Lets Talk Cichlids.... Many Cichlid Questions!

[Kasiopea]

Hi,
I just recently bought a couple of new cichlids for my 75gal tank. I had a blue Jack Dempsey, 3 yellow zebras and 3 plecos there prior. All seemed happy and very colorful. Couple days ago I went to the store and purchased 3 more cichlids, a blue dolphin, sunshine cichlid and another larger cichlid which i think is a buccochromis rhoadesii. Well, while in the store the fish was so colorful and to die for, at home they look nothing like it. The stress of moving out of the store, the change in water i understand does that to the fish, but how long till they will restore their colors?
I had them over a week now and they still are very shy (except the Dempsey). They hide most of the time especially the sunshine cichlid, which is kind of hard while feeding. When i come up to the glass they all hide into their caves, behind rocks and the food just sinks down and nobody eats it. Are all cichlids shy like that?
The large cichlid has just completely been ignoring food lately... which makes me worried. I also saw him scratch over the gravel twice, which really made me worried but i just keep monitoring him as, so far there are no signs of ich or parasites and in a week period ive seen him do it only twice.
Jack Dempsey is a spoiled brat that will only eat blood worms, he WILL put ALL the other food in his mouth but then spits it out. Has any one had something like this?
Also, a pH question. I know that African Cichlids are best at pH of 8.2 and need it to be colorful, but what about my Jack Dempsey? Would that high of a pH harm him? and what about plecos (bushy nose pleco, rhino pleco)? Im at pH 7.8 right now. Should i raise to 8.0?

What else can i do to reduce stress, enhance the color of my cichlids?

Thank you for your help

Sorry forgot to mention, the water stats are all good. Just had it tested Ammonia and Nitrite are 0. Nitrates are good too. Temperature at 82F.

Thanks

 

[snowflake311]

You should have posted this in the cichlid section.


They are still adjusting to the new home. watch for any bullying because that will lead to stress then death.

New world cichlids like soft water. Africans like it hard. This is the main reason we don't mix them.

Some times fish have an itch. If it is constant you might have a problem could be as simple as you need to use more de- chlorinator when doing a water change.

 

[Kasiopea]

They are still adjusting to the new home. watch for any bullying because that will lead to stress then death.

In the lfs they told me to remember that the Dempseys of the local breeders are grown in the Florida waters. Which is quite hard, so they told me not to worry. Which does not mean that they don't soften the water, but on the other hand i guess the lfs knows its fish sources better.
I haven't seen any hardcore bullying, they startle one another ones in a while, thats about it.

The big cichlid swallows air bubbles and spits them out now... does that mean anything?

 

[cheesy feet]

Hi,
I just recently bought a couple of new cichlids for my 75gal tank. I had a blue Jack Dempsey, 3 yellow zebras and 3 plecos there prior. All seemed happy and very colorful. Couple days ago I went to the store and purchased 3 more cichlids, a blue dolphin, sunshine cichlid and another larger cichlid which i think is a buccochromis rhoadesii. Well, while in the store the fish was so colorful and to die for, at home they look nothing like it. The stress of moving out of the store, the change in water i understand does that to the fish, but how long till they will restore their colors?
I had them over a week now and they still are very shy (except the Dempsey). They hide most of the time especially the sunshine cichlid, which is kind of hard while feeding. When i come up to the glass they all hide into their caves, behind rocks and the food just sinks down and nobody eats it. Are all cichlids shy like that?
The large cichlid has just completely been ignoring food lately... which makes me worried. I also saw him scratch over the gravel twice, which really made me worried but i just keep monitoring him as, so far there are no signs of ich or parasites and in a week period ive seen him do it only twice.
Jack Dempsey is a spoiled brat that will only eat blood worms, he WILL put ALL the other food in his mouth but then spits it out. Has any one had something like this?
Also, a pH question. I know that African Cichlids are best at pH of 8.2 and need it to be colorful, but what about my Jack Dempsey? Would that high of a pH harm him? and what about plecos (bushy nose pleco, rhino pleco)? Im at pH 7.8 right now. Should i raise to 8.0?

What else can i do to reduce stress, enhance the color of my cichlids?

Thank you for your help

Sorry forgot to mention, the water stats are all good. Just had it tested Ammonia and Nitrite are 0. Nitrates are good too. Temperature at 82F.

Thanks

Having no experience with Africans, I cannot comment on how they will mix.I would assume that as they grow however, they will begin to fight..And you will probably have some casualties..I'm pretty sure the blue dolphin cichlid is peaceful, so will probably be dominated by the Dempsey, and I don't have a clue what a sunshine cichlid is lol

You should have posted this in the cichlid section.


They are still adjusting to the new home. watch for any bullying because that will lead to stress then death.

New world cichlids like soft water. Africans like it hard. This is the main reason we don't mix them.

Some times fish have an itch. If it is constant you might have a problem could be as simple as you need to use more de- chlorinator when doing a water change.

That is true, try some dechlor out. They are probably shy because the dempsey is keeping them in order.
Most new worlds are hardy fish, and can acclimatise fine to a higher pH. Tap water where I am is 8-8.4 pH and I have kept many different new worlds in it.7.8 is fine, don't fiddle with pH buffers.

They are still adjusting to the new home. watch for any bullying because that will lead to stress then death.

In the lfs they told me to remember that the Dempseys of the local breeders are grown in the Florida waters. Which is quite hard, so they told me not to worry. Which does not mean that they don't soften the water, but on the other hand i guess the lfs knows its fish sources better.
I haven't seen any hardcore bullying, they startle one another ones in a while, thats about it.

