Jody Siena asked:


Today, aquariums have advanced to the point that the tanks are self-sufficient. Water conditions are important to check, since in each area of the world, water is different. In fact, some area waters are more contaminated than other areas. The types of fish factors into water, as well plants play a role too. Tetras is a type of fish, which naturally habitats in rainwater, or when in aquariums the fish enjoys soft waters. Therefore, when you test waters for these fish make sure that the waters are soft.

Cichlid is another species of fish that prefer harder water. The specimens came from the Rift Valleys of Africa, which contains dissolved salt. The salt was available from natural sources, such as lakes and rock lining.

How do I avoid hardening the water?

If you want hard waters, then do not add limestone. Limestone should be avoided, especially if you intend to use it as rocks or gravel.

How can I tell the condition of waters after testing pH?

After you test the waters, pH readings should give you a figure. If the number is below seven, then the water is acidy. If the figure is higher than seven are then the water is alkalinity or alkaline. The neutral pH figure is pH7. If the water conditions are below or higher than this figure then your water is too alkalinity and/or acidity. If you maintain a correct temperature and balance of water, your fish and plants will live long and healthy.

Tip: Red Nosed Tetra prefers freedom to swim and density of plants.

If you have test water keep in mind that tap water has pH7 or pH8 reading usually. If the gauge reads higher or else lower, it means that the water is too alkalinity or acidy: Keep in mind that discus from the symphysodon aequifasciata specimen enjoy acidy waters. If you have cichlids from Rift Valley, these fish prefer alkaline.

How do I test water?

You will need to purchase a test kit. You can purchase test kits online or preferably at your local pet store. Of course, you can purchase the kits online, but if you are not familiar with the types, it is best to purchase at a pet store. The test kits will provide you a read out of chemicals in the water as well, such as chlorine. There should not be chlorine in the waters; however, tap water may have such chemicals. Water conditioners are ideal. When you setup your tank and each time you refill the tank you should use water conditioners.

Tip: If you have a heater in the tank, keep the volume low.

Living Room:

Typically, it is not recommended that you locate your aquarium in a living room. Since most living rooms are too warm, the fish will feel agitated. However, if you have tropical fish as well as plants you will have fewer problems. Plants and fish from the tropical regions tend to adapt well to higher water or room temperature. Using a heater in the tank can help you preserve your fish, yet you want to keep the heater on low volume. Maintaining a volume of heat will also prolong the life of your heater.

If you are heating your aquarium, take the easy way out. Some heaters include heaterstats, which will help you regulate heat. Heaterstats are thermostatically controlled devices, which fix to the corners of an aquarium. You can use suction cups to mount the heater. The heater has a small lamp, which will click on each time the heater is activated.



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Mike Hickmon asked:


When it comes to cichlid breeding, these species of fish are usually divided into two types of breeders. They are consequently divided into mouth brooders and substrate brooders. This information is important to know before you even consider cichlid breeding, so if you are unsure about the type of breeder your cichlid fish might be, then try reading this article for some helpful information on where to get started when it comes to cichlid breeding and the types of breeder.

Substrate brooders are cichlids which lay their eggs openly on a surface and are sometimes referred to as open water brooders, or they will lay their eggs in hidden cavities which earns them the less than creative name, cavity brooders. Both of these groups of fish will engage in brood care. This involves the eggs being regularly fanned to help to improve and increase the supply if oxygen to the eggs. Once the larvae hatch from the eggs, the fry are looked after by the substrate brooders until the yolk sac is totally gone and the young cichlids are able to swim freely and eat on their own. The parents of the fry will continue to care for their young even after this point, but this is mainly because they will be trying to protect the young against any predators which they would usually encounter in the wild. It is at this time that other tank inhabitants will become endangered by the cichlid parents because they become a lot more aggressive towards other fish dwelling in the tank.

The second type of cichlid breeder is the mouth brooders. These fish will pick up their larvae and eggs in their mouths! This could be during the spawning, or directly after the spawning process and this group of cichlids are often called ovophile which means egg loving mouth brooders. Some types of mouth brooders will leave their eggs on the substrate where they will continue to watch over them until they hatch and when they do hatch, they will pick up the fry and keep them inside of their mouths until they can swim on their own. This group of cichlids are referred to as larvophile which means larva loving mouth brooders. In a lot of these species of cichlids, care of the fry stops when they are released from the mouth, but sometimes the care of the fry will continue and the young will often swim back into the mouths of their parents for protection!



