herefishiefishie

Here is a link to Carbonate hardness. A very good read.Remeber there are 2 types of hardness. ph is a measure of ions. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/hardness.php Here is an answer I gave when someone asked about ph readings for cichlids, taken from an Ad Konings book. Frenchy

When I was managing a lfs in Brissie, we also had our own import room. The dude responsible for maintainance got Fish Tb, sore came up on the back of his hand. The sore just kept getting bigger & deeper. He had to get 3 opinions before a doctor believed TB & tested for it. The owner, told him straight off the bat that it was fish TB. You could at one stage see 1-2cm down into his hand. He said to touch or bang the sore caused extreme pain, otherwise fine. Just horrible to look at. In the end it spand 1/2 of the back of the hand. What he said about the drugs were the same as what Craig said, they knock around the insides alot. He still kept doing the same job, just dressed the sore up, & threw on a plastic glove. I left the job while Jeff was still under treatment & his hand was still bad. I ran into him about 10 months later & it was all healed up. A scar and the skin was still slightly different. Also no longer on medication, was feeling better on the inside too. Be interesting to see if it will flare up like the one mentioned above. I have heard of 2 other people with the same problem, all are connected to import rooms too. That part of it makes me wonder. A couple of the practises {IMO} by some exporters in asia are questionable. Then again I am suprised & more shocked that we eat human food products from the same region, but thats another story. I wish Craig all the best with his recovery, not a pretty disease to get at all. :evil: I have seen Fish TB first hand & researched it with Lisa's help{g/f, studying RN} scares the s##t out of me. Frenchy

One electric yellow dead last night, one this morning, both breeding size girls too I have at least 10 more girls that size, and 30 to 40 growing up, but I hate losing fish. :evil: This is what I did today. I drained the tank right down. To nearly nothing. Took out the cichlids. Place them in big drum, with a little of their tank water & most from other tanks, threw in a parasite treatment, salt, their plants, ornaments...airation... The catfish, loaches & a couple of little ones went into a 2 footer, that have a couple of fry, it has its on little internal UV steriliser running so should be right.{touch wood} I had a heap of tiny white worms attached to the walls of the tank. Got a clean cloth, a bucket of hot very salty water. Washed down the walls & lids, heater, pump heads.... Filled up the tank with only enough water to cover a powerhead, threw in enough salt to treat whole tank & did the same for parasite treatment, ran for 2 hours. Filled up tank with water from other tanks & new water. Threw in buffers, turned heater on...Ran tank for a couple of hours on 2 internal filters. Cannister filter got a good flush out. All media replaced with old media from other tanks. Jacked up canister, added extra internal filter & an extra airstone to the tank. Ran this again for another hour. Still have 2 Yellows, I might lose. {Breathing heavy still.} Rest of cichlids look better, strict diet for 2 weeks now, feed every 2nd day, small amount only. Have to watch Ammonia/nitrite spikes. Set alarm 1/2 hour earlier in the morning just incase I have to act again. :-? Capers questions, Yes seperate tanks, salt helps with freshwater parasites & just incase it may off been a nitrite problem too.http://www.aquascienceresearch.com/APInfo/Salt.htm The parasite cycle, depending on species is around 7 to 12 days. eg; with whitespot, you only kill the parasite when it is free borne, as in not on the fish. Didn't want to turn light on, as room is pitch black at night, I didn't want to stress them. If I did have parasite transfer, it will only be at starting stage jump on it in the morning. I also treated all tanks that I touched yesterday with a 1/2 dose of parasite remedy. Will be checking on them keenly for the next few days. Cheers & :lol: I haven't had to do anything like this for a while, good but. Keeps me on my toes. Amazing when you have been in the game how complacement can set in. :roll: Filled up the weekend :lol: Frenchy

Nope you don't have to. The most important thing is carbonate hardness. This will keep your ph steady, which is the most importan thing. All depends on what the water is that comes out of your tap.eg; Your water may come out of the tap at a 7.5ph, but if the water is soft{low carbonate hardness} then over a period of a week or 2 the ph will drop, and once it starts its a dramatic decrease; therefore harming your cichlids. Just test what the water is out of the tap, or see if your council or lfs have any idea. Can use a littl bi-carb soda, limestone rock or similar as a buffer. Can use rock salt, but don't need much at all. If you do want to raise the ph, only raise in small amounts & always do this with a water change. eg;30grams bi carb soda per 100litres of "new" water. Frenchy

