Hey everyone
I encompass a feq queries to my newly set up african cichlid tank. The tank is 90 Litres (approximately 25 gallons). The fish I currently own are 1 Silver Shark (AKA Bala Shark) 3 sucking catfish, 2 electric yellow cichlids and 2 electric blue cichlids.
PLEASE NOTE: I am aware of the size implications with the silver shark (bala shark)
FIRST QUERY: Whenever I add a ph buffer of 7.8- 8.5 I notice strange behaviour from my bala shark. The shark begins to gasp for air and swim in a strange fashion. My ideal PH level would be 7.8 - 8. Generally to overcome the problem I remove approximately a bucket of water and change with new water without adding any PH buffer. The PH falls to about 7.8 and the shark returns to normal. Is there anything I can do to overcome this issue and maintain the PH at 7.8? (Perhaps I can add half [or a certain percentage] of the recommended level of PH buffer?)
SECOND QUERY: I was thinking of adding more females in the tank to increase the male / female ratio. I am well aware that the fish i have in my tank are aggressive and territorial. How do I introduce new fish to my tank? I REALLY DON'T WANT TO REEARRANGE AQUARIUM FURNITURE BECAUSE ITS TOO HARD IN MY AQUARIUM. Do I introduce multiple fish at at time?
Any other advice would be highly appreciated.
Thanking you in advance.
Kind Regards,
Alfio Autreri
P.S. Please find attached photos of the aquarium.
Cichlid tank queries
9 posts
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dizzcat - Posts: 648
- Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:30 am
The very best way to add more fish is to clean the tank and rearrange the decor. That way established territories are broken up and everyone will work it out, not just the new ones. I have to do this even when I put an established female back in after she has been holding in my fry tank.
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jweb1369 - Posts: 547
- Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:55 am
Well from the looks of it you have 2 male yellow labs and that is probably the reason for high aggression. You should really only have 1 male per 3-4 females (for cichlids).
If I were you, this is what I would do...
Take out the non cichlid fish (sell or give them away). See if you can trade one of your yellow lab males for a female. Then buy 2 or 3 more yellow lab females.
I believe the electric blue cichlid is aka ahli cichlid? They get to be 8" and a 25 gallon tank isn't really large enough to house them comfortably. So I would sell or give them away.
Yellow labs have a variety of choices for cichlid tank mates. Out of the african mbuna cichlids the yellow lab is considered less aggressive. I have a group in a 30 gallon with a group of kenyi cichlids. Check out my tank.
If you decide to not give away your ahli's then I would definately not stock much more. If you look online at pictures of the adults you will see exactly how big they get. I couldn't believe that the cichlids I have are going to get so big, until I seen the full grown adults in a pet store here. I was like, "No way!"
The best way to avoid buying the wrong fish is to do your research before you go to the store, and never ask for help once at the store. They will tell you anything to sell you a fish, your aquarium is not their problem so they simply don't care once the fish has left their store.
If I were you, this is what I would do...
Take out the non cichlid fish (sell or give them away). See if you can trade one of your yellow lab males for a female. Then buy 2 or 3 more yellow lab females.
I believe the electric blue cichlid is aka ahli cichlid? They get to be 8" and a 25 gallon tank isn't really large enough to house them comfortably. So I would sell or give them away.
Yellow labs have a variety of choices for cichlid tank mates. Out of the african mbuna cichlids the yellow lab is considered less aggressive. I have a group in a 30 gallon with a group of kenyi cichlids. Check out my tank.
If you decide to not give away your ahli's then I would definately not stock much more. If you look online at pictures of the adults you will see exactly how big they get. I couldn't believe that the cichlids I have are going to get so big, until I seen the full grown adults in a pet store here. I was like, "No way!"
The best way to avoid buying the wrong fish is to do your research before you go to the store, and never ask for help once at the store. They will tell you anything to sell you a fish, your aquarium is not their problem so they simply don't care once the fish has left their store.
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Alfio7663 - Posts: 17
- Joined: Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:00 am
Hey
The yellow labs are one female and one male.
I was thinking of getting more females. Do you think if i introduce multiple females at once there will be agression?
The silver shark isnt giving me any problems other than the ph problem. I'm considering moving him.
The aquarium kept sucking catfish in the same tank as the cichlids so i'm sure it shouldnt be too bad to have them together.
The aquarium told me 25 gallons is ok size for a couple of 8" fish.
Thanks dizzcat, i really hate rearranging everything though, its such a pain.
Thanks for your replys.
The yellow labs are one female and one male.
I was thinking of getting more females. Do you think if i introduce multiple females at once there will be agression?
The silver shark isnt giving me any problems other than the ph problem. I'm considering moving him.
The aquarium kept sucking catfish in the same tank as the cichlids so i'm sure it shouldnt be too bad to have them together.
The aquarium told me 25 gallons is ok size for a couple of 8" fish.
Thanks dizzcat, i really hate rearranging everything though, its such a pain.
Thanks for your replys.
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BurgerKing7704 - Posts: 106
- Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:03 pm
Sorry, that's a lie. I wouldnt keep an 8" fish in anything less than a four foot long tank. Your fish could also be johanni's or maingano. What color are they now?? Grey means alhi, blue and black, maingano or johanni.
