As a long time hobbyist, I try to help fellow fish keepers whenever possible. This includes giving advice to cichlid keepers in various groups on Facebook (FB). However, that’s going to stop today. Why? Keep reading.
No more advice!
Miscellaneous
Cichlids DO fight and/or get beaten up!
If you are new to cichlids, especially African cichlids and more specifically mbuna, you should rarely be surprised when you find one of your fish upside down in your tank looking like it got drug across the driveway. Cichlids fight, get picked on, and get killed by other cichlids. Know this before you set up a cichlid tank.
Happy cichlids? Based on what?
What does it mean when someone says their fish are “happy” and how do they know?
Fish keeping myth #1 – rinsing sponges in tap water will kill beneficial bacteria
As I alluded to in the post on March 31st about starting a fish keeping myth series, I’m beginning it today.
Watching cichlids – stress and safety versus visibility
Everyone enjoys watching their fish. That’s one reason we keep them. On the other hand, having cichlids visible in your tank because they have little to no cover might be good for you but not always good for them. This is especially true for new fish recently added to a show tank or quarantine tank.
Algae and cichlid fry
I wanted to follow-up on the previous post, The Julidochromis regani nursery. As you can see in the photo in that post (and above), I have some black beard algae (commonly referred to as BBA) growing on the rock structure. I have posted about this algae and its cousin, blue green algae (BGA), before.
Photographing your fish
Taking decent photos of your fish can be a daunting task. However, with some guidance and a little patience, it can be done. And you don’t even need a professional type camera.
Fish keeping myth series
Because I’m always thinking about new content for the blog, I’ve decided to start a series on fish keeping myths. This will be posts about various myths that propagate in the hobby. They can be anything from inaccurate claims about tank maintenance to outright misinformation about species and everything in between. There are a lot of myths floating around out there, so this series could get pretty long.
The first post in the series, Myth #1, will be about rinsing filter sponges in tap water. Stay tuned!
First time cichlid keepers
Hopefully, if you’re reading this, it’s because you’re doing some research before embarking on a cichlid keeping journey. Also, I hope you’re not just now beginning with fish keeping. If you’ve SUCCESSFULLY kept tropical freshwater fish before, keep reading. If you’re brand new to fish keeping, you know very little about them, and you’ve already purchased some cichlids, keep reading and you’ll understand why you’ve made your first mistake.
Clearing particulate cloudiness
I have posted about this before. Tank cloudiness due to high particulate concentrations is common when changing substrates or adding substrate for the first time. It is also an easy problem to solve. To do so you have a few options, listed below in no certain order. NOTE: It’s worth mentioning that cloudiness due to bacterial blooms and such require a different solution. That’s a post for another day.
- Let your existing filter(s) do the work
- Add a new, temporary mechanical filter
- Do nothing and wait for the particulates to settle