I Have Some Fish Tank Questions

[Benny]

It's addictive isn't it?

Yes that's an "electric yellow" or "yellow lab" which ever you want to call it I have heard them called "yellow prince" too. Both those fish are African Cichlids and both are aggressive. When they start fighting my money is on the Blue Johanni so long as he doesn't eat the yellow lab then maybe nobody wins. The yellow labs are poisonous when eaten. It shouldn't the Blue Johanni that I had would just roll the other fish over and chew out enough of the guts to where it was a fatal injury and then left them for dead.

The blue was is already a bastard. He's been chasing the yellow around all night, even though the yellow is minding it's own business.

I knew they are very aggressive, but I thought they could live together?

Hell, they were in the same tank when I got them.

 

[Suprtek]

Hey! Dems is some purty fishies! I wish I would have known about the fact that smaller tanks are harder to take care of a long time ago. My fault for not researching properly. I was one of those people that thought it would be cool to have one of those little novelty tanks to put on my desk. It only held about a gallon and a half. Definitely not the way to go unless you just want to keep buying different fish every couple weeks.

 

[djl02]

The key is a good filter and use larger gravel in the bottom.As long as no sun hits it,their pretty much nothing to do.My 125 does better than the 55 gal.There just like a piece of art.Really relaxing and enjoyable.

 

[Benny]

The key is a good filter and use larger gravel in the bottom.As long as no sun hits it,their pretty much nothing to do.My 125 does better than the 55 gal.There just like a piece of art.Really relaxing and enjoyable.

The filter is good to go and sun will never have a chance to hit it...Is the gravel I'm using large enough?

 

[Benny]

OK, I just did a water test, so I have some questions.

Keep in mind this is going to be a cichlid tank(with maybe some bottom feeders)

My Nitrate level is at about a 20.

My Nitrite level is a between 0 and .5

My pH level is still around 8.5, maybe slightly lower(how the heck to I lower it?)

The carbonate hardness and the general hardness is still at the highest point(240 and 180). Is there anything to do to lower it besides getting an RO system?

Should I go to someone's house who has a water softener and do a 25 or so % water change by filling up jugs of soft water?



The fish seem to be doing great, but I've only had them 1 day.

 

[gage]

"The water condition in which your lemon yellow cichlids live in should be slightly alkaline within the pH range of 7.5 to 8.5. Measurement for water hardness should be above 10.0 dGH meaning that the water should be extremely hard in nature"

All About Aquarium Fish: Aquarium Setup for African Lemon Yellow Cichlids

As your tank water ages the pH will naturally go down. If your cichlid is am African Lemon it needs alkaline and hard water...

 

[3gunshooter]

If you want to do it right get a RO system in your house I have a 125 gal Saltwater tank I can test it treat it before I put it in the tank.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Finally got motivated and got a new hood, filters, and bulbs. Replaced 4 gallons with fresh water, and cleaned it out. Got a new air stone also. It's looking good, it's only a 10 gallon. Need to get some more fish too.

 

[Benny]

"The water condition in which your lemon yellow cichlids live in should be slightly alkaline within the pH range of 7.5 to 8.5. Measurement for water hardness should be above 10.0 dGH meaning that the water should be extremely hard in nature"

All About Aquarium Fish: Aquarium Setup for African Lemon Yellow Cichlids

As your tank water ages the pH will naturally go down. If your cichlid is am African Lemon it needs alkaline and hard water...

Well then that is awesome news, because the pH is between 8-8.5 and the water is definitely really hard.

I picked up two more and that seemed to settle the mean one down a bit. I got a big orange one that put it in its place as soon as I dropped him in...I have a cave for them and I think they might be making babies right now.

Anyway, so far, so good. They all seem healthy, but again this is just the 3rd or 4th day I've had them.

 

[HollidaySlim]

If you want to do it right get a RO system in your house.

This

They can be had for relatively cheap for the water output you would need, and if you really want to see where your water purity is go get a TDS meter.

 

[Suprtek]

Well then that is awesome news, because the pH is between 8-8.5 and the water is definitely really hard.

