herefishiefishie

The peacock pictured is a female. Any chance of some more pics & bigger size? Bit hard to tell. Frenchy

Some very nice pics, well done. Frenchy

If they were bright at the shop & not now, then I would say they were fed a colour up food at the store & have now returned to their original colour. Chances are yours are just a faded colour of yellow. Why do I think that? Electric yellows have been bred alot through only a few limited lines. Bright lights aren't needed for Malawis, some of my tanks have a light, some don't..Also, mine are over a couple of different substracts, light & dark. All pretty much the same colour, they don't wash out easy. I only feed mine vegie flake, with some mysis shrimp & pellets for something different. & they are a nice yellow colour. Here is a pic of a very pale yellow, taken from a lfs. Frenchy

Very nice, well done. Frenchy

Firstly as Carly said, check what ph they are kept at first, might save shocking your new additions. I use a mix of bicarb soda, epsom salts & sea salt, I suppose normal salt will do. Alot cheaper than buying Aquarium products. Here's a useful link. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php See how your yellows go to, usually its the females that are the problems, they really bash each other. A holding female just wants a cave to safely sit in for when she is breeding. The better breeders{I am not one} here use bare tanks, so no agression. Last paragrah gives you some more ideas too. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/hardness.php Frenchy

With the tank you are talking about, if its the same as the custom ones here. The flow rate sometimes will not slow down as the water will just skim across the top of the filter material. When I was selling these sort of tanks, we reccomended customers try a more coarse type of foam & if you have room add more bacterial products. eg; ceramic noodles, matrix & the like. Yes Alan you are right, the excess waste... tends to form Ammonia Gas (NH3). Ammonia, in contact with water, forms Ammonium Hydroxide (NH4OH), a highly toxic substance. Its toxicity depends on temperature, pH, and water salinity. As Brad said too; the more acid the pH, more Ammonium Hydroxide is neutralized and so the ammonia toxicity is reduced. On the other hand, more alkaline pH means more dangerous Ammonia. Luckily, this substance is consumed by bacteria {Nitrosomonas} which in the presence of Oxygen transform Ammonia into Nitrite {NO2}, hence the need for good fish keeping practises. Frenchy

Yes Alan I miss the joys of ChCh water so nice & fresh & clean, you could bottle it.... You can see if the water is well filtered before chlorine is added then the levels of chloramines can by stuff all to zero. Brisbane water must be poorly filtered, it is Chloramine city :lol: Frenchy

Sorry me again, a good link http://www.waterquality.crc.org.au/consumers/Consumersp9.htm Chlorination Chlorination is the most widely used disinfectant for drinking water in Australia. Its introduction a century ago removed the threat of cholera and typhoid from Australian cities. It is cheap, easy to use, effective at low dose levels against a wide range of infectious microorganisms, and has a long history of safe use around the world. Chlorine is a strongly oxidising chemical and may be added to water as chlorine gas or as a hypochlorite solution. Chlorine’s main disadvantage is a tendency to react with naturally occurring dissolved organic matter to form chlorinated organic compounds. The substances formed by the disinfectant reacting with the natural organic matter in the water are referred to as disinfection byproducts. In the 1970s, as scientific instruments capable of measuring lower and lower concentrations of substances were developed, trace quantities of chloroform and other similar chemicals were identified as disinfection byproducts in chlorinated water supplies. While the concentration of these disinfection byproducts is usually very low (a typical figure might be 0.1 part per million), some have been identified as potential carcinogens. As a precaution, many countries limit the allowable level of chlorinated disinfection byproducts in the water. The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines also suggest maximum values for a range of byproducts (for example, 0.25 part per million for chloroform-type compounds). Studies have compared the health risk from microbiological contamination of drinking water with the potential chemical risk from chlorination byproducts. The conclusions so far are: The risk of death from pathogens is at least 100 to 1000 times greater than the risk of cancer from disinfection byproducts. The risk of illness from pathogens is at least 10,000 to one million times greater than the risk of cancer from disinfection byproducts. The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines encourage action by water authorities to reduce organic disinfection byproducts in water supplies but not in a way that would compromise the proper disinfection of the water. The likelihood of such byproducts forming can be greatly reduced by treating the water to lower levels of dissolved organic matter before chlorine is added for disinfection purposes. Some Australian examples of chlorinated water supplies are those of Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Hobart and Townsville. Chloramination Chloramines are produced when ammonia and chlorine are added to water together. They are less effective than chlorine in killing microorganisms because they are not as chemically active. However, chloramines maintain their disinfecting capability longer than chlorine and are ideal for very long distribution systems or for water supplies with long holding times in service reservoirs. For example, the disinfected water supplied to some Australian communities may travel through the distribution system for more than a week before use as drinking water from someone’s tap. Chloramines also react less with dissolved organic matter in the water and so produce fewer disinfection byproducts. Chloramination is a common disinfection system in Australia and many examples of its use can be found in regional Australia. Frenchy

