OUT AND ABOUT - MORE CICHLIDS

Today I had to go out and pick up another test pack for my Nitrate as mine was empty. I went to three different stores and they were out at all of them. I ended up getting the Nitrate test by NutraFin. It's fine. There's a little more to it than the API test kit. The NutraFin has three bottles of solution. It's a light purple/pink colour but as long as it tells me what I need to know I guess I'm happy.

Of course being out at an aquarium store I had to check out the fish. I ended up bringing home four more fish. I picked up two (Placidochromis Milomo) VC-10's and two (Chromobotia Macracanthus) Clown Loaches. I've wanted to get a couple clown loaches for a while so I was happy they had some and the VC-10's were just a whim.

A little trivia on the VC-10's - They were given the name VC-10 by a pair of brothers from Florida who where one of the first exporters of Cichlids from Africa to America back in the early 70's. They were named after the airplanes that were mostly used in Africa at that time. The word Milomo translated from the Chewa language means lips because this species has very thick lips. They are from Lake Malawi although unlike most Cichlids they like being on their own.

CANDID CAMERA CICHLIDS

AFRICAN CICHLIDS - ANIMAL BREEDS ON YOUTUBE

This is a great channel on Youtube - AMNIMAL BREEDS
The African Cichlids are clearly recognizable in these shots.
Thanks for the great vid AB!

ANIMAL BREEDS

STELLA WEEK 2

It's time to consider moving Stella to a brooding tank. Recommendations are that the holding female be moved between the 7-10 day mark. It's the time where she is least likely to spit the fry out as she has held them long enough to have bonded with holding them and the best time for the fry as they could sustain injury or being swallowed moving the female too late.


Today I moved Stella into
her own brooding tank. This tank is one of 2 small tanks I use for brooding females, or at times just isolation when necessary. She is being moved from a 55 gallon. She has been sticking to a small corner of the bigger tank so she's not really losing any space. I figure she will be totally stress free on her own. Although Finn my cat has decided sitting on her tank is his new sleep spot. I've put a light layer of course sand down and gave her some rocks and an eve-trough elbow to swim through to keep her entertained.  Now that she's moved and settled it's just a waiting game.

Looking closely at Stella's jaw you can see the fry. The dark area are her fry. I can see them wiggling inside when I look closely. Can't imagine how that must feel.

MORE SOUTH AMERICAN CICHLIDS PHOTOS

STELLA'S NEW HOME

I have decided to ensure a higher survival rate of Stella's young I will be moving her to a separate broodingg tank. I want her stress free and mothering a large healthy brood. This will give me the best possible results.

The tank I will be moving Stella to is a 10 gallon tank. I have a white sand substrate in the tank. I've had trouble with sand interfering with the impeller in all my aquariums causing them to grind and be very loud. Since then I have removed the sand and replaced it with pea-gravel. That fixed the sound problem but I still prefer the look of the clean white sand.

Having the internet is such an amazing and helpful tool. You can find forums, videos, Q&A pages and so much help anytime you run into a problem or need advice - not just on Cichlids but on pretty much anything you can think of.

Having my sand/grinding/noise problem I did a search and talked to a couple different people getting advice for this issue. Of course after I removed the sand I was told raising the filter intake tube could be all that's needed. Because the Cichlids like to dig and stir up the sand, tiny particals were getting sucked into my filter impeding the impellers rotation and causing the noise.

Yesterday I picked up a new bag of sand that seems to be a little coarser. I'm hoping this will work. Changing the substrate is a huge job so I'm not going to tackle that anytime soon but if this sand works out then in my next setup I will use it again.

Stella gets to test out this sand in her very own brooding aquarium. So far Stella is looking happy even though she looks like she's pouting. Inside she is all smiles!

STELLA - WEEK 1

This is Poppa

This morning I was lucky to watch the entire breeding process between two of my Mbuna Lake Malawi African Cichlids. It's amazing and very interesting to watch. The entire process took quite a while. She would lay her eggs and spin around to pick them up while the Male would fertilize them. Spinning again and again they repeated this over and over again until all her eggs had been shed. From there she swam off and hid in the plants.