I picked up two more and that seemed to settle the mean one down a bit. I got a big orange one that put it in its place as soon as I dropped him in...I have a cave for them and I think they might be making babies right now.

Anyway, so far, so good. They all seem healthy, but again this is just the 3rd or 4th day I've had them.

Joe, if you got more fish then we need more pics! This is your thread y'know. You can't be teasing us with "big orange", "cave", and "making babies", without posting pics. You know that's just not the way it works around here.

Glad all seems to be going well.

 

[Benny]

Dang it, once I put the camera away the fourth one finally came out. He looks a lot like the blue one, just lighter and brighter.

Since getting the orange cichlid, the fighting stopped. The small yellow one is his buddy and he's sort of the enforcer to the mean blue one now.

The yellow one did sustain a bit of damage(fins) from the blue one, but he should be OK now that the fighting has ceased.

Once I find someone with a water softener, I'm going to do a couple of water changes and hopefully be done with it.

I'm going to get one more cichlid to add a little more color and then I'll be done...I may try getting a pleco too, but I'd hate for him to get eaten.

 

[Suprtek]

Looks great! I think your fish are in good hands. It's amazing how badly some people treat them.

 

[Benny]

My latest and final fish. I've had him about a week now. He's about twice the size of the other fish and 3 times the size of the yellow one, but he's by far the most docile. He just pisses me off because he's constantly rearranging the rocks.

I tried to get a group picture and even asked nicely, but they wouldn't sit still.

I'm definitely done buying fish, I'm actually past my limit if they all get to be the size of their max potential, but I'll probably have a bigger tank by then.



BUT, I'm going on almost 2 weeks and no casualties!!! If my water wasn't suitable, would they be getting sick by now?

 

[Suprtek]

My latest and final fish....
I'm definitely done buying fish

Liar! You've put too much effort into this to stop now. I could be wrong, but I think you'll end up with more.

BTW, it looks great!

 

[Benny]

Liar! You've put too much effort into this to stop now. I could be wrong, but I think you'll end up with more.

BTW, it looks great!

Thanks! My buddy that couldn't keep fish alive in it is PISSED. I think he was only able to manage to keep 1 or 2 fish alive for longer than a couple weeks.

Haha, my efforts have been very minimal actually; these are just hearty fish.

BUT, what I meant was I'm done with fish until I upgrade tanks. When I do that, I want a bowed front 50 gallon to replace the one pictured. When I get that, I'll get more cichlids for the 50 and take the current tank, put it in my bedroom and get an Oscar for it.

 

[Benny]

I had my first casualty.

It was the orange one in the background. At the time that picture was taken, it hadn't moved from that plant in several days...The next day it migrated to the taller plant on the left and pretty much stayed there, not eating, for a week.

Luckily, I believe the death was isolated, because all the other fish are great...They are actually better now than they were a week or so ago...They are constantly swimming and when I walk over to the tank, they get right up by the window and stare at me, which I read is a good thing if you like healthy fish.

Anyway, I was pushing the limits with 5, so I should probably just stay with 4 for awhile, that way I'll have longer before I need a bigger tank.

Still sucks one died though.

 

[woundedyak]

For the fish you are keeping, I would expect some problems once they mature. The stripped one in front of the pics (M.cyaneorhabdos) Can be pretty mean. the Yellow and blue one (Pseudotropheu) tend not to be as aggressive. If the stripped one starts to chase the others, he won't stop until they are gone. You can try to curb the aggression by adding hiding spots, but that won't last too long. Good luck with your keeping

 

[Benny]

For the fish you are keeping, I would expect some problems once they mature. The stripped one in front of the pics (M.cyaneorhabdos) Can be pretty mean. the Yellow and blue one (Pseudotropheu) tend not to be as aggressive. If the stripped one starts to chase the others, he won't stop until they are gone. You can try to curb the aggression by adding hiding spots, but that won't last too long. Good luck with your keeping

Well, that blows. The people at the pet store said they'd be fine together.

The big one is the most chill fish in the tank so far. He does chase the others sometimes, but it's usually to get them out of "his space" and he never nips at their fins.

 

[balorg]

You could use RO water instead of tap water to fill the tank as well.