I recently set up my new 55 gallon and decided to go with sand. It looks a lot better than it did 24 hours ago. And how long does it usually take for everything to settle, I've been hearing 3 to 5 days. Should or can I run the filter now?


Live stock going in from 40 gallon 1 year old tank
1. 2 red zebra
2. 2 yellow lab
3. 1 bumblebee
4. 1 electric blue johannii
5. 1 auratus
6. 1 albino red top zebra
7. 1 Upside down catfish
8. 1 rainbow shark

Ok so Ive been going over and over the internet gathering info and slowly getting my tank ready. Its not the ideal tankfor later on but the LFS has cichlids that are about an inch long. Its a 20gal tall African cichlid sand lots of rock work no heater as of yet (still need to go get it) for a filter I went probably a little over board and got the marineland emperor 400 as I heard you can over stock africans if the filtration is adequate. So what I've been trying to do is come up with a list or a few lists of possibilities of what might work together..I just got a 40gallon long tank for them when they grow up a bit. Any ideas looking for a variety of color.

Does anyone know a website to buy kuhli loaches? I live in Southeast Missouri and have been unable to find any locally.

its been about 2 days since i noticed little wiggling eggs what should i do or dont do , the both of them keep tight watch on the cave , and when a little one some how gets out they quickly put them back, very interesting and fun to watch ...........this is my first time

I just got this male cichlid from this guy and he says its a ruby green , but I haven't seen any green on it.



Is this the female version of this fish ? It has a very similar body shape, but unfortunately this cichlid didn't make it =/

Good news! The tanks ammonia levels have been consistent all week :) i think the filter from my friend really helped pull it along and i did a water change today and all is well.

But i do have a question. I just bought 2 more Cichlids today in addition to my original two. So now i have 1 Blue acei, 1 ice blue zebra, 1 jewel cichlid, and 1 bumblebee. Surprisingly they are getting along very well. In face they all seem to be schooling! is this a good sign or normal? All four swim together almost all the time. And i don't believe it is in an aggressive way, they aren't nipping at each other. I'm just curious to see if anyone else has noticed this in their tanks?! :)

Hi i have a group of convicts each about 4 inches. Two of them have paired off and now have free-swimming fry. My question is that should i keep the fry with the parents or should i move them to a breeder tank.

Happy Labor Day To Everyone! I lemmed an idea off of Structure Guy, I hope it's ok. Below is a cute pic, what are they saying to each other? Thanks for playing:rofl:. Julia:pop:

He is still at the LFS. I've looked at him so much that they have offered to throw him in a side tank till I'm done cycling. He's probably gonna be my show piece :D

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Lol ok so this MTS/MFS is really starting to get to me lol. I gave my baby brother (4yrs old) my old 10g because my dad wanted it out of the house since it was empty (I'll get another for fry in a few months to a year ;p so nbg) Well me and my bf went to walmart because he needed new shoes, well he made the mistake and walked pass the fish isle and there was this lonely little betta on the shelf all by himself. I was crushed and had to have him. Drove my bf crazy that I was making such a fit.

Well I hadn't set the tank up yet, but we have well water so I was not too worried about the timeline. I picked him up, some black gravel (was looking for orange cuz it is my bros fave, but figured when I find orange it will contrast with the black nicely) got a few plant bulbs and bf had to have a dino skull lol.

So came home and filled up the tank, let it run for 2-3hrs with old filter pad to jump start it alil. I slowly added tank water into the bettas bowl to get him ready. After about two hrs I added him and he is great. The little bugger was even eating right after he was added lol no fear there.

Well the betta looks VERY lonely in the 10 by himself, so I will slowly get a few african frogs (for bf), a few orange guppies for my baby bro, maybe a few glofish (bro wants orange and red, but I will add green too cuz I like them lol)
and maybe a girl for the betta (my tank came with a divider if he is mean to his new girl)

Any other ideas for good tankmates for him?

A little holiday guessing game. I bought these yesterday at the LFS.

Kevin
(Yea, I know what they are.)

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...algae growing on my substrate.. :uh: Algae on the rocks I don't mind - I actually rather like the look of it. But on the substrate? That's a little over the top. Talk to me. Thanks.

Correct me if i am wrong, but african cichlids prefer Hard, alkaline water right? Is there any way i can get the water in my tank that way without buying commercial chemicals. I am kind of on a tight budget right now, so any advice would be great.

Nice shot of the male Zonatum. Lots of color and flash shortly after a water change.



Here's the FO. Benai male. I rarely see the females in the tank as they hide from the male. I believe they are breeding once again. I did a 90% water change twice this week....if that doesn't do it, time for Barry White.

Hello, i have a problem in my 60 gallon cichlid tank.

One of my cichlids is sick (i think). It just sits at the bottom of the tank and won't eat. It's colors look a little dull compared to before. I am going up to K zoo (nearest city, don't have a pet store in our town) to hopefully get a test kit and something that will cure it's illness. It is also one of the fisrt cichlids we got in that tank, about a year ago. It is housed with about 7 to 10 (can't count them all) other cichlids, which all seem to be fine.. They have healthy appetites, and are very active. It just seems it's that one cichlid that needs help.

Please post fast so we can save the poor fishes life.

Edit
the temparature is about 77 degrees which i assume is right for african cichlids. I just now noticed that the fish is a little bit plump. Bloating, perhaps?