CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

Does anyone have any experiece with 6 or 7 strip or even the blues? I am thinking of getting one for my tank. Any info would be appreciated..

From what I've heard Frontosa's are pretty cool, never had one though. There's a guy who works at the Petsmart I go to sometimes who has one and really likes it.

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Joe
www.cichlidfish.com

Ya thats what I have been told. A very kewl fish. Nice aggression but can hold its own. Very beautiful fish to boot. >.=) they are rather cheap here in Fl as well. I was in another state and it was 3x the cost!

Yep, I think they're actually pretty expensive down here. In fact a lot of fish stores don't carry them, guess you have to kind of special order them.

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Joe
www.cichlidfish.com

Well here I just got one for $14.99 I also just got a jewel cichlid for 0.99 cents!! I know you can get Fronts online anywhere from $9 to $30 for zyaire blues. One place 30 mins from my house wanted $34.99 for a front. I went to the other and got it for half so.

Yep, I found the same thing, price can REALLY vary, so you gotta shop-around....you thinking about trying to breed them?

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Joe
www.cichlidfish.com

Well I keep this front with 2 red devils, texas cichlid, green terror, and a jewel cichlid.. If I ever get around to building my new tank I would like to breed Blue zayaire Fronts.. Would be nice >.=)

Yep, if you do get around to it let me know, I'd like to build myself a tank sometime too....

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Joe
www.cichlidfish.com

Well I built my 60 gallon tank I use now. Was not as hard as I originally thought it would be. I used perfecto silicone available in corking size tubes. Just shop around for pricing on glass. I thought about acrylic tank as I have worked with that before. But it scratches too easily and if I want to go to salt green alage loves plastic and that stuff is like rock form!!!

I'd like to build an acrylic tank, but I'm talking like a 500gallon one. Where do you get the materials though? where did you get your stuff?

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Joe
www.cichlidfish.com

We have tons of industrial places to choose from. For glass we have glass shops all over the place. Just called around for pricing. Just have your measurements ready. Acrylic would be bought from vinyl and plastic shop. I used to be a manager for a car stereo and performance shop so I got glass or acrylic/plexiglass cheap...

Ah, ok thanks, I'll check around sometime, I was a bit worried that maybe I may not be able to get strong enough acrylic to make a 500gallon tank, have any idea how to "calculate" what "kind" of acrylic and thickness I would need? I heard there's diff type of acrylic of different strengths so thickness I need depends on strength of the one i buy etc... and i'd need to know how to calculate the kind of thickness and reinforcement I would need etc...

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Joe
www.cichlidfish.com

Call some custom tank shops listed in Tropical fish magazine etc. Ask them for some info, as I do not know how to calculate that info. I never heard of different acrylic or plexi for that matter other then thickness difference. I did notice that places like Bush Gardens or Florida Aquarium use like 1 inch thick for there larger tanks. With acrylic you have to use a special glue forget name now, but its like F2 or something. It basically melts the acrylic together. What ya need to worry about is binding etc. You need to build a jig to hold it. The key is not to tight but not too lose either. To tight = instant cracking and bowing. To light = leaks. With glass its just hold it tightly and silicone. Also you are talking LOTS of money for acrylic number one and then that kinda tickness oh man.. Especially for a consumer rather then retailer....

youd have to worry most about the center of the glass also shape af aquarium will make a difference of what thickness glass you will need.

High quality Acrylic tanks have a top piece for support along edges and middle for supports. Whether this tank was rectangle or box shaped you should use same thickness acrylic/glass. Just use thicker pieces for higher gallon tanks.