desol

Sounds like you're (fish are) having problems with aggression? Hope you get it sorted...

Good advice guys....thanks.

Great. Hope you got some good deals!

Well, had my eyes opened again in the last few days about my tank; it's maybe a month and a half old? It seemed it was taking forever to see any reduction in my Nitrites. Every time I would check, it would be really purple in the tube (anywhere from 1-5ppm - hard to tell any difference from about 2-5ppm) so I'd add some prime to break it down, do a water change and wait. It would come down a little but not a lot, even with 40 percent water changes twice a week. I've read countless posts about cycling aquariums over the past few months at many different sites. A few days ago, I was reading a post from a women who said to not use any buffering solution for ph, because it will effect the cycle, making it take a lot longer to complete. She seemed fairly resolved in her statement. So I thought what the hell, I have to do a water change anyway. I did a 30 percent water change and decided not to add any ph up. 3 days later, my tank was completely cycled. Zero ppm's of ammonia and nitrite AND algae started to grow. Miraculous change seemingly overnight. It was drastic, almost hard to believe. Both the Nitrifying bacteria and algae were affected by the high ph (~8.3). It's bizarre that throughout all the posts on cycling aquariums across the vast cloud of the internet, I only found one person saying "DO NOT use PH buffers as it will affect the cycle". :eh: It certainly did. Next I'm wondering if I put the PH back up after a while, will the nitrifying bacteria be ok? I don't like lots of algae and the fish seem a bit better at a higher ph...they act and look a bit different. I like the high ph better, but not if it's going to wreak havoc on my cultures.

Are they a menace ck? ...or are they good for things...

Nope, wasn't overfeeding, I don't think. I read up quite a bit before I started the new tank so I was a bit cautious with that. Before, I fed my fish flakes which I don't do anymore. They're too messy. Now I feed them Life Spectrum Cichlid pellets which are much better, but to be honest I like to feed my fish here and there throughout the day, because they eat that way in nature. So what I'll do is periodically put about 10 pellets in the tank so that they float on the surface of the water (If i do a 'main' feed...i'll throw em in a little harder so they sink)...and they float around for a long while. While they float around one or two sink every now and again...so it's like a slow feed over a longer period of time. It's funny, the fish all hand around staring at them floating...and once in a while a Calvus gets brave enough and makes a dash for the top and snags a chunk. Rock Tanganyikans don't really appreciate having to go to the top to eat. But there's never any food left on the sand or anything. It's all gobbled up. Thanks for the pointer on the plankton. I resolved that it was something like that or some weird algae. Strange how it just faded away...

Weird. The strange little globs and alge/fungus things are all gone? They totally died off... Back to normal.

Whatever filter gives me the most filtration per hour. On my 90, my FX6 (rated for up to 400 gallons) is awesome. 90 gallons X 5 turnovers gives me 450 gallons per hour. Fluval FX6 is rated at 563GPH unloaded. Loaded with BioMedia gives roughly 540 gallons per hour, I'd say. Six turnovers... I'll also second CK's post above about the importance of general flow and powerhead as well as surface disturbance....to keep things fresh and moving.

Old thread, but I wanted to ammend it by pointing out that Bio-Spira, i'm assuming by it's name, innoculates a new tank with Nitrospira bacteria which are the main bacteria responsible for breaking down Nitrites. These bacteria take much longer to grow, especially in higher PH tanks. The Nitrospira bacteria are not the same as the ammonia eating NitroBacter that is contained in 95 percent of store bought items. A lot of people confuse the two bacteria strains, and their purposes, but they are not the same. Nitrobacter grow quickly to consume ammonia, whereas Nitrospira can take months to grow and reduce Nitrite levels, depending on conditions. http://aem.asm.org/content/64/1/258.full

Hey guys. Well, I'm pretty sure I've determine that it isn't Hydra. This stuff is all over the walls of the tank and rocks, but it's hardly noticable. It's also not growing past about 2-3mm in length. Definately not the predatory Hydra that i've seen in videos...+ there's just too much of it. This is more like a clear algae or fungus, I'm assuming it came from the rocks I put in. Seems pretty harmless and doesn't distract from the appearance of the tank. I'll be monitoring it over the next while, while I wait for the nitrogen cycle to complete. If it doesn't hurt anyone, I'm glad to have it. It almost seems beneficial.

