herefishiefishie

I would say the dead snails are more a result of the clown loaches. So have you done any water changes since the previous reading of ammonia. What is your ph of the tank. Chances are the ammonia reading can contain ammonium, which is harmless in that state. But should be still removed. Frenchy

Dear oh Dear, what a world we live in. Senseless is definitely the word. That is the first I have read someone do that before. I have had someone say they were going to smash a tank & tried to push past me, for which I got in the way. The 2nd time they tried, resulted in them on the floor. I didn't know if they were really going to or not. I wasn't taking the risk. {drugged up idiot } After reading your post. Makes me realise some people have no respect for anything. I just hope the hole in the tank was caused by a fist & they cut their arm open. Frenchy

Good luck Frenchy

Oh sh#t Frenchy

I wasn't meaning you. I know you are careful It is how they go out to general population. My concern really is with the other blues out there, if people are placing them with their johanni. If yours continue to throw blues for 4-5 generations, chances are they are maingano. What will that mean for the johanni stocks in NZ if people have placed these blueys in with johanni? That is a big concern! Frenchy

The problem is the maingano were only classified in 1997. They have only been in Aussie for a few years. I wouldn't be looking for differences, that makes it look worse. One gets to 8-9cm, 8-10cm for the other. I do think chances are they could be maingano, as I have discussed in the pass. Another common name for them is blue johanni. I would be line breeding them for some generations first to make sure. Then again, I am sure some old school people will say, "you can only call them what they were imported as." if they do breed true, keep them away from johanni :lol: Frenchy

Thats funny because over here we have both species & they were both imported under their proper names. Sound like a broken record here, but what are your importers doing? The only way you can usually tell if they are a true species is line breeding them against each other for 5 or 6 generations. To let the recessive gene of a species to come through. Seeing as johanni & maingano males are near identical, don't know if that will show true identification or not. Sure yours may look different, but when you check somewhere like the cichlid forum & compare them here, males of both species are near identical. As I said, use caution. I wouldn't rush at labeling your fish something. Oh, how long ago did this other fish keeper have the maingano out of interest? Did he get them in 2, 5 10 or more years ago? Frenchy

Don't know what is in the medicine, but could be a possibility. Maybe the tank wasn't completely cycled. All you can do is cut back on feeding, do water changes etc. Frenchy

Looks like she is holding to me. Therefore trying to stay away from a randy male :lol: Frenchy

Afrikan, were they the ones that were bought, labeled as blue Melanochromis? You noticed that one of the blue fish was holding? Thats the thing but. They were imported into NZ as Blue Melanochromis & some as yellow.... Yep I have heard that the odd blue one is holding, Afrikan mentioned that to me months ago. So what does that mean? The asians mixing stock at some stage as maingano's & johanni are similar. Therefore they just separate them into colours rather than species, as they can't call them a species. Pass them onto a country with slack quality in picking named fish, ie; NZ. You would have to assume that these yellow & blue melanochromis are all from the one source. Or they have a bunch of mainganos, got the name wrong. But then why is it only one blue out of a tank of 20 that ends up a female then & why are they imported alongside yellow melanochromis? Do all the yellows end up holding too? As said earlier, people think they have mainganos. I have been told none have been imported as such. All I am saying is use caution. How many times on this forum have we seen people call their cichlid something as that is what it looks like? ie; I know fish can come in the back door, we have good smugglers here. These fish come in with genus, species & variant names. The people that go to the trouble of smuggling, go to the trouble of getting proper named fish, not something where even the common name dosen't exist. ie;Blue Melanochromis. No point really otherwise aye. Where is the money in that for a start? Frenchy

Hard to tell with the pics you have placed up. Look like hybrids to me. Why? Body shapes, stripes etc are random as. Which even with the poor quailty of pics leans me that way, as you only have a couple of pure species of Melanochromis in NZ. Frenchy

There have been plenty of posts in the past about johanni etc here on this forum. Including posts from those that see import lists. Maingano's have not been on them. You have johanni in the country & males of these look just like maingano. Lately blue & yellow melanochromis have been imported. Blue being male johannis. I would be using extreme caution. Ask what size they are, if over 5cm, if females have bred before, held etc. Also ask what colour are the females or how the person sexes them. These are just to test the seller Frenchy

If your tank is at the lower end for ph reading it will help. It will mean the nitrogen produced by the fish remains harmless longer in the form of ammonium, dosen't convert as easily to harmful ammonia etc. Test kits can be misleading leading as ammonia tests record both ammonium & ammonia as one. As long as you do small water changes every 3 days, feed only a small amount every 2nd day. Don't bother feeding the bottom feeders, they get what hits the ground. That way you don't have pellets going off in the bottom of the tank. I would be feeding whatever food you have that has the lowest protein value too. Don't go with the she will be right attitude till at least 4 week mark. It will more than likely take that long for the tank to settle. Wood is good for bristlenoses. Plants will be good for the health of the tank, something like val, that grows fast etc. Oh well, shit happens, lets get on with making sure it goes well. 90 litres few small fish, bottom dwellers... should be fine. Just keep on top of it. Oh, I would get rid of the shark too. Here is a good read, http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html Frenchy

Looks like you have set the tank up right. Plenty of caves is good, flowerpots etc. A flat piece of rock on top of a cave can will near certs get them to spawn. They are pretty hardy, omnivore by nature, therefore high quality variety of foods will go great guns. Oh, they like to dig too. Hope they go well for you. Once they start breeding, it is harder to stop them Frenchy

If your ph is very low, your earlier assumption could be right. Big changes will harm the fish, gills, internals.... If you use bore water & is prone to high variances, I would suggest you buy a test kit that covers, ph, gh & kh. I would be testing the water for these levels before new water is added to the tank & adjust accordingly. This link is used for african rift lake cichlids, but gives you an idea. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php Frenchy

Epsom salts should only raise your gh. I use this recipe here from the cichlid forum. Gold Coast water is on the low side when it comes to gh & kh. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php

As above & yes they can be very aggressive, don't let their lack of size fool you. All a case of how they settle in. Frenchy

I would replace the gro lux with a blue based colour bulb. The mix with the white & blue light works really good with africans. Frenchy

40litres every 2 weeks is no where enough water changes when you have 2-3 times a day feeding. Once a day is plenty for most fish species. Do you use a gravel vac when doing water changes? "Living" plants will help & as Ian said the dead plant matter won't help. Look at your lighting, type of plants etc. Maybe look at hardier species like anubias & Val for example. Frenchy

Seen more pics, not utaka spots, just the odd smudge like spot. Frenchy

If I lived by you I could of taken the photos. I have no hair to pull out :lol: I am concerned about the spots on the females bodies. They look like Utaka spots. Peacocks shouldn't have any. Frenchy

Can you place up more pics of the females Mekhaela? I might of seen something in one of the females that could not be right. Frenchy

What site? Frenchy

What about ammonia & nitrite levels? Conditions that cause elevated nitrates often cause decreased oxygen levels, which will stress out the fish. Explains the heavy breathing & also this inturn exposes them to other diseases. You should reduce the levels. You have to look at what you are doing wrong. How long is tank running? How much & often do you feed the fish? How often do you do water changes? Growing plants help reduce nitrates. Bottom line is... Keep the tank clean – Waste ultimately produces nitrates. Cleaner tanks produce fewer nitrates in the first place. The swollen eyes lead me to think bacterial disease.. Best bet is to look at what you are doing wrong. I would be doing a few 30% water changes this week. Hopefully the other fish don't catch anything in the mean time. Frenchy

No worries mate I did a little search on his name, From here, http://www.bassleer.com/text.htm Frenchy