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Fazal Zubair asked:


Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes. The family Cichlidae, a major family of perciform fish, is both large and diverse. There are at least 1300 scientifically described species, making it one of the largest vertebrate families. Numerous new species are discovered annually, and many species remain undescribed. The actual number of species is therefore unclear, with estimates varying between 1300 and 3000 species, and one source suggesting 1900 species. Cichlids span a wide range of body sizes, from species as small as 2.5 centimetres (1.0 in) in length to much larger species approaching 1 metre (3 ft) in length .As a group, cichlids exhibit a similarly wide diversity of body shapes, ranging from strongly laterally compressed species through to species that are cylindrical and highly elongate. Generally, however, cichlids tend to be of medium size, ovate in shape and slightly laterally compressed, and generally very similar to the North American sunfishes in terms of morphology, behaviour, and ecology.

Many cichlids, particularly the tilapias, are important food fishes, while others are valued game fish. Many species, including the angelfish, oscars, and discus, are also highly valued in the aquarium trade. Cichlids are also the family of vertebrates with the largest number of endangered species, most of these found in the haplochromine group. Cichlids are particularly well known for having evolved rapidly into a large number of closely related but morphologically diverse species within large lakes, particularly Tanganyika, Victoria, Malawi, and Edward. The diversity of cichlids in the African Great Lakes is important for the study of speciation in evolution. Many cichlids that have been accidentally or deliberately released into freshwaters outside of their natural range have become nuisance species, for example tilapia in the southern United States.

See complete details with images at

http://pet-animal-cichlid.blogspot.com/



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Mark Fay asked:


So you have or are planning to buy a modestly sized aquarium to get started in the hobby. Now it’s time to get some fish! (Well, maybe not. First, read about cycling.) You walk into a big chain pet store and head for the fish section, where you are greeted by a variety of appealing species. Unfortunately, there is no information posted on care requirements for the species you’re interested in, or the information is inacurate. So, you ask an employee about them. “Sure,” they say, staring blankly at the wall of tanks. “That can go in your 10 gallon community tank.”

Unfortunately, at the large chain stores the employees often don’t actually know much about fish. They might specialize in a different type of pet, or perhaps they were hired for their shelf stocking prowess rather than any interest in or knowledge of pets. Maybe the employees know all about the fish, but are under pressure to sell them regardless of whether they are suitable for the customer.

Chain pet stores have a bad habit of selling people fish they can’t care for in the long run. Fish that grow to be very large are the most common victim of this practice, but very aggressive fish or fish with very specific needs in water chemistry also frequently go home with unwitting fishkeepers. To combat that problem, I’ve written this list of the fish most commonly sold to people who won’t be able to care for them.

1. Oscars

These pretty South American cichlids look like a great addition to any smaller tank when they’re about an inch long. Unfortunately, they can grow to as large as 18 inches, and they don’t always tell you that at the store. In addition, as they grow larger they’ll need occasional feeder fish to maintain a healthy diet, making them more expensive in the long run than fish which can be fed solely on flake or pellets.

Instead, try: Bolivian Rams

This is a colorful South American dwarf cichlid which only reaches around 3 inches in length. It’s both hardy and peaceful, making it suitable for a small community tank.

2. Common Pleco

These suckermouth catfish are often sold to novice aquarists as the solution to an algae problem. There are a couple of problems with this, however. First, these fish can and will grow to be two feet long, ruling them out for any tank smaller than 100 gallons. Also, algae problems are often a symptom of excessive nitrate in the water. In this case, adding another fish will only exacerbate the problem.

