Cichlid Experts?

[drumsscott]

Just like JMarriott recommended go to The Reef and ask for the owner - Kevin.
We were just talking about this thread and Kevin will give you the correct information that you need.
The industry and science of the hobby is always changing Kevin has his pulse on the industry.

 

[seedubs1]

This. And do look into the formulas to calculate how much ammonia you should be using.

And I agree with the ph statement in general for this region. Lots of buffering agent in our water that makes it really difficult to properly alter ph without doing RO. So if possible, and based on the fish, I prefer to acclimate them to the local water ph.

make sure you get "clear" ammonia. I used the one from Ace with no problems. I used about a cap full per dose in my 75 gallon, but I'm sure you could find an exact ppm formula/table if you looked around - shoot for 6-10 ppm of ammonia to start. You could try this with some bottled bacteria to try and jump start the colony, but ammonia is a proven method, you could also get some used media from someone with an established tank to jump start. But no matter how you do it, you need to run a full cycle. You should be able to covert 8-10 ppm of ammonia to nitrate in 24 hours to get a 0 ammonia / 0 nitrite reading, then do water changes to lower the nitrates.
View attachment 66400

Other thing I would recommend is not messing with the pH, let your fish acclimate to it, and they'll be fine. I've never seen a person that adjusts their pH that ends up with a stable tank.

 

[femurphy77]

If it worked you're looking at the finished product although it's a little under utilized at this time. Sorry about the funky angle, trying to minimize reflections.

 

[Vigilant]

You guys grow your own sushi? That’s hardcore!

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I used to breed these when I was in college, back in the 80s:

[FONT=&amp]Neolamprologus brichardi is a species of cichlid endemic to the alkaline waters of Lake Tanganyika in East Africa[/FONT]

I had a couple of 40-gallon tanks and a 20-gallon tank. Back then, an under-gravel filter with a fairly deep bed of gravel was the "in" thing. In order to get the fish to spawn, I had to do regular moderate water changes, and adjust the pH. But, just to maintain healthy fish, I didn't worry too much about water changes or pH. I would just regularly vacuum the gravel to renew and thin the biomass.

I also raised quite a few Jewel Cichlids with minimal water changes, just the under-gravel filter. The only real problem with Jewels was that I'd have a tank with multiple fish, and suddenly two would pair off and try to murder all the other fish in the tank before I could get them out.

After thinking about it, I do remember, with some of my cichlids, that would dig in the gravel, exposing the under-gravel filter (rendering it useless) I did fashion my own trickling filter using a smaller aquarium and rock media and that really worked well, once the biomass built up.

I'm sure a lot of things have changed since I had Cichlids, although more recently, I did have a reef tank for a few years and that tank was the most labor-intensive thing I've ever had, but also the most interesting.

 

[Vigilant]

I used to breed these when I was in college, back in the 80s:

[FONT=&amp]Neolamprologus brichardi is a species of cichlid endemic to the alkaline waters of Lake Tanganyika in East Africa[/FONT]

How did you get them to hold still while you...nevermind, I don’t really want to know! And I thought grow your own sushi was hardcore? Silly me.

 

[Expat]

I kept tanks back in the 80’s. One was a tank of African cichlids. The only problem I had was one was a big bully. They were a lot of fun.

 

[seedubs1]

I love cichlids. When they pair off, they turn into little murder machines.

The only real problem with Jewels was that I'd have a tank with multiple fish, and suddenly two would pair off and try to murder all the other fish in the tank before I could get them out.

 

[shootersix]

I never trusted the "jump start bacteria stuff", I always went slooooow and let nature do its thing 1-2 fish a week, I had a few african cichlids but never went hole hog into them, they're a little expensive for my blood.

if you were here in eville, i'd tell you to go to aquarium concepts jeff (co owner with his mom) probably knows more about them than Herbert Axelrod did!

good luck!