Some of these things I'm sure have been covered but here I go.
1. The best way to cycle a tank is with ammonia. Less chance of a recycle. During this process, cycle 1 or 2 ten gallon tanks for hospital and new fish. Keep some cheap hardy fish in the ten gallons to keep the cycle going.
2. Learn YOUR water. Twice a week water changes may be good for others but not you. Learn your PH, GH etc. If you have copper pipes make sure you have water treatment that helps with metals. keep a good water test kit. Sometimes a recycle won't show up on a test kit. If your wondering why your fish are breathing heavy after their first water change in a new set up. This may be the problem. This is the only time I recomend treating your tank with bio in a bottle. Water changes will help your fish grow and grow healthy.
3. Playground sand from Home Depote = Lots of cleaning, fine light colored sand. Water filter sand from a pool place = Less cleaning darker more coarse sand. Both cheap and nice. Rocks from landscaping places are the best way to save. There is an artical on what rocks to avoid. Branches...(Don't laugh)...Yes branches from a tree or bush can be used. How? Find a SMALL branch that's basicly dead already. Take your new found twig and put it in a bucket of treated water for a week. Let it mold. Now sit it in a dry place (Not outside) and let it sit for another week. Wallah!! It's ready to go. Do not try this with a whole bush or part of a tree trunk! It will stink. Don't ask me how I know.
4. Patience and discipline. These 2 words seperate a beginner from a Vet. I cannot begin to tell you how important these words are....So let me begin. Example. You walk in a pet store. You see "that" fish!!! The one that you only saw in an Ad Konings book. You start checking your change pockets. You hope that know one else see them. Or the one employee in the place who know cichlids don't put up a NFS sign on the tank. ...And then.......You realize they are not the best of health. What to do? Remember those ten gallon tanks you have? Told you they would come in handy.
5. Do not cross breed. A lot of work was put into names of these fish. Dont let it go to waste. In the dog world it's ok to have half breeds. You can walk with each other......meet people......play catch.........save each others lives etc. Great! Just not in the fish world.
6. Food. Learn what your species eat. Some fish can only eat Veggies. Brine shrimp is good for blue color and light yellow. Krill and blood worms are good for reds and a warmer yellow. Sometime krill and bloodworms can make blue more purple-ish. Do not over feed. This means pancakes and sausages are out of the question.
7. If you have a hyper dominant fish use a mirror on the side of the tank. He'll spend a lot of time fighting his reflection and not the other fish. You can also use a clear peice of plexiglass to seperate him from other males till they find a spot to defend. Also helps with new males are introduced to a tank.
8. Breeding. Learn before you buy fish how they act after they spawn. We all know a M. Auratus is very agressive. But we find out the hard way that a Geo. Tetracanthus can have all of your other fish shaking in a corner when they have brood. Live brine shrimp can help some wild caught fish breed. Zaire Blue Fronts females will choose a male. If he is not the dominant fish they may not mate. You have to remove the dominant male till you find the right match. this is not always the case. You may get lucky on the first male. It's always good to by a group of these not a pair. (please share how fish you worked with behave)
9. How to spot hormone fish. Example; You walk in a store. You see this list of fish. Peacocks.- Yellow, reds, sulfer heads, OB's. Haps.-Ahli. Mbunas- OB fullaborni, red zebras, colbolt blue. Tangs- Powder blue Vents....along with. Lots of colored snails...Different colored parrot fish...Koi. There are no females in the whole store. Some males look dull in some tanks. Some very bright. (Even the sub dominant males). Some tanks have lots of males that have that "Show fish" dorsal fin. If you see this there is a 90% chance you just entered the hormone zone.
10. If you order fish online ask for a pic of the fish. A good dealer will take the time to send one. Don't start thinking your fish will look like the ones in an Ad Koning book. This man has takin a lot of great pics. Just remember. They are great pics. Southwest-good. Ups, FedX-good luck. Have them shipped airfreight if you can. They take better care of livestock.
Pease.....If you see anything wrong (outside of my spelling) or would like to share some tips that may help. Please do. I also know most of this has been covered but some of us newb's would like to put our mark on the site. :wink: Good to keep things fresh.
