Fish Tank RENOVATIONS, 29 gal EMPTY, 38 gal SA cichlids, and 90 gal mbuna

[DrummerJohn100]

what beautiful tanks..

[whiselj]

Beautiful tanks and especially love the music, can you please tell me what the music is?

[Ericec4126]

I got three demosanis how would I be able to tell if any of them are female if you know thanks

[GazeNtheBlueHaze]

OMgosh i love you 90 gallon tank , it looks amazing!! Almost looks like a marine tank beacause of the rocks i guess-whatever the case, great work!

[jeffreym215]

What is the name of this song? It reminds me of SOS. Beautiful tanks btw.

[bigthing333]

put south american cichlids in like the firemouth

[41kicker]

i getting a 40 gallon tank tomorrow :)

[darian119]

Please tell me the name to this song! :) thanks

[blueshockey14]

sos

[darian119]

@blueshockey14. thanks

[kenzorama263]

haha i love the music

[BrenyW]

Very nice i bet the labs breed like mad.

[Luvbeags]

Actually it is the dang demasoni!

I have like a gadzillion of them...

[provancha70]

looks like one of your demasoni's has it's tail completely chewed off:(

[TheFishDude2613]

also were did u get these fancy rocks in the 90 gallon?

sorry for all the questions wendi. an experienced fishkeepers gotta ask questions to .LOL

see ya later(well not really but yo know)

-Jason

[Luvbeags]

My local fish store ordered it for me. Feller stone lace rock.

[pipperoooo]

Excellent Tank! Excellent job. Nice fish! I KNOW their native habitat is rocks only but maybe a few plants would brighten it up? I have plants in mine and so far the little buggers haven't dug them up. lol Awesome job. My favorite so far.

[Luvbeags]

I have tons of plants in my central and south american cichlids tanks, so this tank is nice that I can take a break from the plants. ;)

I don't want all my tanks to look alike :)

[fishtanksandkoiponds]

alll of your tanks look amazing! great job!

quick question- did i see a demasoni with no tail in there? birth defect? fight? thanks!

[Luvbeags]

It is not a birth defect or fight.

It did happen at birth. I was stripping the female and he popped out, kinda, and she chomped down on him. I thought he was dead. The tail dangled for a few days, then fell off, but Stumpy lived. He is a great fish and gets about just fine (even breeds with females) with no problems.

I'm a lot more careful now when stripping. It was an accident.

[fishtanksandkoiponds]

that cool story. lol i like stumpy.

[DAVEK1234]

love the 90gal tank

[Luvbeags]

Thanks DaveK1234

That tank is in most of my fish videos. :)

[frizzyfins]

whoever says the first 2 tanks are shit is nuts all your tanks were very nice lookin:)

[Luvbeags]

Thanks Frizzyfins. I like small tanks for smaller spaces (corners etc)

And just because they are small doesn't mean you can't dress them up :)

Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it :)

[gatocrib]

wao that acei is huge! I have one on my 75 gal.I can not upload videos to my computer with the using sd card digital camara.any body can help me

[Luvbeags]

gatocrib, I am totally lazy when it comes to uploading and downloading. Just connect your camera to your computer with a USB cable, download into your computer, and you can edit with movie maker. Much easier than taking out cards all the time. Hope this helps. :)

[Imspazzin1989]

Was that demasoni missing a tail?

[Luvbeags]

Yes, Imspazzin1989

His name is stumpy :)

It was a "birthing" accident

His mom bit it off

[mcgrady7761]

those first two tanks were shit, and i was about to click on another video when your 90 gallon came up. absolutely stunning mate. You must sit and watch them for hours.

[Luvbeags]

Thanks... I think LOL

I've actually broken down my smaller tanks, I really don't have the time to be bothered with them.

We are planning a 300 gal with american native fish, but our plans got put on hold when our dog got sick. But those plans are still on the backburner, slowly simmering.

But yeah, the tanks are what we watch during commercials on tv ;)

[Gavin76708]

yeah that's a nice 90 gallon aquarium

[Luvbeags]

Thank You Gavin :)

[TheFishDude2613]

i love the Mbuna and the demasoni....in a year or two iam so setting up a tank like this...nice rock work by the way ....i lovce it ...nice!

