Red terror cichlid (Cichlasoma festae) for sale at Joes Aqua World 98-33-89-89-01

Red terror cichlid (Cichlasoma festae)

Red terror cichlid or harlequin cichlid (Cichlasoma festae) is a bright, large and territory dependent fish of Cichlidae family. Often the fish is kept in species tanks due to its temper.

This fish is moderately difficult in terms of keeping. But this is one of the best fishes for those who want

to have extremely clever, large, bright and aggressive fish in a tank.

n the wild red terror cichlid is encountered in waters located in the West of South America from Río Esmeraldas river (Ecuador) to Río Tumbes river basin (Peru). It also can be seen as invading species in Singapore waters.

It likes places with strong water flow and swims in the middle waters closer to the bottom, it hides in dentings and pits under snags where tree branches hang above the water.

The fish feeds mainly near the bottom with crustaceans, small fishes and plant food as well.

Description

Cichlasoma festae males grow up to 50 cm (20 inches) large and the females are up to 30 cm (12 inches) long. The lifespan is about 12-15 years.

German Blue Rams for sale at Joes Aqua World 98-33-89-89-01

German Blue Ram information

The German blue ram is a colorful and fairly peaceful dwarf cichlid. It is a popular aquarium fish, but is not recommended for beginners.

The scientific name of the German blue ram is Mikrogeophagus ramirezi. It belongs to the subfamily Geophaginae in the cichlid family. The fish is named after Manuel Ramirez, one of the first collectors and importers of German blue ram for the aquarium trade. The species was scientifically described in 1948 by George S. Myers and R. R. Harry, who considered it a part of the genus Apistogramma.

If you read about the German blue ram in older sources, you might find older scientific names such as Apistogramma ramirezi, Microgeophagus ramirezi, Papiliochromis ramirezi, Pseudoapistogramma ramirezi and Pseudogeophagus ramirezi. As you can see, the German blue ram has been moved a lot between various genera.

The German blue ram has been given many different common names in English, many of them alluding to the beautiful coloration of this species or to a specific strain. It is for instance known as Blue Ram, Golden Ram, Butterfly cichlid, and Dwarf butterfly cichlid. The names Ramirez’s dwarf cichlid, Ramirezi, Ram cichlid and Ram are also used.

In Asia, several strains of Mikrogeophagus ramirezi have been developed for the aquarium trade. Aquarists can for instance purchase unusually yellow rams, known as Golden rams or xanthistic rams. Xanthochromism (also called xanthochroism or xanthism) causes animals to be usually yellow due to an excess of yellow pigment, or possibly due to a loss of darker pigments that allows the yellow pigments to dominate the coloration. Asian ram breeders have also developed rams with large, high-bodies and elongated fins. It should be noted that Golden rams and rams with unusual bodies tend to be more sensitive than the normal wild-type German blue ram. Low fertility and poor brood care are also fairly common.  Other popular strains include the dark knight ram, the balloon ram, and the electric blue ram.

The German blue ram can become at least 3 years old.

The German blue ram lives in the Orinoco River basin, in Los llanos of Venezuela and Colombia. Los llanos mean “the flat plains” in Spanish and is a large area of tropical grassland plain located east of the Andes in north-western South America. In this area, the water is warm and the temperature will typically stay within the 25.5-29.5 ºC (78-85 ºF) range. The water is soft and acidic with a pH-value around 5.

The sites where German blue rams have been found generally have slow-flowing water. The color of the water can be anything from dark tea-color to completely clear. German blue rams are normally only found where there is plenty of covers consisting of aquatic plants or submerged land vegetation.

Appearance

The male German blue ram can reach exceed 7 cm (2.7 in) in length, while the female fish stays a bit smaller. The German blue ram is rather stocky built and flamboyantly colored. The main body color is yellow-green and decorated with blue dots that extend into the dorsal, anal and caudal fins. You can also see seven faint interrupted dark vertical stripes on the flanks of the fish, and one intense stripe that runs vertically downwards across the head through the eye. Wild German blue rams will normally have more noticeable bars compared to aquarium-bred strains. In specimens with pale bars, the second bar on the flank can look more like a single black spot than one of several bars. The flanks of the German blue ram are grey or blue, while the head and chest are yellow, gold and black with blue shades. There is a red patch on the belly and you can also see a red patch near the eyes. Red and blue dominates the pelvic fins, while the large dorsal fin is yellow with black at the front edge. The upper and lower lobes of the dorsal fin and tail fin are red.

african mixed malawi lake cichlids fish for sale at Joes Aqua World 98-33-89-89-01

Those looking to add color to an aquarium need look no further than African cichlids.

