herefishiefishie

I'm not a fan of bio boosters either. As long as you have fish producing waste...you can add soiled filters,gravel....will speed up the process if there are nitrites there for the bacteria to grow. Under optimal conditions, bacteria colonies can double in size every 15 hours. Frenchy

Oh are we meant to keep fish Ourselves. :roll: Mine are top secert not to be shown to public :lol: Frenchy

A female will help the male colour up. Those going orange/yellows are males. Those that go light blue/ little yellow/orange are sub dominant males. If they dare go orange the dominant male will beat them up, if they stay blue then the male will try to knock them up. :lol: Flake frenzy, Cichlid Flake. by HBH. Is good for colouring up fish. Mysis shrimps, Spirulina based products are good. There is a product here with a bad name, if anyone mentions it I will pm you. Don't want to bag a brand publicly. I read a study on red zebras that were fed a variety of foods. (6 types) Red zebs can & tend to loose their colour over time. The best results were found in 2 groups. (1) Fed minced whole shrimps & spirulina (2) Fed minced whole shrimp, spirulina & parprika powder. Another food group had paprika in it, the conclusion was whole shrimps & sirulina worked best. The ingredients used for the home made frozen food,(works out cheaper in the long run to if you have a few fish to feed. (Best Jamie Oliver voice) 1kg whole shrimps 1kg green peas 10ml Spirulina Powder 100 grams gelatin powder 10 drops of concentrated multivitamins. (for birds/pets/or children) Blend the whole lot(except gelatin)in a blender to a paste. Make up gelatin to instructions on packet. (no lumps) Combine the gelatin & frozen mix. Pour onto flat trays, place in fridge. The hardened mixtre then can be cut into pieces of a convenient size, placed into plastic bags then throw into the freezer. Frenchy

Should be fine, probably just marking a territory, showing off, displaying his dominance, or intended dominance. Its only if they do it all the time, all over the tank, may raise concerns. Frenchy

There are a few parasite species. About 9000 parasite/fluke species have been described & named. Scratching is a sign of these, as stated earlier all fish are hosts to a wide range of parasites. Its like has anyone ever felt itchy after being for a swim in a lake? Its more likely schistosomes, from ducks, these have penetrated your skin, then dying, inducing a hypersensitive allergic reaction. Just a nuisance really. Treatment; 50% water change, pay particular attention to the gravel, filters & glass. This is probably the best step, reduces parasite numbers. Formalin/malachite green is good for treating parasites/flukes. Use salt at a higher dose rate for 3 weeks. 100grams per 40 litres. In the long term its about 1gram per litre for guppies. Salt is good for reducing parasite problems too, & Bills first post on salt is spot on, I have used salt for years. I tend to under dose, as over dosing can cause problems. Yes BK catfish aren't the greatest fans of salt, I think form meory 1tbsp per 80litres, having said that I have bristlenoese in with africans they seem to adjust fine to the higher salt. If using a salt bath, have fish in bucket till the fish start to loose balance, then returned to the tank. But if parasites are still running loose in the tank, they tend to get re infested. Frenchy

I came across this site last week, good how it works in steps. Yes I know its foreign so some treatments don't match up. Hopefully the problem can be found & it makes it easy to sort out. http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/fish_diseases/behavioral_disorders.html Frenchy

Nitrites & Ammonia are the real concern. If these are fine, the you are on the right track. Can you gives us a reading on these. If you have Nitrates then it shows that the nitrogen cycle is working. Which is what you want to see. Ammonia>Nitrites>Nitrate. You will find that even the cleanest of fish tanks will still show a reading for Nitrates. Frenchy

Have you had your water tested for Ammonia, Nitrites....? Smelly water usually indicates that there is an excess of fish food or waste in the water. This can occur even if the fish eats all of the food available. Extra waste produced by greedy fish or uneaten food can cause a smell. This can contribute to algae problems and suppress the immune systems of fish allowing disease to set in. Do not be tempted to clean out the whole aquarium - this will cause extra problems. Carry out a series of partial water changes using an aquarium siphon to suck up waste from the base of the aquarium. Reduce feeding of the fish and keep on top of maintenance to prevent the problem occurring again. How much & how often do you feed your fish? & how much & often do you do water changes? One mate of mine has discus, feeds them 5 times a day but does daily water chnges. Frenchy

I miss my white bait patties. A couple of years ago, we got my mum to bring some back with her. Might be time to send her back for a holiday &a feed run. :lol: Frenchy

