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Yellow labs, I’m obsessed with them. Beautiful and not as nasty as other mbuna.

I agree, I don't know anyone that will drink their "purified" tank water.

So providing the tap water had ideal pH KH and GH, are rift lake salts, buffers or any other minerals not needed for the health of African cichlids?

I agree, I was referring to reef/lake salts. I never added nor believed in adding any salt or buffers to a tank. Do I want to use any of these no, but does it work in certain cases? Reason I never added anything is that for years I didn't have to, but if my tap water is going to fluctuate, will...

I appreciate your reply however, to me this is confusing as many rift lake fishkeepers add a mixture of baking soda, Epsom salt and salt as part of their maintenance.

So looking back and moving forward, it doesn't hurt to keep some limestone rocks or any other buffering stuff in the tank and or adding a bit of baking soda with water changes. I have been relying on my tap water alone being a bit high on pH.

:good:

I think prevention is the best medicine. Frequent water changes, temp, not overfeeding and good filtration.

base medium??

Almost next to impossible to do, the couple of times I got to speak with someone about this, the only thing they said is "we keep our pH neutral", I would have to just test the water coming out of the tap. In about 15 years this has only happened twice after a big (1/2 or more) water change.

I have no way of checking gh/kh at the moment, only pH. Nothing got in the tank, it's in the basement and only I go down there and it all happened in a matter of a couple of hours. I increased the surface movement and added some water mixed with baking soda to bring the pH up. Only thing I did...

Do they have a lifespan? In other words, the rocks and crushed coral and shells, do they have to be changed eventually?

Another thing I forgot to mention was, during the pH drop, the water surface was loaded with bubbles. This whole thing was strange, I have been keeping African cichlids for about 15 years, never saw this and it all happened within a couple of hours. The baking soda did the trick, all survived...

My problem is I have always been worried to "over pH" the water, is there such thing as too much?

I definitely need to consider crushed shells and crushed coral in the substrate versus adding chemicals and salts, adding the sodium bicarbonate to the tank was a quick choice I had to take to save the fish. Gotta say the African Cichlids are resilient, going from what I thought was going to be...

Anyone using some form of crushed coral in their substrate?

Scenario... 55g, 14 mbuna two canister filters, tank has been established and stable for years, ammonia is always zero, temp always 78f. Did half tank water change day prior and I have a habit of checking pH after a big WC since I had a pH crash once before right after the WC. So a day after the...

Aha, so simple. Yes makes sense, open the tap just enough to fill the hose and then disconnect and let it flow to your destination of choice. Will be doing that!

Hmm, I'm thinking we'll let you get better first, then we'll pounce on you for using some of those chemicals

I have been keeping African cichlids as well, I guess the water here in this neck of the woods is fine for them, pH is always in the 8.2 range. I haven't had the need to use anything yet other than prime when doing water changes. Only once I had a pH crash and that was when I got a little too...

Coolers work very well whenever I had to carry them.

Good to see you’re doing better. I keep all cichlids as well, just wondering what chemicals you use And why?

I would just get rid of the clown loaches, maybe add a couple of more silver dollars, they do well in groups. Tiger barbs are cool fish but boy they are fast and aggressive eaters; the silver dollars are a bit skittish, but they are nice fish and will grow nicely in that tank.

As I just finished syphoning my tank into the sink... (I have a long hose from tank to sink and to fill up, right from sink, tap, to the tank) I started to read this! The water has a long way to go so one quick suck does it but now Im thinking how to get the syphon started after reading this...

Jail or leave the country?!!

Showing my age… anybody remember snakeheads being sold as aquarium fish?

That's it!

It's most likely a peacock, a light colored with vertical stripes to the top left. I love these fish and the overstocking aspect. I like lots of cichlids but once I tried these, I can't go back, they're my favorite.

2nd picture top left corner full side view? If it is, they are usually smaller cichlids or are they all just mbuna and peacocks?

I'm curious, I see you have peacocks, the frontosa, maybe some mbuna and I can't make out the others, there is a smaller one from lake Tanganyica?

On my first tank I had a couple of them lay eggs and to my surprise a I actually would like to not so much double it but bring it to around 20 and though I love the overstocking of certain fish like the African cichlids, these guys get pretty big giving them space and plenty of water changes...

I have to say, I love it, though a bit crowded for me. I am a long time fan of African cichlids. I'm at my third go around with these cichlids. First time around I had around 15 in the tank for years, eventually gave them away. Second time was a war zone, third time as of now with 15 is working...

49 African cichlids in a 55g. I'd love to see a picture of that. I thought I was overstocking my 55g with 15 African cichlids, I think I'm going to go with a more even number like 100.

I think a lot has to do with how we take criticism, some of us will take it as an argument, some as constructive criticism and learn from it. Now, here comes my rant, how many times I read... "I keep multiple angels in a 15 gallon and it's been fine for a few years or I just added a baby Oscar...

This fish looks like its tank needs a water change. I keep Yellow Labs and they are not hard to keep. As any other fish, lots of fresh water and do not overfeed.

Same here. Central NJ both Petco's near me have a nice selection and I don't mind buying from them, knowledgeable staff. Can't say the same about Petsmart, they don't even come close.

You're right, I got caught up into the "controversial stocking" part of it, mouth and all. ;)

Angels and severums don't need a big mouth to kill each other, I and many others can attest to that, they are cichlids. Putting a group of angels in a tank is a tricky situation, they are not always the peaceful fish they appear to be even if you were to put four or five juveniles, once they...

No matter what size tank, filtration etc, we will never duplicate nature. That said, the tank in question here is not ideal. Has anyone seen how big a fully grown angel can get In the “right” conditions? A severum? Will the fish live in it? Sure, they might live many years in that tank providing...