WHAT IS ICH AND HOW TO DEAL WITH IT

DAILY OBSERVATIONS

I have had lots to observe this past week in My Little Fish Room. I have 3 moms holding, sick fry and fry I need to sell to make room for more moms.

I have lots of fry. I have Dragon bloods, Auratus, Yellow Labs, Albino Red Zebras, Red Top Zebras and a few dolphins. My youngest group are the Auratus and Dragon blood fry. They are only 2 weeks old and now have Ich! My week is not going so good.

I have 2 moms in MLFR holding and one recuperating after having her brood. One mom is another Yellow Lab and the other is a Elongatus Mpanga. The Yellow Lab lost or ate or spit her eggs/fry because this morning I'm looking at her and she isn't holding anymore. I caught her and checked.. she spit the last egg out at me! So much for her brood. I put her back into the community. My Elongatus is doing amazingly well considering it's her first brood. I hope that she continues. I will be letting her spit on her own. I only have one more holding female that is in the community so I have the room.

And so the world turns in the life of a Cichlid aquarist.....

WHAT IS ICH AND HOW TO TREAT IT

Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, or Ich for short is a common parasite found on fish. It looks like tiny white grains of salt stuck to your fish's scales and fins. It can spread and will join together forming larger patches if not treated.

Ich has three life stages. The first stage they are invisible to the naked eye swimming around looking for a host. They become visible during the second stage. They bury themselves under the fishes mucus coating feeding on their body fluids growing to the point that they become visible to us. This stage only last 3-4 days and the spots begin to drop off. They swim around for several hours finding something to attach themselves to like substrate, plant leaves etc. This is the time they're vulnerable to medications. Once this tiny parasite attaches itself to something the cycle begins again. It will stay there producing more Ichs and they will burst forth in search of a new host. With each cycle they multiply dramatically. Left untreated Ich can be fatal.

A few tips to avoid Ich are simple:

Inspect the tank you are interesting in buying fish from. If any look sick - or weak move on.

If possible quarantine your new fish for 7-14 days. Keeping a close eye on them for any signs of sickness.

Not everyone has a quarantine tank I understand that. When floating your bagged fish to acclimate them, open the bag over a net set on a pail. Remove the fish from the net and then add him to your tank without the water he came in. There's no insurance that the fish in not infected as Ich could be in the invisible stage but this will at least tip the scales in your favour.

If you have multiple tanks - keep a net specifically for each tank. Dry your nets completely between uses as Ich can not survive dry.

Purchase plants only from fish-free tanks. Quarantine your plants 5-7 days.

Until last week I have never had to deal with Ich. I have read about it and know what to do in the event so now I had to put my knowledge to the test. My problem was the Ich was on my tiny fry. I was horrified. Poor little ones.

Because they were fry, tiny and probably more delicate than larger Cichlids I wasn't going to use any medications. I thought that would be too harsh for my little ones. My first step was turning up the heater. I keep my water in my fry tanks around 80°. Over the next 24 hours I raised the temperature an increment at a time until I reached the desired temperature of 85°. I also dissolved 1 cup of sea salt in tank water. Once it was all dissolved I added that to their tank. It sounds like a heavy dose for a 20 gallon tank but it's necessary. They can handle more salt then you realize. Also add more surface agitation. When medicating you should always add more surface agitation to increase O2 as lack of oxygen is a side effect of many illnesses.

Watch your water parameters so your nitrates don't get out of control. Only do a water change if that happens. Otherwise leave the water as is.. and just maintain the temperature for 10 days. This process should eradicate the parasite. Do not stop this treatment until the entire 10 days have passed. Remember their are stages where the Ich is invisible so even if you can't see them they may be still there. After 10 days you will be sure they are gone.

As for what salt to use. There are many opinions out there but I myself use Sea Salt for treatments. This is the purest from of salt without additives like iodine. Following the treatment of 10 days, it's time to do water changes. You will need to do several 50% water changes to reduce the salinity back to a normal range.


I'm in the middle of this process right now. My tiny fry are doing well, eating and will hopefully recover completely. I have read another tidbit that I did like. If a fish has been infected with Ich and recovered it will build immunities to Ich and likely never have it again!

BROODING CICLIDS

Yesterday morning I decided to bring my two holding females up the MLF. The Yellow Lab is not expecting her first brood and she moved well and seems to know the routine. The strange thing about the Yellow Lab is that with two male Yellow Labs in the tank with her she still bred to a Red Zebra.

The second female I moved is a young Elongatus Mpanga. This is her first brood. She is about 12 days in now. I like to allow the first time moms to spit on their own but I have two more to move up yet so I'm not sure I'll have that luxury. 

I had only one brooding tank sitting and waiting for them. I have a couple tank dividers that I inserted making two 5 gallon tanks out of my 10. This is a perfect way to create more room without adding more tanks. 

I like to move my girls around the 10th day of holding. The young moms are a higher risk to spit if you move them before they have bonded with the holding process. I have learned this by experience. If you move them too early they have more stress, first from the new experience of holding and then being moved all contribute. If you move them too long after the ten day mark sometimes the moms will spit in a frenzy to avoid capture. 

Both moms are doing well. With the divider they can see each other and seem to swim together up and down the side of the divider. Once the introduction were complete they both settled in and look happy. They each have a few stones, a little plant and a terra-cotta pot.