My new tank is having an itchy problem too. {3 weeks old} I have been doing little water changes every 2nd to 3rd day. I stocked up big early, used estabished filters.....{cheats way} 8) But I think the cause is 2 bristlesnose I bought last Sunday. 3 days later I noticed 2 bodies.{5cm ones too} Thursday I noticed a couple of fish rubbing, didn't think much of it. Today, I did a change around of tank & water change. Also seperated fish out into groups, so I handled most of my tanks today. Come home an hour ago & the new tank.. :-? well it's like a bunch of campers, camped next to a sandy river who forgot their repellent. I haven't seen this much itching, since Amanda brought head lice to school back in '85. :evil: So I did a gravel vac, 20% water change, raising temp now, will go 28-30. Increased airation, double dose of salt. Because I am usually a good clean keeper I have no medicine. :roll: So will have to do a lfs run in the morning. And another water change tomorrow. :roll: 3 in 2 days, lovely. :-? Caper anything with trichlorfon is very good. Bad for catfish{1/2 dose, or basically catfish go stiff, then turn white & die} but is still a very good treatment of itches, parasites...it is the active ingredient in Grub Kill, a Garden product. Used to use a home Brew with trichlorfon too, good for those with alot of fish, discus, lfs staff....may make some up myself. Firstly need to make up a bottle of 240grams/litre of CuSo4. Medicine is; 40ml of Cu2So4 solution{see above} 12ml of Grubkill 8grams of Citric Acid 10litres of Water. Dose tank at 10mls of medicine to every 20litres of tank water. I used this on Goldfish tanks 2 to 3 times a week, & anything breathing heavy or itchying when I was a LFS dude. {Catties, 1/2 dose} I wont check on the other tanks to the morning, didn't want to turn the light on in the fishies room. {garage} Glad the baby Whites have a small, UV in with them. Parasites usually have a week or so, that is why regular doses are reccomended. The syphoning is to help suck out some of the little buggers. And add clean water. Good to here they are on improve. I always do a final dose after the spots are gone too. Frenchy

Sweet, you will notice the black & red get stronger even more as he grows. Glad to see he is showing off to the girls and struting his stuff. The food recipe, 1kg whole prawns 1kg green peas, frozen 10ml of Spirulina Powder 100grams of gelatin 10 drops of concentrated multivitamins you can vary on this, add fish food,(no mammalian fat), some add a lttle garlic.... Blender needed too. Blend prawns & peas, Grind to a finemass. Then add spirulina, multi vits, mix in. Dissolve gelatin are per instructions on packet. It must be an easy flowing, sticky mass with no lumps. Mix in gelatin to the shrimp mix, mix thoroughly. Best way is to add shrimp mix to the gelatin one scoop or 2 at a time, prevents gelatin mix cooling to quickly. Poor mixture into a flat tray refrigerate for some hours. Then cut pieces into convienient sizes, place into plastic bags, cling wrap...in the freezer. Once frozen very hard to cut. Remember this food is very high in nutritional value, so will pollute water quickier than dry food, so only use once a day. Lovely Jubbly Frenchy

That is a nicer male. Funny you bring up what is known as plastic sexing. It is very common with marine fishes. Clown fish, cleaner wrasse... are examples. Some time ago I put up a post on QCF year or 2 ago. I had Xmas Fulus, very similar to Flamebacks. Trying to remember story, I had a trio 1m 2f. Lovely very dominant male. One day I spotted 2m{coloured nicely}& 1f in a LFS. Good price, 6 foot tank at home, they should be fine no worries. Well, The dominant male chased the 2 other males all over the tank. A few days later one male had died. But in the middle of the next week I noticed 4 Fulus all holding?!?! :-? Happy little colony for 6 months, then I moved, changed setup.... With the post up on forum, only had one response that had any idea, what I posted. That was a lfs owner 20 plus years experience, he mentioned sexually plastic. So I looked into it, a very good book, fully referenced & easy to read is, in this is a chapter in Plastic Sex. The Cichlid Fishes {Natures Grand Experiment in Evolution} By George W. Barlow. In your case I think that the number one female is unhappy a new male is in her territory & while she is holding eggs of another male, she will chase him away, as would the old male if still there. A suggestion would be to take female out, re arrange the whole tank & add the female back into the tank when she is finished with the current brood. But, :roll: Be careful, I have had a female Burtoni{once again similarbehaviours to flamebacks} beat up & kill a male, when I did a similar thing to you.{as in found a nicer looking male, he just didn't charm the ladies} Frenchy

