RickJordan

Entire post has been censored by Tanker -roll-

When is this auction you speak of? and where? I might be interested in the Saulosi? PM sent. Oh and this is for Murminator! I started in Salt had a 230 Gallon Reef tank for a few years. So I know what it 's all about. So Thanks but no thanks on the Salt water stuff for a long time.

I'm setting up a 120 Gallon Tank. I was wondering if anyone had any cichlid suggestions for the tank. I Like a lot a color and was considering a Saulosi Group. Also I would like to breed cichlids. Any rare breeds I could look into that are in high demand right now? Nothing to aggressive or nasty please!

One more thing, what should my salinity be on average to keep diseases at bay??? I'm finding that my fish are scratching a lot more from ich since I switched from Regular Salt to Cichlid Salt Any answers to that???

To Answer a few questions for fairdeal- I do buffer with Seachem's Cichlid Salts with every water change! As well as use Prime to condition new water. The water is Standard Edmonton Tap water. Not sure what PH was before Salt ,I've always used salts as a disease prevention. Although in the begginning I was using only Aquarium Salts not Buffering Salts. All my cichlids are about 3.5 inches in length right now. I Filter with a Rena XP2 filstar,Not sure what the Flow is. I Vacuum Gravel everytime I do changes which is twice weekly 10 Gallons each time. I clean out foams in canister once a month and change out carbon once every 2 months. They I refer to are various Fish Store employees. I have added 5 cichlids about 1 month ago so my bioload has increased. I also know that most of the bacteria lives in filter media or gravel so what he was saying of course is innacurate. I was more concerned about the actual changes.

I've got a 54 Gallon Corner Tank Species List Right Now is All Male Aulonocara Stuartgranti “Marleri” Sunshine Peacock Sciaenochromis Fryeri “Electric Blue Peacock” Copadichromis Borleyi “Red Fin Kadango” Aulonocara Sp. “Red Peacock” Aulonocara Stuartgranti “BiColor 500 Peacock” Aulonocara Sp. “Lwanda Peacock” Aulonocara Maisoni Aulonocara Jacobfreibergi “Mamelela” Aulonocara Sp. “Rubescens” Aulonocara Stuartgranti “Ngara” Copadichromis Azureus Lethrinops Sp. “Red Cap” 2 Clown Loaches I've been doing 40% water changes every week I've been told this is too much that my Bacteria has not had a chance to build up properly is this true. They Told me to cut it back to 25%. I've the Tank running for about 8 months now with no casualties yet. I buffer the PH with Salts. Also if I am to cut back to 25 or 30% a week would I do it all in one change or is it better to spread it out over 2 changes?? Any opinions about all this?? Also does the bio-load of the tank affect the water changes, I would think it would! Although I'm trying to make a good decision!

I want to try and breed this species! Can I do it in a 10 gallon Tank ?? and if I can how many females should I put with the Male?? How big do they get adult size?? How aggressive is this species?? Anybody with experience with this species would be a help! Thanks

All sounds like good advice. The lab seems to be chilling on the aggression but it's still very evident. To answer everyone's question I have lots of rock and hiding places for them. I also keep very good water quality so sickness is not an issue. They all eat very well. I also remember other males having there turn at the title previously. I guess it seems that they switch up the pecking order as they mature. I'm going to add more males to spread out the aggression which seems to be the best option. Thanks to everyone that responded.

I have a 55 Gallon Corner Tank with 8 male Cichlids all different species along with 2 Clown Loaches. Lately my Yellow lab has begun to open up a can of whoop @$$ on everyone. He's the only one from Mbuna family rest are various Africans. They are all about 7 months old and probly 1/2 full grown. Any explanations he really likes to give my Flametail a hard time especially. I'm thinking of pulling the lab from the tank. Although if I do that someone else might become the bully of the tank. Do I add more livestock to ditract the aggression?? I don't really want to because it may become overcrowded. Anyone got any info for me or suggestions. Thanks

Thanks for the confirmation on that food thing. I have been making sure that everyone is eating at least some pellets even though my lab is a greedy SOB. I figured I was right about the quantity though.

Ok So most people say feed as much as fish will eat in 1 or 2 minutes if I did this with NLS pellets I would surely be overfeeding. In my case about 20 seconds seems to be norm. Just wanted so other opinions on this. thanks.

Well I took the plunge and switched to NLS all at once on monday. They seem to like it. Maybe a little too much. My Yellow Lab is sure greedy he seems to try to hog all the pellets to himself and eats so many that he can't even close his mouth. As he swims around I can see the food in his open mouth just sitting there. Has anyone else experienced this and is it healthy? His belly is also extended and large noticebly but goes away after a few hours. Well anyone got any comments on that? I only feed once per day and sometimes once every 2 days.