The Yellow Lab I stripped last week will be returning to the community the middle of next week. She's doing well. Her fry are healthy and eating fine. This Yellow Lab I stripped twice. The first time I left her in the tank below 

the little breeder box I had them in. I

counted 17. The next day I checked on them and there were only 5 left. Mystery to me. I noticed she looked \like she

was holding again. I released the 5 fry that were left and watched her gobble them up. I left her alone and stripped her a week later. Yup she had somehow sucked her babies back through the slits in the bottom of the breeder box. Talk about a mother bear!

I figure the middle of next week I'll 

move the two remaining holding females into that tank and use a divider to give them each a room to themselves. My other 10 gallon is still holding my Red Top Zebra fry. Hoping to unload them soon.

WATER CHANGE DAY CHANGE

I have always done my water changes on Mondays. Today is Friday and I just finished with my three show tanks. Because of a poor water test I was doing testing and water changes every other day for a bit. My test are spot on now but somehow my water change day has changed. Not sure how that happened but I like it just as well.

I always did them all on Mondays. My three show tanks and my Little Fish Room tanks as well. I did my LFR on Monday so I think that's how it's going to work for a while. As long as my tests are good and I don't get thrown off my schedule that is.

When I did my Juvenile Cichlid community, I removed five fish. One is holding so she is now in a brooding tank and the other four I moved to my tank they go in between Juvenile and Adult communities. It's only a 40 gallon but it's a pefect lay-over for them. Before I can add any more to my adult community I'll either have to sell some or get a bigger tank. My 75 gallon adult community has 31 fish. The 40 gallon has 14 all under 3" and my Juvenile tank is a 55 and it's holding 32 and they are all under 2". I love seeing them grow and develop their colours as I move them through my progressive tank setup.

It's a good feeling for me as well as the Cichlids when they have a beautiful clean environment to call home.

MY LATEST PHOTOS

MY LITTLE FISH ROOM JUGGLED AGAIN

It seems like I did the fish room juggle just the other week. Some times I do a couple tanks to make room for a sick, injured or brooding mom. Today I did a 4 tank juggle.

On the left are 31 Red Top Zebra fry and on the
right is my Yellow Lab mom - holding

To begin with I moved my largest fry 31 Red Top Zebra from their 30 gallon grow-out into an empty 10 gallon. They will be going this weekend so downsizing them for a couple days shall be fine. In that tank I also had a three other Cichlids. 1 Eye Biter (Compressiceps) and 2 Fairy.(Brichardi)

These three Cichlids I moved to my 55 gallon juvenile community. They seem to fit in well and are swimming freely exploring their new surroundings. Juvenile Cichlids are much more at ease than the adults. The take a look and off they go to play.. just like kids.

Far Left - Auratus and Dragon Blood fry
Middle - Red Top Zebra, Albino Red Zebra and Dolphins
The small brooding tank ready for the next mom.

Once that was done I moved my fry from my 20 gallon grow-out to the 30.That group is about 6 weeks old now. There are 61 Red Top Zebras, 4 Blue Dolphin, and 10 Red Albino Zebras. This was a great move. This group can stay in this tank for 2-3 months without me having to move them again!

Next I moved my 3wk old fry from the 10 in to my 20 grow-out. They look pretty little in that big tank but now they will be there for 2-3 months. Giving them lots of room really does promote growth. In this group there are 25 Auratus and 40-50 Dragon Blood fry. That's an estimate.

Update:

1- Brooding tank Yellow Lab holding
2- Brooding tank holding 31 fry to go Saturday
3- Brooding tank ready for next mom
4- 20 gl holding Auratus and Dragon Blood fry
5- 30gl holding Red Top Zebra, 10 Red Albino Zebra and 4 Dolphins

I have another 3 moms in my show tanks holding. They are a Yellow Lab, Elongatus and not sure of the third ones name. I'll have to decide who I will strip and who gets the tank and which fry I want to keep. Lot's to think about.

DAILY OBSERVATIONS

While feeding my Cichlids this morning I was watching my fry in their grow-out tanks. I had 10 RedxRed Albino Zebra fry in with my largest fry. These fry are ready to go. The Albino fry are about the same age give-or-take at day. What I've been noticing is that the Albino fry are just not growing. This morning paying close attention I could see that they weren't getting their share of food. The RedTop Zebras in that tank are quite hoggish. I'm going to move them out over the weekend. I'd like to sell them but I have so many more that I may just drop them off at the local aquarium for a store credit.

In my next grow-out tank I also have Red Top Zebras. They are about 2 months old now. I moved the 10 Albino fry over there. There is an age difference but there is no size difference at all. Feeding I can see clearly that the Albinos will flourish here as they are right up top with the younger fry eating well.

Please forgive the photo - I know it's pretty blurry but you can see the Albinos by their colour. They never ate at the top like they are doing with the smaller fry. I'm happy I moved them. In the few days they have been over in that tank they have doubled in size. No kidding!

KENYI-KENNY REHOMED AGAIN

FRY MYSTERY

Yesterday I stripped my Yellow Lab mom. I left her in the tank and put her fry in a little breeder box in the top corner of the tank. They seemed younger than the recorded age. The fry still had small eggs sacks. I decided I'd put a bubbler into the box with them just to keep a little motion. I sat and watched them for at least 30 minutes and then anytime I was upstairs I'd check on them. The bubbler was keeping them moving and they swam around as well. I was happy they were looking so good.

