# My Fish Room



## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Finally I'm posting my fishroom. Not as heavy on fish as the whole setup (largely because fish-wise it's becoming a A. rivulatus nursery!)

I'll go from the West Wall (left of the door) to North and all the way around....

West Wall Left side... Top, Reef (still recovering from Katrina... used to be in a 100 gal). Bottom 60 breeder with a male haitiensis.









West Wall Right side... Top, Argentine B&W Tegu.. Bottom, mix of cichlids (carpintis, grammodes, Labidochromis)









then the North Wall

North Wall has a closet, inside of it are most of my snakes.









right side of closet has a 29 with a grammodes in it. Some maitenance stuff too.









still North Wall, right side by window. Top: 60 Breeder with 6 young argentae, middle: female rivulatus breeders, always hiding, bottom: small rivulatus fry
This stand wasn't built too well (by myself







) so I dont fill that 60

















Then the East Wall. Has the freezer full of rats (yummy) and the workout crap.









East Wall Right. Two 20 gallon highs: top, has male breeder rivulatus, always hides. bottom, a nice uro









Lastly, the South Wall. Left side: Top tank grow out rivulatus. Bottom currently empty (both 30 gallons)









South Wall Right Side: Top tank: 100 gal with rivulatus grow outs, bottom: african grow outs (featherfins, electric blues, etc)









Space heater is in between the tanks on the west wall, on a cinder block, just to be safe.


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## flashover00 (Oct 19, 2006)

lol...wow....nice man


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## moron (May 26, 2006)

very nice fishroom you have ace


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## jmax611 (Aug 6, 2006)

sweet setups


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## lament configuration (Jun 22, 2003)

are you gonna be selling and shipping out true GTs in the near future?


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Yes. I have to find some small styros to lower the price for those that want them. 6/$100 is what I was thinking (plus shipping). I have breather bags too, but I dont know if they are the best thing to use in this case....

anyhow, thanks for the compliments (and for not laughing at the stands I built







)


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## wabash420 (Feb 27, 2007)

acestro said:


> Yes. I have to find some small styros to lower the price for those that want them. 6/$100 is what I was thinking (plus shipping). I have breather bags too, but I dont know if they are the best thing to use in this case....
> 
> anyhow, thanks for the compliments (and for not laughing at the stands I built
> 
> ...


 sometime custom built is the the way to go so u can fit it all

what u have in the reef tank?


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Yes.. the custom built really makes use of the space. I have tanks elsewhere (75s, 100, 55, etc.) but I somehow fit most of the aquaria and snakes in that 10 x 10 room.

The reef only has a few zoas, an antenna lionfish, leather coral, a few mushroom corals.... a long way to go.


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## ICEE (Feb 3, 2007)

sweet looking fish room acestro


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## piranha_guy_dan (Oct 4, 2004)

what kinda featherfins are in the 100 gallon?

you are are old eh? look at all the old school oak trim tanks


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## FohDatAss (Oct 7, 2003)

dude how long do you work on the tanks a week? thats a crazy amount of tanks!!! siiiiiick


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Thanks guys!



piranha_guy_dan said:


> what kinda featherfins are in the 100 gallon?
> 
> you are are old eh? look at all the old school oak trim tanks


Those tanks range from 1 or 2 to maybe 15 years old.









The featherfins are ventralis sp. "Orange", but I'm getting tired of Africans.

I spend waaaay too much time, mostly because of those fry.









Some of those oak trimmed ones are less than 5 years old actually


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## piranha_guy_dan (Oct 4, 2004)

can you post up some close pics of the ventralis or maybe just make a seperate thread for them? what is the ratio you have of them and are they WC?

i just stripped 4 fry out of a small female ventralis kalambo last night, ive only had the fish for 2 days so i guess the guy didnt notice her holding when he sold her to me.

how come ur getting tired of africans?


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

I know this is a debate that has been going on for so long but... African cichlids are kinda dumb. Tanganyikans are on average smarter than Malawi, but they're essentially just more hyper and simple than CA/SA. With 1200 plus species, that isn't very fair, but it's kind of where I'm ending up. (but I'll always have at least a few electric yellows and blues)

Lemme dig up some of those ventralis pics...

