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AquariumHobbyist.com
Morrell Devlin
Central and South American Cichlids
March 4, 2005

PHSplendens: On behalf of Jeff Barringer and all of us at aquariumhobbyist.com, I'm very pleased to welcome Morrell Devlin to our Seventh Annual Chat Week.

PHSplendens: Morrell Devlin is Publicity Director of the American Cichlid Association and owner of the website AquaMoJo.com. He says he is an admitted cichlidaholic, with his most passionate interest being in the Central and South American species, most of which are in the 12-16 inch range - the tank busters. He currently houses 3,600 gallons of freshwater fish in his home. He is here to tell us about keeping "tank busters" as well as the care of cichlids and their conservation in the wild.

PHSplendens: Thank you so much for joining us, Morrell, and welcome!

MorrellDevlin: I wrote a few lines up a few minutes ago. Let me cut and paste for a second.

MorrellDevlin: Hi all. My name is Morrell. Been keeping fish for close to thirty-five years. My dad got me interested with the typical stuff - community fish mostly. I always enjoyed the weird stuff. I got a Congo Puffer when I was fifteen. That was my first introduction to fish that eats other fish. My introduction to tankbusters was with an Oscar.

tex_parrot_nr: ?

MorrellDevlin: Being new to the big fish I made a lot of the same mistakes made by many new enthusiasts tank too smal, filtration lacking, improper diet. As time went On I accumulated a few different species of Central and South American cichlids. As I got older and could afford to buy the tanks, my collection grew.

MorrellDevlin: Currently I house close to 4000 gallons of water and a 1600-gallon fresh water pond in my basement. I own over thirty different species of CA/SA Cichlids and a couple of very large Characins (Pacu) My largest fish is a Pacu named Brutus. He weighs 22 pounds. A short list of fish are Umbee, Festae, Citrinellum, Dovii, Escondido, Tetracanthus, Motaguense, Nicarauguense.

MorrellDevlin: I am going to apologize in advance for my typing.

MorrellDevlin: So who else owns some of the big stuff?

MorrellDevlin: Anyone here a member of the ACA?

Aquacare_nr: Are we using chat rules?

PHChristy: LOL Morrell, I think you're scaring everyone <G>

jeffb: We are!

MorrellDevlin: Really?

jeffb: AquariumHobbyist is

PHChristy: we usually ask people to just type a ? or ! if they have a question or comment, and then we call on them... with large groups, it keeps the chaos down <G>

jeffb: just joined

MorrellDevlin: OK

jeffb: couple weeks ago

MorrellDevlin: Help me out if I stumble on the rules.

PHAbymom: No Problem... just put a ga when you're done with a remark or a question <G>

tex_parrot_nr: ?

marksherps: ?

PHAbymom: Tex, you're up!

MorrellDevlin: Yeah, Tex?

tex_parrot_nr: Morrell this is going to sound stupid

MorrellDevlin: Call me Mo

tex_parrot_nr: Are you and Chuck Scanlon from the last chat long lost brothers?

tex_parrot_nr: I mean your photos look like it

tex_parrot_nr: sorry...

MorrellDevlin: Nope. Don't know him...but you have piqued my curiosity.

tex_parrot_nr: he ehe

MorrellDevlin: Another handsome Irsihman?

tex_parrot_nr: What is a good starter cichlid?

PHChristy: LOL

tex_parrot_nr: not sure - the link is gone now

Aquacare_nr: ?

MorrellDevlin: If we are talking about Central American Cichlids (CA) I would have to say Convicts.

MorrellDevlin: Very easy to keep...prolific

MorrellDevlin: Go Aqua

Midask9: ?

PHAbymom: Marks was next <G>

marksherps: Do you keep Oscars?

jeffb: ?

MorrellDevlin: I have had Oscars.I don't have any right now. For some reason my water is more suited to CA rather than SA Cihlids...too hard.