This morning I go in to check on them. Out of 17 fry this first time mom had there were only 5 left in the breeder box. Whaaaat?? Yup that's what I said. I looked into the tank. It looked like mom was holding again. Strange or what? There is no way they could get out themselves. There are little slits in the bottom of the breeder box and the only thing I can figure is that mom sucked them through the slits. I can't see how she could do that without hurting them. I decided to give her the remaining 5 fry back. Within seconds she had them picked up and looked quite content. She was holding again.

I had fed her after I stripped her but she didn't eat anything. I can still see the pellets I gave her sitting on the sand. Well, she's certainly stumped me. I had my RedTop Zebra do the same thing. The breeder box tipped and she grabbed all her babies back. I left her to spit after that. I guess I'll leave the Yellow Lab to spit on her own now. I'm really curious if she will have any, five or more. I just don't know what to think. Interesting to say the least.

STRIPPING YELLOW LAB MOM

Today was day 14 that my Yellow Lab has been holding. I have 3 other moms holding in my show tanks so I'm going to need the tank she's in. In order to give her some recuperation time I needed to strip her. I stripped her getting 17 fry from her. I left her in the brooding tank so she can have some time to rest and recoup.

All my other fry are doing well, growing like good little fry. Yesterday I aquired 4 Dolphin Cichlid fry, 2 Fairy or Brichardi, and one Eye Biter fry. I'm excited to watch them grow. They fit fine into my Red Top Zebra fry grow-out tank.

MOVING KENNY

Finally my little Kenyi whom I call Kenny was healthy enough to return to his community. Being away for a whole week I was hoping they would welcome him back. After a few hours it was evident that he was being picked on. He started hiding in the corners and keeping to himself. After being isolated for a week I felt so bad for him. We went through a lot to get him back to health. I took him back out of the community tank and moved him into my juvenile community.

About a month ago I moved another Cichlid that was being picked on into the juvenile tank to heal for the same reason. He did wonderful and I just returned him along with 3 other Cichlids. It's always better to introduce 3-4 at a time so the focus is distributed and no one Cichlid takes all the abuse. Al as I call the Albino that I just returned is like a new fish. He's taken control of the tank and is doing awesome. It's hard to believe he is the same fish as he was a month ago.

Kenny now in the juvenile community is doing wonderful. Yes he's ruling the tank but he's not mean. He just likes to chase a bit and show some dominance. In the few hours he was in his 75 gallon community his tale was quite shredded. I'll keep him in the juvenile 55 gallon to heal and longer if he needs it. There's no rush in returning him.

WATER CHANGE - RESCAPE

DAILY OBSERVATIONS

This morning I did a water change on my 55 gallon juvenile community. I also moved a few fish into my 40 gallon and some from the 40 into my 75. Trying to keep the sizes uniform for the young ones more so than for the adults.

So I did a complete 50% water change, removed the hard scape in order to catch the ones I was moving, cleaned the glass inside and then rescaped it for them. It took me about an hour and it's done and looks great. However, after a water change I loved to watch the fish settle in and check out their new digs. As I watched I noticed one of my juvenile females is holding. Sheesh.. my babies are having babies. I'm not even sure what she is. I'll have to do a little investigating. I do know who her
mate is. I'll be watching her for about 10 days and then move her into a brooding tank or playpen. I have 3 females holding right now so I'm running out of room. I'm going to have to strip again as I just don't have the room to let the moms have the tanks that long. I just stripped two moms last week so my grow-out tanks are also getting full. If I can't fit them anywhere I'll just have to let them do their thing in the community tank. Let nature takes it's course.

I'm no complaining at all. I love when they breed and produce little ones - remember that's the best sign you can be given that they are happy in their homes.

KENYI - SOON TO RETURN TO THE COMMUNITY

DAILY OBSERVATIONS

Making my rounds this morning everyone in my Little Fish Room looks great. I'm going to have to post fish for sale as I'm going to be needing a tank free soon. The tiny fry in my 10gl are small but many and growing fast. They will be needing a bigger tank in the near future.There are approximately 75 fry in that 10gl so as you can imagine they will be needing room to grow.

Yellow Lab mom is holding well developing quite a nice size buccal cavity. Today she's 11 days in. I have to decide within the next week whether to strip her or let her go. I seems lately with the way my females are breeding I don't have the luxury of letting them spit on their own.

Kenny - My little papalyzed Kenyi is doing much better. Over the weekend I will be able to move him back to the community tank. He's eating well and swimming so much better I think he's ready. Looking at my 75gl this morning, my Soulosi is concerning me. I will probably isolate her in a 10gl feed her peas, do an epsom salt treatment and watch her a day or two. I think it's just bloat but am not really sure on that.

I noticed I have a new mom holding this morning in my new 40gl community. She's a small Elongatus Mpanga. I'm really excited about her holding. I just picked those fish up last weekend. Mating is a wonderful indication that they are happy in their new home. I'll be moving her out at the 10 day mark. It's her first time and it's important to allow her to bond with the whole holding/mom thing. After the 10 days usually they mother-bear instinct kicks in and she's less likely to spit her fry.