[Luvbeags]

Thank you. Appreciate that. Mbuna are easy to keep, don't require too much, and breed like crazy. That, combined with the excellent colors they come in, make them great fish to keep. I think you will enjoy them a lot!

[steammandude]

ok i just bought a 38 gallon but i dont know what to put in it i am thinkin chiclids but i have a tank of them and 2 other tanks of fresh water i want something exiting any ideas

[Luvbeags]

TWO WORDS for awesome fish

Xystichromis phytophagus

Check them out, they are wonderful victorian cichlids, and the males are unlike any fish you've ever seen :)

Awesome fish.

[netweit3]

how long does it take for a yellow cichlid to be as big as yours?

[Luvbeags]

About two years :)

[netweit3]

im thinking of getting one but it might be to big for my 30 gallon. what do you think?

[Luvbeags]

Yellow labs are one of the few mbuna that MIGHT do alright in a smaller tank. They don't do wll alone, though, maybe a male with two females would be a good option. What other fish do you have in there?

It isn't that they get too big, they just need a large area to swim to escape each other when they start fighting. My demasoni are small, but I can't keep them in anything smaller than a four foot long tank, they are just too territorial and aggressive. Labs, you MIGHT be able to do it, MAYBE.

[octilia2]

were u get the sand? plz reply

[Luvbeags]

That is pool filter sand. I got it from a local pool supply store :)

[politirel]

Try a saltwater marine tank with clownfish and shrimps etc, live rock is expensive though, so is everything though.

[Luvbeags]

Yes, everything nowadays is expensive :)

I actually had thought of turning this into a nano reef aquarium. I just thought 29 gallons was pretty small. We have a pair of clownfish in a 55 gallon tall at my work, and they seem very content. I thought a 29 gallon woult just be too tiny to have happy clownfish.

And some of the shrimp available now to the hobby, AWESOME, I've really seen some I would LOVE to own.

I'm not forgetting about salt :)

Thanks for the comment, very appreciated :)

[gallardo309]

try angelfish for the 29 gallon tank

[Luvbeags]

Due to my ever increasing hobby load, I'm thinking of keeping all my other tanks, but getting rid of my smaller ones.

I'm thinking the 29 gallon may go...

BUT, appreciate the input. Angels are awesome :)

[PapaKrispy]

Ever thought of turning an empty tank into an invertabrates tank? Just an idea...cheers

[Luvbeags]

Hey PapaKrispy, OH, yes, many times. An invert tank, maybe even a nano reef tank.

But those require such monitoring and babysitting. BUT awesome idea, and yes, it has crossed my mind a time or two.

Thanks for stopping by, appreciated :)

[UkNoWiTWoRdGMaN]

do you know how many cichlids i could put in a 10 gallon tnk???

[Luvbeags]

You can put a pair of shell dwellers in a 10 gallon from Lake Tanganyika

Such as a pair of 'Lamprologus' brevis

10 gallon is too small for any fish from Lake Malawi. But check out some Lake Tanganyika, there are better choices from that lake for a 10 gallon.

[cichlidsRsmart]

10/10 GOOD JOB!! :P

[Luvbeags]

Thanks :)

These guys are my babies :)

Try to do the best by them.

[denbou78]

The Demanosi without backfin make me weird :)

[Luvbeags]

Stumpy is a pretty cool fish.

It is amazing how many people look at my tank and never notice his tail fin is missing.

It doesn't slow him down a bit.

I take a lot of fry to trade in, but I kept him. And don't regret keeping him, he is an awesome pet, lots of personality and spunk. I think he doesn't even know his tail fin is missing :)

[TheFishDude2613]

how did he lose his his tail?

and i didt know u named your fish?

thats pretty kool.

bbye

[Luvbeags]

I was taking him out of his mom's mouth doing a procedure called "stripping" so I could raise the fry in another tank. Most fry in my large tank would get born only to be eaten by the other fish. His mom clamped down on him, CHOMP. I thought she killed him. The tail was useless, and think it dangled for a few days (it was a long time ago) and eventually the chomped on tail simply fell off. He survived, hence the name, Stumpy.

These fish are mouthbrooders, they carry the eggs in their mouths.

[TheFishDude2613]

ohh and how can u tell the diff. between the same type of fish? your good!

bbye

[Luvbeags]

Not all of my fish are named. Just some that we CAN tell from the other fish.

