Filters?

[jonhomemade]

I set up my 38 gal two months ago. I have 2 whisper 5 - 15 gal power filters and 1 Fluval 3 plus 34 gal underwate filter. Is this good? My tank is cycling and i have been doing 25%-50% water changes and added some filter drippings i got from my lfs. But i did not know if and when i should change or clean my fliters. And if this is good enough for my african cichlids(don't know what species cause the lfs sells them as mixed a. cichlids and i am waiting for a digital camera to get help identifying)

[jonah]

I set up my 38 gal two months ago. I have 2 whisper 5 - 15 gal power filters and 1 Fluval 3 plus 34 gal underwate filter. Is this good?
By "underwater filter" do you mean an undergravel? or just an internal(like a box)? I'm not familiar with the Fluval 3, but it sounds like you have enough filtration for now. I wouldn't change any of the media for at least a month and then only one filter at a time. You don't want to mess with your entire bio-filter all at once. If you ever decide to upgrade your filters check out www.bigalsonline.com . They've got some good deals on equipment.

I know you're doing the big water changes because of the fish already being in the tank, but I'd probably cut back to just 25% a week unless the ammonia test says it's an emergency. I'm assuming your fish are somewhat small if this is a new set-up and you do need some of their waste to feed the filter. If you give a discription of your fish we might be able to give you a guess as to what they are, then you could look up pictures on the internet to confirm the ID's. Most of the fish I see in mixed tanks are just 4 or 5 species with an occasional odd ball thrown in.

[jonhomemade]

The fluval 3 is a internal filter (like a box). I have been going to all kinds of websites to try to figure out what the fish are but the pictres r allways close but there are always some diff. I know one is a cyrtocara moorii. I also found a picture that they said it was a melanochromis auratus that matches another one of my fish but when i did more searchs on that species all i could find was a black fish with 2 yelow stripes going all the way down th fish but mine is black and has light baby blue dotted stripes going down and the tips of all the fins are a light baby blue. Then I have one that ithink maybe a electra blue hap but not sure. the fish is te smallest one i have he is dark with a blue tint all over some times i can see darker stripes going down the body the top fin has a white stripe on the tip. it is starting to get yellow dot on his back and lower fins. the head is more pointed and narrow than the others. The two other fish are supposed to be mates they have about 5 -6 stripes going down the fish's body and one is gold or an orange color with brown stripes and the other is like a dirty white color with the brown stripes.

[jonah]

Your Melanochromis auratus might be Mel. johanni. Males will turn black with the blue marks. The females are shaped the same, but the color is different. Sorry I can't remember what the color is on the females. There's also a species called electric blue johanni. There's a seperate species and there's also a type that was developed through selective breeding of the regular johanni. I don't know how to tell the difference between them.

The electric blue hap does sound about right. The proper name is Sciaenochromis fryeri if you'd like to do more research. If it's got color under 2" it might be juiced. The females will stay a sort of dirty silver color.

The last two fish you mention, are the stripes vertical or horizontal? They almost sound like Mel. auratus in your description if the stripes are horizontal. Males will turn black and females will stay yellow, white and brown. The pattern is the same, just the color is different.

Have you tried these sites:
www.africancichlids.net
www.vatoelvis.com
http://malawicichlids.com

[jonhomemade]

te two fish with the stripes are horizontal. Speaking of them fish i just witnesed the female lay her eggs then pick them up. It was kinna cool. So now i know that the whiteish one is the female and the yellow/gold one is th male. does anyone know how long it will be before they hatch and she releases them and when is it safe to remove the fry from the tank. I have a 10 gallon set up that i will use to raise them to about an inch then sell them for 5 dollars a peice.

[jonah]

I would move the female into the holding tank when her eggs are wigglers. When she looks at you, you'll see dark spots in her mouth instead of white eggs. It should take about 15-20 days to get to this point. After a week or so in the holding tank she'll release her fry. Make sure the tank has plenty of cover for the fry because the mama will try to pick them up again. Once she releases, give her a few good feedings over a day or so and then return her to the main tank.

[jonhomemade]

When i seen her lay the eggs they wer brown and i have been looking and i can't really see anything in her mouth but it has not even been an hour yet

[jonah]

Did you see the male fertilize them? If they're auratus they're going to do a little circle dance where she'll lay an egg, he'll shake over it and then she'll pick it up and lay another egg. Sometimes females will lay eggs without them being fertilized. Usually they'll just swallow the eggs in a week or so, that's why I wait until I see wigglers. Believe me, when she has a mouthful of wigglers you'll know, she'll be struggling to keep them in at that point.

Have you decided if they're auratus or not?

[jonhomemade]

i have seen the dad shaking but not in the spot where i seen her lay the eggs. When i walked in the room i noticed she was dropping the eggs (between 6 and 8) then she picked the up right after. then she came back about 15 min later and dropped one more and picked it up real quick. i just posted a topic in "General Forums" breeding questions read that and tell me what u think :)