Me & Brad while doing our fish shop tour{last week} I just remembered what we came across, a pleasant suprise. While visitng Andrew, a lovely Polish fella who has the breeders touch. In a 3 foot tank in the back half of the shop, are 2 Albino Plecos{since moved} 20odd cms long & in the tank are a couple of ceramic logs. The buggers bred in the log. These logs are commonly used here for breeding bristlenose. Dad was in the log, well part way in he is to big for it. Just wondering if anyone has seen anything like it, I thought this to be very bizarre. I have to admit to not being a catty fan so don't know how uncommon. Andrew was very excited & keen to show it off so is it really uncommon? Frenchy

I edited the above post, put more bits & bobs in. Frenchy

Some very nice photos, almost enough to turn me back to pancakes 8) seriously though very nice Frenchy

I meant that ones here dont get as nice as the one you linked. Get a food product from spectrum, or something like tetra bits. Anything with a high % of krill, shrimps... seems to work to. Protein values be careful, to much is no good too. "But" that all depends on what type of protein too. Spirulina is 60 odd % protein, but its a vegie protein. So that is still easily digested by fish. I read a univeristy study I think anything over 45% is to hard for fish{general} to digest. When I say nuke, some lfs use a product from White Crane. It is 60% protein & very high in Astaxathans. {IMO} be very careful with this food product, it is {IMO} hard on the fishies internals & can also colour up females, which isn't adviseable in your case either. Meant to be fed in small doses. {IMO} This is the one food product I suggest caution with. Some shops use this as it is easier to sell a coloured cichlid at 3cm, than a dull one. Ask the shop what they feed theirs? I feed my cichlids, Spectrum Cichlid Formula, HBH Veggie Flake & Flake Fenzy. Sometimes Krill Flakes, JB{bit dearer but nice food. A european reccomended I use/try it & he breeds what ever he touches :lol: b..tard} Hikari Frozen Mysis Shrimp, & Live brine shrimp as a treat. In a book called Enjoying Cichlids. {Editor Ad Konnings} in the feeding section, Kjell Fohrman did a food trial with red zebras. He found best results, {colour} were with a home made food. He concluded the best food is whole shrimps with Spirulina. I used to make my own food when all my tanks were malawi's. But with Alto's & the like, not worth me making up. I see some shops{in Brisbane anyway} are now selling home made food. Could be an avenue to look at. Glad to here about 3 females, plenty of rock work is good to. Good luck with them. If the shop only feeds standard foods, maybe do a swap & see how that goes. Frenchy

For a start he is only a young fella. 2 inches, as in not even 5cm? e is still very young. I have had these breed at 3cm's when I was a lfs worker. Give him another 6 months at least. 2nd, unless you nuke him with colour inhancer, the flamebacks have been very well bred here in Australia & I have never seen one as good as the one in the pic supplied. They still grow to a nice looking fish, just take time, or you may have a bad blood line. 3rd, ask the shop what they are feeding theirs? They could be nukeing them. 4th, try a nice food like spectrum or anything with spirulina in it, or astaxathan will help bring out the red.....beware some fish foods though, too strong. Hope you have a few females, they can harrass the girls to death, as in he can go all day every day lol. I have seen a male rule a 10.5ft tank, as in no other male flameback stood a chance. Ah, Brad. Frenchy

The clean tank water would already be de-chlorinated. And if dirty gravel...have been done to new tank to, you'll be alright. Old water dosen't hold much bacteria, but does have extra chemicals...from coming from an established tank. The rinsing filter under tap water being a big no no, comes mainly from overseas where chlorine & chloramines are used to treat the water. eg; I remember when I first moved to Australia , when I had my first shower all I could smell was chlorine. eeewwww. Frenchy

Yep that is true Brad, just like plants. Both will give you optimum growth, reproduction, colour...when kept in the conditions they are reccomended for. Sure kept outside these ideal conditions they will survive, breed... but won't be as good. Depends on what tickles your fancy. Also the white blob, mass...would of been the dead molly, especially when you said the smell, that got my attention. It is unforgettable & very very strong like knock your head back I can't believe anything could stench like that. Had that happen a fish got stuck in a shell, I hadnt noticed for a couple of weeks...eeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwww :oops: Frenchy

Just to add to the confusion, http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/m_emmiltos.php This is from one source I trust, none of the variants listed below look like the "red tops" here in Aus. So hey Brad, your an Aussie & seen the fish here, what u reckon? Aussies been calling what everyone else calls "Ice Blues" as "red tops"? as in wrong name???? Wouldn't suprise me either. :lol: if you want to kno the difference between gres../auror.. http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=2369 http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=2357&genusname=Pseudotropheus&speciesname=aurora Enough for one day my head is hurting :-? Bourban O'clock I think Frenchy