To be honest, most fish dont require gallons, rather they require a certain amount of space. Like a 2 foot wide tank for example. A standard 40g tank is shorter than a 33g long. Though the 40 can hold more water, not more fish.
The only africans i would keep in your tank are from lake tanganyika. You could get a pair of calvus or comps, then house some shell dwellers to fill the lower part of your tank. You could also look into some julidochromis, also from lake tanganyika. If you do stick with lake malawi i would stay with one species being the yellow lab and have 3 of them max.
To be honest, most fish dont require gallons, rather they require a certain amount of space. Like a 2 foot wide tank for example. A standard 40g tank is shorter than a 33g long. Though the 40 can hold more water, not more fish.
The only africans i would keep in your tank are from lake tanganyika. You could get a pair of calvus or comps, then house some shell dwellers to fill the lower part of your tank. You could also look into some julidochromis, also from lake tanganyika. If you do stick with lake malawi i would stay with one species being the yellow lab and have 3 of them max.
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CedricAndCandy7566 - Posts: 61
- Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2008 12:02 am
Hi Alfio...what everyone has said above about male:female ratio is correct. In our cichlid tank we also only have one male and one female electric yellow and this used to be a major problem for us but we didn't want to add more yellows. So we decided to use this other method called "target fish" instead. The following is a quote:
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"Target Fish: What is a target fish? The ideal target fish is hardy, built-like-a-tank, fast and agile, and somewhat expendible (if they ever get caught by the aggressor...well, you get the picture.) The role of the target fish is to act as a decoy in the tank to help vent both territorial and breeding aggression. Since the average target fish is faster than any of the Cichlid tankmates, it can better deal with high-speed chases and will more likely escape without harm. A side benefit of using target fish is that it gives the usually dominant male of a breeding pair a diversion and thus keeps his spouse from taking the brunt of the males territorial (and sexual) frustrations. Target fish will also induce better fry-defense, in species that offer any.
Commonly used target fish include zebra danios (and larger danios like the Giant and Pearl with larger Cichlids) and Australian rainbowfish. These fish are generally readily available, reasonable, and very efficient swimmers. These fish are also very adaptable in terms of water conditions so they can be used in a broad range of Cichlid biotopes, from South America to East Africa. "
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We use rainbow fish as our target fish and it works a treat. We just added 3 to our tank all together and they get chased around but never caught or injured!
Good luck...
--------------------
"Target Fish: What is a target fish? The ideal target fish is hardy, built-like-a-tank, fast and agile, and somewhat expendible (if they ever get caught by the aggressor...well, you get the picture.) The role of the target fish is to act as a decoy in the tank to help vent both territorial and breeding aggression. Since the average target fish is faster than any of the Cichlid tankmates, it can better deal with high-speed chases and will more likely escape without harm. A side benefit of using target fish is that it gives the usually dominant male of a breeding pair a diversion and thus keeps his spouse from taking the brunt of the males territorial (and sexual) frustrations. Target fish will also induce better fry-defense, in species that offer any.
Commonly used target fish include zebra danios (and larger danios like the Giant and Pearl with larger Cichlids) and Australian rainbowfish. These fish are generally readily available, reasonable, and very efficient swimmers. These fish are also very adaptable in terms of water conditions so they can be used in a broad range of Cichlid biotopes, from South America to East Africa. "
--------------
We use rainbow fish as our target fish and it works a treat. We just added 3 to our tank all together and they get chased around but never caught or injured!
Good luck...
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Alfio7663 - Posts: 17
- Joined: Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:00 am
Thanks everyone who commented on this discussion.
Sorry for my delayed reply. I've been really busy coping with a death in the family.
CedricAndCandy I really like your idea of the 'target fish'. I will look in to the Australian Rainbow fish and determine whether that target fish set up is appropriate for me.
Burgerking, It really frustrates me when the aquarium shops give me false advice. They were sold to me from an established aquarium shop as electric blue cichlids. I was told that these cichlids would be able to happily live in my tank and that they were both male.
The latest updates are that I have given away the Bala shark, the fish i current have are 3 Chinese Algae eaters, 2 electric yellow cichlids (one male and one female) and 2 electric blue cichlids (both male).
I was wondering will the electric blue cichlids hassle the female electric yellow cichlid? Also what are everyone's views regarding the target fish set up proposed by CedricAndCandy ?
Kind Regards,
Alfio
Sorry for my delayed reply. I've been really busy coping with a death in the family.
CedricAndCandy I really like your idea of the 'target fish'. I will look in to the Australian Rainbow fish and determine whether that target fish set up is appropriate for me.
Burgerking, It really frustrates me when the aquarium shops give me false advice. They were sold to me from an established aquarium shop as electric blue cichlids. I was told that these cichlids would be able to happily live in my tank and that they were both male.
The latest updates are that I have given away the Bala shark, the fish i current have are 3 Chinese Algae eaters, 2 electric yellow cichlids (one male and one female) and 2 electric blue cichlids (both male).
I was wondering will the electric blue cichlids hassle the female electric yellow cichlid? Also what are everyone's views regarding the target fish set up proposed by CedricAndCandy ?
Kind Regards,
Alfio