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Tropical Fish Articles Beginning Fishkeeping Articles A Guide to Cichlids: the beginner
| A Guide to Cichlids: the beginner |
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| Saturday, 23 December 2006 12:50 |
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How to start and keep going in cichlid keeping without getting impatient.
Hello, After 30 years of cichlid keeping my father passed down all his information to me. And now I am here to give it to you. Cichlid keeping is an exciting annex of the fish keeping hobby. Because cichlids have such a large personality, are the most demanding, and some are the most fragile they are the hardest to care for next to saltwater. However they are the most rewarding. With this being said you want to pick out a cichlid that has the same personality as you. In this article I will explain to you how to setup your cichlid tank, how to purchase your first cichlid, the initial few days of care and long term care. In order to continue you must have a basic knowledge of fish, i.e. ammonia, nitrogen cycle. Please consult other articles for this info. Ok first things first, before you even go to the pet store to get your cichlid you are going to have to set up your tank. So let’s start with tank size. There are two kinds of cichlids, dwarf and regular. Dwarf cichlids can be kept in tanks of at least 10 gallons with 5 gallons per fish. No matter what length the fish is. Next are the regular cichlids. Now as you may or may not know you will need a different tank for a Texas cichlid than you will for a discus so let’s start with big aggressive cichlids. big aggressive cichlids like jack dempseys, Texas cichlids, midas, or oscars need a tank of at least 75 gallons, so if you cannot give them this then please don’t get a large aggressive cichlid, further more if you are reading this article then you are probably a beginner or novice cichlid keeper so you shouldn’t have these fish any way. Medium fragile fish: if you haven’t heard of a discus get out from under your rock. There are not many discus like fish with personality but some cichlids require the tank size. Discus for example require a tank with at least 18 inches in WIDTH. So you will need a 58,60,75+. Now that you have selected your tank let’s see what to put in it. ALL cichlids like sand or small gravel hands down. So you should fill the bottom of your tank with an inch and a half. I will discuss filtration later but make sure you read about the under gravel filter before buying substrate. Now about the biotope, before purchasing your cichlid make sure you know all about it. That is its biotope. For example, discus live in a heavily planted tank. With little to know rocks or drift wood, however the African cichlids live in the lake with A LOT OF huge rocks and no plants. So make sure you look up the biotope of your cichlid and mimic that in your tank. Now no matter what cichlid you have all cichlids like caves whether you are looking for a natural look or not, clay pots work great for your cichlid's cave, it gives them a dark safe place to hang out. So whether you use clay pots or premade caves or what make sure you have something for them to hang out in. Ok, now that we have the basic layout of the tank setup let’s look at the hardware in this order: heaters, lights, filters. Heaters: heaters are simple make sure you have the proper wattage for your tank size. (300 watts=75 gallons) make sure your heater is completely submersible. (Explained later) the heater needs to be positioned vertically in the middle of the tank, which eliminates the possibility of cold spots which is what happens when one half your tank is heated and the other isn't, this is why the heater should be completely submerged. Lights: whether you are using an incandescent or fluorescent lighting (incandescent- gives off 85% heat, flour.- no heat) your tank should not be well light. Cichlids like dim light. The best thing to do except if you have Africans is to get a good light then fill it with plants in order to dim the light for the fish but have a good light for the plants Filters: when applying a filter to a cichlid tank it is not A filter you need but at least 2 filters. Depending on your substrate you use I would recommend an ugf (under gravel filter) obviously if you use sand you can have an ugf. Biowheel: YOU MUST HAVE A BIOWHEEL whether you use a canister filter or a power filter you have to have a biowheel, it is the best type of biological filtration and will keep your ammonia and nitrites down. Now the reason why you need so much filtration is cichlids produce a lot of waste which you will need to keep up with. Plus believe it or not some small African cichlids love the current given off by power heads from an ugf. CONGRAGULATIONS you just set up your cichlid tank. Now we must cycle it. As you may or may not know it takes about a month to cycle a tank. You can use fish like danios or guppies to cycle your tank or you can use fishless cycling which can be explained in the beginners section of the articles. IMPORTANT: cycling is important for all fish, especially cichlids, because of the anatomy of the fish. The ammonia and nitrites affects them poorly leading to immediate death so... CYCLE doesn’t skip it. This will be the longer part of your experience but hang in there. Whether you choose fish or fishless cycling you can cut the time in half to about 2 weeks instead of a month for fish cycling or 10 days instead of 2 weeks for fishless cycling. You can cut the time by using either seachem's stability, or marineland's biospira. Ok, it has been about a month since you first started your setting up your cichlid tank now it is time to purchase your cichlid. if you have a cichlid picked out all ready good, otherwise you should do some research to find out what cichlid fits you best, here's some things to consider when purchasing your cichlid. 