish keeping generally.

I have more than 20 years keeping fish. Is there an award for killing the most livebearers? (kidding) I am sure we have al made our share of young very newbie mistakes.

Hi! I am Wes I came to last nights meeting for the first time. I’m the guy in the wheelchair. I was there with my wife Wendy. I was invited by Dee, I guess on the spur of moment thing whilst we were engaged in a forum "the plated tank" about Bulk dechlor and my proposed fish room build which is about 15 - 20 month out or so. Many things are up in the air on that point.

Anyway Wendy and I had a great time. What we notice most of all was the atmosphere of activity. We liked it. The speaker was great even thought the subject matter was not of our general interest, I was able to glean some understanding of some of the Central American breeds and there impact on the hobby. Notwithstanding much of it was over my head because I had not done that great of research into the Cichlids as of yet.

Back to a little more of myself...

I have more than 20 years of aquaria keeping behind me with many success and some failures. Not too many but enough that when I am tempted to take some short cuts ... i "remember when”...

I have kept mostly planted tanks with the emphasis on the plants and not so much so on the fish, the fish were just there for ferts and they were generally some cheap live bearer that I could easily breed to exchange for ... more plants ... I am an admitted plant hoarder and addict. I find it very difficult to pass up a steal, unless I am totally broke.

My general tank style come in one of two categories or blend of these ... El natural or Dutch style planted tank. I use a modified soil substrate and have done so since the late '70's.

This might have to change slightly in keeping my newest fish (yet to come0 Microgeophas altopinosa (I hope I spelled that right) the so called Bolivian Ram, or the Ruby Crown Cichlid. It is known by other names but they escape me at the moment.

Well I cannot think of much more to say right now. I will certainly be looking for some guidance on the above noted fish. I plan to pick up 6 juvies later this week.

Best wishes,
Wes

[micheal]

I enjoyed your story and impressed to what are your current activities regarding fish.. ? Kindly share those with us.

[SergeS]

Welcome I think it's Ruby Clown Cichlid (instead of crown). Which is indeed a common name for M. altispinoza

It's the (slightly) bigger cousin of M. ramirezi, which is probably (in Europe anyway) better known that the Altispinoza. They're quite similar though. It's a friendly species when kept as a couple, they don't make a mess of the tank (which is nice if you like lots of plants), and they generally do well in a planted tank. They do need some free space on the bottom, pref. with fine gravel or sand (they do spend most of their time on or near the floor), and not too much light if you want enjoy their beautiful colours. Some dark / hiding places (a hidden flower pot or a hole made by piling up some rocks) is highly appreciated for comfort. The more they feel 'at home', the more you will see of their colours.

What I do know is that you should not leave any rotting food in the tank at any time, as they are very sensitive to (bad) water quality, and also to large water changes. Whether this is species-related, or related to breeding them in anti-biotics instead of water, I am not sure....

Oh, they lay eggs on a flat rock, so make sure you have that available if you like to watch the show

[deeda]

Hey Wes, glad to see you on CRC also. I guess I should peruse the other forums on this site more often. It was a pleasure meeting you and your wife at the August meeting.

If you check the OCA forum every month, there may be a speaker at the meeting that gives a talk that you might be more interested in. There are so many diverse interests, so there are a variety of speakers.

Dee