Richard Posted January 6, 2003 Report Share Posted January 6, 2003 I am still learning about them... saw a few today when I took my water to be tested at Organism... they had a few there... one was this black one... with a hump on the head... and another one was really colourful... beautiful fish... maybe i should start getting some one day.... Are African Cichlids a lot different to other Cichlids? I know of South American Cichlids as well...are there any other Cichlids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted January 18, 2003 Report Share Posted January 18, 2003 Hi Richard There are african cichlids from lake malawi, lake tanganjica, lake victoria. The water requirements are totally different. And there are quite a few other cichlids from around the world. Too numerous to mention. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 19, 2003 Report Share Posted January 19, 2003 Organism have some beautiful fish in there and the cleanest tank (and shop) I have ever seen. I bought a carnivorous plant there, a cactus, and some aquatic plants. Couldn't get any fish as my new tank set-up has awfully high ammonia readings at the moment. Stopped at the Ure river on the way home and got some limestone to help the pH in the African tank I am setting up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldie Posted January 19, 2003 Report Share Posted January 19, 2003 Totally agree with all Caryl said re the shop. Also they guy knew what he was talking about and yet did not talk down to me 8) Great shop, Great service, Fish and plants were all healthy, clean and easy to view. :lol: Also dropped in at Animates in Papanui Road, staff were very helpful and I got a couple of plants there. However they are still on learning curve like myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerminalAddict Posted January 19, 2003 Report Share Posted January 19, 2003 got some limestone to help the pH does this increase the pH ???? I have lime in my tap water .... and no matter what I try, I cannot get the pH below 7.4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 19, 2003 Report Share Posted January 19, 2003 Lime will increase your pH. Our council adds it to the water supply as the acid water (was 6.8) was eating away the pipes. The supply at my house is now about 7.0 - just right for most but I want it higher for the Africans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 Caryl said... > I bought a carnivorous plant there Oh yeah? Which one? > ... a cactus... Picked up several cacti and succulents (un-named, although one is some sort of stapeliad - a new interest of mine) over the weekend as we did a tank crawl with the Taranaki club. Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 I don't think my cactus is a cactus as it is not prickly. Must be a succulent. It's sort of shaped like a flower with lots of smaller identical 'flowers' growing all around the edge. The other plant is a Venus Flytrap. It was a hard decision as there were several interesting looking ones to choose from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 Caryl said... > I don't think my cactus is a cactus as it is not prickly. > Must be a succulent. Quite possible. > It's sort of shaped like a flower with lots of smaller identical > 'flowers' growing all around the edge. Like a Sempervivum? http://courses.nres.uiuc.edu/nres243-24 ... rvivum.jpg > The other plant is a Venus Flytrap. They have a really nice big clone available down there. My partner has one and it has huge traps. There are several types from several suppliers available in NZ. One of the biggest (if not *the* biggest) wholesalers of VFTs lives just around the corner from me. He typically has 10s of 1000s of plants at a time... > It was a hard decision as there were several interesting > looking ones to choose from. Let me know if you want to try some other kind of CP and I'll bring some down to conference. If you have any questions about growing VFTs or other CPs feel free to contact me offline. There is a really good FAQ at http://www.sarracenia.com/faq.html The main thing to remember is plenty of sun and leave them sitting in a tray (inch deep) of rainwater. Andrew, off topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 The shape of the plant in the link is correct but mine is the same dark green colour all over so I guess it is a sempervivum. Organism (I keep calling them Orgasm!) gave me an information sheet on how to look after my Venus Fly Trap. I will keep your offer of some later on in mind thanks Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 Without being rude ... could we go back to the question etc about Cichlids etc. I am really interested in getting a 'small' tank going and now know that different types have different requirements. I currently have a few small tangerines and jewels and, in another tank. four firemouths. Nothing too fancy etc just like the look of these ones. Not interested in the 'devils' so to speak. I am looking at getting some, again, small electric yellows, blues and peacocks. I was told what goes with what but didn't take it all in ( :oops: sorry Andrew). Could someone tell me which fish I have or am getting go with each other? If I have to set up other tanks that will be fine (good excuse for more tanks!). I did a test on our tap water and the ph is around 7.6. I was told (and listened bit closer :lol: ) that adding small amounts of baking soda will increase the ph. As these fish all seem to like different conditions which would be ok at 7.6 or thereabouts and which need higher? Thanks to all that take the time to read this and to answer me. I do go on!! Takes awhile to get into the old grey matter but once in there it usually stays. I am also going for a look at the cichlid websites but there are so many and am hoping I can get an easier answer here rather than spending hours searching for it :oops: :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 Sorry we got off-topic cat. I found I got too confused searching the net about cichlids as there was so much information, some of it contradictory, and too many cichlids. Find someone who breeds them and ask them to take you through step by step. I hope to have electric yellows, blues and peacocks too My tank is now sitting at 7.4. The breeder I spoke to said all his fish were second generation and were only in 7.4 too so I won't have to muck about with the pH when I do water changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 I intend to 'pick' as many peoples brains as possible or that will allow me! :lol: I have a few questions already but so many different answers to so few questions! I seem to get confused so easily. :lol: I talked to various club members on the weekend and got quite a bit of info but each person seems to have different ways of doing things and all their tanks are so beautiful. Andrew did tell me which fishes live together but I was busy doing other things that I clean forgot which was which. Perhaps he will be good enough and kind enough to tell me again. Or I can ask the guy when I collect the babies. Thanks anyway Caryl. I hope you get yours soon. They are just so pretty