I think that's the very fish in the video I posted above? Correct me if I'm wrong... Another Cyp I really like is the 'Kiriza black'.

Nice looking tank Jeditait!

Those Cyprichromis are a nice fish. I saw a fish on this video ( ), foolin with the Zaire Buescheri, and was wondering what it was. Now I know.I actually wanted to keep those this time around, but the tank will be at capacity if/when I get the Buescheri. What sub-species of Cyprichromis do you have?

UPS doesn't have in house brokerage...neither does Fedex. So I'm guessing that's why the forms?

As per the thread - Nothin but Tanganyikans. @Jaywho - The sump setup sounds great! and...nice on the Compressiceps. They're kinda like a big Calvus. I kept Julidochromis Transcriptus for a long time. They breed fairly easy and they're nice little fish...like most Tanganyikans, can be fairly aggressive when breeding and move up, down, backwards, etc....like a helicopter. - Lelupi are also a nice little fish. I'm a big fan of Neolamprologus...

Had my 90 gallon setup quite a white ago...and just decided to set it up again, instead of selling it. So far I'm lovin it!

Nothing is compatible with red belly Piranha's but a good vacuum pump...to clean up the mess!

That could very well be the case... (by the recent condition of his tank)

I don't want anything in my tank that is impossible to get rid of once it's there...(or not from the lake). I hear CK tho, in that i'm sure they contribute to the biotope, in most cases.

Actually...I just had another look...and they're starting to morph into a Hydra looking thing...but they're still really small. Like a stem with a flowery kind of cup on top. At first they were just round kind of transparent globs. Apparently Hydra isn't from overfeeding tho...It needs to be introduced into the tank, and then of course will feed. Hmm. I'll keep an eye on it for a few more days or so...and if it's Hydra (wherever I got it from), I'll quarantine the fish and do the 104 degree's F thing for two hours. I'll report back guys however, and thanks a lot for your help.

A buddy of mine had them and he said how he was trying to get rid of them and it was impossible and they were everywhere, clogging up his filter, etc. It left a bad impression in my mind.

Well, I don't think it's snail eggs anymore...cause they're usually lumped together in a 'sack'. It's not algae, cause algae needs to be green for photosynthesis. I don't think it's hydra, cause I don't feed that often and it doesn't look like Hydra. The only other things I've found online that are similar 'bio' things, are attributed to the nitrite spike during the cycle...or protozoa type units that are pretty much harmless. I notice that there's quite a few 'unknown - what are these' type questions on the internet. Just shows how crazy the aquaria biotope can be! As long as it isn't Snails, Algae or Hydra...I think i'm ok with it. I don't mind a little biodiversity in the tank. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MfCrRTjxyk&feature=youtu.be

Hey guys. Thanks for your replies...I do appreciate it. Are you sure it's hydra...there's no tubular bodies and spindly legs. I don't feed very much...maybe twice a day and limited amounts. Hmm. I made a quick video that shows exactly how they appear. Maybe you guys can get something from this? I'm at a loss...doesn't appear to be algae, cause it isn't green. Pretty sure it ain't snail eggs now...cause snail eggs seem to usually be clumped together in a larger mass. If you guys are still set on Hydra...then i'll take action towards that. Thanks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MfCrRTjxyk&feature=youtu.be

Those white cirlces all over the glass in the first picture....and the white dots in the second picture. They're all over the inside of the tank (except the front of course, because I clean it). I've read that snail eggs will appear as transclucent balls with a white centre, and that's kinda what I see...but there's just too many imo. They bob and weave with the water current, like what you would see in a coral reef or something. I'm pretty sure it ain't algae either...it isn't turning green, etc. Hmm.... Maybe it is just bacterial cultures?

Hi there I just started a new tank...and after much work, I may have picked up pesky snails. The tank is fairly new, probably 3 weeks and suddenly all these (like thousands) of gelantanous balls are appearing on the glass. At first I thought it was just bacterial cultures, but after some reasearch I think they may be snail eggs. I don't have one snail in my tank, it's so new....and I have a hard time believing there could suddenly be this many eggs in my tank. They're literally on 3 complete walls of my 90 gallon tank. They bob and sway with the current and 90 percent are see through...but some are a little white. It's going to be a huge amount of work getting rid of these if they turn out to be snails, as I won't have them in my tank and/or filter. I'll basically have to start everything over. Can anyone identify either way what these might be? Thanks