Aquacare_nr: I'll wait. for Marks.

marksherps: go ahead

PHAbymom: Aquacare you are next :)

MorrellDevlin: I haven't had much luck as they get older. They always seem to end up with HLLE

Aquacare_nr: Mo, are there some good species to have that won't end up being the only one left in the tank? ga

MorrellDevlin: The Archocentrus species seem to be pretty tolerant to conspecifics. The key...at least in my opinion is growing them out together and planning in advance for tank size. You can't plan on having a tank full of Doviis

MorrellDevlin: ga

PHAbymom: Midas

MorrellDevlin: Question?

tex_parrot_nr: ?

PHAbymom: Going once... Midas.. you're turn

PHAbymom: Ok.. Jeff...

marksherps: ?

jeffb: What would you suggest fiora clean 90g if you wanted to stay with small cichlids

MorrellDevlin: Personal preference...Neets. I think they exhibit all the neat traits you would expect in a larger CA cichlid without the size

MorrellDevlin: Beyond that there are a host of medium fish that vfit the bill.

jeffb: any suggestions for companions?

MorrellDevlin: Neets can be pretty nasty. I have kepth them with T. Coruleus.

Ama_nr: ?

MorrellDevlin: Most of my tanks are single species tanks. The exception is the pond.

MorrellDevlin: ga

Aquacare_nr: ?

PHAbymom: Midas

Midask9: I keep Jacks, and as per their history, they perpetually end up hating each other. Aside from having their tanks heavily rocked, any suggestions for distractions? ga

MorrellDevlin: What size tank are you keeping them in? How many?

Midask9: big ones in 72, 1 at the moment as I have yet to determine who can hold his own against the larger one.....

Midask9: then *gasp* 9 6 mo. old fry in a 20g

Midask9: the 6 mo.'s are starting to pair off ga

MorrellDevlin: I use a lot of medium sized characins as dithers. I really like the Metynsis for dithers. Short of that...reaggange the tank decor frequently.

John_Brandt_nr: !

Midask9: ty

MorrellDevlin: ga

PHAbymom: Tex you're turn

tex_parrot_nr: Do pepople keep the larger species in outdoor ponds?

tex_parrot_nr: (no basement here)

MorrellDevlin: I wish! And yes they do. I have seen some amazing ponds in Asia and the Philipines. It's all weather related.

MorrellDevlin: I have heard of people housing them in outdoor ponds in the summer to make them grow then taking them in for the winter. ga

PHAbymom: Marksherps, you're turn

marksherps: Do you have a lot of breeding projects? ga

MorrellDevlin: I have on average three or four fish in breeding most of the time. My current
challenge" is getting a pair of Vieja Heterospilum to breed.

MorrellDevlin: I've bred twenty or so species successfully.

MorrellDevlin: ga

marksherps: thanks!

PHAbymom: Ama, your turn

MorrellDevlin: Breeding is the fun p[art of this hobby IMO

Ama_nr: Kind of long, I hope that is OK. I am here because my son, who is 12, would like to keep cichlids. In fact, he's obsessed with the subject. I'm very wary because I understand that they get big, and I'm concerned about the tank requirements, as well as I understand they are aggressive. Part of his fascination is the size issue. He WANTS big fish. He's very science-oriented and very responsible. He saw this chat being advertised and couldn't be here because of a family committment with his father. I told him I'd come and get your honest opinion as to the advisability of him starting out, and if he does, what type of cichlid is big, but not unreasonable for a beginner. And as his mother, can I ask - how much would a good tank set-up be likely to cost, one that we won't have to be upgrading as the fish grow? Any suggestions of books websites, anywhere we could get more realistic ideas would be very appreciated. Thank you. Ga

PHLaure: ?

bob_nr: ?

MorrellDevlin: Well, you can't go wrong with a Midas Cichlid. They get big...about 12-14" As long as you don't want to go crazy adding a bunch of other fish you could get by with a 55 or 75 gallon tank. The best advice I could give him is to do some research on the species he likes. Joining the ACA would be a great opportunity for him.

Ama_nr: do you have children as members much?

MorrellDevlin: You can get lots of info at my website. A tank setup would cost about 250-300 bucks.

MorrellDevlin: They are offering a junior membership...yes.

