not to long ago i put up a post about my shy cichlids...
there still not right and i feel like starting again...i really have no idea wat causes it...
i went to an aquarium place today that i havent been to and the guy said to used a pH buffer some specific salt thing and something called Z zorb (Ior sumthing like that)
can u please run me through the things i need to have a good cichlid tank with no scared fish...i cant put my finger on it so and i have a feeling its something small but important...
PLEASE HELP

Hi Dane...I haven't seen you're previous post so forgive me if I'm asking you to repeat yourself.

What cichlids are we talking about?

African? If so, malawi or tanginikan? Or South American? What fish have you got there?

The pH buffer and salt thing will probably help if your talking malawi cichlids...but I need more info about your tank...?

It looks like too many fish in that tank, and you don't have any rocks in the tank, to speak of. Fish need to feel secure in their surroundings or they are more likely to be shy. They feel more secure when their natural habitat is replicated, and for most cichlids that means plenty of rocks, stacked up, preferably providing caves to swim in and out of and hiding places. That is why fish tanks usually have plenty of cover in the form of plants, rocks, or other decor. Your fish are likely scared, not to mention the overcrowded tank. In the wild, there is plenty of natural cover and no overcrowding -- your fish are in a very unnatural environment and probably feel uncomfortable. Do some reading on the environment your fish need, and provide it, or it is unlikely that your fish will ever behave naturally.

Z

What your lfs is talking about is creating the right water chemistry for Lake Malawi cichlids. They need hard water with a high pH: between 7.8 - 8.9. I use something like this:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=4198

Make sure it is for Lake Malawi fish. When I do a water change, I fill a cup with tank water, add my pH additive, my dechlorinator (I use Prime) and a couple teaspoons of salt. I make sure it is all mixed good then add it when replacing the water. This keeps my water hard and my pH at 8.4.

A Lake Malawi setup is different from any other set-up. They need to be over crowded to a point to reduce aggression. If there are too few fish then there is too much aggression. When you have a bit of overcrowding, the territories overlap and it reduces the aggression levels. You also need to over filter the tank because of the amount of fish. They also need similar aggression levels and the right amount of males to females. ONE male for a group of females. If you have more, the less dominant male will hide and take a lot of punishment from the dominant one.

They also need a lot of caves. A lot of rocks to feel secure. I change mine up every water change. Sometimes I make one long rock pile, sometimes two big ones with the center open. The key is to have enough for each fish to have a cave of its own.

These things are key to having healthy, beautiful African Cichlids. I will walk you thru the steps if you take what I say and do them. OK?

First off, what is your pH?

How many fish are in your tank? It does look like you have way to many for the size tank you have. For a 55 gallon, I would say 18 max. I have 16 in mine.

What fish do you have? And how many of each? Male to female ratio? If you are unsure of what one is, take a picture and we will try to figure out what it is.

It looks like you have a lot of johannii, which is not good unless you only go with johannii. They are one of the most aggressive Mbuna there is and will make the rest miserable.

Have you added more rocks yet? Can you get a picture of the tank as it is now? I also think a dark background on the tank would help too. It looks too bright and open, probably making them skittish.

Lets start with these questions, then walk you thru changes after OK?

16-20 is the number people have success with in a 55 gallon Mbuan tank. I am on many African cichlid forums and these numbers seem to work just right in a 55 gallon tank. If you have a bigger tank you could go with more. Mbuna grow to be between 4 and 5" so more than that is really not a good idea. I had 12 in a 30 gallon and when they grew to 4" they needed a bigger tank. They could barely move around.

You want to crowd them to keep the territories overlapping, but not put so many in that they have no room to swim.

I have not read a lot on monsterfishkeepers, but they have some cool videos.

The only thing I don't like about cichlidforum is some of the older members tend to talk way down to people who are looking for advice instead of helping. Do you know what I mean?