200W will be fine to also answer your question. The purists recommend 2 heaters that add upto roughly 1 watt per litre, for equal heat dispersion and in case one breaks down. I use just one heater per tank as 2 heaters per tank add up. :-? Also note that quality brands like Jager have different reccomendations again, eg;75W will do 100litres, I think from memory 150W can do upto 300 litres....check the brand. Try not to make the mistake of adding a heater alot stronger than the reccomendations. If a heater sticks on,(which happens with some cheaper brands) then you may want some chips with that boiled fish. Make sure you have a therm...(cant spell) in the tank, the temp on the heater can be off. Frenchy

As stated above about the filter. Plus you loose litres per hour with the height. The cloudiness will disperse over time, gravel vac will take out remaining sediment over time. The other thing the cloudiness could be is a bacterial bloom, this will clear as the bacteria levels grow in your filter. When I set up a new tank, I cheat by incuding an old established filter or some gravel from an existing tank. Try Geo Liquid, it helps bind particles in the water, its clay based too. Will rid the tank of cloudiness if you want to rid this quicker. Frenchy

Misery luvs company eh :lol: sorry couldn't help myself. :roll: My mum's family are all from Greymouth, & dad's mum is from the same region. We used to have the Wet Coasters on all the time. Something about being wet between & up to the ears. I was told on a good day you could see Mount Cook from Greymouth, out of all the visits there, I only saw Mount Cook once. On a good note, its lovely & green, and when the sun did come out, beautiful. ps; great fishing,(White bait especially) yummy Welcome aboard Kiwibird. Frenchy

Good to see another cichlid keeper. The personalities of the fish world. Yep I agree MTS is a terrible disorder. :lol: Have fun here, don't be afraid to ask any questions, we are all here to help & we are all learning as we go too. Frenchy

oops nearly forgot, :roll: welcome aboard Brad. 8) About time you joined, this site is one of my Favs, us Kiwi's are such friendly people. We won't have you on about the Union, Netball, John Howard or the Cricket. :lol: A pic of Brad's male Red Devil, yes I know I have more pics of your fish than you do. :oops: Frenchy

That colony of Fronnies looks alot better since you borrowed my male fronnie lol. The 2-10.5 Foot tanks are getting there finishing touches applied...Brad will it be finished by the start of next week? If so I can add some pics too. For starters, this is Brad's Peacock Bass,(Cichla Monoculus) About 40cm? Not the best of shots, hint for Brad to remember to get new lighting. Frenchy

You are right Craig about the water quality too. Ammonia spikes quicker in higher ph levels. Just a footnote, if African Cichlid keepers want to raise there ph, if it has dropped, this should be done with a partial water change. Reason being the free ammonium is then suddenly converted to toxic ammonia..... A discus keeper that visit's Brads shop, uses Beef Heart just once a week, & its the day he does his water changes. He has noted a film on the water after feeding beef heart. Tropheus are probably the worst affected Cichlid for Malawi Bloat. Everythime a shop sells one, what to feed information should go with them. Frenchy ps; Alan, I sent a pm to Bert so hopefully he replies. I don't think he visit's the net as often as some. :oops:

From my years of hanging around shops & working (Brad would say annoy) I have only meet 3 to 4 serious killie keepers. One guy Bert(lovely chap) late 70's I think. He is a killie addict, he visits a site in Singapore(I think) you may know it, the site is very political correct, eg; spelling, language...... The one thing that amazes me with killies, is the way scientific names can't be agreed on in some species. :roll: If you want I will get in contact with Bert and point him in this direction. I wonder why killies don't have more following, beautiful looking fish, easy to care for. I know they have a limited life span. But so do fighters. Frenchy

Now now BK don't be like that. Firstly there enough good books out there to read, without me adding to the collection. :lol: Don't take the discus keepers are their own breed to heart, it's an in house joke with cichlid keepers here, sorry don't know about NZ. There are even sites that won't allow discus conversations, as they are classed as hybrids by many. Once upon a Time, (Good start? ) I had some Red Melons & Turqs. Maybe if you posted, Instead of Then I wouldn't of posted the way I did. As for me being 100% right, I am the first to admit I know nothing & in this hobby especially, noone knows everyting. The fact I posted don't feed beef heart comes from itcholigist's, who am I to argue with them? It was advice, then given with reasons, as people asked why? Take it or leave it, simple as that. Feed your fish what you like. I agree with that, (except Brad "you want" twice, lol) As for the fat free Beef heart, I think we all know what Alan meant. Also Alan what is the interst in killies likein NZ, seem to be a very limited number of people who have them here. Frenchy

I'll drop those beers of to your shop on my way home Brad. :lol: Hope you have fun here Brad, this is a really good site. Maybe you should go to the welcome section & introduce yourself. & for everyone else, he is an Aussie, so play away. :lol: Frenchy