Ama_nr: what is your website Morrell?

MorrellDevlin: Here's the forum: http://208.51.130.220/~mojo/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl

MorrellDevlin: We have some of the best in the hobby there..from all over the world.

MorrellDevlin: ga

PHAbymom: Aquacare you're up!

Ama_nr: thank you very much, I'll check it out and also see about getting him to join as a junior, that's a great idea and maybe it will keep him happy for a while while we work on the financial end. Thank you very much! He'll be thrilled I got to ask you. I was afraid I'd be too late. ga

Aquacare_nr: How do you keep good water quality with such large fish? ga

MorrellDevlin: Send me e-mail with any questions.

Ama_nr: I will thank you!

MorrellDevlin: Frequent water changes, good filtration. I do a 30-60% water change on all my tanks every week. That's about 2000gallons a week.

MorrellDevlin: ga

PHAbymom: John your comment

MissDaphne: ?

Aquacare_nr: !

PHSplendens: !

John_Brandt_nr: I just wanted to mention to everyone...Elvis is in the building.

PHAbymom: Laure

PHLaure: Mo, I am curious about your term 'tank busters'. Would you please expain it.

MorrellDevlin: LOL Elvis is the King. My water dog. Follows me everywhere I go. If I could just train him to use a siphon...

PHChristy: but can he skateboard?

PHAbymom: No thumbs

MorrellDevlin: Tankbuster just means "big fish". There are fish that literally could crack the glass of the aquarium if too big. My Pacu almost did it. We ended up moving him to the pond in a laundry basket.

MorrellDevlin: It was like a National Geographic special

PHLaure: LOL.

MorrellDevlin: ga

PHAbymom: Bob you're next

bob_nr: Greetings. I have a 75 gallon with a trio of Albino tiger oscars. 1m/2f. i believe the dominant female may have spawned. the thing is, ive also noticed a few rogue white specs on the male albino. should the female have produced eggs, whats the best way to treat ICK if this is the case?

bob_nr: im assuming since the male may have ick, she might develope ick as well

MorrellDevlin: The best way to treat ick is with Coppersafe. Although I don't know if that would affect the eggs. If the male has ick, she will get it as well. The ick cycle goes from fish to gravel to fish.

MorrellDevlin: ga

bob_nr: ?

MorrellDevlin: You might try putting the affected fish in a QT tank. But the parasite is already in the soil of the affected tank.

PHAbymom: Miss Daphne

MissDaphne: Just wondering what Morrell's water bill is like, LOL... and yes, I'm serious. Also electric bill. Seems like an expensive hobby!

MissDaphne: ga

MorrellDevlin: My water bill is amazingly low. My electric bill is a mortgage payment.

MissDaphne: LOL

MissDaphne: I live in California, so realize that is very scary to me

MorrellDevlin: Seriously...real numbers. Last month's water $35...electric $375

MissDaphne: wow

MorrellDevlin: ga

MissDaphne: thank you ga

PHAbymom: Aquacare

Aquacare_nr: Ama, Mo's site will keep your son busy for days !ga

MorrellDevlin: Thanks Todd.

PHAbymom: Splendens

Ama_nr: thanks, Aquacare!

PHSplendens: I would just like to say that it's nice to see someone else that does larger water changes when done on a weekly basis! ga

MorrellDevlin: We have the largest single breeder of CA/SA cichlids as a regular there...Jeff Rapps

Ama_nr: the electric bill scared me I confess but that's just me being a mom

MorrellDevlin: You have to keep in mind what I am running.

PHAbymom: !

MorrellDevlin: In the pond I have four 1000 watt Titanium heaters. That's just the pond.

MorrellDevlin: Did I mention we also have six dogs and three cats?

MorrellDevlin: Moah's Ark.

PHAbymom: Bob, you had another question?

Ama_nr: LOL

bob_nr: Ive noticed, that with all the tanks i have, when the weather changes significantly, i always seem to have one tank that gets ICK. i realize that ick is always present, but why would a change in weather affect how the parasite evolves, when the tank temp in all my tanks is consistant with little to no fluxuation. ga

bob_nr: significantly = from say 80F to 50F

MorrellDevlin: The only thing I can tell you is that any of these diseases are brought on by a lowered immune deficiency.

