Purple Cichlids

[AK47]

Hello all I am so glad to have found a forum for fish lovers. I am new to the game and will be getting my first fish tank and fish in a week or so. I am going with 2 female purple cichlids and 1 male cichlid in either a 20g tank or 30g tank. I know these fish are easy to breed and am excited to see them with their babies. I was wondering though in a tank either 20g or 30g what my options are for the babies? How many are usually born and how long does it take for them to be fully grown? What would be my best options for the babies when they start to get older and bigger? I would like to keep them all but don't think I would have space for them. Just looking for some advice from the experts out there.

 

[kribensis12]

First off, WELCOME TO THE FORUM. Second, do you know about cycling? You will need to cycle your tank, before you add fish, or they will die. If you know a freidn who has a tankt aht has been set up for a while, as him for a used filter pad ( as im, just pulled out of the filter used), and sit it in your tank filter of just in the tank. If will cycle your tank in days if not instantley, or were talking up to 6 weeks before adding fish. When you say purple cichlids, are you refering to the " Kribensis Cichlid"? If so, you need 1 male to 1 female, or the other female will be killed. Kribensis lay up to 200 hundred eggs ( sometimes more) in a cave. The mom will fan the eggs with her fins, until they hatch, and the dad will portect the permieter. Then the baby fish will be wrigglers, in the egg sac weighs so much, they cant swim, they just wriggle until there egg sac is used up, THEN you can feed them. I would recommend a 30g tank for the babies, and feeding them BBS ( baby brine shrimp). You can eitehr htach it yourself or buy it frozen. i buy it frozen because its easier and better for the fry. Frequent Water changes and higher temp ( as in 78-82 degrees) means they will grow faster. You need to do weekly water changes for the parents ( by a gravel vac). The fry can take up to 4 months befor ethye reach selling size, up to 8 months to become mature, and up to 2 years to become "fully grown" . If you plan on selling them, locate a home owned pet store and ask if they will buy baby kribs off you, and if they will, you have a place to take them, if they wont, your stuck.

 

[AK47]

Hey thanks for responding! I appreciate it!
Yes I have read a little about cycling but i did not know about the used filter thing. My brother-in-law has a 60 g ciclid tank would the used filter from his tank be good even though it is a much bigger tank than mine? How often does the filter get changed ? Also, when changing water in my 20g or 30g tank how much water do I take out and how often should I do it? I have heard other people say that 2 females and 1 male can survive together, but you're saying that the extra female will be killed? I definately don't want that. There is no way they will get along?

 

[kribensis12]

The one male to 2 females ratio is commonly used for livebearers, not cichlids. Most cichlids except for Mbuna and a few other ones will breed with 1 female, and only 1. Bringing another female into the equation isnt a good thing. Since 2 paired off, and there is a third, she will be seen as a predator, and attacked mercilisly ( sp?). So, unless you are keeping livebearers, or Mbuna, or shell dwellers, i would not recommend whatsoever putting a third female into that tank. The more filter media the better. This is what i would do:
1. Set up your tank, and fill with water, run filter ect.
2. borrow as much filter media as possible ( make sure it stays wet!).
3. just put a normal amount of flake in there for a few days.
4. Go buy a API Liquid Master Test kit ( freshwater). Check your water levels until the ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0, and nitrate is 0-40. Then go purchase your fish.
5. Aclimatize them, and release them
6. Do not feed for the first 2 days, so the filter bacteria can cope with the added ammonia
7. Start feeding them
8. Wait for them to breed.

You dont not change the filter. I would highly recommend not changing the pad ever, unless its falling apart. I would take the pad out once a month, stick it in a bucket of FISH TANK water, and rinse it. I would recommend a AquaClear filter, WAAAYYYYY easier to clean. I would take a gravel vac, and take out atleast 15 percent tank water once a week ( i ususlaly only take out 15 to 20 percent, but thats not enough for some tanks), and add DECHLORINATED water.

Hope this helps =]

 

[AK47]

Once again I want to thank your for taking the time to give me a course in fish tank maintenance!

I decided to go with a 30 gallon tank. This way when I get some babies in there I will have enough room to keep them and hopefully have a little family that I can observe. I was able to pick up some essentials for my tank today. I got some carbon pellets, Cichlid Salt, Amm-Away(ammonia remover), Filter Fiber, Acurell(keeps water nice and clear) and some filter bags. My tank, filter, and heater should be coming soon and then I will get my tank "fish ready". Once it is ready to go, ( i should be getting some rocks that help make the tank "fish ready" very fast) I am gonna take your advice and get 1 male and 1 female and hope they pair off. I am glad you gave me this advice because the last thing I want to do is get my fish killed. I guess if they dont want to pair off I can try and remove the female and get a new one. I am also thinking about whether I should get an algae eater. I really don't want one because personally I think they are ugly. However, I hear they are great for keeping your tank clean(the glass). Is it easy enough to get a brush and scrub the tank because if it is I would rather do that then put an eye sore(algae eater) in the tank. I want my tank to be beautiful and colorful. Hope to hear back from you soon!