Instead, try: Dwarf Plecos, Clown Plecos, Corydoras, Otocinclus

Luckily, there are quite a few types of plecos, and many of them are of a much more manageable size. Bristlenose Plecos and Clown Plecos are just a couple of species that will stop growing at 4 to 6 inches. If you’re just looking for a bottom-dwelling scavenger, the many species of Corydoras catfish are an excellent choice. These social fish swim in schools of 5 or more individuals and are much more active than the rather sedentary Plecostomus species. Most Corydoras species are between 1 and 2 inches, so adding a small school to your aquarium is feasable in tanks as small as 10 gallons. They aren’t algae eaters, however, so if you want a suckermouth algae eater for your small tank, a good choice might be Otocinclus catfish. These tiny cousins of the Plecos grow to a maximum of about 1.5 inches.

3. Red Tailed Catfish

This catfish is very striking when young, which leads a lot of inexperienced aquarists to buy them, thinking they’ll stop growing at a manageable size and keep that attractive coloration. Like the Common Pleco, however, the only thing that stops this fish’s growth is death. Unlike the Pleco, this fish will also eat the rest of your fish as soon as it can fit them into its mouth. To add insult to injury, its coloration also fades as it gets older.

Instead, try: Small Plecos, Corydoras

Smaller Pleco species and Corydoras are a much better choice to fill the bottom dwelling niche in your tank. Not only are they of manageable size, they’re also very peaceful.

4. Clown Loach

The Clown Loach is actually an excellent fish to have around, if you have the space. Most Clown Loaches sold by pet stores, though, are sold at between one to two inches, and often recommended as a solution to a snail problem. What they may not tell you is that the clown Loach can grow to be a foot long, and that it really shouldn’t be kept in groups of less than 5. Five foot-long fish add up to quite a bit of biomass in your tank, and accounting for the fact that they like a lot of room to swim, this makes the minimum recommended tank size for a group 75 gallons.

Instead, try: Zebra Loach, Kuhli Loach

The Zebra Loach is a smaller cousin of the Clown Loach. It will grow to around four inches and attack snails with the same voracity the Clown is known for. If you’re just looking for a social scavenger with some entertaining behavior, a group of Kuhli Loaches is a great choice, and adds very little load to the tank. While Kuhlis generally reach around 4 inches as well, their eel shape makes them much smaller than what you typically imagine in a 4 inch fish. Though they don’t really have the inclination or natural tools to go after snails the way Botia loaches do, they’re effective scavengers, leaving less uneaten food around for the snails to thrive on.



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Nate Scott asked:


For the beginner to raising fish the simple answer is, “whatever comes in the can I bought at the pet store”.  Your fish will probably survive if you approach from this simplistic view, but will they thrive?

African Cichlids do not all have the same dietary requirements.  I always thought basic worms were good for all fish.  I thought all fish were meat eaters.  This is not true.

African Cichlids fall into one of four groups.

1. Carnivorous prey on other fish, especially the fry of other species.

2. Herbivorous are grazers and will eat the algae off of rocks.

3. Omnivorous eat plants , invertebrates, and small fish.

4. Micro-predators eat small invertebrates such as plankton.

Even though each species may primarily be meat eaters or plant eaters it is still important that each receive from the other food group.  The concern is when you feed too much meat to the herbivore group you will cause the fish to become sick or die usually from bloat.  This works vice-versa for carnivores.  You will want to know which group your cichlid fits into and feed accordingly.

Cichlid flake food is usually safe for both, but you will need to read the ingredients before feeding.  You want to be careful about foods that have lots of fish meal and are high in fat.  Avoid anything that may have beef heart or any products from warm-blooded animals.

You may want to feed frozen fish products or live fish to your cichlids, but I would not recommend this for their main diet.  Look for a good quality flake food that is high in vegetation and fish meal for your herbivorous cichlids.  For your carnivorous cichlids pick a flake food with vegetation and supplemented with brine shrimp and krill.

For your fish with yellow, orange, and reddish coloration you will want to look for food with lots of pigment.  You will know if you current food is lacking because the fishes coloring will appear faded without enough pigment in their diet.

Overfeeding fish is common for beginners and children.  Your fish do not need that much to live and thrive.  It is very easy to overfeed and your cichlids will become sick and possibly die.  Feed them 2 or 3 times per day and only as much as they can consume in about 30 seconds.  Anymore and you are probably overfeeding.  If your fish do not appear to be hungry, they could possibly be overfed or sick.  Healthy cichlids will always appear to be starving and waiting for you to feed them.



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