Am new & am interested in setting up at “Multifasciatus” or "Ocellatus gold" specific tank.

[Krishna Kumar]

Hello all, here is a small update on my Multi's tank. I used the media of the tank there were quarantined, & the media of one my oldest matured tank to cycle. I released a fish y'day afternoon along with 4 liters of the water from their quarantined tank & by the look of it they are doing fine.

I have few question, they are still very skittish & when I try to drop their food they just get into their shells, dropped a couple of pellets but they never seems to eat which is on the bottom & I had to remove the uneaten food. However today morning I tried feeding them and they do feed on the pellets but not completely. Any solutions ??

Secondly kindly see the pic attached I see in the same these green/black patches, I presume this algae formed in the air pockets of the sand or am I wrong ??

Any suggestion/solutions.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oR_lLOe5DrRqmTIDMjQGRB-680Kjofrl

 

[Krishna Kumar]

Folks,
I've one more question, in order to ensure hardness & maintain pH I am supposed to use Cichlid Lake salt & Lake Tanganyika buffer. I have Seachem Tanganyika buffer with me but I don't have Seachem Cichlid Lake salt. They usually suggest that I have to use buffer after preferable after the addition of Seachem Cichlid Lake salt. My question is ...

Is it a "must & should" that we need to use Seachem Cichlid Lake salt only if I've to use Lake Tanganyika buffer or can I use API Epsom salt (which I have) before & use Lake Tanganyika buffer ??

 

[Colin_T]

The black patches in the pictures look like anaerobic pockets under the sand. These are caused by organic matter (usually food) rotting in areas where there is no oxygen. If you gravel clean the sand it will remove the organic matter and aerate the sand so it doesn't continue turning black.

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Most shell dweller cichlids are nervous to begin with but usually settle down within a week or two. Make sure the water is good and there is no ammonia or nitrite and the nitrate is below 20ppm.

Try feeding them on frozen or live food in addition to dry food. When they are eating regularly they are usually more willing to try different foods including dry.

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What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply. This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

I'm not sure what is in the cichlid lake salt or buffer, but the buffers usually have carbonates and bicarbonates to raise the pH, and the lake salts are usually calcium and magnesium chlorides, which raise the general hardness.

Depending on what the GH and KH of your tap water are, will determine what you need to add.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Be sure to stir your sand weekly.

 

[Krishna Kumar]

Be sure to stir your sand weekly.

As the multi's have rearrange all the shells according to need, I presume they would have drawn boundaries.

a) If I stir the entire sand in the tank will it not cause a conflict ??
b) The Multie's have buried many shells except for a small opening at the entrance of the shells, my fear is that my stirring I might push more sand into the shell/s. Is there a way to clean the sand in any other way ??

 

[FishGuest5123]

You can run a knife through the sand in a line. That shouldn’t disturb things much. If they are done going a lot, you may not need to do it though.