These are an incredibly diverse group of fish. Each species has its own pattern and coloration, so there is one to suit everybody.

This includes the peacock cichlids which are some of the most colorful fish available.

These fish are generally harder to look after compared to other popular tropical fish. They are bigger and much more aggressive than tetras, guppies and gouramis.

This means that they are best suited to a more experienced fish keeper.

Adding these fish to your tank will brighten it up, as well as keeping it looking active and social.

This complete guide will discuss everything you need to know about African Cichlids, including the most popular types, perfect tank setup, how to care for them and much more…

Category	Rating
Care Level:	Intermediate
Temperament:	Aggressive
Color Form:	Various
Lifespan:	Up to 15 Years (species dependent)
Size:	3-8 inches
Diet:	Depends on species
Family:	Cichlidae
Minimum Tank Size:	30 Gallons
Tank Set-Up:	Freshwater: Rocks and Caves
Compatibility:	Depends on species

Most African cichlids kept in home aquariums are rock-dwellers. In the wild, they’d have little hideaways in the gaps between rocks.

You need to know how to set up your tank like this at home.

The best way to recreate this in an aquarium is to use rocks too. Make sure they’re placed securely so they don’t collapse (you can buy aquarium-safe glue to stick your rocks together).

Since they are known to dig, a fine-grained substrate would be best so that it won’t scratch their scales.

The water in the aquarium should be moving, but the filter outlet will be enough to create a small current.

Species from rivers might appreciate water or an air pump to create a stronger current.

African cichlids need a water temperature of 75-85°F and a pH of 7.8-8.6 should keep most species healthy.

Africa’s great lakes have quite hard water, 4-6 dH, so try not to use soft water in your tank. Moderate lighting is fine for them.

You don’t need any specialist equipment, just a filter, and heater strong enough to work in the right sized tank. The filter should process all of the water in the tank 3-5 times in one hour.

bosemani Rainbow Fish for sale at Joes Aqua World 98-33-89-89-01

Rainbow Fish Facts

Average Adult Size	1 to 6+ inches long, depending on species
Average Life Span	depends on species
Diet	omnivore
Minimum Aquarium Size	20+ gallons, depending on species
Water Temperature:	72-82°F

Diet

A well-balanced Rainbow Fish diet consists of:

• Flaked, pellet, frozen or live food.
• Avoid exclusive food which is not nutritionally complete.

Feeding

Things to remember when feeding your Rainbow Fish:

• Depending on species and size, feed small amounts 2-3 times daily, no more than fish can eat in 3-5 minutes.
• Thaw frozen food before feeding.

Housing

• Keep in an appropriate size aquarium; provide plants, rocks, caves and decor for hiding places and plenty of room for movement.
• Stable water quality, water temperature, and pH levels are critical to the health of aquatic life. If you are unsure of your water quality or pH levels, 

Characteristics

• Males and mature fish are generally more intensely colored.
• Juveniles of both sexes are often very different in coloring from adults and can appear like separate species.
• Rainbows are very active and require plenty of space.

Habitat Maintenance

• Daily: check filter, water temperature and other equipment.
• Weekly: check water quality at least once a week.
• Monthly: change 10-25% of the total volume of water every 2-4 weeks, or as needed.
• Introduce new inhabitants to the aquarium gradually.

Butterfly loach (Beaufortia kweichowensis) hillstream loach for sale at Joes Aqua World 98-33-89-89-01

Butterfly loach (Beaufortia kweichowensis)

butterfly hillstream loach (Beaufortia kweichowensis) is a small and very unusual fish. If you want to keep it in a tank you’ll have to recreate the conditions like the ones the fish used to have in the wild.

Chinese butterfly loach inhabits in Jiangxi river system (West river), in the South of China, main tributary of Zhu Jiang river (Pearl River). This species was described in the upper part of Guizhou province and it’s widely spread in independent region Guangxi and in Guangdong province.