This is what Gold Coast do to there water. Water Treatment Council operates water treatment plants at Mudgeeraba and Molendinar. Up to 285 million litres of drinking water a day can be produced from these plants but the amount produced each day, depends entirely on the current consumption. Gold Coast Water’s treatment process involves a combination of coagulation, filtration and disinfection. A chemical called a coagulant is used to remove fine particles like clay, silt and algae by binding the particles into large clumps that can be removed by filtration. Filtration is the passage of water through a bed of fine particles (eg. sand and gravel), which removes fine suspended solids and larger microorganisms. Disinfection is perhaps the most important treatment process. It inactivates microorganisms, rather than removing them. Chlorine is the disinfectant used most widely in Australia. Chlorine breaks down over time, becoming less effective in disinfecting our water supply and so, to maintain chlorine at effective levels, it can be added at various points along the system of water mains and pipes. Water from Wivenhoe Dam is rechlorinated as it enters Gold Coast City at Beenleigh and again at Coomera. The pH, clarity and chlorine levels are monitored 24 hours a day at the entry point. Water authorities worldwide add small amounts of chemicals to the water supply. Health and safety are the highest priorities with water quality and to make sure Gold Coast water is safe to drink the following treatments occur at our water treatment plants: Chlorine The most commonly used disinfectant, is added to remove harmful bacteria and keep water free from water-borne diseases. Lime (calcium oxide) and Caustic Soday (Sodium Hydroxide) Added to ensure the pH (how acidic or alkaline the water is), is neutral. Aluminium Is present in water from natural leaching from soil and rocks in the catchment area. Aluminium sulphate is then added to remove sediments and make it clean and clear. It is then removed by filtration. Potassium permangate, polymers, activated carbon. May be used in the water purification process under certain circumstances. The levels of all chemicals are controlled and do not exceed National Health and Medical Research (NHMRC) guidelines. Other metals are found in the water supply in trace level concentrations. Metal levels are monitored as part of our regular testing program. Treated water from the treatment plants then flows to service reservoirs and elevated tanks throughout the metropolitan area and from these through a network of distribution pipes to the taps of the consumers. Frenchy

Ceramic noodles, yep fine. I hardly ever clean mine. As for filter wool, well I go into more later if you like, got to go to work. We are saying 3 months as 13 weeks without rinsing filter wool. Frenchy

I think they are great fish. We were lucky enough to have a pair that got along very well & bred like convicts. Be aware, my mates Jaguar 12cm , swallowed a 7cm female convict{well her tail was still showing} she was defending her fry, the jag wanted to get at the fry. :lol: The convicts were the boss up to then, all the fish had been together for a while too. Frenchy

I would say that if you haven't cleaned your filter in months, that is the source of the problems. Frenchy

To get chlorine out of the water then run the water through a shower head. As stated earlier chloramines needs to be removed by chemical means. So places like the gold coast here only has chlorine in the water yet in brisbane they have both. Check with your water supplier on what is in the water. May I ask who told you that? Frenchy

My tank is fulled with lava rock, which has holes drilled into it. I have artifical logs & the like. So plenty of passageways & height /size in the lava rock which splits up the tank. Frenchy

The guy I know keeps 6 in a 2 footer, I believe they are 2 males & 4 females. He went for the small tank as its a case of if there isn't much room maybe they won't fight as much. I went the other way, 4 foot tank heaps of rocks & caves with some electric yellows. I will take some pics when I think of it next. I had 12 at one stage, now down to 8, m/f ratio don't know. One book I have read, keep in group of 6-10, aquarium should be 120litres, provide several large rocks to form caves & passageways. Can be kept with larger malawis of the haplochromis group provided they have sufficient refuge. Natural diet is algae on the rocks. feed spirulina flakes & algae wafers. Male will spawn in secluded area, brooding females can be kept with male without being overly harassed. My female holds up in on of the artifical logs out of harms way & she colours up so bright that she looks like the dominant male.{while holding} I have seen this at the breeders house too. Wonder if that is so other fish just se her colour & stay clear. :lol: One book says 7cm, one says 9cm fully grown. Frenchy

For me, At least he sold it as a hybrid. :roll: All hybrid cichlids should be kiled at birth. :evil: Frenchy

Usually it dosen't cure. Some fish do live for a long period of time like this. Wether or not its a good thing, well.... :-? Have a look at this page, http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/fish_diseases/swim_bladder.html Frenchy

Sorry what I should of said is that if the body cavity is full of fluid.... Frenchy

What did the person sell the fish as? Frenchy

I am on dial up. From the description, swim bladder problem. Frenchy

Fluid ran out. I would say Abdominal dropsy, bad thing is fish rarely survive. Try sulfa. Frenchy

It looks like an Azureus to me. "But" It also looks like a type of Protomelas too. This what a nice male Azureus looks like Frenchy

My first brood was 12. I was suprised to see that many. was told that to be a good number. Yep they are agro, mine are in a 4 footer with yellows, all is well.{TW} I have heard some horror stories about fish that these guys have killed, cichla in one case that was in a lfs. The guy I bought mine off has his colony in a 2 foot tank, with just a corner filter. Reckons its to hard for them to hold an area & be agro. I went the other way, go for a larger tank, heaps of rock work & throw in a peaceful cichlid that is way different in colour & temprament. Seems to be working at the moment. I started with 12, now have 8. Bought 4 more, back to 8. :roll: It has been at 8 for a while now, so I think I leave at that. Frenchy

2cm is on the small size when compared to normal african cichlids. But when you consider they only reach 7cm in length, 2cm isn't far away from breeding size. I like these guys, the way they swim, bright colours... http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/p_demasoni.php Frenchy

Very nice Frenchy