I think I am going to take my water to the LFS tomorrow and see what reading they get for the Nitrites. I do think it is weird that it's doing the teal directly to dark purple, then light, then dark....I use API test kits myself and they seem to do the job but ive heard many people have problems with them and there not accurate enough.. Does sound like its fluctuating a little going from dark to light back to dark purple again which sounds a little odd i think, usually after a couple of minutes it will change to the color and stay that color. Do you have any other test kit's?? The ammonia dropping is a good thing, that means its spiked and sorted its just the nitrites that are the problem.
Either wait it out a little longer or Maybe a small water change??
Starting My New African Cichlid Tank
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Malawi MaD
Fish Herder
Did you go to the lfs??
Headed to the LFS after work and got the same readings that I've been getting, but I don't believe it was done properly as the girl was not following the instructions properly. The results were close to what I was getting though, so I am not sure what to think. I told her I was cycling the tank from the start, and then after she tested she said, "have you had a lot of fish die lately?" I explained to her that I was doing a fishless cycle, and the concept seemed pretty foreign to her.
So, I tested when I got home, and Nitrites are that dark purple color, though they didn't turn the purple from the get-go, and when I first started shaking it looked light blue and then started to get that dark shade of purple. I had my husband look at the test after the 5 minutes, and he said that although it is dark, it is actually purple, rather than the magenta color that indicates it is above 5ppm. I explained to him though, that the color should look almost exact, and it was much to dark to be considered the purple for .50ppm.
I just tested that NitrAte as well, and it is now reading off the charts. Since I did it wrong a couple weeks ago, I decided to test it again to make sure...same reading. Then, I had my husband do the test, same reading...
So, I believe my tests to be: Ammonia-0; Nitrite-Off the charts; Nitrate;Off the charts
I did turn my heater up to 85, as it has only been at 79 throughout the cycle.
So, I tested when I got home, and Nitrites are that dark purple color, though they didn't turn the purple from the get-go, and when I first started shaking it looked light blue and then started to get that dark shade of purple. I had my husband look at the test after the 5 minutes, and he said that although it is dark, it is actually purple, rather than the magenta color that indicates it is above 5ppm. I explained to him though, that the color should look almost exact, and it was much to dark to be considered the purple for .50ppm.
I just tested that NitrAte as well, and it is now reading off the charts. Since I did it wrong a couple weeks ago, I decided to test it again to make sure...same reading. Then, I had my husband do the test, same reading...
So, I believe my tests to be: Ammonia-0; Nitrite-Off the charts; Nitrate;Off the charts
I did turn my heater up to 85, as it has only been at 79 throughout the cycle.
Malawi MaD
Fish Herder
Ok so i would just see how it goes for another week, and the fish in the photo top (orange) looks to be a metriaclima estherae, 2 on the right Yellow lab's, the spotted ones are Nimbochromis venustus (get big and prey on smaller fish in the wild). The 2 albino look like Melanochromis auratus (never seen a albino variant before) The yellow srtiped on the bottom left below the albino is a metriaclima lombardoi male. Got a Aulonocara species at the bottom to, not sure which though. 
Good news, totally cycled!!
I noticed the reading on the nitrite test hadn't been pooling purple in the bottom for the last day and a half. Then, this morning, BAM! cycled.
I was so pumped; I went right to the lfs and got my fish. I was worried to wait due to their stock dwindling from their shipment last week (large volume being sold because of the sale). I took the list you made, MaD, to help with my stocking choices.
I think I made the right choices, though I have two fish in the tank that I didn't pick out that I think ended up in the bag accidently. Both of them were in your category of , "tend to be aggressive, but may be okay". So far, everything is going well. The only little bit of fighting has been between the two orange/black spotted ones.
I also got an awesome Syndonitis Catfish. One slight problem with him though, he was trying to squeeze through holes that were too small for him, and got a scrape on his head. Hopefully, with good water conditions, he will heal quickly. He is really fun to watch.
My favorite one is this orange girl. She has these awesome spots on her fins.
Thanks so much for all your help!
I noticed the reading on the nitrite test hadn't been pooling purple in the bottom for the last day and a half. Then, this morning, BAM! cycled.
I was so pumped; I went right to the lfs and got my fish. I was worried to wait due to their stock dwindling from their shipment last week (large volume being sold because of the sale). I took the list you made, MaD, to help with my stocking choices.
I think I made the right choices, though I have two fish in the tank that I didn't pick out that I think ended up in the bag accidently. Both of them were in your category of , "tend to be aggressive, but may be okay". So far, everything is going well. The only little bit of fighting has been between the two orange/black spotted ones.
I also got an awesome Syndonitis Catfish. One slight problem with him though, he was trying to squeeze through holes that were too small for him, and got a scrape on his head. Hopefully, with good water conditions, he will heal quickly. He is really fun to watch.
My favorite one is this orange girl. She has these awesome spots on her fins.
Thanks so much for all your help!
Malawi MaD
Fish Herder
Congratulations, at least it didn't take all week 
You will have to upload the pics as they settle, you have chosen a very nice female metriaclima estherae there, that is a nice example, good body shape and color. Got some nice eggspots for a female too, there's no wonder she's your favorite. Just keep an eye on her, make sure its not a subdom male.
Yeah the catfish will be ok they do tend to catch themselves on the rocks and it heals and disappears naturally.