...








I will say that compatibility is MUCH less of an issue with Africans (again, as a rule).

I'll get back into them again, maybe with some Boulengerochromis.

If you had true green terrors, argentaes, and haitiensis I think you'd understand what I'm saying. Those fish (although nasty mean) are very sharp.

I'll probably completely disagree with myself in about 9 months


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## piranha_guy_dan (Oct 4, 2004)

ive had pleanty of CA/SA cichlids before i got into africans and i know how interactive and smart they are but i also like a challenege to breed etc and CA/SA cichlids are too easy and cheap and grow too big in most cases and are too aggressive and arent group breeders etc. i also like to make some money within my hobby to support it and but some more fish etc. CA/SA fry is not as profitable as the africans i keep. those are some gorgeous ventralis, if you werent in the US i would say ship them to me but if you want to anyways i would still take them if the price is decent before the cost of shipping









whats the size and ratio of your ventralis?


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## MONGO  (Feb 7, 2006)

ace how do you get all your tanks to have the tea-bagged look?


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## piranha_guy_dan (Oct 4, 2004)

RockinTimbz said:


> ace how do you get all your tanks to have the tea-bagged look?


not cleanning them????

or dipping his sac in the tank LOL


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## MONGO  (Feb 7, 2006)

I assume from driftwood or blackwater extract but that looks like some serious teabag problems.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

I get driftwood from local rivers in Louisiana and Mississippi. There's not a ton of tannins in them now, but they're still not 'crystal' clear.:laugh:



piranha_guy_dan said:


> ive had pleanty of CA/SA cichlids before i got into africans and i know how interactive and smart they are but i also like a challenege to breed etc and CA/SA cichlids are too easy and cheap and grow too big in most cases and are too aggressive and arent group breeders etc. i also like to make some money within my hobby to support it and but some more fish etc. CA/SA fry is not as profitable as the africans i keep. those are some gorgeous ventralis, if you werent in the US i would say ship them to me but if you want to anyways i would still take them if the price is decent before the cost of shipping
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I sold the adults, the younguns are just short of being able to be sexed. I actually find CA/SA harder to breed (except the obvious ones like convicts), but their aggression is DEFINITELY a down side.

I guess it depends where you are and even when you are. When I first got here my hobby was funded by electric blue fry. Now grow-out CA and SA work even better (because they're dirt cheap as ugly youngsters and stunning as young adults).


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## redpiranhas4 (Feb 23, 2003)

i dont see the point of keeping all ur snakes in plastic tubs where they cant be viewed?
unless of course you grow them out or breed to sell maybe?

i just see it like me painting all sides of my tank black so i couldnt see my fish kinda pointless in keeping


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

If you've kept snakes you'd understand. They dont do a whole lot unless they're eating or when I take them out. I do have a setup on display where I can see my two largest boas (in a different room), but they essentially just sit there and do nothing.









The snakes that are active enough to watch are usually not very suitable for captivity (indigo snakes, etc.).

All that said, I do see my albino gopher snake (remix) eyeballing me when I walk by... she's a little piggy.


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## Guest (Apr 21, 2007)

Sweet setup!


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## oscar119 (Nov 26, 2005)

Kinda funny someone who knows so much is poor like the rest of us.. lol

Everything looks good. Just reminds me of my own with mismatched light strips and homemade tops on some of the tanks.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

GT45FD3S said:


> Kinda funny someone who knows so much is poor like the rest of us.. lol
> 
> Everything looks good. Just reminds me of my own with mismatched light strips and homemade tops on some of the tanks.


Welcome to the world of academia







A lot of those light strips and stands are scavenged from other hobbyists or traded in for from the LFS.









That reminds me of when I picked up some fish for an experiment from a fish breeder. He wished me good luck in becoming a millionaire







. Those who really dive into academia are rarely rich, unless they backstab and asskiss their way into positions like Dean and Department Head, etc... (not that they all do that :laugh: ). Even then, you're not talking about a huge amount of money (but those positions involve a shitload of stress). You've REALLY got to love higher education to make it.