Well it seems that everyone is in agreement about switching over all in one shot. I think I was concerned about diet change being a stress factor therefore causing Bloat. You were right though signs of bloat are near the later stages of digestive problems. With those small pellets from NLS have you guys been presoaking them or just dumping them in? I did notice a very full belly probly not bloat but just full looking. Anyways thanks for all the advice on monday I'll try and switch over completely. Also just a note I realize that Peacocks and Labs are not completely herbivores and I do add Mysis every once in a while to their diet. Any advice on how to feed Clown loaches seperatly or just let them eat cichlid stuff. The sinking shrimp pellets worked good but I'm worried the cichlid will grab hold of them there kinda big.

Ok the problem I have with switching completely to NLS pellets all in one shot is that they are guaranteed to give my fish Bloat. How do I know this, Not only have numerous peeps told me this but the day I actually added NLS to tank my mbuna's ate it all and the next day they had signs of bloat. Isn't it true that any drastic change in water or diet can induce stress and therefore bloat. Switching all the way over in one day seems to worry me with all those factors in mind. I'd like to hear more opinions before I take action. Also your quote about Veggie Flake being "Candy" Well Cichlids are herbivores so I don't understand how Veggie Flake can be "Candy" it's more like a staple diet thing. Even if NLS is better quality food which it is I'm sure both should be able to be used longterm with no side effects.

One More Question! I'm trying to introduce NLS pellets into my Juv's diet. How gradual should I introduce NLS into diet or should I wait till Juv's are bigger to start them on Pellets in other words keep em on Veggie Flake. Also is it true that full size takes about 2 years or is it less. Thanks for all the info so far. Rick

I included a couple of pics of my tank. I recently got into African Cichlids. I decided to go all Male Tank. It's a 54 Gallon Corner. I made the mistake of overfeeding the first week and got Malawi Bloat. I medicated with Metridiazol without Carbon. After a week of med and feeding cutbacks they seem back to normal. Ok I hear alot of discussion about overfeeding. I would like to know some other opinions on how much to feed 7 peacocks (Juveniles) and 1 Yellow lab & 2 Clown Loaches in a 54 Gallon tank like mine. I was feeding three times per day ( the dumbass I am) anyways I now feed once per day a Sizeable pinch of Veggie Flake by HBH. I also have NLS pellets which I'm working into diet slowly. I also once every 2 weeks give them some Mysis Shrimp for a treat. Any thoughts on me fasting my fish? How long can a cichlid go without food? I don't want another recurrence of bloat. Water is good, Have Salt in water also,As well as elevated water temperature. Also on a tank that size how much water should I change out every week. Lately I've been doing 20% every 5 days or so. Any thought on me upping that or lessing it. Got 1 Rena Filstar XP2 for Filtration. Any other advice would be great. Thanks. Species List I have A_jacobfreibergi_mamelela A_sp_lwanda A_stuartgranti_ngara A_Maisoni L_caeruleus A_sp_Rubescens copadichromis_azureus lethrinops_redcap 2 Clown Loaches

Any advice on pseudotropheus_demasoni I've read both males and females have same patterns. Does anyone have these and how would they work with Yellow labs or pseudotropheus acei????

All sounds like solid advice thanks. The problem with adding 1m,2f for three diffrent species is that at the store as Juveniles you don't really know what getting. Probably right species but not necessarily M-F sexes. Are the Mbuna very easy to sex as juveniles??? How are you guys doing it?

Hello this is my first topic! I've had Saltwater tanks for years as large as 300 Gallons. I now want to start into fresh water for a change. I've decided to go with Malawi Cichlids mainly cause they seem to be the most colourful. In a saltwater environment all fish are generally colourful but I'm finding plenty of limitations in Fresh anyways, . My tank is a 54 Gallon Oceanic Corner, I know that shape of tank is not the best for cichlids but I'm doing it anyways. I got plenty of Slate rock and cichlid gravel for the bottom. I'm going to try to stick with the peacock cichlids possibly a Male only tank overcrowd a little keeping aggresion down. Anyone who has any ideas on how many to add at once? or anyone know any species of malawi cichlid's that both male and females have nice color let me know! Maybe an idea of how many to keep in that size tank? I'm going to try and stay away from mnuba because of aggression. Any thoughts would be appreciated on this matter. I've done a fair amount of research into it but of course that never translates into reality quite the same. Any thoughts on breeding facts or issues I should know about. What about typical fish diseases are Malawi Cichlids prone to any specific ones.? Thanks all. Rick