I didn't think red tops were a Metriaclima estherae. There are already Cobalt Blues & Red Zebras{Pulu Points} under that scientific name. The joys of common names & using websites. What is the difference between Maylandia greshakei & Metriaclima zebra "red-top"? I dont know I havent really looked into it myself. Both look the same. Wouldn't suprise me if they are the same fish either. Just the red tops & pseudotropheus being the old school names. The new lines smuggled here recently being called Greshakei. That being there new name. With them being referred to as Ice Blues too. Looks like people think they are different fish. Wouldn't be the first time here in Aussie. Great, something else for me to try & research on. I did find a couple of sites that had Ice blue, red tops...under the same name too. That being greshakei, leads me more down the same track. Off I go again see wha I can find out. Usually though when researching, they will have formerly known as , but that isnt coming up either. Frenchy

umm just a query, When I looked up Ice blue, it referred to it as a Metriaclima estherae, which over here is commonly called a red top zebra. Which is a different fish all together from a Metriaclima aurora. Have a look at both way different fish ah...which do they have? Frenchy

Hard to tell at the moment, by the why what is an ice blue? That common name isn't used here. Have you tried catching the fish & vent sexing? Frenchy

Finished setting up the 4x2x2 today. Bit of a mission when a cannister decides to spring a leak. Somehow I have 31 E.Yellows at 3-5cm :roll: with 20 more to come this weekend Though 10 of them should be able to go into the adult colony. I think I should be able to get a good sized colony or more. Also in there are the 12 demasoni & 11 white tail aceii{some home bred, some a new line} & couple of mixed alto's. I will get pics up of the tank one day soon. Once things have settled down... By the way, I do the the cheats way for new tank start up. Just incase anyone was thinking I am mad. They be close but. Frenchy

They are mature enough to breed at a pretty small size. and once they start, nearly like rabbits or convicts. They are slower growing, when compared to say Malawis. Frenchy

Bought myself 12 of these little guys & girls :bounce: off a breeder on Thursday. Borrowed the pic off the net. Can be agro little buggers, :evil: but aren't they cute :lol: Then on Friday me & Brad did a lfs tour on Friday. 12 Aquariums stoers in one day. I got what I hope to be some nice Electric Yellows from a few stores. 13 all up {3-5cm}. Will add these to 2 batches of fry i have kept. Grow them up, keep nice girls and best male, then add to existing colony. Hope to get a nice huge colony going... Be a busy ANZAC day with the fish, sorting them out. Half of what I bought are still in a 120lt drum with a canister filter running it. Frenchy

An idea; yep I am allowed one a month. :roll: I would buy 10 or more juvies, raise them up. When they start to breed, pull out holding females & place in another tank. Eventually you will end up with a bunch of girls{loa} keep 2 males, dominant one & next best or best coloured. Add these to existing 3. Great cobalt {or any other mbuna...} colony just like that. :bounce: Even if you buy a few small ones, that way at least its a start. Your mission to find a nice mature male & more females can continue. If your lucky, thats great. Only keep the females out of the small ones. Sell of excess males. If you have no luck, at least you have some growing up. It's a thought worth considering. Seeing as you have already been searching for months. What I have just written would of been great information for you back then, but by the looks of it, is still probably a good option now. Frenchy

ps; same for what Brad said about the egg spots to. Nice link Brad, I thought I had seen the optivisor before Brad. Funny, :lol: I heard you telling female customers it was to help correct a lazy eye. Now I know what it was really for Frenchy

Looks like 2 girls, may just have to give them time. Just because you have a female and a male, dosen't mean u are going to get action. Sometimes it takes time, sometimes one of either sex might go, your not good enough to breed with. Keep up the vegie food to them, water changes...what size tank, other fish.....Mbuna are best in bigger colonies to, yellows(13) aceii (11) demasoni (12) in my cases. Heres a piece off the cichlid forum... Frenchy

Sorry, to hard for me to tell from the pics. Need dead side on clear pics when trying to id species. Otherwise get wrong impression, eg; fish in pic3 looks to elongated to be a lombardoi, yet looks nice & rounded in pic 4. Number 5 looks like a lombardoi, and electric yellow. but as for the others, wouldn't have a clue. Dont like to guess. lombardoi female male Frenchy