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## Guest (Apr 26, 2007)

Are you a full time prof?


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

I was, now focusing more on research.


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## lament configuration (Jun 22, 2003)

get some more pics up of your true GTs and the fry.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Geeezum... I've posted more pics/vids of them than any fish I've ever owned









I'm adding a new fry pic, seeing as I'm now starting to sell them!


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## Guest (May 2, 2007)

Why dont you try to make the tanks look good?


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## andregurov (May 3, 2007)

Very nice setup there. Congrats on the _A. rivulatus_ spawns ...

J


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

edit: let's all be nice



andregurov said:


> Very nice setup there. Congrats on the _A. rivulatus_ spawns ...
> 
> J


Thanks, I feel very fortunate!

Your username looks so familiar...


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## PinKragon (Dec 28, 2005)

WoW ace, you do have a lot of tanks, you guys are very knowledgeable on this area, I love it, I love to read when people talk with so much enthusiasm about their pets


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Thanks PinK. And thanks to all the members (but one) who had nice things to say.


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## PinKragon (Dec 28, 2005)

Keep us update, maybe you can post a picture of your snakes...

I use to not like monty Timbz snake I actully like her now.... I wonder if she is meanie!


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## eiji (Sep 16, 2006)

you got a lot of tanks sir... is it hard to maintain??


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

fish lover said:


> you got a lot of tanks sir... is it hard to maintain??


actually yes, but it's worth it. I work more towards everyone's health as opposed to having one pretty tank.

I think I'd go nuts with just one tank.... but this situation is ridiculous.









I'll get snake pics up PinK.


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## PinKragon (Dec 28, 2005)

how come you said you like to study snakes balls?/ :S


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## spinalremains (Nov 10, 2006)

I like to see someone with your passion and practical sense doing something like this. You are a true aquarist. Damn nice job. As far as the tanks looking good, who cares as long as the fish and yourself are happy and thriving.


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## PinKragon (Dec 28, 2005)

Ace if i wanted to get one snake, are they dangerous? is it hard to keep them?


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## MONGO  (Feb 7, 2006)

my snake is easy to take care of............ especially since it dyed from da boeringz


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## PinKragon (Dec 28, 2005)

Timbz stop i didn't kill it grrrr, does she bite?


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## MONGO  (Feb 7, 2006)

my snake bit me once in the 12 years ive had it and that was during a feeding and it didnt hurt meanwhile my dog bites me all the time









i also see ace deleted my post


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

spinalremains said:


> I like to see someone with your passion and practical sense doing something like this. You are a true aquarist. Damn nice job. As far as the tanks looking good, who cares as long as the fish and yourself are happy and thriving.


Thanks, very kind compliments, and I agree, the health of the animals is first. My two tanks in the livingroom have always been attractively decorated (since they're out in the open).

Here's an old tankshot when I had some temporalis (which are now at the New Orleans Aquarium of the Americas).


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

RockinTimbz said:


> my snake bit me once in the 12 years ive had it and that was during a feeding and it didnt hurt meanwhile my dog bites me all the time :laugh:
> 
> i also see ace deleted my post


I kind of like non-RIP threads to not derail toooo far...









But yeah, snakes are the easiest of pets, almost too easy.


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## Guest (May 3, 2007)

Whats wrong old man...dont like what I said?


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## ESPMike (Mar 23, 2005)

Wow ready for the irony...

Stop spamming Danny.

Anyways Ace beautiful setup. I finally found the thread with the link in your sig.









I'd love to see some of those snake pics too. How about giving us a thread of them in the Herp forum?









Maybe evn some shots of that Tegu of yours...


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## Guest (May 3, 2007)

Well he doesnt allow PM's, so technically I am responding, not spamming


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

This isn't the place to air out dirty laundry Danny, stop it.

(you can block my PM just the same way as I block yours)


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## Guest (May 3, 2007)

:laugh: Class act...


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

DannyBoy17 said:


> :laugh: Class act...


stop derailing.


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## NeXuS (Aug 16, 2006)

great pics


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## Marcel_h (Feb 27, 2005)

looking practical (just like my tanks







)


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