1. The best way to cycle a tank is with ammonia. Less chance of a recycle. During this process, cycle 1 or 2 ten gallon tanks for hospital and new fish. Keep some cheap hardy fish in the ten gallons to keep the cycle going.
2. Learn YOUR water. Twice a week water changes may be good for others but not you. Learn your PH, GH etc. If you have copper pipes make sure you have water treatment that helps with metals. keep a good water test kit. Sometimes a recycle won't show up on a test kit. If your wondering why your fish are breathing heavy after their first water change in a new set up. This may be the problem. This is the only time I recomend treating your tank with bio in a bottle. Water changes will help your fish grow and grow healthy.
3. Playground sand from Home Depote = Lots of cleaning, fine light colored sand. Water filter sand from a pool place = Less cleaning darker more coarse sand. Both cheap and nice. Rocks from landscaping places are the best way to save. There is an artical on what rocks to avoid. Branches...(Don't laugh)...Yes branches from a tree or bush can be used. How? Find a SMALL branch that's basicly dead already. Take your new found twig and put it in a bucket of treated water for a week. Let it mold. Now sit it in a dry place (Not outside) and let it sit for another week. Wallah!! It's ready to go. Do not try this with a whole bush or part of a tree trunk! It will stink. Don't ask me how I know.
4. Patience and discipline. These 2 words seperate a beginner from a Vet. I cannot begin to tell you how important these words are....So let me begin. Example. You walk in a pet store. You see "that" fish!!! The one that you only saw in an Ad Konings book. You start checking your change pockets. You hope that know one else see them. Or the one employee in the place who know cichlids don't put up a NFS sign on the tank. ...And then.......You realize they are not the best of health. What to do? Remember those ten gallon tanks you have? Told you they would come in handy.
5. Do not cross breed. A lot of work was put into names of these fish. Dont let it go to waste. In the dog world it's ok to have half breeds. You can walk with each other......meet people......play catch.........save each others lives etc. Great! Just not in the fish world.
6. Food. Learn what your species eat. Some fish can only eat Veggies. Brine shrimp is good for blue color and light yellow. Krill and blood worms are good for reds and a warmer yellow. Sometime krill and bloodworms can make blue more purple-ish. Do not over feed. This means pancakes and sausages are out of the question.
7. If you have a hyper dominant fish use a mirror on the side of the tank. He'll spend a lot of time fighting his reflection and not the other fish. You can also use a clear peice of plexiglass to seperate him from other males till they find a spot to defend. Also helps with new males are introduced to a tank.
8. Breeding. Learn before you buy fish how they act after they spawn. We all know a M. Auratus is very agressive. But we find out the hard way that a Geo. Tetracanthus can have all of your other fish shaking in a corner when they have brood. Live brine shrimp can help some wild caught fish breed. Zaire Blue Fronts females will choose a male. If he is not the dominant fish they may not mate. You have to remove the dominant male till you find the right match. this is not always the case. You may get lucky on the first male. It's always good to by a group of these not a pair. (please share how fish you worked with behave)
9. How to spot hormone fish. Example; You walk in a store. You see this list of fish. Peacocks.- Yellow, reds, sulfer heads, OB's. Haps.-Ahli. Mbunas- OB fullaborni, red zebras, colbolt blue. Tangs- Powder blue Vents....along with. Lots of colored snails...Different colored parrot fish...Koi. There are no females in the whole store. Some males look dull in some tanks. Some very bright. (Even the sub dominant males). Some tanks have lots of males that have that "Show fish" dorsal fin. If you see this there is a 90% chance you just entered the hormone zone.
10. If you order fish online ask for a pic of the fish. A good dealer will take the time to send one. Don't start thinking your fish will look like the ones in an Ad Koning book. This man has takin a lot of great pics. Just remember. They are great pics. Southwest-good. Ups, FedX-good luck. Have them shipped airfreight if you can. They take better care of livestock.
Pease.....If you see anything wrong (outside of my spelling) or would like to share some tips that may help. Please do. I also know most of this has been covered but some of us newb's would like to put our mark on the site. :wink: Good to keep things fresh.