1. Eventual size 2. Behavior 3. Recommended tank size 4. color/physical appearance 5. Compatibility (with other cichlids and tank mates) 6. Level of difficulty The eventual size of your cichlid will determine your tank size or vice versa. The behavior of your cichlid will determine if you like aggressive or peaceful cichlid You may like colorful or dull cichlids (good luck finding a dull one) The cichlid you choose may not be compatible with the same kind (if you want two or three) And finally the most important if you are a beginner don’t get a discus. Make sure you ask your lfs or email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to find the level of difficulty, or check out www.cichlid-forum.com I’ve said this before but I will say it again, research your cichlid, and make sure you know everything about it. There are 2 major things you must do 1 week previous of buying your cichlid 1. Check temperature 2. Check PH Make sure you know the proper tempter for your cichlid (most likely 78-80 degrees) Make sure you know the proper PH of your cichlid (south American- 6.5-6.8, central American- 7.0-7.6, African -7.6-9.0) in order to alter your Ph to the right levels you can get a ph buffer at your lfs After you choose what cichlid you want you must now acquire said cichlid. Here are some ways to do this 1. Check lfs (local fish store) 2. Special order lfs 3. Order online 4. Find a local breeder or friend whether you are getting your cichlid from the lfs through checking frequently or special order, or if you are getting it through a friend there are some things you must check for while observing the cichlid minutes before buying it. 1. Swimming upright 2. Swimming smoothly (not jittery or moving in short jolts) 3. Fins out and not clamped 4. No external ailments (fungus, parasites, ich, or worms) Ok bag and take him home, no, no not so fast. With the cichlid you take home with you here is a list of the supplies you should already have or buy the same day you get your cichlid. 1. Ph test kit 2. Aquarium salt (more for Africans) 3. Ph buffer (should have to alter ph to begin with) 4. Net 5. Siphon 6. Food (pellet, AND frozen bloodworms, or brine shrimp) before your guy gets your cichlid out of the tank so you can take him home if it is a SHORT distance to your cichlids new home then ask the guy to feed him so he'll be full (explained later) if you live a long way ask for a little bit of what the guy gives him so you can feed him later. Ok when you have this stuff and your cichlid it is time to acclimate The acclimation period takes about 30-45 minutes. First take your cichlid in the bag he came in. if he did not come in a bag simply transfer him into one keeping the same water he came with the cichlid. Take the bag and float it in the aquarium for 20 minutes with the bag sealed. Then open the bag and put in 1 cup of your aquarium water into the bag then after 15 minutes poor in another cup. after 15 more minutes take a net and insert it into the bag scoop up your cichlid and plop it into the aquarium (gently) DO NOT poor the bag into the aquarium because the bag's water is full of bad ammonia your fish gave off on the trip over. Ok, depending on what type of cichlid you got your cichlid may either swim out of the net or attack it in hunger or it may go and hide its cave. Either way the first rule of moving animals in general, when you change an animal’s environment you don't start throwing things at it. I.e. food. If you asked your guy at the lfs to feed the cichlid before you got him than he can survive 2-3 days without food. This time will give your cichlid time to get his bearings before any more stimuli are introduced. Now the most important part of the next couple of weeks is to BE PATIENT cichlids will pull your hair out so don’t stress. Ok, here is a trouble shooting guide to what problems may occur during the next few days 1. Shyness. - Common, gives more hiding areas, not a problem if the fish is eating after the 3rd day. Be sure to feed frozen food often as feeding incentives. 2. aggression- more hiding spots 3. Not eating- feed garlic (all cichlids) earthworms (medium cichlids) frozen brine shrimp (all cichlids) If you have any more questions about the initial behavior please consult your 1. Lfs 2. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 3. Fishgeeks http://www.Aquaria.Info 4. cichlid-forum General facts about cichlids 1. Feed 2-3 time daily 2. Behavior can differ greatly depending on, lighting, temp, ph, external tank stimuli 3. Require 2-4 weeks to fully get used to tank 4. ALL cichlids develop huge powerful personalities which often reflect your own. 5. 12-14 hours of light for these guys 6. All cichlids are different. If your buddy bob has the same cichlids as you do don’t except them to act alike. 7. Vary the diet For the first few days you need to check temp, ph, ammonia, and nitrites. If you don’t have test kits for these your lfs should have free or cheap testing. After the first week ph, temp and ammonia/nitrites testing could be reduced to every other day or every 3 days then once a week then once a month. Next we will discuss mainline of your cichlid tank. There are 3 things you need to do to maintain your cichlid tank 1. Partial water changes 2. Gravel cleanings 3. Filter change/cleaning Partial water change: use a siphon to drain 25% of the water in your tank. Contrary to popular belief do not drain 50% or more of the water because this will shock your fish. After draining 25% of the water replace it. Make sure it is luke warm, and don’t forget to rebuffer the ph. partial water changes should be done once a weeks AT LEAST. Gravel cleanings: Gravel cleaning is the same thing as a partial water change except instead of just sticking the siphon head into the water insert it into the gravel the water pressure will suck up the junk in the gravel but not the gravel. These should be done once a month. Filter change/cleaning: once a month it is necessary to replace or clean the filter cartridge. You do this because all the junk gets caught in the floss plus once the carbon (black stuff) hits the water it only takes a month before it loses its chemical filtrating ability. Also it is always a good idea to wipe down the intake tube of your filter. Wrapping it up here: So... you have required your new cichlid it has been a couple of weeks you have been doing regular water changes, and testing and everything is a ok. As your cichlid experience progresses you might consider upgrading or getting more cichlids, if you want to do this then consult my GUIDE TO CICHLDS: INTERMEDIATE article later to be written. Good luck Any questions please consult the following: 1. Lfs 2. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 3. Fishgeeks http://www.Aquaria.Info 4. cichlid-forum.com |