Got My New Cichlids

[TheeMon]

i got 8 demasoni and 6 yellow labs, and 1 red front (maybey)-- i got him at the lfs and hes damn cute, it looks like a red front (then another name) blue body with red fin... anyways id like some pics of vish like that so i can identify him...

sorry guys NO pics.... my computers harddrive is uhh dead... im at my colleges library...

anyways i got questions... one the bacteria living the the filter is the bacteria yall always talk about right? well i need to know what it is(educate me on it) my tank has been cycled for like 2 years so i got no worries but i want to know what this unkown bacteria is and whats so good about it... + isnt there bacteria in the gravel too? yes/no?

if i wanted to switch filters on my overflow what would i do about the bacteria i need?

im interested, very interested in this electric blue lobster(even though its a crab) my lfs got a few for 30$usd and ive seen a thread on here about them... im very interested in one BUT i need to know info about them... whats the chances of them catching a fish stuff like that- not to mention diet and requirements n stuff... see the guy at alloddballaquatics said it was a bad idea kuz they will catch the fish when they sleep and kill them... 2 different lfs said that they wouldnt catch a fish unless the fish was ill and slow and wandered too close... they actually said id have to worry about the fish eating the crab-when he molts n all... info is requested...

i think thats it

 

[kribensis12]

I am not sure about the bacteria but It is good for the fish and it is in the gravel also. To get the good bacteria get a Penguin Bio-Wheel, It creates a home for the bacteria and It filtrates the water( A 2 for one) and then you can throw your other filters away. Now for the crawdad( crab, lobster, etc.) First of all fish dont sleep, they rest. The crab will eat the other fish when they rest, are sick, or are lazy if it is big enough( unless the other fish are bigger than the crab) to eat them. I would say no to the crab unless the tank is big enough. What size is your tank?

 

[adambrum]

The bacteria is a big subject i would suggest googleing it for a comprehensive details but briefly the bacteria lives in your filter and lives on the fish poo in this process it turns it from toxic fish poo to harmless fish poo and yes it does live in the gravel. If you swap filters then keep some of the filter material in the new filter to seed the new filter otherwise you would have to recycle the tank.

Now the crab, There are different opinions on this but the way i see it the crab has claws and can kill fish were as the cichlids have teeth which are not normally a problem for the crab until it malts then it can become a big snack so its a no from me.

 

[nynex]

SeaChem make a product called Stability. This stuff is amazing. It will cycle
your tank in 7 to 10 days. Once you have switched filters I would add Stability
for 7 days. You should be fine. Stability adds needed bacteria to the tank, you
should also try to use Bio Media or Bio Stars in your Filter for the bacteria to
grow on. Stability is much much better then Cycle. Cycle is more like a primer.

When I cycled my 75 gallon African Cichlid tank. I used a half a bottle of cycle
on the first day and then Stability for 10 days. My tank cycled perfect.

 

[adambrum]

What sort of bio load can stability take, I know its bacteria in a bottle but just cant see it cycling a tank in 10 days ?

 

[nynex]

I didnt believe it either untill my 75 gallon African Cichlid tank cycled in
10 days. Actually it was ready in 7 days. But I still added the Stability
for a few extra days to be safe. But on the 10th day. I did all the water
test's and it was ready. PH was at 7.5, Nitrates 0, Nitrites 0, Phospahtes 0.2.
I thought my PH was slightly low for African Cichlids, but I added a bunch
of western and eastern Tufa rock, which jumped the PH up a little. They
adapted just fine.

It is also good too use after every water change or when adding new fish.

 

[nynex]

By the way back to the original topic of this post. What you Probably seen
was a Blue Crayfish. Which basicly looks like a lobster. When the crayfish
is small, they put them in a tank in complete darkness for 3 months. For
some odd reason they turn electric blue. Then the LFS sell them for a big
price. I have one in my african cichlid tank. The only reason I got him was
the manager gave me $13. Normally they are $24.99.

He does come out at night, but the fish are too fast for him. I think he might
of killed one of my jurupari's (geo) ...But im still not sure who the guilty one
is. Could have been one of the africans. Geos are south american, but odd
thing is, the other Geo gets along with the africans just fine.

 

[Irf]

To answer the OP's filter question....

I'd recommend installing the new filter immediately and running it in parallel with the old one for a few weeks. This is the best way to minimise risk to the fish. If this is not possible for whatever reason, then transfer your filter media across from the old filter to the new one.

Irf.

 

[Ginge]

I didnt believe it either untill my 75 gallon African Cichlid tank cycled in
10 days. Actually it was ready in 7 days. But I still added the Stability
for a few extra days to be safe. But on the 10th day. I did all the water
test's and it was ready. PH was at 7.5, Nitrates 0, Nitrites 0, Phospahtes 0.2.
I thought my PH was slightly low for African Cichlids, but I added a bunch
of western and eastern Tufa rock, which jumped the PH up a little. They
adapted just fine.

It is also good too use after every water change or when adding new fish.

So you had 0 Nitrates and you didn't bother to test for Ammonia? Intresting.

 

[Irf]

So you had 0 Nitrates and you didn't bother to test for Ammonia? Intresting.

Does that mean you suggest he does test for ammonia, or what? Might not be clear to some....

Irf.

 

[adambrum]

its part of the cycling process the stats that were mentioned are the same as my tap water so i does not say its cycled but if he had a ammonia spike and it then dropped it would suggest it had cycled.

 

[nynex]

Yes of course there was an ammonia spike, then a nitrite spike and after 10 days
the PH 7.5 , ammonia 0 , Nitrites 0 , Nitrates 0, Phosphates 0.2.

sorry my last post was unclear....