Black Jack Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Sorry to disagree, keeping cichlids is not that easy to keep or breed I've been keeping fish for the last 30 years on and off I have even bred Discus but Cichlids is a deferent story all together They have weird Latin names in use They fight all the time Don't know if you buy Hybrids or not I bought three fish over the weekend from a petshop in Henderson On the time i did not realized that their was something wrong with the fish. Got home ..... and add them into my show tank. Sunday morning one dead and a couple sick. That was my own fish. I knew my fish were in tip top condition and I could not have being my fish. I then had a look at the new fish I bought and all three was "Bloated" as. I then caught them again - Into a separate tank, cleaned out my show tank and hope for the best. I read on the net that "Bloated" sickness is severe and you will lose all your fish if not treated. I do not have anything to treat them with and I can only get medication over the weekend. I have decided only to buy from breeder from now on. So I will need to find some guys in AKL that sell/Breed cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 From your other thread I am assuming you are talking about african cichlids.. Discus are cichlids too so it can be confusing when you talk about cichlids being hard to keep them saying you have bred discus etc. African cichlids are the easiest cichlids to keep and breed they are the only fish I have had that will go from 15 to 35C in heater failures with no losses, you can move the fry from the day they are stripped do weekly water changes and not much else is needed.. The major problems are.. You need to start off with healthy fish. If you want to breed you need to start off with descent pure fish (easier said than done in NZ) You need to be aware of what their diet should be for the various species (probably the issue with your bloat). You need to be aware of their aggression levels/size and stock accordingly. You need a reasonably big sized tank. End of the day goto a good breeder or a good shop and you will get some good fish and advice and you should be set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Jack Posted February 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Yip I was talking About African cichlids, My mission is to keep pure bred cichlids. Like you said hard to find in NZ. My problem is when you buy fish on TradeMe and Pet Shops you don't know if you buy pure bred or not if you are a novice like me with African cichlids. I learn as I go ........... I have fish that looks the same but some times there is a deference in the coulor underneath the lights Marius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaLife Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 I would say, they are the easiest fish to keep, super hardy. Just get more of them(10's) in a quarantine tank(decent size with hiding place, rocks and plastic plants)) and you'll see how easy it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 30years and you dont know the basic's to looking at a fish's health and havent learnt the simplistic rule of quarantine? Sorry to seem so confrontational but to say what you have so far seem's preety short of 30years experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Yip I was talking About African cichlids, My mission is to keep pure bred cichlids. Like you said hard to find in NZ. My problem is when you buy fish on TradeMe and Pet Shops you don't know if you buy pure bred or not if you are a novice like me with African cichlids. I learn as I go ........... I have fish that looks the same but some times there is a deference in the coulor underneath the lights Marius That is why there are a few of us that trawl NZ looking for the descent strains and maintain lots of tanks to breed descent fish and spread them and give out descent advice.. It is not hard to pick out the people on trademe who have no idea what they are doing and a few questions in the Q and A will quickly narrow it down. As blunt as Rabbit was I would have to agree it is pretty easy to spot fish with bloat they would be looking pretty sick and bloated and sad if they died within a few days.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Jack Posted February 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 30years and you dont know the basic's to looking at a fish's health and havent learnt the simplistic rule of quarantine? Sorry to seem so confrontational but to say what you have so far seem's preety short of 30years experience. Rabbit, I know/kept most fish and have seen/experience most illnesses. Bloated is only found in Cichlids as far as I know. Never seen it before. At this stage I have not enough tanks at my disposal for a Quarantine tank, But i'm working on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver21 Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 bloat can happen to other species. fighters are a prime example Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Yeah bloat is fairly universal and affected fish are very obvious sick, will be off their food, quite fat, breath heavily and lethargic especially in their last few days.. Anyway if you want some fish let me know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Bloated is only found in Cichlids as far as I know. You know Cichlidae covers over 1300 described species and at least as many undescribed species distributed throughout central and south america, asia, africa, madagascar and even as far as the middle east, ranging from tiny 1" dwarfs to 3' alpha predators, living in almost every possible biotope from soft acid pools to lush vegetated zones to hard rocky lakes to brackish and even salt water, and eating all manner of diets from highly specialised feeders to complete omnivores, eh? Might as well just say "bloated [sic] is only found in fish", although its often found in cattle too I think.... Maybe in stead of "learn as you go" doing research before investing in fish would be a good idea before taking on unknown species? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Might as well just say "bloated [sic] is only found in fish", although its often found in cattle too I think.... what sort of cattle or does that include all bovine breeds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshlikesfish Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 bloat can happen to other species. fighters are a prime example I get bloat if I eat too much :oops: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 you is a cattle too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firenzenz Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Hi blackjack. Sorry to hear of your losses. with all the experience available no-one seems to have asked some obvious questions like- Do you know the names/species of the fish you or do you have photo's? Do you still have them -can you post pics? Seems the diagnosis has -ironically enough- been reached with very little information. 24hrs from healthy fish to dead and dying suggests that there could well be other reasons. Do you know the types of fish you already had? How compatible are those species with the new ones? As David has noted in a very 'wikipedia way' the diverse range of cichlids means they have a diverse range compatibility. We often think of African cichlids from the 'Rift Valley lakes' and many of these are not compatible with each other even if they come from the same lake- and even less so if they are from other parts of Africa. I think we fellow forumers can be more helpful to you if you let us know what sort of fish you have, what fish you got and what sort of fish you would like to get, as well as things like tank size etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tropheus Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Sorry about your fish. Your first mistake was to purchase cichlids from a pet shop in Henderson. They know nothing about cichlids only about selling crap and making money from them. If you wanting pure breed fish try asking Hollywood Fish Farm or members on the forum. As Andrew said (firenz) need to know what you purchased? And what you had? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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