Qattarra

Minimum as much as the equipment says it's good for but aim for 1 1/2 to 2 times what it's good for . An example is a filter that claims it's good for a 30 gal . tank I would put on a 15-20 gal. tank .It's hard to over filter a tank . On your 40 I'd go for either 2 filters or a large canister good for 80 gal . Two small heaters can be better than one as it gives you back up if one dies on you, so two 100W is enough.

wow lol . Maybe keep two discus or two oscars lol.

I think you are dead on the money .

:welcome: to AA You'll need to let us know what size is the tank and what is in it . You may need to decide which ones you'll keep and which ones will need a new home . The most basic part of fish KEEPING is understanding the "cycle". Without a healthy cycle you'll have a lot of trouble keeping healthy fish. You'll need to know what the environment for your fish needs to be ie. temp, food , water PH (only for some, most are OK with our tap water). You'll need Prime to condition your tap water for the tank . Only use what is recommended on the bottle , any more is just a waste of the product.

That's my thinking too . When you reached in yesterday to pull those plants for me, is it possible you have pain lotion or anything like that on your hand? BTW thanks for the plants.

:welcome: to AA

The firemouth , the acara and the jewels will get too big. The tight spacing will cause too much stress and this is before any breeding happens . Once breeding starts there will be torn fins and missing scales . The stress will weaken their immune systems and this can lead to the worst , losses. Should this tank have been a 70 gal or more with lots of hiding places and driftwood, the mix would likely be OK. Just my 2 cents worth .

Every 3rd cleaning I stir up the sand with my fingers. It's just enough to release the gunk but not enough to whip it up. I give it 20 minutes to settle on the sand surface and then just suck it up . You might be overfeeding if you always have a lot of stuff to clean up . I know this because I'm guilty of doing it too lol .

Heavy breathing , hiding ( usually up in a corner, trying to be invisible), fins that are not out fully, somewhat clamped. Being lazy and hanging around the bottom, not eating etc. They should be swimming around most of the time , chasing each other, fins open just looking sprite.

Several things could have gone wrong . He could have knocked himself out hitting the glass and drowned for instance. Keep an eye on the others to check for stress. If you find nothing else in the next couple days it may just have been a singular thing with him alone. Sorry for your loss . Hopefully you'll have others to take his place.

Fat and in the mood ....hummmm

Are the fish eating well? A reduced feeding schedule will help reduce the ammonia levels too which of course lead to nitrite levels . Now that you've cleaned the bottom , two things are likely to happen, you've removed excess food that may have been rotting but you may have also removed good bacteria. If your tank is mini cycling it'll settle on it's own after a couple days. If it's low 02 you've solved the problem with the air stone and water changes.

I suspect a nitrite spike . You'll need to change 1/2 the water and add an air stone to help them cope . You could add salt at the rate of 1 Tbs to 5 gal of water, help them breath better too . If you have another established tank , you could transfer some gooey filter media to this tank to add more of the good bacteria you need to fix your cycle. Did you recently start this 55gal tank?

I agree, first thing to look at is water quality. If a fish doesn't feel well, their color diminishes. You are looking for 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and low nitrate. IMO weekly 50% water changes and a 76 degree water temp. How well is she eating? Does she seem hungry all the time even if you just fed her? How did you treat the ICK? You may need to add carbon to the filter to remove any meds still in the water. I don't know how experienced you are with fish keeping so please don't take any offense to my questions, I'd just like to help. No one likes it when their fish are not feeling well, so we just want to cover the bases. 90% of problems stem from water quality so that's always the first step.

Well isn't this nice , my firemouths have babies. These are from Rusty Wessle( not sure on spelling, sorry ) I got at the May show last year. These are in my community tank so I don't expect I'll get many survivors but it's so nice to see them .

She may have laid eggs or planning on it. The attack sounds defensive to me.Although you may not have a male in there she can still go through the motions if her hormones tell her to. Introduce a handsome male you may have a peppy breeder on your hands.

