I Have Some Fish Tank Questions

[tyler34]

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

+1 thats what I use for my discus tank and my shrimp tanks.

 

[Benny]

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

+1 thats what I use for my discus tank and my shrimp tanks.

I definitely plan on getting an RO system when I start upgrading, but right now the levels are good to go for the fish I have.

I'm just bummed Dexter(the big fish) is probably going to eat the others once he starts maturing.

I may be upgrading sooner than I planned on.



BTW, how many dang tanks do you have, Tyler?

 

[tyler34]

I definitely plan on getting an RO system when I start upgrading, but right now the levels are good to go for the fish I have.

I'm just bummed Dexter(the big fish) is probably going to eat the others once he starts maturing.

I may be upgrading sooner than I planned on.



BTW, how many dang tanks do you have, Tyler?

enough, and a couple good friends in town are fish breeders and I keep a bunch with them. if you like cichlids especially docile ones I would suggest bolivian rams. they are south american cichlids so no crazy water buffering and they aren't aggressive, I keep mine with angels, tetra catfish, and plecos.

 

[woundedyak]

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

Be careful with RO systems when caring for Malawi Cichlids. Malawi's need a PH range of 7.5-8.8 and a hardness of 4-6 dGH and 6-8 dKH. Which is a medium hardness of water. Most RO systems are really soft water. If you decide to go this route, you can buffer it with Aquarium salt.

 

[Benny]

Why water levels are perfect right now...I have a strong feelings I'm going to be upgrading soon, so I may look into it then.

I'm still bummed my big fish is going to eat the smaller ones once he/she matures...That's the main reason I need to hurry up and get another tank.

 

[woundedyak]

Why water levels are perfect right now...I have a strong feelings I'm going to be upgrading soon, so I may look into it then.

I'm still bummed my big fish is going to eat the smaller ones once he/she matures...That's the main reason I need to hurry up and get another tank.

LOL...He won't eat them. Malawi's are vegetarians. He will either beat them down or keep them pinned in a corner. Once you upgrade to a bigger tank (55gl and up) You should be fine. I have 55gl that had tons of aggression in it. I curbed it by over stocking pretty heavy. Once the aggression was gone, I slowly removed a few fish and gave my filter a rest
Here is the little 55 I have tucked away in my guess room!

Enjoy:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odnr8lolA9c]YouTube - 55 Gallon Mixed African Cichlid Aquarium[/ame]

 

[Benny]

LOL...He won't eat them. Malawi's are vegetarians. He will either beat them down or keep them pinned in a corner. Once you upgrade to a bigger tank (55gl and up) You should be fine. I have 55gl that had tons of aggression in it. I curbed it by over stocking pretty heavy. Once the aggression was gone, I slowly removed a few fish and gave my filter a rest
Here is the little 55 I have tucked away in my guess room!

Enjoy:
YouTube - 55 Gallon Mixed African Cichlid Aquarium

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

Awesome tank! It sure does seem full though.

There's a really awesome bright blue Cichlid that's about the size of the big one that I want to get, I just don't know if I should wait until I get a bigger tank...Right now I have 4.

I would have gotten him last time I was there, but he was $25-30 and I wasn't $25-30 confident. Now that the water is stable and the fish are healthy, I have no doubts I can keep him alive.

 

[woundedyak]

enough, and a couple good friends in town are fish breeders and I keep a bunch with them. if you like cichlids especially docile ones I would suggest bolivian rams. they are south american cichlids so no crazy water buffering and they aren't aggressive, I keep mine with angels, tetra catfish, and plecos.

+1 for the rams. They are full of win!

 

[tyler34]

Why water levels are perfect right now...I have a strong feelings I'm going to be upgrading soon, so I may look into it then.

I'm still bummed my big fish is going to eat the smaller ones once he/she matures...That's the main reason I need to hurry up and get another tank.

you should go for a amazonian biotope(my personal favorite) you can have a great range of beautiful fish. or even awesomer would be a shrimp only tank, it sounds gay but the shrimp are really fun to watch and easy to take care of. once you get a shrimp tank going you don't even really need to feed it.

 

[woundedyak]

Awesome tank! It sure does seem full though.

There's a really awesome bright blue Cichlid that's about the size of the big one that I want to get, I just don't know if I should wait until I get a bigger tank...Right now I have 4.

I would have gotten him last time I was there, but he was $25-30 and I wasn't $25-30 confident. Now that the water is stable and the fish are healthy, I have no doubts I can keep him alive.

