First cichlids added

I have just purchased some African cichlids.

I have started with just 4 for now.
I will attach some photos. They seem very shy at the moment and hiding a lot.
Is this normal at the start?

I understand my plants will get eaten.

The larger blue one is a bit of a Bully aswell?

Rick147 said:

I have just purchased some African cichlids.

I have started with just 4 for now.
I will attach some photos. They seem very shy at the moment and hiding a lot.
Is this normal at the start?

I understand my plants will get eaten.

The larger blue one is a bit of a Bully aswell?

Click to expand...

What tank size is it?

You really need lots of caves and places for them to hide from one another.

itiwhetu said:

You really need lots of caves and places for them to hide from one another.

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Yes, fill the tank with ocean rock, this has lots of little caves and nooks for the fish to find safety. I also would have recommended (depending on tank size and cycled status) adding more than 4. They are very aggressive fish and one of them will be hyper dominant if you don’t have more to spread out aggression

I am seeing that you returned the last batch of fish on or around April 10th due to an uncycled aquarium.

Are you absolutely 100% sure that you have fully cycled this aquarium from scratch cos the timespan is very short. African cichlids are even tougher for a beginner than the last batch of fish that you had in the aquarium. You had diatoms just a day or so ago.

I am concerned that you are still trying to run before you can walk.

Sorry, 3 messages at once but could you also state (or anyone else remember) your water kh and gh?

This was the post from April 7th

Hi there,
Been a very long time since I have had tropical fish.
I recently went a purchased a 3ft tank (for now) set it up and cycled for a week.
I then put in 10 small mollies
Waited few days, then 4 angles
Few days and then 2 clown loach.
Is this to many fish or will it be ok? All fish are very small atm, have done water testing and everything seems ok?

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Thankfully you returned the fish as being unsuitable and due to an uncycled aquarium.

I am sorry matey but there is no way that you have cycled the aquarium properly in such a short time. The new fish are as unsuitable as the first ones. You have soft water in Sydney and African cichlids do not thrive in soft water at all.

Please be patient, cycle the aquarium correctly and properly and return those fish asap. They are going to suffer terribly in that water chemistry and in an uncycled aquarium.

wasmewasntit said:

This was the post from April 7th



Thankfully you returned the fish as being unsuitable and due to an uncycled aquarium.

I am sorry matey but there is no way that you have cycled the aquarium properly in such a short time. The new fish are as unsuitable as the first ones. You have soft water in Sydney and African cichlids do not thrive in soft water at all.

Please be patient, cycle the aquarium correctly and properly and return those fish asap. They are going to suffer terribly in that water chemistry and in an uncycled aquarium.

Click to expand...

Indeed, your aquarium definitely needs to be cycled. In theory you need more fish otherwise they will kill each other, but you shouldn’t add any more because your ammonia will spike. If you really wanted cichlids in soft water you could buffer the kh and gh but it’s a bit difficult. But nonetheless I, and others, could have guided you through that aswell. I buffer my soft water to hard for my cichlids but it’s a bit more effort. You really should have asked on this forum prior to doing this. If your water chemistry doesn’t kill them, they’ll kill each other

I really don’t understand when your saying Sydney water isn’t suitable for cichlids.

Like I get it. But there’s millions of cichlids in Sydney aquarium shops.

So everyone in Sydney is doing the wrong thing?

As was said with your original and opening thread Rick, you are not matching your fish choices to the water that you have. Anyone who does have fish in their unnatural water chemistry has to work really hard to physically alter that water chemistry for the fish to thrive...as @AmyKieran rightly stated.

You can't just fill an aquarium and plop whatever fish takes your fancy into it. It doesn't work that way. If it did work that way then fishkeeping would be easy peasy, but it most certainly is not.

Only the other day you mentioned the brown algae (diatoms) that is a clear signal that the aquarium is still going through its cycle process, those diatoms take anything to around 3 weeks to disperse on their own and they are an indication of unbalanced water chemistry in an uncycled aquarium and in older (years) and mature setups an issue with...guess what...the water chemistry.

Please stop rushing into buying fish that are wholly unsuitable and please get the aquarium cycled properly. There are plenty of soft water fish out there to choose from, you're making your life harder and you're making your fish suffer by ignoring advice.

We are not here to have a go at you. We want you to succeed. But you must learn to listen to what people are telling you and to be patient or you are going to have continued health issues with that aquarium, including early deaths of the fish.

Rick147 said:

From website: Sydney’s water is considered ‘soft’ with a hardness level of about 50mg/L

Click to expand...

Unless you add something to make the water harder, these fish will suffer. It doesn't matter what shops sell, they don't care if fish die because you'll go back and buy more. And there are also people who make the water harder to keep these fish successfully.

South American cichlids do suit your water, as do African river cichlids like kribs. But you have Rift Lake cichlids which need hard water.



What did you do to cycle the tank between taking the last fish back and buying these?

Tank is at 5 weeks now setup.

Can someone just give me a list of what fish I can keep in Sydney water

Five weeks is nowhere near cycled. You have been advised how to do it and how long it takes. Impatience to get the fish is putting cycle completion back. If you had followed the advice then you could have had fish in 2 to 3 weeks subject to testing, but now you have to return the fish yet again and you have added at least another 4 to 5 weeks onto your cycle process.

In regards to fish.....get the aquarium sorted first.

Once you have managed to curb your impatience and completed the cycle fully with recorded results as per the advice given before, then, and only then, we can discuss the species most suited to not just the water chemistry but also the dimensions of the aquarium, the substrate and the decor used (planting etc).

Please stop charging into things like a bull in a china shop. Do things right, be patient and listen to advice from people here....the shop only wants profit on sales of fish, people here only want you to succeed in fishkeeping.

I have followed the instructions on here.
I have tested water
Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate all 0 now. (Before fish)

Opinions have varied from 2-6 weeks for cycle. I’ve not done 5 weeks and still your saying take the fish back and the process is all over now start it again etc etc

I did not say to start the cycle again. I said you are extending it by putting fish in too early.

You have the wrong fish for your water chemistry again, please take them back before they die.

Do not get any fish until your cycle is completed....zero nitrates does not equal a completed cycle.

Now everyone here has been extremely helpful and patient with you but you are very impatient, you are wanting everything right now despite being advised otherwise and you keep getting the wrong fish far too soon. You are doomed to fail unless you do as you are being advised properly and stop cutting corners.

All I care about is the health and welfare of the fish and right now you are rushing headlong into a complete disaster...again. And that is totally unfair on those fish.

Follow what you are being advised and succeed...or...do things your way, cut corners and you will have an aquarium of dead bodies.

Your choice matey