johnsmith

Well, I can't get these under 400K, b/c I don't have any photo suite on this computer, not even Microsoft, and I haven't got around to getting the disk so here's a link to the tank that Freshmike sold me. :thumbs: Cichlid-forum

I hope this questions isn't too dumb but how do you get good water movement when everything is behind a background that seems to go completely from side-to-side and top-to-bottom?

Anyone? I'm wondering the same thing. Also, how do I get my pics under 100K? Thanks

Well, hopefully I'm not becoming a fish-hypochondriac. I did get the impression that once a fish experiences bloat it was pretty much on its death-bed. On the other hand, I read that you can soak their food in the medication, which would mean sometimes they will still eat. Either way, I'm glad to have a 2nd & 3rd opinion that lean toward egg dropping rather than bloat. If that's the case this could end up being my first holding female.

No, I'm not certain my fish is sick. This lab has been digging pits, chasing others around, and eating a lot, so based on the articles I read it doesn't sound like this fish is dying of bloat. However, I didn't really want to wait around and find out for sure since the articles indicate this disease acts quickly causing internal damage. My impression from what I read at cichlid-forum.com was that the medication wouldn't hurt them if they weren't sick. If fact, some people treat all their new fish in a qtank. EDIT: wow I didn't realize anyone else was on at 8:30am. Well, that's definitely good to hear. Hopefully you guys are right. I'd be much happier to see a female dropping eggs, than a male with bloat.

Great, that's the stuff I was looking for. Hopefully they have it at the store.

I'm afraid one of my labs has bloat since his stomach looks a little swollen and there's a little lump in the anus/genital area. All the fish seem to be eating fine, but I have noticed some flashing going on. When my friend dropped these four labs off a couple of weeks ago he said he had a hard time catching them so they would probably be very stressed out. I looked up cures at cichlid-forum.com and it seems metronidazole is the best medicine since I don't have a qtank, unfortunately. I haven't been able to get out to a LFS yet, but am wondering if there are medications here in Calgary that contain metronidazole? I looked up big al's online and they didn't seem to carry anything with this medication. I've looked at the articles on cichlid-forum.com but if you have any other suggestions I'd be happy to hear them. Hopefully this won't wipe out my tank.

UPDATE I've picked up a copadichromis azureus trio to go with my four yellow labs. Since adding them the yellow labs seem much more comfortable in the tank. Gold Aquariums has a great looking peacock whose fry will be ready to be sold in a couple of months, which I'm definitely willing to wait for. But... would that be too many fish for a 40g tank? 4 yellow labs 3 (1m/2f) copadichromis azureus 1 bristlenose pleco + 3 (1m/2f) peacocks

That's true, I was hoping to error on the side of understocking as opposed to overstocking. According to the tank calculator at fishprofiles.com a tank that is 48"x12"x16" is 40g so that gives me a little more to work with than a 33g. I was planning on putting a bristlenose pleco in there once the algae starts building up, but I'll stay away from cats to keep the bioload down.

The first fish I've added are four yellow labs, because my friend gave them to me for free. They're really good looking labs. They look like "Lion's Cove II", according to cichlid-forum.com. I'm planning on adding something else in the next couple of weeks. They seem pretty skittish right now, so I wasn't sure if adding other fish would calm them down or make them worse? I have to admit, I would really like to add a peacock trio into this mix. I was hoping if the peacocks I add are larger than the yellows it wouldn't be a problem. I'm pretty sure the person at Gold Aquariums said this would be fine.

Taken from the pinned article on the fishless cycle: "then add that amount daily until the nitrite spikes. Once the nitrite is visible, cut back the daily dose of ammonia to ½ the original volume" So, do I cut back as soon as I notice nitrate, or when it spikes? What is considered a spike? Also, what I'm not getting about the ppm = mg/L is that some "parts" would weigh more that others, wouldn't they? I.e. does a part of ammonia weigh the same as a part of nitrite? Does this have to do with the difference b/w weight and mass?

Thank you, that's helpful. On a side note: how is it that ppm correlate directly with mg/L?

Well it turns out I don't have generic ammonia I have Goldex. I did a google search & found out it's 5% ammonia, 95% water. My next question is this: all the fishless cycle articles talk about ammonia readings in ppm, but my test kit only gives mg/L. Does anyone know how to covert this? or what readings I am looking for in mg/L?

Just wondering if anyone has used the generic ammonia from walmart for a fishless cycle? It doesn't list ingredients, but it's the cheap stuff so I'm assuming they haven't added anything to it. I haven't shaken it yet, but I'll do that when I get home.

I ended up boiling the new clamp for a few minutes then popping it in with a butter knife. So now everything's running smoothly...for now.

Well it didn't take me long to screw up. I have broken the side clamp that holds things together & have a replacement but can't get the new clamp in. Does anyone have any suggestions? I've already taken out the four screws out of the top but the two sections don't come apart easily and I'm not about to yank them apart. Maybe I need to stick to those plastic boxes that sit in the corner of the tank :bang1:

Actually, I didn't want yellow labs, I just thought they might be a good alternative, however, now that you've mentioned it, that looks likes it would be a nice tank. I like those Metriaclima estherae "Blue/Red" b/c the females have some colour as well. So, you've definitely provided me with two good lists. Now I'll probably just have to go to the stores and see which group I end up going with. Thanks for the help.

I like the before picture better :drool: ! On the other hand... I'm glad I could help out .

Yes, all your comments are definitely helpful. But... they always lead to more questions. Will all those fish be fighting for the same caves? I basically have two large rock piles with 3 - 4 available caves. I can rearrange this, but the rocks are so huge there's only so much that can be done with them. In your second suggestion would the single peacock be going after the other guys' ladies? How does this sound: - Aul. Stuartgranti "Ngara Flametail" (1 male, 2 females) - Copadichromis azureus - (1 male, 2 females) - Yellow labs (5-6) - another option for some yellow.

okay gotcha, so... I don't really want to go for a family tank, b/c then I'll probably end up with one colourful male, one pale male, and a bunch of pale females. How about 2 male peacocks some yellow labs some pseudotropheus socofoli

Thanks Dean, so I could say option 1 is: Cop. azureus with some yellow labs. How would this work as option 2: Aul. stuartgranti "Rubescens" - 1 male Placidochromis electra - trio Electric yellows - so there isn't too much blue - how many? Aul. Stuartgranti "Ngara Flametail" - 1 male Or, do you thinking keeping male peacocks w/o any females for them is a bad choice?

After looking at the cichlid-forum cookie cutters I've chosen my favourites. Now I need to know which ones are available in Calgary, which ones work best together, and how many of each. 1. Aul. stuartgranti "Rubescens" - 1 male 2. Placidochromis electra - trio or 2. Copadichromis azureus - pair 3. Electric yellows - so there isn't too much blue - how many? 4. Aul. Stuartgranti "Ngara Flametail" - 1 male So...how does that sound? Will all these fish be fighting for the same caves & are their diets compatible? Thank you

thanks for that website it should be a good resource. The problem is there are way too many options & they never say anything about tankmates other than malawis. I'm thinking of going with some type of schooling fish just to add some variety. Maybe the best place to start it to see what's availabe in stores around town?

Now that I finally have a tank large enough for some interesting fish, thanks to freshmike, I need some stocking advice. The tank is a 45g (~48''x12''x16''). I was originally thinking of doing a firemouth/swordtail/platy tank but am now leaning toward some peacocks. I've listed my new choices below. thanks