STARTING AGIAN?

13 posts • Page 1 of 2

Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


dane918
 
Posts: 32
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 12:16 pm

STARTING AGIAN?

by dane918

hey everyone..
ive had a malawi cihlid tank for around 2 years now and it has never been right.
fish dont regularly die or anything like that, its just that they are shy..everytime someone appoaches the tank the fish swim away and hid behind the rocks...over the two years some of my fish have succesfully breed so i dont know wat im doing wrong..
to be honest im sick of it and i want to start again.

can u please help me out to ensure im doiung everything to keep my cichlids happy...


GiantDogg
 
Posts: 65
Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2009 11:24 pm

by GiantDogg

How many fish in how many gallons? If they are breeding, they are happy. They are acting pretty normal...I can tell you how to have them "school" more, but you may not like the answer.....


dane918
 
Posts: 32
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 12:16 pm

by dane918

well i started off with a fair few but now i think i only have around 10.
its a five foot tank which is like 300 litres, which i think is around 80 gallons..
im considering giving all my fish to someone and startinh all over again..
so if u were to start a brand new chichlid tank wat would u do...
-how do u maintain high pH levels?
-wat type of filtration
-wat tempreture?
-how often do u clean/replace your water?
-how often do u clean your filters?
-wat do u exactly do wen replacing water...
i want to kjnow everything to ensure im doing things right


mro2you2
 
Posts: 625
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 12:37 pm

by mro2you2

- buffers
- as much as you can afford
- 75-80
- best is 2 weeks
- when I do a water change
- treat it


GiantDogg
 
Posts: 65
Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2009 11:24 pm

by GiantDogg

I prefer CA/SA cichlids myself, but that is all personal preference. Check your local water before you buffer, every place is different. If your water has high PH, some lace rock and THR will keep it ok, if not, then go with buffers. Africans are very territorial, and you have few in the tank. If you want them to be out in the open, you can (totally) re-arrange the tank during a water change to eliminate the territories. You also can add more fish and have an all male hap tank, in which case they will school together. "Cleaning" the filter is over-rated, its all about water levels. If you must clean your floss/sponge medium, just squeeze it in the tank water so as not to kill the bacteria. If you want to start over, pick a country/lake and go to www.cichlidforum.com and check some of the stock lists, it is a great site for cichlids. Water changes depend on your levels....if they are all "0" with nitrates around 5-10 ppm, then you can do it every 2-3 weeks. A couple of Java ferns will keep nitrates down and they are easy to keep (just don't put the roots in the substrate).


mro2you2
 
Posts: 625
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 12:37 pm

by mro2you2

yeah or plant it very deep in the pots some plants come in


dane918
 
Posts: 32
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 12:16 pm

by dane918

-ive heard of buffers alot, but have never been 100% on wat they actually are...
-also wen u 'treat' ur water, wat do u exactly do...wen i change water i add the water conditioner and i also add this powder which increases pH and kH..

yeh im thinking of sticking with malawis and just getting a whole heaps of new ones...but there must be sumthing im missing because every cichlid tank i see, has fish that come too people not swim away from them, so thats my main problem!


GiantDogg
 
Posts: 65
Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2009 11:24 pm

by GiantDogg

You can use echo complete cichlid sand for Lake Malawi as a buffer rather than an additive. For water treatment, I prefer Prime. Get some more fish and rearrange the entire tank. When they "wake up" there will be more fish and you will see them more. FYI, don't mean to be argumentative Mr2you2, but Java Fern should not be planted ever..... I am sure PK can chime in on it.


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

Giant Dogg: I think from my experience with plants I'm going to dissagree with you one one point.

I have a planted tank with VERY dense greenery including java fern grown on the wood and I don't think you can really reduce nitrates very effectivly unless you had a VERY low bio-load in the tank.

Nitrates from fish waste are produced much more than the plants can absorb unless you have like one small fish or something.


mro2you2
 
Posts: 625
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 12:37 pm

by mro2you2

yeah I just did the same like you did. But what made my fresh a mess probly like yours, Is I didnt cycle. I didnt know about the cycling process even with the cichlid but with the cichlid I got VERY LUCKEY and it was fine with out a cycle. Which Is VERY wierd because that tank was my best and it makes me wonder how it work with out a cycle.

STARTING AGIAN?

13 posts • Page 1 of 2

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