The fish inhabits mainly in depthless rivers with fast flow and upstreams highly saturated with oxygen, small tributaries of rivers and streams; zones restricted with crests and sometimes with waterfalls.

Bottom substrate is mainly composed of small rocks, sand, gravel and roundstones. In such places there no even streamside vegetation. The water is crystal clear there with small amount of dissolved oxygen.

Such water and sunlight are good for biofilm development which consists of different types of microorganisms and algae. The biofilm covers all stones and rocks surface like a blanket.

Temperature: the fish inhabits in humid, subtropical area where the air temperature is seldom lower than 15,5 °C and it can be significantly higher in summer.

The tank water temperature range 17-24˚C is considered preferable for Beaufortia fishes care. However, the experience shows that the fish is rather good with higher temperature 68°F to 75°F (20 to 23.8°C) (including 30˚C but not for a long term) at the condition of high water aeration.

In such case it’s also good to raise the intensity of water circulation. Hillstream loaches group are mountain river loaches united by common conditions of inhabitance in the wild, therefore they require strong water filtration in a tank.

Such a filtration and powerful flow imitating violent natural stream can be created by installing a filter or a pump that ideally should be able to pump more than 10 water volumes per hour.

Of course, high aeration and flow are desirable in the tank, however some aquarists consider that high flow is necessary only during the adjustment cycle.

Later the fishes can do with common water flow created by the filter or they can even do without the filter provided with sufficient amount of oxygen in the water.

Bottom substrate can be made of gravel, sand or their mixture. Loach needs numerous rocky covers therefore it’s obligatory to add flat rocks, pebbles and roundstones, where the fish eagerly feeds by browsing soft algae from them.

Pacific blue-eye (Pseudomugil signifer) signifer rainbow for sale at Joes Aqua World 9833898901

The Pacific blue-eye (Pseudomugil signifer) is a species of fish in the subfamily Pseudomugilinae native to eastern Australia. Described by Austrian naturalist Rudolf Kner in 1866, it comprises two subspecies that have been regarded as separate species in the past and may be once again with further study. It is a common fish of rivers and estuaries along the eastern seaboard from Cape York in north Queensland to southern New South Wales, the Burdekin Gap in central-north Queensland dividing the ranges of the two subspecies.

A small silvery fish averaging around 3–3.5 cm (1 ¹⁄₈–1 ³⁄₈ in) in total length, the Pacific blue-eye is recognisable by its blue eye ring and two dorsal fins. It forms loose schools of tens to thousands of individuals. It eats water-borne insects as well as flying insects that land on the water's surface, foraging for them by sight. The Pacific blue-eye adapts readily to captivity.

Pseudomugil signifer is a small, colourful, endemic native fish species inhabiting freshwater streams and estuaries in coastal drainages along much of the east coast of Australia and offshore islands.

galaxy rasbora Celestial pearl danios for sale at Joes Aqua World 9833898901

This miniature cyprinid was first given the scientific name Celestichthys margaritatus, meaning “heavenly fish adorned with pearls”. The genus Celestichthys was created just for them. Over the next few years, they were reclassified as a Danio species and thus renamed Danio margaritatus (source). In the hobby, these fish are generally sold under the names Danio margaritatus, Celestichthys margaritatus, Celestial Pearl Danio, Microrasbora sp. ‘galaxy’, and Galaxy Rasbora.

The common name galaxy rasbora was popularized by those who brought the species to the hobby before it was scientifically classified. Because of its small size, it was thought to be a species of rasbora. They were later classified as a Danio species, but the common name stuck.

Celestial pearl danios are relatively easy to care for and don’t require excessively large tanks. A 10 gallon would work well for a smaller group of 6-10 fish. This makes them ideal for nano setups or for beginner keepers who are looking for something different. While they don’t require a highly specialized setup, they will do best in a planted tank.

Because they prefer to be kept in the low to mid 70s (Fahrenheit), these little stunners can be kept at room temperature and don’t require a heater. While they will tolerate temperatures as low as 65°F all the way up 80°F, I highly suggest keeping them in their preferred temperature range. If your house’s ambient temperature drops below 70°F, I recommend investing in a heater with an adjustable thermostat.

Galaxy rasbora setups require the same basic equipment all other setups do: a tank, lighting, filtration, substrate, décor, water change equipment and monitoring equipment. Because these fish come from ponds with thick vegetation, a planted setup is strongly recommended.