The big cichlid swallows air bubbles and spits them out now... does that mean anything?

LFS may also sell you anything A lot of bullying would go on when you're not watching or aren't there.That's a cichlid for you, they do unique things.
I had a texas cichlid which only ate bloodworm, which ultimately killed him when a disease carried with it.I even starved it for 2 weeks yet it still wouldn't touch anything.Try different things like muscles and prawns to wean him off maybe.

 

[Kasiopea]

Try different things like muscles and prawns to wean him off maybe.

I tried prawns, he takes them and spits them out. Just as anything else. Ill try muscles thanks for advice Maybe i should starve em for a lil, only granulated and flake food for a week!! Lol, i cant be mean to them like that though... ufh

Thanks,

 

[cheesy feet]

Try different things like muscles and prawns to wean him off maybe.

I tried prawns, he takes them and spits them out. Just as anything else. Ill try muscles thanks for advice Maybe i should starve em for a lil, only granulated and flake food for a week!! Lol, i cant be mean to them like that though... ufh

Thanks,

Nawr I think all those fish are too big for granules and flakes, best to try and get them onto a small cichlid pellets.


Also beef heart may encourage him to eat something different.

 

[Kasiopea]

Nawr I think all those fish are too big for granules and flakes, best to try and get them onto a small cichlid pellets.


Also beef heart may encourage him to eat something different.

Oh sorry, by granules i meant pellets. I tried like 7 different brands. Dempsey spits them all out. I saw the big cichlid eat the Hikari Cichlid Bio Gold+ they are medium sized floating pellets. Beef heart doesn't work. Dempsey spits, The other one does not even notice it. Im afraid that if i give the large cichlid feeder guppys, the chance of him eating pellets will be drawn to none. Another thing is, (im sorry for the details ) but the large cichlid poops clear, empty looking poops. They are very thin for his size and white, almost clear. Does that mean that he eats something at least? Is that a good or a bad thing? Also i know that he chases the ghost shrimp, i put about 10 in the tank yesterday and today don't see any; he is the only fish big enough to eat them. Could that be the result of "ghost" poops?

Thanks,

 

[cheesy feet]

Not sure lol...All my cichlids do big brown ones.

 

[Tolak]

Don't feed them for 3-4 days, they'll eat what you give them.

 

[Kasiopea]

Don't feed them for 3-4 days, they'll eat what you give them.

i guess ill have to. I guess ill start today, and maybe in a day or so see if they eat pellets. If not ill continue.

 

[lalo99]

When you add new cichlids to a tank, you should always rearrange the setup. This breaks up any established territories. The new fish then have a chance to make their own territories. A fish may claim the entire tank. Once this happens its not easy to stop. Usually you either get rid of the aggresive fish, move it to another tank or that fish kills off any othersin the tank. If the JDis bullying the other fish, they may never show proper colors.

That said, you dont have the best mix of fish. The zebras are herbivores and require their diet to be mostly vegitarian. Feeding them too much (animal) proteins will cause them to get sick. Their digestive tract cant process animal protiens properly. Blood worms are not the best for herbivorious fish. The rest are ok on a balanced diet.

The dempsey is going to be a problem as it grows. They require a good amount of space for themselves. An adult amale dempsey can reach 10 inches. The buccochromis will out grow your tank I would return it. The bucco is a fish eater. It will eat fish smaller than it. Males will reach 14 inches plus.

Dont worry about the ph, its just fine for all of your fish. Central America and South america have very different water paramters . SA has soft acidic water( most of the time, ther are exceptions to this), where as CA may have both soft water and hard water. Jack dempsey come from areas where the water can easily be just as hard and alkline as the rift lakes in Africa. The phs of the african rift lakes can vary from 7.4 to as high as 9.2. Anywhere between those numbers is fine.


The fish have to get used to their new surroundings and yopu. Give them time to get used to you.

 

[Gilli]

They are probably just used to the flake the fish shop have been feeding and will take a while to settle in. Cichlids can be fussy eaters - mine wouldnt touch the cichlid pellets with a bargepole! .

I feed mine the following frozen cubes bloodworm, glassworm, mosqitto lavae, shrimp brine, tubifix, chopped muscles, beef heart,

I also feed a good quality flake, sometimes a little tinned tuna flakes if im having a sandwich, tiny shredded peices of minced beef if im going to cook it for tea, algae wafers, earthworm pellets and the occasional blanched pea!!

Blimey - they are better fed than I am!!!

 

[Kasiopea]

That said, you dont have the best mix of fish. The zebras are herbivores and require their diet to be mostly vegitarian. Feeding them too much (animal) proteins will cause them to get sick. Their digestive tract cant process animal protiens properly. Blood worms are not the best for herbivorious fish. The rest are ok on a balanced diet.

Um, i try to feed them both or alternate the days to which kind of food im feeding them. They all get both types of food, and the zebras seem fine. I dont feed them bloodworms as much anymore, i want the Dempsey to snap out of it.

Um, also about the buccochromis, he is not to big for now, by the time he reaches that size i might just get a larger tank, move him in with my moorii. He ended up having parasites, treating with general cure, in a Q-tank.

Thanks,

 

[Kasiopea]

Blimey - they are better fed than I am!!!

Wow, youve got quite a menu there
I tried giving them veggies, but they dont pay any interest in them at all. drive me crazy I finally found 2 pallet brands that all except Dempsey eat... so i guess thats a progress.