 

[kribensis12]

Your welcome =] Just making sure, when you say fish ready, you mean you are cycling it, right? If not you are going to lost money in the long run. I owuld also suggest getting a APIR Liquid Freshwater Master test kit. Carbon can take out medicine, so when treating, take otut he carbon. In my opnnion, the Ammonia Pellets are RIP OFFS. You shouldnt have ammonia, so whats the point in buying them? Acurell isnt needed also. If you keep up regular water changes, your tank should be crystal clear ( also provding you ahve a good filter). I would return the Ammonia Chips, the Acurell, and the Carbon ( i dont use it, too much of a mess). You can use that money otwards a API Liquid Freshwater Master Test Kit ( i dont know how much i can stress this and cycling). Strip Test kits are cheaper, but they are very inacurate, Liquid Test Kits are aobut 5 to 10 dollars more, but are pin point and let you know whats going on. Algae Eaters as in Pleco's? If so, that is a NO GO. They get WAAAYYYYY to big for that tank, over a foot long in most cases! I would just but a algae pad and use that, or buy one of thos emagnetic algae scrapers, you pull the madnet on the outside of the tank, the one on the inside moves around and cleans it.

 

[AK47]

Yes I am definatley gonna cycle the tank and get a tester kit and make sure everything is good with the water before I start adding fish into the tank. As for all the accessories I picked up I got them all for free so even if they aren't necessary I didn't have to pay for them so I might as well try them out; right? I also want to make this a community tank. What do you think would be good to add to my tank? Like I said im starting with a couple of Kribs, i'd be interested in hearing what you think would be good to add to the tank. I want to keep it nice and colorful and pretty peaceful but not boring. Any suggestions?

 

[kribensis12]

Well, if they were free, then i say use them. I would recommend :
2 kribs ( male/females pair)
6-8 Lemon Yellow Tetra's : http/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...lchripinnis.jpg
6-8 Cardinal Tetra's : http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/...es/cardinal.jpg


That seems like a good stocking to me. You might be able to put in a Bristlenose Catfish, which cleans Algea ( they only get like 5 inches), but they have been known to eat eggs.

 

[AK47]

Wow I really like those Cardinal Tetras. They are beautiful!

Is it possible for me to have a rainbow shark in the tank too? I really like the look of them.

Also, what about Swordfish? Can they get along in this type of tank?

.........................................................

Ok its set! The wheels are finally in motion and I could be getting my tank tomorrow. Its going to be a 30g LONG tank and I believe it's Oceanic brand. I also called my lfs and they are going to see about getting me a pair of pelvicachromis pulcher's. I won't know until next wednesday if they can get them in. Once I get it all setup ill get some pics if you're interested in seeing my new tank.

 

[kribensis12]

Rainbow sharks are a NO GO aswell. Them will either be beat up by the kribs, or beat up the kribs. Not a good situation, Swords, meh, its possible, i've done it beforem but not advisable. Remeber, CYCLE it. The cardinals may be eaten, but they can get big enough to avoid it. CANT WAIT FOR PICS!

 

[AK47]

The filter I am getting matches the filter in my brother-in-law's Cichlid tank. My filter is smaller but it takes the same size cartridges. He is going to give me an already used cartridge to put in my tank and this will cycle the tank. I read a lot abot cycling and understand the whole process now. The fish ecrements create ammonia in the tank that will kill the fish. When the ammonia is created then bacteria is created in the filter to break down the ammonia to nitrite(still harmful to the fish) and then into nitrate. The nitrate is not harmful until high quantities 50-300 ppm(which is why you gave me advice to see that its at 40). They say to get a couple of hardy fish to start the cycling and get the ammonia into the tank. However since I am useing a used filter pad the bacteria should already be there. Now i'm thinking I should wait 1 day after putting the already used filter pad before adding any fish?

On a similiar note they say that fry can be affected by nitrate at lower levels than the more adult fish are. have you had any problems with fry being killed by the nitrate levels?

Also, what exactly is changing 20% of the water each week doing? Is that keeping the nitrate levels down or something?

I was just looking at the pleco's and I found two species that I should be able to house in my tank. The Gypsy Tiger Pleco and the Bushy Nose Pleco. They only grow to about 4-1/2 to 5"! They are also pretty nice looking compared to the other pleco's i've seen. What do you think?

 

[AK47]

My tank is up and running for 2 days now! Here is a test picture.

 

[kj23502]

Is that a pic of fish in your tank? It's a nice fish.

 

[kribensis12]

No, i've never had a problem with nitrate killing fry, but i have never had nitrates that high with babies in there. Sorry about being gone so long, been busy. I thought you were getting kribs, not Mbuna? I say go ahead with a pleco if you want, but i dont advise it.

 

[AK47]

Yes that is one of my zerba chilumba's. Thank you very much. I think its a beautiful fish too, its very blue in the face.

I was gonna get kribs but they didn't have them so I saw these guys and decided to start with them. I have 3 yellow labs, 3 zebra chiumbra, and 2 eureka albinos now. Here is my tank as it stands today.