Whatever you like basically. Frenchy

I did post this up back on page 3. Beef heart is worse as its mamallian. Frenchy

Fact; Alot of cichlids especially those in the rift lakes have become specilised eaters, eg; mbunas are a algae graziers, eat all the time, therefore have small stomachs & long intestines, so it makes it hard for them to digest meaty products. Hence a condition known as Malawi Bloat. BK I am sure you can look up that( Malawi Bloat) and read the facts :lol: instead of us listening to your opinions. As stated before the question was what can I feed "Africans", I know it was live food. But I was checking to see what types of Africans were kept, as there are other foods to avoid too. Frenchy

:lol: Kjeli Fohrman As for trimed beef heart being a set % of fat, ask a Meat Worker how true that is. Try reading up on stuff by George W Barlow, George C Willams, both graduates in Itchology amongst other studies, the later also studies Ecology & Evolution. Frenchy

Have about 10 different varients of alto's. White Calvus being my favourite. Yeah mine get the same, mysis shrimp, spirulina flake, live brine, baby convicts, guppie babies... It was a bit of a read eh, sorry about that. All comes from books/ knowledgeable fish keepers & sites from quality persons. The bloat question asked earlier is that mbunas are a graziers, eat all the time, so have small stomachs & long intestines, so it makes it hard for them to digest meaty products, thus they get what is called malawi bloat. Tropheus(tangy's) are probably the worst fish for this. (plenty of books & sites with information) I don't know about meal worms, I know people who use them on there Americans. Frenchy

:lol: Thanks for the entertainment people. :lol: You see discus keepers are a breed to themselves. :roll: The asian breeders for years have pumped their discus full of beef heart & live Tubifex worms. Western society has followed the trend. Why? Well the fish grow alot quicker, adults will then produce a great amount of spawns. Heres the "but" the fish themselves only have a couple of good seasons then the fish are stuffed, out to pasture or culled so to say. Not nice on the fish, but the profit has been made & the best of the off spring are there to take over. So who cares. (For BK benefit)I base this information on 3 discus breeders here in Qld, 2 of which have imported discus direct from asia & all 3 have been through asia & seen what the practises are over there. Between them 40 years plus of discus breeding. Anyone notice that discus are notorious for intestinal parasites, hexamita? Poor diet is one cause.... :-? Anyway..... BK;What I stated in previous post is fact, ever heard of a guy called Ad Konings? Just in case. 30 years experience with cichlids, 20 plus books, more than 30 expeditions to Africa & America. Underwater photo guru, uni graduate in Biology, DNA cloning human genes or something like that. If ever I was going to listen to a "cichlid" keeper it would be him. Read a book called Enjoying Cichlids, Ad Konings is the editor. The section in the book on food & feeding- is written by Kjeli Fohrman, ever heard of him? Just in case More than 25 years experience with cichlids. President of the Scandinavian Cichlid Association, editor of Ciklidbladet magizine, hosts the largest Scandinavian aquarium website- www.zoopet.com. Also publisher of The back To Nature Books. ever read those? good read. ps;Has kept discus too. :roll: Blood worms- Are very bad, why? They are found in the mud of stagnent pools & feed from the mud, including when this contains chenicals which are toxic to some fishes, especially Malawi & Tanganyika cichlids. (This is where the blood worms that you "buy" come from.) Also red mosquito larvae induce allergic reactions in about 30% of persons coming into contact with them(Liebers,1991). Bk cough cough. Quoted from Enjoying Cichlids........... (I have seen rashes on people caused by Blood worms) No quote here sorry, but have seen the rashes. :oops: :lol: Tubifex worms, lives in the muddy substrate of rivers. Chances are very high that these are polluted, as are generally collected from housing/industrial areas. Obviously feeding polluted worms exposes fishies to diseases, bacterial diseases..... as a footnote tublifex worms should be kept in cool, clean water, bit hard to tell if this practice has been maintained by collecter, distrubitor, lfs......some people can't tell between healthy or sick worms. Yes I have friends that feed these above to there fish & have no dramas, side effects.... then again some have had the odd so called unexplained death. I choose not too feed, reasons are stated above & some of my cichlids aren't cheap, or easy to come by. Why take the risk when there are plenty of other products on the market. Frenchy ps: As for white worms it is noted that these shouldn't be a large part of a fishies diet as it may lead to fatty degeneration. pps: Thanks Krib. I am lucky to know a few people who have been in the industry 20 plus years, I know nothing about cichlids compared to them & they are still learning new things.