# Red Jewel Cichlids



## Guest (Feb 23, 2010)

Ok so after nearly 4 month of having an empty 55GL tank, i went out ang got my self a pair of Reds. now these guys are with some hockey sticks and my usual Sword Tails( i cant stop keeping them).

the tank it self is plantless and just rocks and stones....is there anything special that i need to do for these guys? and will they be ok with puffers?


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Zakk, you finally did it! I remember trying to talk you into getting some jewels months ago. Now, unless the two you got are a mated pair, go back and get about four more. Hopefully they are still young. With six in the tank the aggression will be spread out and you will have a much better chance of getting a pair. With only two, as soon as they reach maturity, you will probably only have one.


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## Guest (Feb 23, 2010)

LOL yea Ron.....i finally took the plunge! aigh cool! will 6 be ok in the 55 Ron?


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Yes, six will be fine in a 55. Lots of rocks, caves, etc. for them to hide in. I don't know about the puffers. (I've never kept puffers). The jewels will attack anything when they get in the mood. The red jewels are among the most beautiful fresh water fish but they are also among the meanest!!!


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## Guest (Feb 23, 2010)

ok so puffers go into the 25 then. am still confused by the marking. i am think its a ceylon puffer that he is selling and not the malabar puffer


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## Guest (Feb 24, 2010)

ok upped the count to 6. will get more stones to create caves. would it be a good idea if i did a fake background with nooks and caves?


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

The more hiding places the better. How big are they Zakk and do you know what species? There are several different jewels.


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## Guest (Feb 24, 2010)

they are roughly 2inches Ron. nope. no clue. they are more pinkish than red


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

2" may be pretty close to breeding size. They will more bright red when they start pairing off.


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## Guest (Feb 25, 2010)

i think i have a couple formin and i just found the tail end of one of my swordtails. damn!


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

Puffs will rip almost any fish a new one otherwise I would have tons of em, but on the other hand jewls like to get down and dirty with eachother so the puffs will love the extra food.


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## Guest (Feb 25, 2010)

puffs?????? sorry bro u lost me


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

He must be talking about "puffers". Probably missed the part about you putting them into another tank.


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## Guest (Feb 25, 2010)

lol yea LOL


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## Guest (Feb 27, 2010)

Ron! i hope u read this! i added few more rocks and made small caves for the fish and lo and behold....i had them formin off in pairs! i have 2 of the streakin anyone who comes close to the middle of the tank! man they like thier privacy! anything i need to watch out for?


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Have they changed colors? Just watch for the ones that get beat up. In a 55 you might have room for two pairs. If two pair can form it will really get interesting. The constant terriorial disputes will be fun to watch. The unpaired fish need to come out or they are probably history. Now what are you gonna do with all the babies? I think I told you 6 months ago that if you got the jewels.. that aquarium would become your most watched!!! Also watch for breeding tubes a day or so before they spawn.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2010)

i think i have stage one wrigglers hidden under a plant behind a rock......


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Wow, that didn't take long!!!!


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2010)

lol yea. seriously.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2010)

is it possible for Jewels to have more than 1 partner?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I haven't seen it, but I haven't had them in a big enough tank for more than one pair. There is chance they could act like apistos and do a trio thing (two mates, two spawning site, one big territory with one fish going back and forth)


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

I don't think so. I have had two pair in a 55, Both the male and female are territorial. I don't see how a harem could form, but anything is possible.


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

I agree, puffers are quite aggressive fish and jewels can also be aggressive so to save a lot of fighting, I wouldn't mix them.


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2010)

emc7 said:


> I haven't seen it, but I haven't had them in a big enough tank for more than one pair. There is chance they could act like apistos and do a trio thing (two mates, two spawning site, one big territory with one fish going back and forth)


 
thats exactly what i have been noticing....and the mother seems to have moved the wrigglers to a diff spot.....suspecting inside one of the cave i built for them last night. and they killed another swordtail. sign of spawning activity?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Wigglers are easier to guard than free-swimming fry. Expect mom and dad to kill all the other fish in the tank to make it safe for the little ones to be out and about. Like covering the outlets before your kid learns to crawl.

I did have one pair that tolerated an extra female jewel in the tank even when they spawned, but the rest were toast.


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

emc7 said:


> Wigglers are easier to guard than free-swimming fry. Expect mom and dad to kill all the other fish in the tank to make it safe for the little ones to be out and about. Like covering the outlets before your kid learns to crawl.


Off topic, lol but... Pssht. Our house never had covered outlets when I was growing up. I think parents are getting soft. One good little shock and they'll never touch an outlet until they're old enough to know how to work it. 
I should know, I got a good one when I was little and was scared of them for a couple years - wouldn't go near them! 
Haha I think I'm going to be one of those parents that people want to report to Child Services...


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Ok thats a thread hijack. My college-age sister is cleaning out her old toys from the basement and pulling Lite-Brite, little-people, easy-bake ovens, all this stuff that has been redesigned to make it safer and less fun. How did we ever survive? Oh and have you heard the "hygiene" hypothesis"? We all have bad hay-fever because we didn't get exposed to enough germs as babies to teach our immune systems what to fight. Sniffing brats eating dirt in day-care is good. Super mom with a germ-free house is bad.

That was a bad analogy. Its more like taking a baseball bat out and bludgeoning your child-eating neighbors to death if they don't move out and leave you the whole block for your kids to play.


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

emc7 said:


> Ok thats a thread hijack. My college-age sister is cleaning out her old toys from the basement and pulling Lite-Brite, little-people, easy-bake ovens, all this stuff that has been redesigned to make it safer and less fun. How did we ever survive?


Sometimes I wish I still had my Lite-brite, they were a lot of fun. 
I'm a kid at heart. I'm 19 and I own two Color Wonder coloring books and markers, a 120-count box of Crayons, and like 8 Play-Dohs. Great stress relief, all of them!

And as to the hygeine... hmm. I think the problem of sickly kids is more likely attributed to over-medicating with unnecessary drugs. I never got anything except meds like Tylenol when I was little and now I hardly ever get sick. My sister on the other hand has had countless ear infections (medicated for all of them) and tons of little sicknesses (also medicated) and she can't seem to stay healthy for long.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

My lite bright is better than yours. It has a double-layer of plastic with the paper between and pegs long enough and sharp enough to puncture an eye, but small enough to inhale and a light bulb hot enough to scorch your finger. The modern ones with one layer of plastic and short pegs don't hold together when you move the thing and aren't as nice and bright.

But the only use I have the lite-bright lately is that the pegs make a nice plug for air-line.

Sorry Zakk.

A lot of the small substrate-spawning cichlids that were thought to be only monogamous pairs have been known to spawn in trios, colonies, or even harems when the sex ratio was off. The moving the wigglers from pit to pit is normal. It keeps them clean and makes a kind of 'shell game' for predators.

So .. observe and report.


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2010)

LOL love the thread hi-jack!

yea EMC....am yet to spot the wrigglers again....i chanced upon them last evening....will look again once am home and if i can focus on the tank if am baked....which knowin me i will LOL


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## Guest (Mar 3, 2010)

Ok....so....the theory of a mono pair of red jewels is blown clear out of the water. i have a trio. 1 male 2 female, and the other 3 are just ignored except when the male wants to bully them. the trio have turned BRIGHT pinkish red and i found eggs on a rock....cant seem to find the wriggler though......i have covered the side of the tank where the eggs are laid so the mother doesnt get spooked.


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