Do your orange ones have a bump on the forehead area?

No, their heads slope back from the mouth. One of the really large blue ones has a more pronounced forehead. What does the bump mean?

It is mostly the dominant male that will have it , they say it is to nudge and attract the female. A lot of times if that fish is removed and put in a tank by itself it can lose the hump. If a female is the dominant fish in the tank she can get one though not as large. They are called Nuchal Humps.

I was just trying to picture which ones you had. I used to have a bright orange cichlid. I can't remember what it was though. That is great info about the nuchal hump!

I used to put a mirror on the back of my aquariums. Gives you a much bigger aquarium! But not good for Betas, Siamese Fighting Fish.

Only drawback is if you see yourself unexpectedly, eeek!

Mirrored backs are cool if you don't mind seeing yourself! lol ;)

I always had so many plants that it was hard to see myself.

Oh! I used to have aquariums! But usually just with fish and artificial plants and decors. But from those few years I had them, I have used janitor fish to clean off all the algae in my tank..very hard working ones..but the unfortunate side, if they run out of algae to clean out..they will then "clean off" the fish, eventually accidentally killing them. And they get so huge too.

Another one that I know that can eat algae are amano shrimps...sadly, cannot find a pet store locally that sells them.

Now I do not have anymore aquariums..really a lot of work to maintain. But I do miss them a lot.

My husband wants me to try Wabi-Kusa..I still have to read more about it ..but it does look interesting.
http://www.aquascapingworld.co...

tarev said:
My husband wants me to try Wabi-Kusa..I still have to read more about it ..but it does look interesting.
http://www.aquascapingworld.co...

I wish I could do that, but I have a black thumb when it comes to aquarium plants. The most successful plants I can get to grow are hygrophilia(SP)

Sorry I haven't chimed in here yet -- I'd be interested in a forum for planted aquariums, if that helps at all. Is a 29-gallon tank large enough for planting real plants? My biggest problem right now is that, other than Walmart, the only place to buy aquarium fish within about 60 miles here is a really run-down pet store -- the last time I went there I could barely see the fish in the tanks for all the algae on the glass!! And I did buy several (insert head slap), which died shortly after the "guarantee" period was up. Right now I have 2 fish (apparently very tough gouramies)... maybe I should just concentrate on plants instead. What sort of lights does one need for growing live plants -- just normal fluorescents, or?? Any advice appreciated... I'm seriously considering just waiting until these last 2 survivors are gone and then using the tank for a terrarium.

A 29 gallon tank is large enough to have a nice assortment of plants. As far as lighting you need an aquarium or plant bulb which depending on size you might be able to find at a Home Depot. You can now purchase many plants online As far as their other needs , that is what I need to learn about.

The easiest to grow are hygrophila(sp) you can use regular flouresent lights

The lighting you have determines what plants you can grow. I had a Gourami in my first planted tank. Just to warn you they like to rip up your plants to make their bubble nests. Some people don't mind but it drove me crazy.

My 29 gallon tank has never let me grow live plants. I was stupid and went with super fine sand which the roots can't grab to. I had cory cats so I thought it would be best for their little bellies and whiskers.

I currently have pool filter sand with root tabs in my Discus tank. I used to have eco complete in my 55 gallon. Some stuff did better in my old tank and some stuff is doing better in the new set up.

I would recommend running 2 - T-5 regular output on a 29 gallon. Even 2 - T-8s would work.

Has anyone tried water Onions? I read that they might hold up to Silver Dollars.

They are hard to find. I got some from a mixed bulb pack at Petco and they looked to be Rain Lily Foliage (Zephyranthes candida) which is often sold as Water Onion. The better ones have wider leaves and are true aquatics (Crinum thaianum). Although I wanted one I have yet to find one. I have a few other plants that have that grassy looking foliage so I stopped looking.

I will have to keep an eye out for them, seems lke they are my only hope as long as I have these fish.

I have seen them on online aquarium plant stores, but when I was interested they were always sold out! If you google the name and buy you should find an online source.