Blue Ram

I don't rely on my colony getting much in the way of algae from the tank. With a large water change each week, there is not much excess nutrients in the tank for algae growth. I feed even my adults twice a day. I rarely see them grazing on the rocks.

32 views and no one has any advice?? Guess I'll go to another forum for an answer and/or suggestions.

How much salt can I add (per 10 gallons) to keep it tolerable for cories & loaches. I'm using it to treat a possible fungi or external parasite problem so I need to use as much as I safely can. The cories & loaches are not affected but the other fish are. I am also going to use melafix & pimafix as prescribed. I'm going this route before going to more extreme medications. Don't think melafix & pimafix should be a problem with the salt. Tank will also get daily water changes and lots of aeration.

I have a used (in good working order) 110 aquaclear with all parts you can have for $30.

I have used the fishless method 3 times now on large tanks. It has never taken more than 14 days with no boosting from established filter media. I did however add the same amount of ammonia daily until the nitrites appeared and then dropped the ammonia back to half the original daily dose. The method I followed called for daily dosing of ammonia.

IMO a tropheus tank looks best and you have the best chance of the fry surviving in the tank if it is a species only tank. I have been tempted many times to add another species to my tropheus tank and every time I have decided against it. The clowns may also not do as well on a purely vegetarian diet.

I would recommend the 150. Least compatible - a tropheus tank.

A better way (IMO) and much more humane is to take a small container of your aquarium water, place it in the freezer just until the surface is starting to freeze, break open the ice and put the fish in. The fish dies instantly because of the shock. Simply putting them from the aquarium into the freezer is much more painful and can take much more time as the fish suffers until it eventually dies from the temperature change.

Fish look great Dwayne - maybe we'll catch up tomorrow?

A 90 gal is an ideal tank size for a group. I would not recommend any less than 18 and you could possibly go to 24. I have 19 adults in my 90 gal and it is not overcrowded, however, I expect some of them to still put on some size. My 3 males are almost 4".

IMO a 55 is too small for any tropheus species. You could grow them out if you are buying juveniles but you would have to upgrade to something bigger once they start breeding.

I personally would not use lava rock -- too abrasive and more difficult to stack unless you glue them together. There are a lot of other nice rock choices if you look around. Mbuna tanks look nice with slate. I have 50 pds of texas holey rock in my peacock/hap tank. As for filtration, I do not believe the two Aquaclear's you have will be enough. You could either upgrade to 1 Aquaclear 500 and run 1 300 as well or invest in a canister filter. This is a start and as there are a lot of cichlid fans in Alberta, you should get lots of feedback.

I buy a frozen product (@ Pisces) called Cichlid Delight. It is made with turkey heart. I feed my discus this 2-3 times per week.

"RD" you covered this topic very well - excellent advice to everyone.

When doing water changes on large tanks, it is almost impossible to age your water. I do age some water in a 50 gal food grade storage barrel equipped with a heater and airstone, however it is not necessary. I do weekly large changes on 90 gal tanks directly from the tap. I add Prime to the tank just before I start refilling and direct the new water away from the filter intake. Prime does act instantly so no need to worry.

Me too. I believe it must be the site as I access two different computers.

No, unfortunately the green is there to stay. Many medications will turn silicone, rocks & decorations blue or green. Did it not indicate this on the bottle?

Your rams will not survive in anything but pristine water conditions. I would not put them in for several weeks until the tank is more established and you have no ammonia or nitrite readings. You need to determine what you want to keep because rams & calvus come from very different water conditions. The two breeds may be OK with straight Calgary water but rams prefer softer water but will do OK in Calgary water - the calvus I suspect prefer harder water. Have you done any research online respecting the compatibility of these two fish?? Rams should only be with very peaceful species.

I'll start and some of the plant experts can chime in. For starters, if the C02 system malfunctioned, it most likely dropped the ph too low and could have caused enough shock to kill the fish. Second, the plants only need C02 when your lights are on for photosynthesis. With the light you are running, I would not even both with C02 - it is not enough to warrant it. Your C02 system should be on a timer with the lights (better!!) with a bubble counter so you can gauge how much C02 is entering the tank. Frequent ph tests both before the C02 system comes on and a couple of hours after it has been running, will tell you how much the C02 is lowering your ph. You do not want big swings in ph over the course of 24 hrs. I would determine firstly if your system is malfunctioning (without any fish) in the tank, and secondly, investing in better light. PS you can have beautiful low light plants without C02 and regular fertilizing.

There is a lot of very good information on simplydiscus for treating discus. I would suggest you spend some time looking at the fish sick forum topics and check their online library.

Anyone seen any of this for sale in Alberta?? Not willing to pay the shipping price to buy it on ebay.

I definitely would not put the siamese algae eaters in. If you want some algae control, try an albino or regular bristlenose pleco. If you would like one, let me know. Given the way you have set up the discus tank (ie. no substrate), I can't imagine that a satanoperca jurupari would be happy in this environment. These fish are also easily stressed if their environment is not appropriate.

Are you intending to provide services such as feeding, checking & water changes when necessary, when fishkeepers are out of town?

Great photos!!

I've been Calgary Burnco several times. They have a great selection and you can pick thru them to find the shapes & sizes you want. I've never paid more than $5 for a large pail of rocks.