Glad its all sorted now, happy for you and any help you need in future don't hesitate to ask
You will have to upload the pics as they settle, you have chosen a very nice female metriaclima estherae there, that is a nice example, good body shape and color. Got some nice eggspots for a female too, there's no wonder she's your favorite. Just keep an eye on her, make sure its not a subdom male.
Yeah the catfish will be ok they do tend to catch themselves on the rocks and it heals and disappears naturally.
Glad its all sorted now, happy for you and any help you need in future don't hesitate to ask
I have several fish with the egg spots. Both of the orange females like that one have it (though this one is the best), but several other fish have it as well. Glad to know I did a good job of picking, as I was really overwhelmed with the options once I got in there.
Everyone seems happy, and they are starting to protect their territories. They are really getting into the sand/spectra stone mixture, and even hit bottom in one spot already. They are grabbing sand abnd dropping it all over the place.
The one fish I am concerned about with aggression is definitely the most dominant one. He has claimed two territories, one on each side of the tank, and he splits his time between each. Both spots are deep pots, and anytime another fish swims near it, he shoots out and scares them off. I believe he is a metriaclima lombardoi. My girls have named him Herman.
(Now that I'm researching, I see that Herman is actually Hermana, lol).
I am really loving this hybrid fish (or whatever it is). He seems to have found his territory, but isn't aggressive at all. He LOVES the camera. I can't hardly get a picture without him in it. Everytime I put it to the glass, he swims in front. It's really funny, I have to move the camera away from him to keep him out of the shot.
One of two medium sized Yellow Labs:
Catfish hanging out upside down on a rock:
She didn't get the memo that this spot is already taken. It can be her territory "half" the time, while Hermana is rockin' it down at the other end of the tank!
Got two of these, though this one has the most markings:
In all, I have 15 cichlids and the catfish. I really only intended to get about 12 total, but numbers got all mixed up in my haste. I will be checking the readings a couple times a day to make sure my filters are handling it.
I got two albino's, but upon closer inspection it appears that only one is a true albino (it has red eyes). The other is bright white as well, but has regular eyes, so I'm not sure exactly what the deal is with it.
Everyone seems happy, and they are starting to protect their territories. They are really getting into the sand/spectra stone mixture, and even hit bottom in one spot already. They are grabbing sand abnd dropping it all over the place.
The one fish I am concerned about with aggression is definitely the most dominant one. He has claimed two territories, one on each side of the tank, and he splits his time between each. Both spots are deep pots, and anytime another fish swims near it, he shoots out and scares them off. I believe he is a metriaclima lombardoi. My girls have named him Herman.
(Now that I'm researching, I see that Herman is actually Hermana, lol).
I am really loving this hybrid fish (or whatever it is). He seems to have found his territory, but isn't aggressive at all. He LOVES the camera. I can't hardly get a picture without him in it. Everytime I put it to the glass, he swims in front. It's really funny, I have to move the camera away from him to keep him out of the shot.
One of two medium sized Yellow Labs:
Catfish hanging out upside down on a rock:
She didn't get the memo that this spot is already taken. It can be her territory "half" the time, while Hermana is rockin' it down at the other end of the tank!
Got two of these, though this one has the most markings:
In all, I have 15 cichlids and the catfish. I really only intended to get about 12 total, but numbers got all mixed up in my haste. I will be checking the readings a couple times a day to make sure my filters are handling it.
I got two albino's, but upon closer inspection it appears that only one is a true albino (it has red eyes). The other is bright white as well, but has regular eyes, so I'm not sure exactly what the deal is with it.
Had my first casualty today. My husband found the albino one behind the rocks dead. Looks like he had nipped fins and was a little beat up, but don't really know if that happened before or after death. He was totally fine last night, and not even 12 hours later he was found dead. No signs of bullying during the day, so it must have happened in the night.
Malawi MaD
Fish Herder
Sorry to hear that that is the disadvantages to malawi's you can sometimes get a few casualties. How is everything going now?
that is the disadvantages to malawi's you can sometimes get a few casualties. How is everything going now? Everything seems to be sorted out fine now. Everyone is getting along well, the occasional nip here and there, but that even happens with mild-tempered community fish. I am quite happy with my selection, and am planning to add maybe 5-6 more this weekend (if the lfs gets new stock in). I'm wondering if it's a coincidence that it was the albino that was killed. From what I'm reading, the albino that I had seems to be the least aggressive of the fish I had in the tank, so no more of them. The white one that is left isn't a true albino, as he doesn't have the red eyes, and he seems to be getting on well with the others. I have gotten a lot of enjoyment already out of cichlids, wow do they have personalities! They follow my finger and rush to the front of the tank when I come near it. My 2 year old runs at the tank and they all shoot back and hide behind the rocks. We call her Darla from Finding Nemo!
Took some video last night, have a look if you'd like: http
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=94mbnVG1f5U&context=C3e840c8ADOEgsToPDskIBHCNK7uOPvyXTg2PxIXui
Took some video last night, have a look if you'd like: http
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=94mbnVG1f5U&context=C3e840c8ADOEgsToPDskIBHCNK7uOPvyXTg2PxIXui
Malawi MaD
Fish Herder
Tank is looking brilliant and you have got some nice species there, the clipping of the hair clip made me laugh when i saw it i thought what the hell is that haha but then i realised .. Glad that everything is settled
when i saw it i thought what the hell is that haha but then i realised .. Glad that everything is settled Most reactions
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