New Setup

[rustage]

Just wondering how do you get to the bottom to actually plant stuff or do a gravel vac?

Planting is not an issue - I drop them and they live where they land... Removal is done via a long pole with a loop on the end. Not sure how I'll vac the gravel though - I'll get to that as and when it need cleaning. I'm presuming i'll make something to do the job, but having not seen a gravel vac yet, I'm not sure how. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[fatheadminnow]

Glad to see that you are happy that you got fish, however, you are going to be busy for awhile!

Also, what type of Cichlids did you get?

As Cichlids really only occupy the water column from the substrate up to a foot of water, so they are pretty much bottom dwellers for the most part.

Cichlids NEED a lot of surface area of substrate, not water height like in your case.

Also, Cichlids NEED a lot of hiding places!

Also, Cichlids should be in groups of at least 5-6, and that is just not possible in your tank.

They also grow to 6+ inches, so two of them full grown would stretch the entire length of your tank.

It is too late now, since you already got the Cichlids, I just thought I would let you know for next time, that your tank is not suitable for Cichlids. Sorry.

Here is a pic of my 29 gallon tank with Cichlids in, and this tank is too small for Cichlids, fortunately I have a 55 gallon tank that I ma currently setting up.

Once again, I hope you do not take this the wrong way, it is more or less and informative write-up to why Cichlids are not suitable in your tank.

Now that you know for next time, I would focus/discus on this forum suitable fish for your tank in the future.

-FHM

 

[waterdrop]

EDIT EDIT: Thanks waterdrop - 50% water change when ammonia hits .25ppm?

With 2 cichlids in 184L of water perhaps you'll only see trace levels of ammonia/nitrite for a long time and not have to change too much water.

So the reason we cycle of course is because ammonia, in even small amounts, causes permanent gill damage and potential death. Nitrite(NO2), in even small amounts, causes permanent damage to the hemoglobin molecules in fish blood, leading to suffocation, which leads to first to permanent nerve damage and then potentially to death.

When fish get put in a Fish-In cycling situation, for whatever reason, your goal is to try to never let either the ammonia or the nitrite(NO2) level rise above 0.25ppm (basically, you will be doing manually a not-as-good version of what a cycled biofilter does day in and day out) and to accomplish this you have to be a bit of a detective. You have to have a good test kit of course, liquid based. You have to test twice a day usually. Most people need to try and find regular times, about 12 hours apart when they can be home to test and water-change. So if you test and find traces of ammonia or nitrite, you do a water change to get the traces close to zero. Then when you are home again or get up in the morning about 12 hours later you test again and see if either toxin has gone above 0.25ppm. If it has, then you need bigger percentages or more frequent water changes. If it still seems like zero for both then you may be able to get away with less water changing, but don't neglect testing as you never know, especially with a tank like this, when these toxins will creep up on you.

The fish-in cycling article in the forum here may have more details.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[rustage]

Once again, I hope you do not take this the wrong way, it is more or less and informative write-up to why Cichlids are not suitable in your tank.

Now that you know for next time, I would focus/discus on this forum suitable fish for your tank in the future.

I greatly appreciate your comments and hear what your saying. I'm sure the store would accept the fish back - the chap there seemed very helpful. What would you suggest for a tank of this type? The cichlids seem to be using the entire talk at the moment and are swimming from the top of the tank to the bottom on a regular basis.
Thanks again for your input.
Chris.

 

[rustage]

Thanks waterdrop. I guess I was posting at the same time as you and missed what you had to say. I'm grateful for all the advice. I'll start doing 20% water changes on a daily basis regardless of the ammonia reading in an attempt to ensure the levels never creep up.

I know this is a question that should have been asked before I went out shopping, but what fish would most suit this type of tank? I love the Cichlids I have but would change them if I though the environment was not to their liking.

 

[waterdrop]

Would love to know the answer to that question but I don't. Have you ever seen the u-tube video of the guy with clear overhead pipes all over his house that his fish can swim through? don't know the link

 

[meguro]

I have no idea but you could try something like platys, mollies, guppies, tetras. At least they're smaller than cichlids. What's the dimensions of the tank? Mainly interested in the octagon size.

 

[rustage]

I have no idea but you could try something like platys, mollies, guppies, tetras. At least they're smaller than cichlids. What's the dimensions of the tank? Mainly interested in the octagon size.

The tank is 15"x15"x68" but in an octagon...

I've decided that I shall keep the Cichlids in the tank until such time as its cycled. I will then start a new tank and move the cichlids into it when its cycled. This will give me time to think as to what will work best in the tank while still enabling me to keep the Cichlids.

I'm at work at the moment, hence the short replies. Very grateful for all your help and info though. What a great forum!