That's the cool thing about Cichlids. Buy them tiny and watch them grow and color up

 

[woundedyak]

Hey tyler,
Do you have a full tank pic?

 

[Benny]

you should go for a amazonian biotope(my personal favorite) you can have a great range of beautiful fish. or even awesomer would be a shrimp only tank, it sounds gay but the shrimp are really fun to watch and easy to take care of. once you get a shrimp tank going you don't even really need to feed it.

I don't know what that is, but I'll look into it. For my large tank(my next upgrade and it'll be around 55 gal) I want Cichlids...They are the prettiest fresh water fish IMO and they are easy to maintain. How much room would I need for a handful of shrimp?

That's the cool thing about Cichlids. Buy them tiny and watch them grow and color up

So should I leave my 20 gallon tank alone or add another fish to keep the big one attacking?

Also, why did you say the big one was going to start chasing the others until they are gone the other day, but now you are saying they will be fine?

Thanks.

 

[tyler34]

I don't know what that is, but I'll look into it. For my large tank(my next upgrade and it'll be around 55 gal) I want Cichlids...They are the prettiest fresh water fish IMO and they are easy to maintain. How much room would I need for a handful of shrimp?

a biotope is just basically replicating natural conditions, and i raise my shrimp in 10 gallon tanks and have hundreds at any given time so they don't need much space. as far as the prettiest freshwater fish IMO you can't beat discus but they are harder to care for then cichlids.

 

[Benny]

a biotope is just basically replicating natural conditions, and i raise my shrimp in 10 gallon tanks and have hundreds at any given time so they don't need much space. as far as the prettiest freshwater fish IMO you can't beat discus but they are harder to care for then cichlids.

Are biotops hard to set up? I just read a little about them and they don't see like a bad way to go for my 55 gal bow front that I want next.

Discus are very pretty too, but considering I like my fish to stay alive, I'm not ready for them yet.

I may turn my 20 gal into a shrimp tank though...I just need to find a place that sells them around here.

 

[woundedyak]

I don't know what that is, but I'll look into it. For my large tank(my next upgrade and it'll be around 55 gal) I want Cichlids...They are the prettiest fresh water fish IMO and they are easy to maintain. How much room would I need for a handful of shrimp?



So should I leave my 20 gallon tank alone or add another fish to keep the big one attacking?

Also, why did you say the big one was going to start chasing the others until they are gone the other day, but now you are saying they will be fine?

Thanks.

I would work on getting them out of the 20gal asap. Once you get them in the bigger tank, they will have there own little spot and he/she won't be stressed and take it out other fish. On the other, if he/she decides to bully the others,just over stock it a little like mine. It keeps everyone moving and doesn't give them a chance to stake claim in the tank.

 

[Benny]

I would work on getting them out of the 20gal asap. Once you get them in the bigger tank, they will have there own little spot and he/she won't be stressed and take it out other fish. On the other, if he/she decides to bully the others,just over stock it a little like mine. It keeps everyone moving and doesn't give them a chance to stake claim in the tank.

So basically if I plan on waiting more than a month or two(which I probably will) I should at a couple extra fish in there? If I have 4 now, how many would you suggest?

They all seem really chill right now though...No problems so far.



BTW, is there anything else I can add in with Cichlids(a snail, a pleco, etc)?

 

[woundedyak]

I wouldn't add any to that tank. In a few months they are going to be dbl the size and that's when you are going to start seeing problems. Just keep an eye on them. If it starts getting messy in there just remove a fish.

 

[Benny]

I wouldn't add any to that tank. In a few months they are going to be dbl the size and that's when you are going to start seeing problems. Just keep an eye on them. If it starts getting messy in there just remove a fish.

That's what I figured, but you were saying to overstock if it gets messy.

In a few months I'll probably have a bigger tank...I really don't want to remove any fish.

If I did, would a pet store take it? I'd hate to have to flush it.

 

[woundedyak]

That's what I figured, but you were saying to overstock if it gets messy.

In a few months I'll probably have a bigger tank...I really don't want to remove any fish.

If I did, would a pet store take it? I'd hate to have to flush it.

Malawi or Mumba Cichlids shouldn't be in anything smaller then a 55gal. So over stocking in your case will just add fuel to the fire becuase they can't get out of each others way. If you need to remove fish and are local, I'll fish sit for ya!

 

[tyler34]

you guys should check out my buddy Rainforest Farms International | Discus Fish, Freshwater Tropical Fish, Aquarium Plants, Tropical Fish Food he is in bloomington(support small business) he has real quality fish and supplies. and he can usually get whatever you want if he doesn't have it on the site.