We have Suzanne, she is a female Labeotropheus trewavasae, I accidently crushed her head (long story, but she recovered) but we got attached to her and kept her. Brutis is the big acei, my husband named him, Big Momma is our old yellow lab, she is a darker orange than our other yellow labs, and, well, she looks old. So, only four have names.

Big Momma, Brutis, Suzanne, and Stumpy.

[denbou78]

Very Nice Tank, and good music ;)

[Luvbeags]

Thank You :)

[TheFishDude2613]

lov ur yellow labs

they r so cool.

lov the color!

hav u ever had a red tailed blackshark ora rainbow shark?

they r my favorite fish!

should try them.

bye!

[Luvbeags]

I like both the red tailed shark and the rainbows.

I think I like the red tail a bit better, but I don't have a tank big enough for them. And my mbuna don't get along with anyone, so I don't put any other fish in with them.

I try to set up my tanks to match a fish's natrural habitat and try to put in fish from the same general area.

Maybe someday I'll set up a tank with freshwater sharks. I'd love a 100 gallon with a school of bala sharks, that would look very sharp. :)

Thanks 4 commenting

[TheFishDude2613]

ya that would look sharp.

my friend has a 90 gallon with 7 balas in there.

it looks AMAZING!!! along with trinidad pleco some tiger barbs.

bye.

[Luvbeags]

Yes, those bala are amazing, but fast swimmers, so a big tank is needed for them.

I LOVE fast swimmers, my favorite smaller fast swimmer is a school of zebra danios (NOT the long fin or fancy ones, just REGULAR zebra danios!)

It is amazing how fast they swim, and a school of 20 or so in a large tank is amazing to watch.

[Guy23HD]

Dude! What the heck! Why do you have a demasoni in your tank with out a tail. Did he get in to a fight.

[Luvbeags]

No birthing accident.

It was a long time ago. I thought he had been out and she clamped down, but that might have been another fish (I have another SA cichlid with a damaged tail.)

oops. I'm starting to get my fish confused.

But no, no fight did this.

[Bammboso]

your mbuna tank is very nice. But it lokks like you feed to much! The Pseudotropheus acei male is to big!

[Luvbeags]

Yes, when I first got my mbuna they looked hungry all the time so I fed them all the time. I was feeding NL Spectrum, which is concentrated

Now I feed once daily, what they can eat in about 30 seconds. I only feed 5 or 6 days a week, the other day or two I fast them.

I feed Dainichi Veggie Delux.

I'm working on his extra weight, but because he is the biggest he always gets the most.

(AND, he bites-- if I'm cleaning the tank he will taste me-- He is big enough now to give quite a good pinch.)

[yuriogy1]

the 90 gallon was A M A Z I N G ! ! !

[Luvbeags]

THANK YOU so much :)

(blush)

[khaki91]

2:18...is that a demasoni with no tail?

[Luvbeags]

YES!!!!

I was wondering HOW LONG it would take to have someone notice one of our favorite pets!

That is STUMPY and he is one of our favorite fish.

I was stripping his mom. And, I use the end of a ball point pen to open the moms mouth.

Stumpy was about 1/2 out, and I slipped. She bit down, trying to hold him in her mouth.

Unfortunately, she bit too hard...

He was a newborn, and she bit right through his tail. The tail dangled for a day or so, then fell off. He lost his tail, but lived.

[Luvbeags]

Stumpy also has a good cameo profile in my pet montage video.

He is quite the character. He still charms the ladies. Missing his tail hasn't slowed him down ONE BIT.

[nightstarone0]

what do you do with your fry do you sell or give any away.

[Luvbeags]

I trade them in at the fish store for credit on my supplies.

Since my remodel I've not really had time for fry. I have one demasoni named Ragu in the 29 gallon, I'm keeping him. It is a long story, perhaps I'll have to make a video about Ragu :) How he got his name, and how he got a 29 gallon tank to himself :)

[leoreavis]

how is the agression wit the dems and everyone else?

[Luvbeags]

The demasoni are only aggressive with each other or fish that LOOK like them. So, I avoid EVER getting fish that even resembles a demasoni (like saulosi)

[tcfuturevet]

ok one last question, how do you keep the sand from getting in my power filter. i am deff using sand!