As for my juvenile community - they look awesome, eat well, blend well with each other and all of them look healthy. Their 55gl home is my joy right now. I love to watch their interactions, mini displays of dominance and character traits all developing as their colours do. It's amazing to watch.

THE BEST AQUARIUM SAND BY FAR

When I first started in this wonderful hobby I didn't know anything. I purchased a 40gl setup complete with everything from gravel to Cichlids. All I basically did was transfer it from there to here. I was up and running that quick and easy. To begin with I had 8 Cichlids but soon was out looking for more.

My setup had a natural coloured gravel. Looking online I found the most popular for Cichlids was white sand. I wanted white sand too. I didn't like how dark the gravel made my tank look and the fish didn't really stand out against such a drab background. So, I went sand shopping. Not knowing any better and not thinking to ask I purchased fine white sand specifically suited to Cichlids.

Removing the gravel and replacing it with sand was quite a job. I removed everything, shop vacked the remaining gravel out..cleaned out the tank and added my rocks and sand. Once it was all done I really loved how clean and bright it looked. I was sure my fish preferred it as well because they were digging in it immediately.

Not more than a week or two later my HOB filters starting making a lot of noise. Cleaning them out I found the sand was so fine my intake tubes where pulling the sand into the filter and causing my impellar to grind. Not good. Reading, searching and through forums I found that this often happens. I first raised my intake tubes hoping if they were higher they wouldn't suck the sand up. Nope, that didn't work. My fish were prolific diggers and constantly sent clouds of fine sand up into the water.

Next I purchased a coarser sand and again removed my substrate and did the whole big job over again. This time I had no problem. The sand was heavier and coarser not allowing the fish to make clouds for my filter to inhale.

Over time as I have added aquarium after aquarium I have switched to pool filter sand. There are many types but I didn't realize that. I figured it was all pretty much the same. It was affordable and looked just as good as the expensive fishy sand. The only thing was it took some elbow grease to wash it.

Over the weekend I setup yet another aquarium. The place where I've gotten my sand before didn't have it in stock so I went to Canadian Tire. A great store I might add. The sand they had was different. They only had 20lb bags instead of 50lb that I usually bought. The price was right and the sand looked awesome. The stuff I bought before came in a solid bag so I couldn't see what it looked like but this came in a thick heavy clear plastic bag. I could see it was pristine.

I have it now in my newest setup and I have to say - It's the best most beautiful sand I've used thus far. It's actually crushed quartz. Under the lights it has an iridescent quality about it. I took a photo of the bag so when I need more I'll get the right one. Something as simple as substrate can enhance your tank.

LITTLE FISH ROOM UPDATE

I had to do some re-arranging in my Little Fish Room. I was moving a some fry. My oldest fry are 3 months. There are 30 Red Top fry that are ready to go. In that tank I also had some RedxRed Albino Zebras that were the same age but growing much slower, so I was moving them into the fry tank holding the fry that were a 2 months. Also in that tank I had a female Electric Blue that was holding but she spit most of her fry and lost them early on. I've been watching her. She hasn't been eating so I was thinking she must still be holding a few. During all this shuffling I caught her and as I did she spit 5 fry out. They still had eggs sacks. I put her in a playpen with these few babies hoping she would pick them up again. This morning they were dead. I returned mom to the community tank and hope she'll breed again soon. At least I know she's capable. I was sad for the loss as I am with any loss.

Next I moved my Dragon Blood mom back to the community and cleaned her tank up for my newest fry. She had at 40-50 and I had 25 Auratus fry that I was moving into the vacated tank. These two groups were only a few days apart so they would be fine together.

In another month I'm hoping my oldest fry will be gone and I'll use their 30gl grow-out for these young fry. In my 20gl grow-out I now have about 40 RedTop Zebras and the 10 RedxRed Albino Zebras. They are about 1" and growing fast.

LITTLE FISH ROOM UPDATE

10gl - isolation sick Kenyi
10gl - brooding Yellow Lab
10gl - 1 week old fry (Auratus & Dragon Blood)
20gl - 2 month old fry (RedTop Zebra & RedxRed Albino Zebra)
30gl - 3 month old fry (RedTop Zebra)

TREASURES OF MY ROCK HUNT

GOING TO BE RE-ROCKIN' THE SCAPE

DAILY OBSERVATIONS

Preceding me into my Little Fish Room is my cat Finn. He knows my routine and he knows I always give him a couple squares of brine shrimp while I'm feeding my babies. It's pretty bad when you are so stuck in a routine that your cat knows it! Ha!

This is my favorite way to start my day - by saying good morning and feeding my Cichlids. My sick little Kenyi doesn't look any different today. I did soak 3 pellets in salt water and dropped them in one at a time. He ate two so now we'll see if that helps him with his swim bladder problem. I feel so bad for him and I'm sure he's lonely but this seems to take time and I'm willing to give him what he needs. I just hope this is treatable. So far he really hasn't improved much. At least not as much as I had hoped by this time.

On to my fry. The babies I stripped yesterday from my Dragon Blood are doing really great. They are eating and spreading out in the playpen. They no longer huddle in a cluster as they are used to doing in Mamma's mouth. I can't count them all. I took a photo and can clearly count over 40.

Next my Auratus fry and in another playpen in with my 1 month old fry. They are growing like crazy. I am sure they have doubled in size. You don't realize how much they've grown in 4 days until you see them next to the newest fry. It's really shocking. They are fantastic eaters and doing very well.