:welcome: to AA

....how much of this is caused by man, how much is natural? HERE'S SOMETHING WE'LL NEVER SEE.........WHIPPED OCEAN........AMAZING! Suddenly the shoreline north of Sydney were transformed into the Cappuccino Coast . Foam swallowed an entire beach and half the nearby buildings, including the lo cal lifeguards' centre, in a freak display of nature at Yamba in New South Wales . One minute a group of teenage surfers were waiting to catch a wave, the next they were swallowed up in a giant bubble bath. The foam was so light that they could puff it out of their hands and watch it float away. Boy in the bubble bath: Tom Woods, 12, emerges from the clouds of foam after deciding that surfing was not an option It stretched for 30 miles out into the Pacific in a phenomenon not seen at the beach for more than three decades. Scientists explain that the foam is created by impurities in the ocean, such as salts, chemicals, dead plants, decomposed fish and excretions from seaweed. All are churned up together by powerful currents which cause the water to form bubbles. These bubbles stick to each other as they are carried below the surface by the current towards the shore As a wave starts to form on the surface, the motion of the water causes the bubbles to swirl upwards and, massed together, they become foam. The foam 'surfs' towards shore until the wave 'crashes', tossing the foam into the air. Whitewash: The foam was so thick it came all the way up to the surf club 'It's the same effect you get when you whip up a milk shake in a blender,' explains a marine expert. 'The more powerful the swirl, the more foam you create on the surface and the lighter it becomes.' In this case, storms off the New South Wales Coast and further north off Queensland had created a huge disturbance in the ocean, hitting a stretch of water where there was a particularly high amount of the substances which form into bubbles. As for 12-year-old beach goer Tom Woods, who has been surfing since he was two, riding a wave was out of the question. 'Me and my mates just spent the afternoon leaping about in that stuff,' he said. 'It was quite cool to touch and it was really weird. It was like clouds of air - you could hardly feel it.' Children play among all the foam which has been whipped up by cyclonic conditions.

Until they are all eaten. Congrats, I do hope you get to keep as many as possible. That's not easy in a community tank . Good luck.

When I'm away I need to count on hubby to feed my guys . I bought weekly pill holders at Dollarama and put the food in myself . All he has to do is open the pillbox with that day on it (thursday etc) and dump it in . It's worked very well. The worst that's happened is he may forget a day here'n'there but that's minor.

:welcome: back. What were the types of fish you were keeping and what are you planning on keeping now?

Hey GF ! Congrats on the breeding . It does look like a midas for the dad anyway but they'll still be very defensive of their little ones . I don't think he's continuing to fertilize the eggs what they'll both do is fan them . This helps keep the eggs healthy and a fungus free. Unless you see any bad fighting in the tank leave it be . Cichlids are known to be excellent parents. Once the eggs hatch the fry will be wigglers and just lie around in a puddle and after a few more days they'll look like a mosquito cloud swimming around . Watch the parents body signals it's so cool . There will be intermittent twitching ect. If you need to reach in and clean the tank LOOK OUT! You will get bit. Their bite is like a lightning fast sideways rip. Blood is likely to be drawn. After the fry are a bit grown you'll probably see them lay more eggs. They may continue to care for the first fry or ignore them and eventually chase them off to care for the new brood. This may only be a month away lol.

Very nice . Add me to the list for future babies! lol

Any industrial rock supply has great selection esp. with spring, all their supplies are starting to come in . I think there's a Burnco in Calgary not sure about Aquagiant. How much lighting on the tank itself? If it's the light fixture that came with the tank you may need to upgrade if you want to keep live plants. Read through the fishless cycle process and make sure you can commit to it, it is the best way to go IMO. Safeway brand pure ammonia in the cleaning section is good for this purpose.

Welcome back to the fishworld . To remove any water stains (usually calcium/lime) I use a product called Neutralizer, you can buy it. You could also use vinegar and green scrubby pads. Rinse well. If that tank hasn't held water in some time, check the silicone seals for lose areas. If there are some you may need to reseal it . If all is good, start to fill it but only a 1/3 at a time per day even so you can find out early if you have any leaks. I use a garden hose/attachment from my kitchen sink to fill my tanks. You can easily control the temp. For filters you could run two large Aquaclears such as the 70s, or a large canister. Ideally two filters is better as you get enough filtration and a built in back up if one stops. For such a big tank a heater at either end should balance your temps and again provide a backup. How warm is the basement? Do you have plenty of light? What kinds of fish do you plan on getting? These factors will help determine if live or plastic plants are better. A place like Burnco is great for getting rocks for your tank. Aquagiant has loads of wood but be prepared to use a pressure washer to clean it (car was is good). Playsand makes for good substrate. I would strongly suggest using the "fishless cycle" method . This is daily stuff so if you can't do this daily I guess you'll have to stress a few fish( I recommend convicts as they are pretty tough). You could also use dirty filter media from a good clean disease free tank filter to kick start your nitrogen cycle. If you go with live plants you can very heavily plant up your tank and add the fish too as the plants will help things along but keep a close eye on things until all is settled.