Holding Female

Stella is a healthy fish and I have no worries of her missing a few meals while she's holding but I do feel bad for he self-sacrifice. I have been reading forums and watching videos to glean information as to whats the best avenue for her. She will naturally hold her eggs for 3-4 weeks. I have read that allowing her to spit them out in my large community tank, although it's the most natural course, it can be stressful on her as she has more concerns for their welfare in a many-fish tank not to mention the survival rate is less then 50%. I will be preparing a tank for the fry so I'll move her there when she's close to releasing her babies. This is not her first spawn but I want her as stress-free as possible. The sooner she is free of her young the sooner she's be back in action to breed again. I'll leave her with her fry for a good couple weeks allowing her to regenerate her weakened condition through not eating before I release her back into the community tank.

AFRICAN MBUNA CICHLIDS

I had my camera out this morning and took these shots. Just a few of my Mbuna Cichlids. I have an assortment of species - each one special.

NEW WORLD CICHLIDS - 30 GALLON TANK

,

This is my New World Cichlid tank.

 I have 3 Parrots -
1 black
1 orange
1 orange/black

He started of all black but not as dark as my other one.
Then he began to lose the blackness and it seemed to
fade into a light orange. I did look into this and
 it's quite normal.

There are also -
2 black convicts

One is quite small. The larger BC is probably triple his size
 but aside from the odd chase they get along well enough.

Finally
1 Tiger Oscar
rounds out this group.

NW Cichlids are far less aggressive than the African Cichlids.
I have to admit I love them both and really don't have a preference.

AFRICAN MBUNA CICHLIDS

SPAWNING

This morning when I came down to feed my African Malawi Cichlids I was fortunate to watch Bubba and Stella spawning. It was so interesting to watch the process. Stella would lay her eggs and quickly turn around picking them up. Bubba then came and did his shiver-shake while Stella gathered her eggs taking in his sperm thereby fertilizing the eggs in her mouth. I watched them repeat this process over and over again. 

Stella now is hanging out in the plants with a mouth full of eggs. In about 4 weeks we will have fry in the tank. I have thought about removing her but have decided to allow nature to take it's course and let her and Bubba protect their young as they would in the wild.

It's easy to tell if a Cichlid is holding eggs in her mouth. If you look at their gills and follow them down to below her mouth where they create a triangle. That triangle becomes a pouch where the eggs are held. I'm excited and will keep you posted as to the progress of Bubba and Stella.

MOSS BALLS AND CICHLIDS

I love Moss Balls. I think they are funny, interesting and like them in my tanks. They are not really moss but a ball of algae. They are also known as Marimo Balls named after a Japanese Botonist. Mari means bouncy ball and Mo refers to plants that grown in water.

These moss balls or Marimo Balls can be purchased at most pet stores or aquarium shops. They look fuzzy and feel soft and plush. They retain their round shape naturally by being rolled around by the currents. Marimos are easy to care for. They are not alive but an accumulation of algae formed into a ball. However they do give the impression that they are alive because they move around the aquarium.
They can easily be kept in a glass of tap water on the counter. There are only a couple things you need to do for them. Change their water weekly and turn them so they retain their round shape. They are fine in indirect sunlight but do just as well in regular household lights.Over time they do grow and have been known to reach 12". If you find they are getting too big, just pull it apart and make more. They will round up again. If you squeeze the water out they will float.

I have one in each of my Cichlids tanks. The fish don't eat them but will nibble at them and roll them around the tank. Any nibbling that does occur is so minor that they replenish themselves as quickly as they lose volume from the odd nibble. They are a great addition to any fish tank, fish bowl or aquarium as they work as mini filters cleaning the water as they move around.

THE WATER CHANGE

I usually do my water changes on Mondays. It's a perfect time for me because I'm home every Monday all by myself excluding one dog and three cats. The only one that assists me is my kitten Finn.

Today I did my 30 gallon New World Cichlid tank. New World Cichlids I find to be messier eaters than their African cousins. I have three Blood Parrots in this tank, along with one Oscar and two Black Convicts. The Blood Parrots with their interesting shape, are actually deformed through breeding leaving them with an odd shaped mouth. Their mouths don't close making it more difficult to eat and causing more waste in the tank. As much as I love the Parrot fish, it saddens me that they were bred to produce deformities.

I purchased a new little Black Convict yesterday and looking at the tank I new it needed a good water change before introducing this new little one. I began by getting my pails, vacuum and other supplies ready. First I begin removing about 10 gallons of the tank water keeping it in pails as I work. Next I remove the decor, plants and rocks setting them aside but not washing them. There's great healthy bacteria and algae on them that I don't want to disturb.