I continued feeding the rest of my fry. I have to vacuum the substrate pretty much every morning cause there are always left over algae chips melted on the sand. I have one Pleco who lives for those things. The others are too interested in them but they are smaller if that makes a difference.

Coming down stairs I feed my poor starving cats who haven't eaten since yesterday and are sure they are near deaths door by the sound they make! Once they and my pooch are looked after I take care of my show tanks. I begin with my 75gl greeting my Cichlids with as much joy as they greet me with. I alternate feeding them pellets and chips. I have been dropping a few in at a time watching who is eating and then directing food to the ones that are smaller and wait for the bigs guys to get out of the way.

Moving on, I next feed my newbies. The tank looks great. I'm so happy with it. The fellow I got them from told me he never sees is Cichlids. They are always hiding on him. I've noticed any time I approach the tank they shoot for cover and *poof* the tank looks empty. I've never seen this behavior before. My Cichlids are very bold and almost rub noses with me when I sit in front of the tank watching them. Each day they seem to be less and less afraid not ducking out of site like they did the first couple days. I found that odd.

Finally I do the same with my juveniles. I feed them a mix of pellets and chips alternating days. I also feed slowly watching that all the smaller ones get their share. It helps too in avoiding over feeding them. All tank daylights are on and everyone's had breakfast. It's the beginning of a great day!

I think I'll go rock hunting this afternoon. See what I can find since the last of my stash in now in this new setup. As silly as it sounds I love hunting for rocks. I'm quite choosy as well. They have to be a good size, colour, shape... just any old rock won't do!

STRIPPING MY MAMMA CICHLIDS

I needed a 10gl tank for an isolation so I had to strip my holding Auratus mom. She was at 16 days in so it was good timing. I had planned on letting her spit on her own but circumstances changed and I had to strip her. She did well and gave me 24 fry. This is her second brood. In her first brood she had 17 so I'm happy with how she did. She actually starting spitting as soon as I picked her up. Her fry were swimming well and looked to be healthy. Following a brood I like to give the females a week of rest in an isolation tank before returning them to my community tank. Giving them time to recharge, rest and gain some weight. This time I didn't have an empty tank so she went right back to the 75gl community tank.

I stripped her on May 12th. I have her fry in a playpen in one of my grow-out tanks. They are doing amazingly well and have already grown. I really love raising fry. I have two other moms holding in 10gl tanks and the third 10gl is an isolation tank for a sick Cichlid. The females that are holding are a Yellow Lab and a Dragon Blood. I'm excited about both of those broods. The Lab has held twice before but lost them within a couple days. Very disappointing. This time she's doing really good. Since it will be her first successful brood I will let her do it all on her own.She bred with my Red Zebra on May 7th. I'm looking forward to seeing what the babies look like.


The Dragon Blood was holding until today. It just made better sense for me to strip her. If I had more small tanks I would have let her go. I didn't know for sure when she bred because when I got her she was already holding. From the look of her development I put her at about 2-3 days in. Today was at the least 16 days. I didn't want to risk her spitting only because it's much more difficult to catch tiny fry than you can possibly imagine.

I have the Auratus fry in a playpen and I put the Dragon Blood fry in another playpen. I will give them a week or so in the playpen giving mom time to recuperate and the fry to grow a little. Then I'll be putting the Auratus fry and the Dragon Blood fry together in the vacated 10gl. They will be fine in the 10gl for a couple weeks and I'll get the oldest fry (3 months) sold so I can move this double group into the 30 grow-out in about a month.

As tiny as these little fry are they were hungry. Their eggs sacks which sustain them for the first 14 days were used up and these little guys were ready for food. The first food I give them is a mix of blood worm, brine shrimp and Omega 3 Cichlid flakes. I put about a teaspoon of each into a baggie and crush it into a fine powder with my rolling pin. After the first week I upgrade them to a larger pellet for fry and then a grow food. They seem to love it and I feed them often. I also have to do water changes quite often because of the amount of food they get and the itty bitty waste they produce can still become toxic at their size. Just imagine the ratio. 10gl tank with close to 100 fry in it. Talk about overstocking ha!

MY NEWEST ACQUISITION

KENYI STILL NOT GOOD

CONFUSING MY CICHLIDS

ANOTHER TANK?

Oh dear.. yes I got another tank yesterday. I was online looking at some postings and ran across one that interested me. This fellow needed to unload 8 Cichlids and was interesting in acquiring a 30gl tank with hood/light. Well, guess what I had all washed up sitting here all clean and empty? You got it. I had a nearly-new, in great shape, no scratches 30gl tank. I acquired two tanks the other day through trading the last of my batch of fry. I got a 40gl and 30gl.

I contacted this fellow and the deal was done. I dropped the tank off and picked up the Cichlids. They are beautifully healthy and nicely coloured as well. I got 2 Cobalt Blues, 1 Yellow Lab, 2 Kenyi and 3 Elongatus Mpanga. I'm very pleased to have these guys. I don't have Cobalt Blues or the Elongatus so that's exciting.

Earlier I set up my 40gl tank and got it running. I had everything, from top to bottom so it was just a matter of setting it up. Hubby helped me with location and moving some furniture. I waited until the temperature was warm enough before adding the Cichlids. I also added 4 of my own that needed to be re-homed. This group fits really well together. So far I haven't seen any aggression but there are lots of rocks and crevasses for all of them to be happy.