MorrellDevlin: I would keep an eye on the pH fluctuation of the tanks. Sometimes a change of seasons will suddenly alter you pH.

bob_nr: *grumbles about texas weather*

bob_nr: ty

MorrellDevlin: ga

MorrellDevlin: A sudden drop in ph will put a heck of a strain on their system.

PHAbymom: Mo, just a comment about the bills. I am also in CA. Had to give up the tanks when we had a limit of 46 gal per day per human.

PHAbymom: For everything...showers, laundry, fish, etc.

PHAbymom: ga

MorrellDevlin: See...now that scares me. Limiting water???

PHAbymom: Ok.. .anymore questions out there

PHAbymom: Yup... but when the reservoirs are dry you can't ask for more water

MorrellDevlin: Agreed. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do...

MorrellDevlin: But when you have mouth's like this:

John_Brandt_nr: !

MorrellDevlin: http://www.aquamojo.com/pond/pond%20301b.jpg

Ama_nr: well... since there is still a little time... could I ask one more question?

PHAbymom: John, go ahead

MorrellDevlin: How can you say no?!

PHAbymom: Oh my

John_Brandt_nr: Abymom...

PHChristy: LOL heavens!

John_Brandt_nr: you can buy dehydrated water - the problem is that you have to add water to it.

PHAbymom: ROFL

Cinta_nr: ?

marksherps: ?

PHAbymom: Funny now.. we've had about 130% of average rainfall this year..

PHAbymom: Cinta

Cinta_nr: I was wondering, have you ever kept African cichlids and can you comment on the differences if you did?

Cinta_nr: ga

MorrellDevlin: I have one African Cichlid in the pond. There are lots of differences, however I am not versed well enough to anwer that question on Africans. Other than size, difference of water chemistry...they are still cichlids.

MorrellDevlin: People comment on the color difference of Africans verses CA/SA.

Cinta_nr: what African cichlid do you have in your pond? ga

MorrellDevlin: Here's a shot of what I think rivals the Africans.

MorrellDevlin: http://www.aquamojo.com/festae/Festae%2095b.jpg

MorrellDevlin: Cinta ~ A blue one?

Cinta_nr: LOL, oh I see an EXPERT SPECIES IDENTIFICATION <G>

MorrellDevlin: I really have no idea. I rescued it along with another fish. Very hardy.

pbass_nr: is that an old pic or is she still kicking?

MorrellDevlin: Nope. She's dead. Killed by a male a third her size.

pbass_nr: i remember that

MorrellDevlin: http://www.aquamojo.com/festae/Festae%2093b.jpg

MorrellDevlin: Cichlid Kiss http://www.aquamojo.com/festae/Festae%2090b.jpg

MorrellDevlin: ga

PHAbymom: Marksherps you're up

marksherps: do you breed discus? ga

tex_parrot_nr: ?

MorrellDevlin: No Mark. No Discus.

MorrellDevlin: ga

PHAbymom: Queue is empty!

tex_parrot_nr: ?

PHAbymom: Tex

tex_parrot_nr: What is hole in the head disease

MorrellDevlin: It's actuall Head and Lateral Line disease. It's an erosin of the lateral line as well as pitting around the head and snout of the fish.

pbass_nr: due to poor water quality?

MorrellDevlin: Very difficvult to treat. Usually caused by poor water qualtiy.

MorrellDevlin: Surviving fish are generally left pretty scarred.

MorrellDevlin: ga

pbass_nr: i see it alot w/big pike cichlids...any reason why they would be more prone to it thatn others?

MorrellDevlin: I've seen that as well. In fact I see it a lot in SA cichlids. Again...poor water qualtiy doesn't mean dirty water.

MorrellDevlin: Improper pH or hardness can lead to the disease.

MorrellDevlin: ga

PHSplendens: Morrell, on behalf of all of us at aquariumhobbyist.com, thank you so much for being our guest tonight!