Now my tank is about 2/3's full of water and my Cichlids. At this point I usually just vacuum the stones allowing the fish to swim around as I work. Today I really needed to do a deeper clean so I moved the fish into one of the pails of water I was saving. That gave me a good opportunity to really shake things up and get the gravel cleaner then I could with the fish still in the tank.

Keep in mind the Cichlids weren't suffering any stress until Finn decided to go fishing. Luckily the pails are 5 gallon pails and Finn's little arms only reach about half way. Mind you he was soaked right up to his kitty pits.

Once I had the gravel vacuumed there was 10 gallons of water left. I began the next step of setting up the landscape. In this tank I like to change things up moving things around yet still creating the same hiding spots. They each have their favorites places to hide and I try to respect that. Everything this is set, filter has been cleaned and changed, bubbler is set and heater ready to go. All I have to do is turn on my power supply.

My next step I begin by pouring the water I saved back into the tank. I continue to fill the tank with fresh water that has been treated with Prime matching the temperature as I go. As soon as the water reaches levels high enough that I can turn my filter on I get that going. I give the landscape a quick check as it could have moved a little as I added the water. Finally I slowly add the final pail of water that the fish are in.

Taking my paper towel and vinegar bottle I clean the glass and wipe down the top/light and I'm done! The entire process takes me around 1.5-2 hours. It's one I love to do because these fish give me so much pleasure.

WHY CICHLIDS

Cichilds are a unique fish set apart from all other freshwater aquarium fish. They are the most intelligent by far. They recognize their caregivers and come to greet you when you approach the tank.. When I sit before my aquarium watching them it's not long before they are all joining me at the glass watching me right back. The are so funny and actually interactive with each other and me. If I put my fingers in the tank they come and nibble and poke to see what I'm doing. Usually looking for snacks but I like to think they just like me!

Cichlids not only claim and defend their territory but actually rearrange it until it suits them. They are hard working and take pride of ownership of their homes. They display mating rituals, by dancing and shaking in an effort to attract their mate. The males work hard preparing a home or brooding area for their future Mrs.hoping to attract her by his actions, colour changes and hard work.

All Cichlids are parental in that they care for their young as parents working together. They defend their territory and protect their own from outsiders. The females lay their eggs and then pick them up and carry them in their mouths until they hatch. The fry are released and kept herded together by both parents. If their is danger present the mother will scoop up her little ones into her mouth until the danger passes.

Because Cichlids are territorial they can be aggressive in defending their homes, sometimes to the point of serious injury or even death. When setting up a Cichlid aquarium it's important to glean as much information as to their requirements so they will have ample room to thrive and establish their own territories with out too much rivalry.

Cichlids come in a multitude of colours, sizes, personalities and are so diverse they are a joy to watch and care for. I'm learning more and more about them everyday. I find them fascinating and love to share what I learn and my own experiences as I explore and develop this new hobby of mine.

THE NEW CICHLIDS AQUARIST

Being new to the world of Cichlids - I'm learning fast and have fallen in love with these unique, vibrant, funny fish. 

I've had fish tanks as long as I can remember.  Mostly sticking with tropical fish, at times guppies, goldfish and more. When we moved, I gave my tanks to my grandchildren encouraging them to join me in this passion. It's been a couple years now and I realized how much I've missed my love for aquariums and the beauty they provide.

I decided to do some investigating on something new.  I began reading about Cichlids. Well I was quickly hooked. These fish are amazing. They have personalities, are interactive with people and each other and develop boundaries within their tank. It's really amazing to watch. Cichlids have become such a fascination that you can find information, videos and forums to help you with all your questions as you develop your hobby.

As I said, I'm fairly new to Cichlids only being involved with them for a few months. Presently I have two active Cichlids tanks. My smaller tank is 30 gallons and contains 5 New World Cichlids. I have 3 Blood Parrots, 1 Oscar and a Black Convict in this tank. 

My African Cichlid tank is 55 gallon and is housing 20 assorted fish. They range for 1" - 4" in size. Happily the seem to get along really well.

My largest tank is 70 gallons,  Presently it's the home of my pond fish. Once the winter months pass and I can release them back outside into my pond I will make it my newest Cichlid addition. 

I welcome you to join me in this new adventure. The amazing world of Cichlids.