The only thing I didn't have was a hood light. I went to home depot to get a few things and made my own. I used a plastic snap-on floor board piece and an LED tape light. Hubby cut the plastic for me. I stuck the tape light to the inside and poof! a hood light for the huge cost of about $30.

The tank looks ok, The only thing I'm not so happy with is the tape light isn't white light. It's more like an old fashioned yellowish colour. I thought that if it said LED it meant white. I'll go check this week and see if they come in the white as well. I much prefer that.

Along with all this fun we also had our two little granddaughters for a sleep over. Morgan asked me "Gramma why do you have so many fish?" 

CANDID CAMERA CICHLIDS

MY NEW ADDITIONS

DAILY OBSERVATIONS

The last couple days I've been watching my male Kenyi in my African Community tank. He was just fine the other day. In fact I have him on video swimming around happy as a clam. Yesterday he was acting as if he's paralyzed. He only swims using his pectoral fins and not his tail at all.

Asking for advice as I often do online at forums, on Youtube or other sites it was suggested to me that he may have a bladder issue. It was told to move him into an isolation tank, treat the water with Epsom salts, turn up the heat to 84 degrees and not feed him for a couple days.

I did as suggested and now I'll just wait and hope he improves. When I do feed him he will have shelled peas for a day or two. This is how kind and caring the Cichlid community is. People willing to help each other out all in the name of these wonderfully fascinating fish.

I really appreciate all the help I get and certainly try to help where I can as well.

NEW TANK UPDATE

After careful cleaning and inspection I am pleased with my tank trade. Both tanks look really great. The 40gl is slightly used, no visible scratches and clean up was pretty easy. Just had to wash it out with vinegar water and shine up. For this tank I have a Marineland HOB filter, my hubby will be making me the lid and I've got a line on an inexpensive LED light. The only thing I really need is a heater. I have an extra heater but I only use it in emergencies. It's a poor quality and hard to stabilize the temperature.

The 30gl was a little more work. I had to use a blade to scrape off lime build up where the filters had been hanging. It took a little more elbow grease but turned out looking just as sweet as the other tank. No visible scratches (which is a huge deal for me) so I'm very pleased. I had an extra hood/light in the basement for this size tank so I cleaned that up and it's perfect. It's just a florescent light which I'm not a fan of but for a grow-out tank it will do the trick. That's all I have for this tank so I'll need to pick up a filter, and heater then I'll be set.

After selling off the last of my 4 month old fry I have room again. These two tanks aren't really needed yet. The 30gl will be a grow-out but the 40gl I'm thinking it will be my "Pen" for the bad boys. I have so many options and lots of ideas so nothing is concrete yet. I have to make up my mind and that sometimes takes a little time!

In my Little Fish Room I now have

3 brooding tanks with three moms brooding in them. I also have two more moms holding in my community tank which I'll be moving this weekend. To make room for them I'll have to strip the mom that's furthest along - that being my Auratus mom. This weekend puts her at the 16 day mark.  A good time to strip. The other mom in my community tank seems to have misplaced her eggs. She may be holding one or two yet as she's not eating and acting like she's still holding but her buccal cavity has shrunk so there's no point in moving her. If she ends up holding and raising one or two babies..kudos to her. Just not enough for me to worry about. I'm hoping she'll learn next time. These first time moms are newbies and don't quite understand what's happening. It's important to let them hold to around 10 days in before moving them. They need this time to bond with their brood the changes of not eating and the entire mom experience. You lower the risk them spitting if you give them this time to adjust to these changes. In those few days it seems the protective instincts kick in and you end up with a pretty good mom.

Finally, the last two tanks in my Fish Room are a 20gl full of fry and a 30gl also full of fry. The smaller tank is holding my youngest at about 6 weeks old 1", and the other tank has some mixed fry all about 10 weeks and 1.5". As you can see I do't need the new tanks yet but I will soon enough.

CICHLID PHOTO SHOOT

I am a photography buff with a CANON 60D but as I said a buff. It's another hobby I love. I am by no means professional as you can see by my photos. My favorite things so shoot are nature, the great outdoors, changing seasons and of course my animals.

Shooting my Cichlids is the most fun. They do not hear me when I say sit still, or smile. They are challenging as they are constantly moving and making facial expression that I patienly wait for just to miss the shot. It takes time and patients to get the perfect shot. I'm getting closer but I'm sure it will forever elude me as I am always striving to improve on anything I do. I'm sure this won't be any different. It's a joy, amusing, time consuming and teaches you patients all wrapped in one package.

WHEELIN' AND DEALIN'

Today I got myself 2 more fish tanks. One is 30x12x20 (30gl) and the other is 36x12x20 (40gl). They are used but look to be in decent shape. The seals look really good and haven't been resealed or tampered with so I'm optimistic. In return I traded 23 fry. 13 Red Top Zebras, 6 Yellow Labs and 4 OB Peacocks. Funny thing is, with these two new tanks I would have had room to keep them ha!

I was up early getting the fish caught and ready to go. I kept them in a 5gl pail with a sponge filter running while I got the newly empty tank ready for the fry that I was moving in. I did a water change and vacuumed and fixed it up. The fry that are moving over are only .5" but I need my 10gl empty for another holding female in my community tank. The easiest way to move little ones like that is simply to vacuum them up. It's quick and easy. I put the fry into their new digs. Of course they are a little intimidated with the size of their new
home. However, it didn't take them long before they were looking quite at home.