and I am looking forward to having some colour as most of my fish are quite plain (but still beautiful to me ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 Cat said... > I intend to 'pick' as many peoples brains as possible or > that will allow me! Always a good plan. > I talked to various club members on the weekend and got > quite a bit of info but each person seems to have different > ways of doing things and all their tanks are so beautiful. That's because everybody has a different set-up, and requirement from their tank. The trick is to find some baseline that works for you and then tweak it to optimise things under your conditions. > Andrew did tell me which fishes live together but I was busy > doing other things that I clean forgot which was which. Perhaps > he will be good enough and kind enough to tell me again. From your other message... > I currently have a few small tangerines and jewels > and, in another tank. four firemouths. You could have a non-rift (I've decided to go back to the old way of describing 'African Cichlids' as either 'Rift' ie from the Rift Valley in East Africa - in practice this means fish from Lakes Malawi and/or Tanganyika - or 'non-Rift' which are fish from everywhere else, including some from other parts of Africa such as the jewels or kribs) tank containing the Fire Mouths, the Jewels and maybe some other cichlid of a similar temperament. You could put your Hoplos in with them, a pleco and maybe some sort of larger non-cichlid like some rainbows. I'd use another tank for the tangerines since they're classic 'rift' fish (in this case from Lake Malawi). They can be mixed with 'Electric Yellows', Melanochromis auratus and so forth - which various people in PN and elsewhere breed. Personally, I wouldn't mix fish from Lake Malawi with those from Lake Tanganyika and I wouldn't mix either with what I'm calling 'non-rift' fish. I wouldn't use anything smaller than a 4ft tank for either of the above. I have several books you could borrow, Cat. > As these fish all seem to like different conditions which would > be ok at 7.6 or thereabouts and which need higher? All the fish above should do fine at around pH 7.6. You can add some limestone rocks to the 'rift' tank to keep the pH higher as well as increase the hardness but it's probably not necessary with fish that have been tankbred for so many generations. > Or I can ask the guy when I collect the babies. Which guy? Which babies? > ... most of my fish are quite plain... You've got some nice fish there, Cat. Did that new spawning of angels survive? Bred those Hoplos yet? > ... but still beautiful to me... That's the main thing. Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 I can tell you about my limited experience of African Cichlids - I have a pair of electric yellows (the female is currently swimming around with a mouthful of eggs/fry), a pair of blue lump heads (also called blue dolphins) and a pair of blue orchid peacocks. They are all pretty placid, with the lump heads being one of the most peaceful cichlids I've come across - there is a small amount of chasing, but no damage done (not even ragid fins). All three types have been very tolerant of pH fluctuations, they're not in a dedicated african tank - if only I had the room and $$ - this means I try to have the pH about 7.3 - 7.5 to keep everything happy. However on occasion it has dropped below neutral with no obvious signs of stress amoung the africans (I guess because it has been a gradual change). One local couple who have bred a number of african cichlids did so under acidic conditions. A note on peacocks - females of many species are all very similar, it is also likely that the different peacock species could cross-breed. So either get only one type of peacock (hopefully the shop hasn't got more than one type of peacock in the same tank, so you can be sure you're getting the right female) or if you get more than one type of peacock (assuming you're getting males and females) segregate the females from the males and also each other - does mean that you've got to make a conscious effort to bred them rather than "hey my peacocks have bred". Why all this effort? Just because I think allowing fish to mongrelize is not a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 Rob said... > I think allowing fish to mongrelize is not a good idea I'm *definitely* with Rob on that one. Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat Posted January 23, 2003 Report Share Posted January 23, 2003 I agree too. I dont want anything that is not 'correct to type'. I dont even own mongrel dogs!! Though some people have been known to call them that. :lol: The 'guy' I am referring to Andrew is the guy (cant remember his name :oops: ) that was selling his large blues and yellows. He had a tank (or two) in the wash house with fry in and said he would sell us some of the young ones to start off with. They are getting rid of quite a few as they are buying a house soon and want less to move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted January 23, 2003 Report Share Posted January 23, 2003 Cat said... > The 'guy' I am referring to Andrew is the guy (cant > remember his name ) that was selling his large blues > and yellows. Ah, that'd be Rhys and Gidgett. The people with the big Malamute? They have some nice fish. > .... selling his large blues and yellows. They'd (IMHO) go well with your tangerine Ps. zebras Bear in mind they'll need a decent sized tank when they mature. Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat Posted January 24, 2003 Report Share Posted January 24, 2003 Bear in mind they'll need a decent sized tank when they mature. I have found some relatives I havent seen for about 20 years and wadda ya know ... their son has a five foot tank, stand, filter etc that he hasnt used for about 5 years!!! Says I can have it if I pick it up and they are only 15 minutes away. Woohooo!!!! Guess I have another tank arriving soon :lol: :lol: This is where the cichlids will call home. Think a five footer will be big enough for anything I will get. Just going to go hunting for rocks etc to decorate it. Thankyou for your advice as always Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 24, 2003 Report Share Posted January 24, 2003 Gee some people's relatives are more useful than others! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat Posted January 24, 2003 Report Share Posted January 24, 2003 I reckon Caryl! My mum found out where they were and called in and noticed the tank in the shed. As every good mum should do she asked about it. All I had to do was ring and say who I was. Really neat that people you havent seen for decades can still be pleasant. Pity they are moving down south soon as I would like to show them what it will look like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldie Posted January 24, 2003 Report Share Posted January 24, 2003 How far south cat?? Are they coming to the mainland . Maybe they will set up again - inspired by what you do with their old tank. Great find :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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