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Thank you! You two sound like you will be a good resource.
I know I will probably have too many fish, as I won't be able to help myself. One thing I will need is patience. I heard it may take some time to get the water quality right, and I don't want to lose expensive fish in that process.
What is considered a lot?
I was thinking of having about 5 different types of fish, so is two of each okay?
The fish I had in mind after researching include: Guianacara, Gourami, Blue Acara, Angelfish, and Geophagus
Cichlids are beautiful and very interesting to watch behaviour wise.
My 1st successful egg laying breeding was with a pair of Blue Acara's. It's so satisfying to see the school of tiny fry swimming around with the proud parents.
My only warning to you is that it will be very easy to overcrowd your aquarium with your selection. Those cichlids get pretty big full grown.
Also, if and when your pairs want to breed, they will become very hostile and territorial against their tankmates and they can suffer.
If you do buy your selection, make sure you buy them small / young. Let them grow into your setup. That's half the fun seeing them grow bigger and healthy.
BTW yes make sure your setup is cycled (healthy bacteria) with a proper filter for at least 2 - 3 weeks before introducing fish. And make sure you start slow... 2 fish etc.
Hey, just and update. Big Ugly Bob is still alive and doing well. Never found what the issue was but it went away so I think he was burning himself hiding behind the heater. Kinda surprised he has lived this long.
Wonderful!
Are you still "adding 7-10 gallons of water a week" . . . ?
That's a pretty perplexing sounding problem!
Cichlids are beautiful and very interesting to watch behaviour wise.
My 1st successful egg laying breeding was with a pair of Blue Acara's. It's so satisfying to see the school of tiny fry swimming around with the proud parents.
My only warning to you is that it will be very easy to overcrowd your aquarium with your selection. Those cichlids get pretty big full grown.
Also, if and when your pairs want to breed, they will become very hostile and territorial against their tankmates and they can suffer.
If you do buy your selection, make sure you buy them small / young. Let them grow into your setup. That's half the fun seeing them grow bigger and healthy.
BTW yes make sure your setup is cycled (healthy bacteria) with a proper filter for at least 2 - 3 weeks before introducing fish. And make sure you start slow... 2 fish etc.
Great advice, thank you.
I plan on starting slow and was only going to do two fish.
Another question I had was after doing research on filters, I am leaning towards the hang on the back type, Tidal Series. heard they were easier to clean then canister filters, and were quieter. Thoughts?
Hang on filters are OKAY... for very low populated aquariums.
I only advice those for lazy fishkeepers (easy maintenance) who has a very low bioload in their aquarium.
The reason why is that a filter's most important function is to provide ALOT of surface area for beneficial bacteria to colonize and to pass high volumes of the aquarium water through said bacteria.
A hanging filter has such a small capacity for bio material for the bacteria to colonize.
Whereas an appropriate canister provides a lot of surface plus high water turnover.
In the long run I would say you will need the canister... esp for bigger fish who poop volumes.
You get use to cleaning the canisters. The newer ones are easier to clean than the old ones (like the one I got).
Eheim or Fluval are the defacto standards... at least 10 yrs ago, not sure who's in the market now.
Thanks HP, I was thinking of getting the canister as I have the cabinet to hide it, now you have me strongly considering it.
Plus I believe you don't need as much space in the back of the set up to accommodate a filter. I know with hanging filters you need 3-4 inches of space. I prefer as little as possible.
Are you still "adding 7-10 gallons of water a week" . . . ?
That's a pretty perplexing sounding problem!
In the winter, yes. A lot less during the summer. It might be a little less, more like 5-7 gallons typically. I d not track it well because if someone sees the tank low, they put in a bucket or two of water and do not always tell me.
Hang on filters are OKAY... for very low populated aquariums.
I only advice those for lazy fishkeepers (easy maintenance) who has a very low bioload in their aquarium.
The reason why is that a filter's most important function is to provide ALOT of surface area for beneficial bacteria to colonize and to pass high volumes of the aquarium water through said bacteria.
A hanging filter has such a small capacity for bio material for the bacteria to colonize.
Whereas an appropriate canister provides a lot of surface plus high water turnover.
In the long run I would say you will need the canister... esp for bigger fish who poop volumes.
You get use to cleaning the canisters. The newer ones are easier to clean than the old ones (like the one I got).
Eheim or Fluval are the defacto standards... at least 10 yrs ago, not sure who's in the market now.
We have two fluvals underneath and a hang on filter up top. the hang on filter is always working. The fluvals tend to quit often and need more attention. Also the hang on filter can be replaced every other year if needed. they only cost about $100. Fluvals are pretty pricy.They are also a pia to start up once you clean them.
We have two fluvals underneath and a hang on filter up top. the hang on filter is always working. The fluvals tend to quit often and need more attention. Also the hang on filter can be replaced every other year if needed. they only cost about $100. Fluvals are pretty pricy.They are also a pia to start up once you clean them.
Your Fluvals quit? What does that mean?
My ancient Fluval (80's) has been running nonstop for over 20 yrs with the only thing that needed replacing was the annoying rubber gasket. It's relatively silent and has kept my 75 gallon clean and healthy.
As for restarting it, you just put it all back together dry, then you take the output hose and suck on it for 2 seconds. You can feel and hear the gush of water rushing into the canister... then you just reattach the output hose to the spray bar etc. Plug it in after it finishes filling itself and viola. It takes a few hrs for the few trapped bubbles in the canister to clear itself.
Canisters have proven themselves to be the best all around filters for heavy bioloads. You can do a wet dry, but that is a bit more complicated.
My buddy had the newer Eheim's and they seem a bit easier to maintain. But they tend to be a bit more $$$.
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