The fish trader guy got here right on time and we had a good fish chat as we got the tanks unloaded and fish ready to go. It's always fun to meet people who share your passion. I enjoyed our chat and may call him again as he still has a few tanks sitting around.

WATER CHANGE MONDAY

Mondays I do the water changes on my two display tanks. One tank is 75gl home to my Mixed African Cichlid community and the other is my 55gl home to my Juveniles all mixed African Cichlids as well.

I began with the bigger tank. Sometimes it's hard to do because the tank looks pristine and beautiful and you may wonder why mess with it when it's looking so good. See that's the thing, looks can be deceiving. The tank may be beautiful on the first impression or to the naked eye but that beautiful clear water could be a death trap for your fish if you don't do regular weekly water changes. Cichlids are fairly large aquarium fish and in turn have a good size out put of waste. That waste can produce deadly levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrates. If allowed to build up you will be devastated with a great loss of fish. And if you are anything like me - your Cichlids are your babies.

To begin I remove my light bar, and the lids. Then I attach my Python siphon hose to my tank, run the 25 feet of hose into my kitchen sink and get the suction going. As the water begins to drain I start the filling my first pail. The Python is rigged so it simply attaches to your tap and you don't need to use buckets. Unfortunately my facet isn't compatible so I have to get an adapter and I just haven't gotten around to it yet. The way my house is set up I don't mind. I don't have far to carry the pails. As each pail fills I carry it
to my tank area and set it aside. Mean while as my water level drops I begin my cleaning. I clean my filters every other water change alternating them. When I say "clean" I'm only referring to removing the filter from the back compartment of my HOB's and rinsing them. I never replace them with new filters at the same time and I usually rinse them a time or two before I do replace them. Removing the HOB and deep cleaning it, I do about once a month. Sometimes I let them go a little longer.


The water is now down to about 50%. My pails are usually filled by this time as well. At this point I get my scrubbie and clean the glass on the inside of the tank. Nothing is worse than taking pictures through dirty glass. After that I get out my vacuum and clean up the debris sitting on top of the sand. The vacuum I like is a 1" - 10' hose with a 12" piece of hanger inserted in the sucking end. This gives the hose some stability and it's easy to be very accurate in what I pick up. I do pick up some sand and just rinse it and return it to the tank.

Finally I start refilling the tank. I add Prime to one of the buckets. As I pour a pail of new water I add a pitcher of the Prime water to the tank. Once the cleaning and filling are complete I do the clean up, wiping down my lids, light bar and outer glass.

The process sounds like a big job and time consuming but it's pretty simple. I can have my 75gl tank done in an hour easily. I turn on the tunes and get at it. I repeat the process doing my 55gl tank in the same way. Once it's done it's fun to watch the Cichlids. You can see how they like the fresh water. Following a good water change they are frisky and playful.

When you have a routine, the supplies and everything you need ready it makes the work easier. Organization goes a long way. 

A GREAT MOTHER'S DAY

AFRICAN CICHLIDS BREEDING WELL

DAILY OBSERVATIONS

Many times throughout my day I stop and take a moment to just sit and enjoy my Cichlids. I never ceases to amaze me how soothing and calming it is just watching my Cichlids swim around interacting with each other. They are therapeutic in a sense. If I'm upset, or worried about something, or just feeling alone sitting and spending time relaxing and watching them brings me such a good, peaceful feeling. I'm not sure anyone who doesn't share this fascination or hobby can really understand what I'm trying to say.

I was out getting my pond in the yard cleaned up, washed out, stones reset, pump and waterfall running all so I could bring my fish back out. They have spent the last 4 months in my basement in an algae filled tank waiting for spring. My pond fish look wonderful and happy back where they belong. I'm so happy my pond is ready for summer. There are plants sprouting around the pond but until they mature it's looking a little bare. I have a few water plants in pots that are also needing to grow but that's the wonderful thing about spring. The joy of watching life return is tremendously satisfying.

Once my yard work was done I came in to sit for a bit with a cold drink in front of my 75gl African Cichlid community tank. As I'm watching I notice my Red Zebra is really working himself up for someone. Standing up and peering behind the rock where he was in a frenzy I see one of my yellow labs doing the mating dance with him. She now has her mouth full and can hardly close it around the eggs she's holding. This will be interesting. I have not had any success with my yellow labs breeding. They breed well but always spit or lose their brood a day or two later. I'll have to wait and see. If she's still holding at 10 days in then I will move her to a brooding tank. I'm really hoping she gets it right this time.

CICHLIDS PHOTOGRAPHY AT HOME

DAILY OBSERVATIONS

As I was doing my rounds this morning - all my Cichlids in the fish room were looking good. I did find a fry in the playpen with my newest holding female. I removed her for the simple reason, she needs to eat with the other fry as I won't be feeding this mom for a bit yet. All the new moms look as comfortable as they can. I will be moving the last fry from a 10-20 gallon tank hopefully by next week. I have twenty- two 1.5-2" fry to sell yet. I may have to look into taking them to this auction I have heard about. (12 Red Top Zebras, 6 Yellow Labs,4 OB Peacocks)

My show tanks looked great as well. I always check the juveniles first and feed them. I love feeding them because they are in a frenzy even so young. Finally I feed and check on my 75 gallon. The fish looked hungry as usual but I did notice one of my Yellow Labs is holding again. This is attempt #3. I'm just going to let her be and have them in the tank. The last couple times she ate or swallowed her eggs. I'll just keep a close eye on her.

