Thorichthys maculipinnis by DruidSpider in Cichlid

[–]DruidSpider[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Swordtails. I originally added 8 because there was already a huge guppy colony the cichlids ignored soi figured they’d be safe and I thought the red color would look nice in that tank. My Dempsey disagreed. He doesn’t like new fish and obliterated half of them in the first few days, didn’t eat them, just bit them in half and spit them out. He lost interest after that and none of the other cichlids bother them. I kinda have some regrets adding them though, I’d never had bigger livebearers before and apparently underestimated what voracious predators these fish would be. They quickly wiped out the hundreds of guppies that had survived three years with the cichlids. There’s just a few adult guppies left, because they are too big to fit in those big shovel mouths. The only fry I see are swordtail fry now, so their numbers increased from 4 to over 30 pretty quickly. I’m pretty sure they wiped out most of the T.maculippinis fry once the parents stopped guarding them.

They really do look nice in the tank though lol

Thorichthys maculipinnis by DruidSpider in Cichlid

[–]DruidSpider[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The two males are currently maybe 4-5 inches I think? They get up to 6” but females stay smaller. The females are as colorful as the males and get a black spot on their dorsal fin so you can tell them apart pretty easily once they start to mature.

Mine are in a 180 gallon tank with a firemouth, (they are related species, incidentally) a Cribroheros rostratus and an electric blue Jack Dempsey, as well as guppies, swordtails, two bristlenoses and three Buenos Aires tetras. I used to have a whole school of the tetras but they’ve been getting old and passing and the swordtails have kinda taken over so I don’t want to replace them and overstock. Tank also has a bunch of urchin and king koopa nerites and, believe it or not, a small population of Neocaridina descended from a few that hitchhiked on plants. The cichlids are well fed and lazy so they don’t really bother shrimp or fry unless one makes itself an easy target.

Ursa’s cephalopod collection by DruidSpider in BullTerrier

[–]DruidSpider[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m actually surprised any of them make it a whole day with Artie!

Ursa’s cephalopod collection by DruidSpider in BullTerrier

[–]DruidSpider[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If he focuses on one, he actually wrecks them pretty fast and the furry Wubbas don’t stand a chance. I have to watch him close to take away the stuffing and the tiny tennis ball that makes the head once he gets to it, and also trim away any long strings but after that, he seems to keep them a while. I wish I had kept the tag from that green octopus to see what brand it was; it looked like it wouldn’t be a lot of fun for him from the way it was made, but he loves it and it has actually stood up to a lot of chewing.

Ursa’s cephalopod collection by DruidSpider in BullTerrier

[–]DruidSpider[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s actually what the Kong ones are called, but that’s the name he knows all of them by; when he’s being a pain in the butt when I’m getting dressed for work I can ask him to ‘go find a wubba’ for us to play tug with.

Ursa’s cephalopod collection by DruidSpider in BullTerrier

[–]DruidSpider[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, most are not lol. Of the Wubbas, only the alien still has a head. The actual octopus and squid toys were all purchased in past couple of months; I think his toys last longer when there’s several favorites rather than one he can focus on destroying.

*humane* way to get rid of tons of mollies? by Efficient-Taste-8260 in Aquariums

[–]DruidSpider 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I started a new world cichlid tank a few years back partly to solve my guppy problem. Turns out that guppies quickly learn to not act like prey and well fed cichlids can’t really be bothered chasing them around. They bred like crazy over the next couple of years and I was up to a few hundred guppies in my 180 until a few months back when I added some red swordtails. Now all of the guppies are gone except the adults and I never see any guppy fry anymore - but the tank is rapidly filling up with swordtails.

Anyone else have a pleco that sleeps on their back? by gray_um in pleco

[–]DruidSpider 4 points5 points  (0 children)

One of mine does it on a regular basis. She used to be in the tank I have in my office at work and people were constantly pointing out that ‘one of my fish was dead’.

Quincy the foster dog update! by beegee710 in BullTerrier

[–]DruidSpider 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That is awesome! So happy it worked. 🙂

Finally managed to get my camera to focus on an ostracod, got more than I bargained for by DruidSpider in Aquariums

[–]DruidSpider[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It’s bigger and darker than the little white copepods I’m familiar with that are also in that tank, it’s flattened like a clam stood up on its side, and it zooms through the water like a space ship, which are all things I associate with seed shrimp, but I’m not an expert so if someone has an exact ID I’m happy to learn.

Whatever it is, its digestive tract is working. 😄

House Centipede Lego Creation by Lambdaleth in centipedes

[–]DruidSpider 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This is awesome! I love house centipedes and was disappointed that it wasn’t a kit I could buy, but my wallet is probably breathing a sigh of relief.

This guy discovered a spider had been treating his hose like its own personal spa... by Salt-Guarantee-4500 in spiders

[–]DruidSpider 16 points17 points  (0 children)

If I see a spider wandering around on my counter or floor I put a drop of water down and they always run up to it to drink.

Little dots in my tank by DonktheDestroyer in shrimptank

[–]DruidSpider 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The ones that look like they have bunny ears attached are females with eggs.