riflemn

I would suggest it just the opposite. My many years of fishing while using red and white daredevlels as a lure sure brought a lot of fish in. Maybe the red attracts fish and thats why they like the net:-) We shall never know.......

Now I know where the term " Deep six" comes from:-)

Hi everyone... I just had to remove yet another vendor review thread from the forum. Just a reminder - again - that we do NOT post reviews of stores on the forum, other than forum sponsors and then only in the sponsor's section.

I know... everyone has an opinion they just love to share, and telling everyone how great-crappy-wonderful-dirty a store is or is not seems like a great idea... but in the long run it really isn't. The internet is 'forever' and anything you say goes 'everywhere' and can stay there. Google doesn't know you posted a week later and said a store cleaned up...

So save it for the vendor review survey and let's all use the tools that benefit the community in the longer term.

My apoligies. I have since read the rules and will try not to sin again:-)

Very nice shot. Great colour. It is interesting how the red folows the centre tree going up. If you could crop out the powerlines it would be worth framing

Very nice pictures. Did you use a flash or a very fast lens?

Very good start . I'd suggest placing the rocks kind of together and off to one side. Balance this with bunches of plants on the other . One thing I've learned from other members here , use only one type of rock, it looks much more natural .

Have fun with it , it's an addictive hobby with tons of growth potential

Thanks for your suggestions. I am still looking for more rocks so I can make it higher. Seems I live in the NE end of Edmonton and all the good fish stores are in the south:-)

I understand it is best to have a second small tank for isolation for sick fish or babies. Is 5-10 gal big enough for this?

IMO, your quarantine/hospital tank should be large enough to comfortably house your largest fish for at least a month.

Thanks I guess I will figure that out when I get my fish

Google fishless cycling, there is lots of info about it. Its the fastest and safest way to cycle your tank.

Yes thank you. I was on google today and there is lots of info. I added a couple of rainbow zebras today to get it started and changed about a 1/4 of the water. I will see how that goes.

That means your filter is dead. If your filter was good, you'd see at least 5ppm of nitrates. You now have to cycle your tank by adding fish slowly, or fishless cycle, like degrassi mentioned.

Thanks very much. It is a steep learning curve from 40 years ago:-)

Have you been adding ammonia this whole time(fishless cycling)? If you have then you need to do a 100% water change to bring down the nitrates.

If you haven't been fishless cycling all this time then you still have to cycle the tank. All the used filter media you added will now be dead from lack of food(ammonia). So you can either add a few fish and cycle it slowly that way, or start a fishless cycle now.

I just checked the nitrates and it is at .01 and ammonia is at .0.

I am setting up a new 50 gal tank and have had it running for about 2-3 weeks without fish. and am looking for a little advice. Everything seems to check out okay as I used Prime in the water and used media from one of my son's tanks. I plan on putting fish in it very soon. Am I required to do a water change even though I have not put fish in it yet? What is the purpose of changing water other than getting rid of fish waste?

Welcome: Hope you like it as much as me.

So woo, woo I got a new net so I don't fall in bigger tanks. This one is red netting and claims to be the net that fish can't see. Anybody try one of these??? Any feedback?? Believe me if it helps me catch swordtails easier, I'll be hawking it like "sham wow".

That's a strange one. I can hardly wait until they bring out red fishing line:-)

Plants can be hit and miss with Malawians. I've personally never had any troubles keeping them with mine, but many have. I keep my tanks rather heavily planted, so even if the fish do eat some of the plants there's enough in there that they won't eat them all (cichlids don't even compare to silver dollars for plant eating capability). Jungle vals are my personal favourite to go with Africans, and there are plants similar to them found in and amongst many of the reefs in Lake Malawi.

Thanks for that info. I would like to have to have plants in my tank and will look for some Jungle Vals

Hello, I just started my first salt water tank a oceanic biocube 14, i have modified it a little by removing the bioballs and the false floors in chamber 1 and 2 and put in a media rack in chamber two with a submersible light that is growing chaeto. Just wondering if anyone on here is also from the Medicine Hat area ?

Welcome Ryan. I just joined a few days ago myself and am setting up a FS Cichlid tank. I am still trying to figure out a fresh water tank, but maybe someday>>>>>

I am new on this but am finding that it is a terrific resourse for beginners like me. I agree with the other user that suggested putting up a link for donations. There is very little in this world that you can get for free these day so feel a donation can be made by those that wish to contribute. Just my thoughts

Thanks for that great information. I am where you were three years ago and just starting out. I am sure your advice will save me a lot of grief and wonder what people did before the internet. I have decide to keep SA Cichlids only and hope this works out for me. I kept tropical fish about 40 years ago but things were sure different then. Both equipment and information have come an amazing distance so I am on the learning curve all over again

Glad to help. SA cichlids are amazing fish. Good luck!

thats what you call sharing of experience...thanks!!!

No problem. Experience and any learning I have done has usually been the result of some pretty dumb mistakes on my part, lol.

I understand it is best to have a second small tank for isolation for sick fish or babies. Is 5-10 gal big enough for this?

first off, in the fish hobby its called a heater, not a thermometer. Second, yeah there are lots of crap heaters but the brand that never let me down is ebo jager heaters.

check out natures corner store, they have all the sizes and will set you up with the heater you need.

http://www.naturescornerstore.com/NaturesCornerStore.html

Thanks: Is that the one put out by Eihem?

yes. I have never had a problem with them.

Thanks very much. I appreciate the advice.

first off, in the fish hobby its called a heater, not a thermometer. Second, yeah there are lots of crap heaters but the brand that never let me down is ebo jager heaters.

check out natures corner store, they have all the sizes and will set you up with the heater you need.

http://www.naturescornerstore.com/NaturesCornerStore.html

Thanks: Is that the one put out by Eihem?

Hate to pay the bills for that one:-)

I keep reading about heaters either cooking fish or not working. It appears the be the most unreliable part of a setup. As a new hobbiest, I wonder is there a very reliable heater that would be recommended and that you can count on long term. Any advice would be appreciated.

If you're referring to P. demasoni in your list above, I would recommend limiting that species to either 1 fish, or several, as they can be fairly aggressive towards their own kind and 2 fish will quite often end up as one.

Thanks I am just starting out and planned only to get two for a start but maybe I will make that one.

! have set up a 45 gal tank 48-20x12 and and have been advised that this would be a good starting selection and may be enough for this size of tank

2 Demansoni php

6 electric yellow lab

3 cuckoo catfish

4 Ob Peacocks

Is this a good selection and how many small Cichlids can I keep without overcrowding?

Any comments and advice would be appreciated

welcome to the forum!! when is the retirement? keeping fish will keep you busy, so you picked the perfect timing to enter the aquatic world lol.

I actually retired about 11 years ago so have picked up serveral vices to keep me busy. Trouble is they all cost money