[Luvbeags]

I took a sponge (black) from another tanks filter and cut it down, and round, to fit over my intake strainer. I also keep air bubbles away from all intakes (as they may puff up the sand in a bubble)

If you don't want to cover your intake, just raise it about four to six inches above your sand. That is usually a safe distance to avoid sand in the uptakes. (OR, best option is to raise intake tube AND use a sponge, but I rarely do both.)

[tcfuturevet]

ok, yeah, i really don;t care how it looks, i just want the money a and watch the fish breed and stuff. it isn't being used as a display tank. i want rocks just i want them scattered not all along the wall cause i will never find the fish! like a 2-3 small groups of rocks would be good??? like the setup cichlids4ever has for his craabros(watch the vid, pseudotropheus crabro breeding. would that be good as far as rocks go?

[Luvbeags]

I think that would be fine.

[tcfuturevet]

i want breeding but your method for netting them just seems stressful in my mind. maybe not. i want them to breed lots! i want always have atleast one female holding :)and i have a pet shop who will take the babies... and i'll keep some for myself :) i will either breed peacocks or mbuna, haven't decided yet. i'm getting a 55 gallon for free :) :) :) :) ::::::::)

[Luvbeags]

If you want just fish for breeding (and not a show tank) You can have a male (mbuna) with a harem of six or so females with minimal decoration. His colors might not be as bright, as he only has to show off for his girls, and not other males. Instead of rocks use PVC pipe pieces. they're easy to remove for catching the females. Breeding setups and show tanks are completely opposite in function. Mbuna have lots of babies! So have a ten gallon nursery and another tank for growout. :)

[tcfuturevet]

is there anyway that is easier?that seems like alot of stress on the fish.i dont want a lot of fish in my tank. it will prob only be around 4 the most being 5.one male the rest females.i was wondering if you could let the mothers naturally raise the babies in the tank with the other fish.i want to keep the stress levels to little to nothing.

[Luvbeags]

These fish are very prolific. I figure without me doing anything, about 1800 fry are released into my tank (20 breeding females, 15 fry each, at least six times a year)

They get eaten. But, I have about 2-3 survivors a year. This year has been a bumper crop. I have at least three fry surviving in this tank and it is only September. I could have 5 survivors this year! But, out of the estimated 1800 fry released, well, the odds aren't good for the fry. Mbuna, as a rule, aren't really good mothers

[Luvbeags]

Yup, I got too wordy....

You can leave the females in the tank and not worry about it. Drop your temperature back to about 76 to 77 degrees and they should slow down or even stop breeding.

[tcfuturevet]

have any suggestions for catching holding females in a 55??

[Luvbeags]

Drain a lot of your water. Move your rocks out of the way, if they are in the way, and use a very large net to gently corral all the fish in one end of the tank. Slide a piece of eggcrate (the lighting fixture stuff-- Available at home depot or Lowes) as a barrier for your "corral caught" fish and pluck out the fish you want with a smaller net.

I find those "fish traps" don't usually work, because holding females usually don't eat, so aren't attracted in by bait.

[cayenne82]

wow, your tanks are always a pleasure to watch, NICE!! I like the new decor and sand, its much better, and the fish nice as usual! and I didnt know acei s grew that big!!

BTW I like your beagle, saw the vid and it looks really nice, I also have one and its really stubborn!

[Luvbeags]

Thanks :)

Acei are not supposed to get that big. When I first started with african cichlids about four years ago, I overfed them. I'm lucky they survived, because you can easily overfeed these pigs. I'm lucky I didn't lose any of them to bloat or just plain obesity. They are on a diet now, but, acei are not supposed to get that big.

Thanks for the comment about the beags. We used to have three beagles, now only two, and this year we got a bloodhound puppy. Just as stubborn, and bigger.

[yuriogy1]

u have lots of tanks XD

[Luvbeags]

Only four :)

[kewlkat91]

wow your tanks look great! all that hard work sure paid off! as for the 29g...... how bout a yellow lab species tank?? hehe XD

[Luvbeags]

Nah, the 29 gallon would be smaller than the tank I was using for mbuna fry ;)

My labs look happiest in the 90 gallon. Putting them in the 29 gallon would be like moving them out of a "house" and into the "garage." Definately not as nice accomodations.