I don't like moving 1st timers before 9-10 days in unless they are being attacked or looking too stressed out. If she is still holding at that time then I will consider moving her. Leaving them in the community is best for a new mom. Having eggs in her mouth is just a foreign feeling and over the first week or so she basically bonds with the feeling of babies in her mouth. I think too, during this time her protective instincts are established and she begins to know these are hers and nobody can have them.

Her timing is pretty good actually. I will be stripping my Auratus female in about 7 days so I'll have her 10 gallon tank ready for the Yellow Lab if she's still holding at that point. If I am stripping I put the little fry into a playpen usually for two weeks. This seems to give them the best start in life. The area is small relevant to their size making it easier for them to find the food I give them rather than hunting over a whole ten gallons for food. Plus I hate to waste an entire 10 gallon tank on possibly only a handful of fry. 

DOING THE FISH-TANK JUGGLE

Of all the days to sleep in I pick the day where I have tons of stuff I need to do! I have people coming for fish so I'm going  to be catching fish but first I have to do some water changes.

I did the water change in my juvenile tank first because there are a few Cichlids in there that will be sold today. I needed to catch 4 OB Peacocks and a few Yellow Labs. I took the tank down to 50%, removed the decor and rocks; then caught my fish. I cleaned the glass inside and out, vacuumed and then refilled it. Finishing up with that tank heading up to my fish room was next.

In the fish room I needed to catch 4 Acei and 16 Red Top Fry for one couple that was coming, then I needed 6 Yellow Labs and 4 OB Peacocks for the next couple and finally 2 Yellow Labs for the last couple. This was really a great day for all those fish to be gone.

I was able to juggle my tanks making room for my newly holding moms. In my 10 gallon tanks I have my Auratus mom who I intend to strip after the 14th, my new young Dragon Blood also holding and in the last tank I still have my tiny fry. They are about 1/2" and a month old. From one of the 10s I moved my 2 month old fry into the 30 grow-out where they can stay until sold. The 30 grow-out had a dozen 3 month old Red Tops so I caught them and moved them into my 20 gallon where I have 6 Yellow Labs and 4 OB Peacocks left. I will hopefully sell them this week as I have another young female holding. She hasn't really coloured up so I'm not sure what she is but she's only holding for a couple days. It's her first time so I will let her spit and care for her babies for a few days - until she doesn't pick them up anymore. Once the 20 is empty and the fish sold then I'll move the 1 month old fry into the 20 gallon so I can put this new mom in her own 10 gallon tank. Right now she's in the 30 gallon tank in a playpen. As I was doing all this juggling I was doing water changes on each tank as well. I'm very happy that's done for today.

My juggling is done for now - until the 20 is empty, then it's time for round two. After that I won't have to move anyone too urgently unless I end up with more moms holding. My Cichlids are prolific breeders right now and I see a lot of shivering and shaking going on so I'm sure I'll have more holding soon. I may have to let them spit them in the community tank. It really depends on who is holding. There are some I am still hoping to get a brood or two from. I have a few playpens free so if I have to use them for more moms I can.

This was a very busy day but it was a good one too!

NEW ADDITIONS

Today while out doing errands I decided to run into town and stop in at Al's. I needed a couple items and of course got looking at the fish. I came home with 6 new additions to my tank. With these extras my tank is perfect.

I picked up a couple Dragon Blood females. One is quite a bit smaller than the other one but when I got home I noticed the bigger of the two is holding. How cool is that? I've never been lucky like that so I'm really stoked about baby Dragon Bloods.

I also picked up a SP #44. I don't know how he will do because I have a couple in the community already. I'm hoping they will get along. They really shouldn't fight because I don't have any females. (I think).

I also got a pure white Red Zebra. I wasn't a 100% sure that's what he was. I am now. He's pretty. I'm also not sure whether he is a he or not. I guess time will tell.

The last two I picked were similar. One looks like he's going to show red on the shoulders. The other one looks like the female to one male I have. I'm still working on identifying him. 

I'm really happy with my purchases. These were all chosen from a couple of assorted African Cichlid tanks. The price was right and I'm happy.

NEW TANK BOSS

For the past few days I've been watching a shift in the tank hierarchy. The Cichlid I figured would step up and become tank boss didn't. My new tank boss has really surprised me. He's a gorgeous peacock but I'm still trying to find his proper name. He was always mellow in the community when I had Bubba in that tank. He was never a threat and had the roam of the tank. Now he's laid claim to the back bottom left corner of my 75 gallon community tank. It's apparent the other fish either fear or respect him. I will be watching him closely as I don't want any injuries but, he doesn't seem aggressive just assertive. I can live with that.

This is KING

WATER CHANGE MONDAY

Today I didn't do much work because I did most of my tanks over the weekend. I only worked on my 55 gallon juvenile tank. I did about 40% of the water and cleaned both HOB filters. I left the canister alone. The tank looks great and the fish look happy. What more could you ask for?