I'm thinking of just some common nice fish in here. Cardinal tetras, hummmm...Gotta think some more...

[acerb45666555]

sweeeet!!!

[Luvbeags]

Thanks acerb :)

[gordonputfile]

nice. a lot of work no doubt, moving fish around and changing sand etc takes forever.

[Luvbeags]

Thank you. Most of my fish are pretty used to my neurotic tendencies of moving stuff all the time. But, rarely do I move them, or entirely change stuff like I did this time. Luckily, they didn't stress too much. This video was taken the same day I did the "makeovers" and only a few fish (luckily) seems stressed and lost some color.

[JesseAndMike]

Wow! That looks really great! Looks like the bottom of an ocean with the rock and sand and brightly colored fish!

[Luvbeags]

Thanks. I'm liking the natural color sand much better than the black sand :)

Thanks for stopping by :)

[charzarg]

neat fishtanks.

i like the yellow fish best, what kind are they??

[Luvbeags]

They are Labidochromis caeruleus, their common name is "yellow lab" or "electric yellow lab"

My oldest yellow lab is four years old. I had a batch a few years ago but got rid of them because their quality wasn't that great, I got rid of all of them but "big momma". It is hard to find good quality yellow labs. I shopped awhile to find these, they aren't the best in my opinion, but now I'm attached to them :) And they are staying.

Thanks for visititng. :)

[charzarg]

they're neat XD

and what do you mean by 'got rid of them'

sounds a bit, barbaric?

you didnt flush them or anything like that did you XD

[Luvbeags]

NO, I could never hurt an animal. My local fish store gives me credit on ALL fish I take there. That way, my hobby was supporting itself, as these fish have LOTS of fry, and I always have LOTS of credit at the store. :)

[charzarg]

oh i see!!!!!!

I wound't hurt an animal either, but when you said 'get rid of' i sort of had to ask ;)

Wow, you get credit? that's awsome!!

What shop do you go to?

What country do you live in? (becuase i always ask what shop people go to and i find out they live in america, i'm in england)

[Luvbeags]

My BEST fish have come from Daves Rare Aquarium fish (you will have to google it, I can't put a website address in comments, youtube won't allow) I am in the USA and Daves is in Texas. It would be a very long commute for you :)

[charzarg]

haha yes XD

Oh well XD Theres a pretty good store near me called tropical aquatics, that's where i get all my fish XD

[Guy23HD]

They look awesome! Great Job. I just took my other two tanks down and moved the rest of my yellow lab babys to my main tank and i had to go ahead and kill the other they were cross breed and i also had to kill one yellow lab it had a lot of sores and looked sick and I didn't have time to try to save it . i think that i added 7 or 8 more to my main tank. I will try to put a vid up of the tank now it is packed with fish i will have to get a bigger tanks soon.

[Luvbeags]

Yeah, it sucks when you have to put a fish down. I hate to do it. I use Jack Daniels, cold. They are really drunk then they get alcohol poisoning to the brain. It is over in about three seconds.

I had to do it to a catfish once, he got fin rot I just couldn't clear up. Eventually he had no fins :(

It is very sad, but sometimes it has to be done. ps, I give my accident fry to my friends oscar...Trust me, it is over quick, and the oscar is always appreciative. One gulp, gone.

[YTsHaDoWkNiGhT]

Another awesome fishy video!!

I have got to get me a 90 Gallon tank. My fish would be in heaven, hehe. 5*****

[Luvbeags]

Thanks Norman :)

I wish I had time for another tank. I'd love another 90 gallon with a pet oscar as a wet pet :)

[Brian567899]

Hey luvbeags. The fish tanks are great.

[Luvbeags]

Thank you! Let me tell you, I slept in this morning, I was totally wiped out. That was a LOT of work :)

[Brian567899]

i was tired i went to the gym yeterday woke up at 10:20 went to bed at 11:00

[khaki91]

god i love your videos. i really like the new look on the 90gallon there, you have done a great job. wowowow that acei is looking bigger than ever -)

[Luvbeags]

Yeah, he bit me yesterday, I was scrubbing a bit of residue (ya know, the chalky white stuff that gets on filters and stuff.)

Anyway, guess he wanted me out of the tank because he gave me a right good nip. Acei have little, tiny, SHARP teeth. I'm fine. And so is he. I will be more careful next time. ;)