mbuna tank problem.

[elmer_fudd25]

Hi,

I have a fluval roma 125l 30G tank with 4 yellow labs and 3 orange labs. my filter is a fluval 305 external and a fluval 1+ internal.

I have 2 problems. the first is the water neaver actualy becoms clean. i always have particles floating around in the tank. The filter does not seam to pick them up.

The other problem i have is the fish are very lifeless they just seam to hide in the rocks and not swim about. they have lots of rocks / hiding places.

please can you give me some help. :1zhelp:

Thanks:clap:

[blue2fyre]

I'm guessing your "orange labs" are red zebras. How large are the fish? I have found young fish to be more shy than older fish.

[elmer_fudd25]

yes they are sorry. thats not what i was told they was when i got them.

i have had the fish 6 - 8 months.

[myswtsins]

Sorry to ask questions instead of give answers but a little more info can help identify the problem. Are you doing water changes, if so how often? Do you know your water parameters (Temp, Ph, hardness, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates)?

[arise1dwr]

You can fish out the larger particles with your net if they really bother you, otherwise your filter should eventually be able to pick up the debris if it gets near enough to the intake.

[blue2fyre]

Oh for the particles I would just put some pillow stuffing in your filter. That should take care of the particles floating around.

[elmer_fudd25]

Temp is 25C i do weekly water changes of 25% all water tests are ok. im in a natural hard water area so dont need to buffer

[blue2fyre]

wow you've had them for 6-8 months? They should have warmed up by now.
Hmm a 30 gallon is a little small for mbuna so I don't want to say you should add more fish. Is the tank in a high traffic area? My mbuna re very active and are constantly chasing each other around and picking at stuff. They are pretty use to me being around and watching them.

there could be some bullying going on. Red zebras are known to be nasty and yellow labs are less aggressive.

[elmer_fudd25]

its not in a very busy area. Im just stuck for ideas any would be usefull.

[Pittbull]

Too many Mbuna in a small setup if you move them into a 55gal with added filtration you will see a difference.. as for filtration on your current setup sounds fine how often are you cleaning your filters once a month or earlier is needed when over stocked.. Plus your fish may be experiencing too much aggression..

[efors]

I agree with Blue and Pitt; aggression and small space may be the 2 main issues in this case, with more reasons due to the presence of red zebras. Watch carefully how they interact to each other.

[Coler]

If there are always particles in the water you are possibly not cleaning the gravel enough/properly, and as suggested get some finer filtration media for a start. I would also focus on gravel vaccing during water changes.

I would also change more water - what do your nitrates usually read at and how do you test btw - I would change 50% minimum - should be a breeze in a 30.

Those would address any acute difficulties regarding environment.

Medium term that tank is not going to be big enough for a happy population...I suspect your orange labs are actually zebras...they will kick the labs butts over time..if you're keeping the fish you need to focus on a larger tank - a 40G breeder (three foot long) would be a nice upgrade, a 55G would be even better and you could have a bunch more fish in there which would also help with their sociability. They like a lot of company but your tank is not big enough to support that.

[elmer_fudd25]

Thanks to all for the ideas so far. If i was to remove the red zebras what do you think i should replace them with and how many? I would like some thing blue and black if poss.

[Pittbull]

I wouldn't your Labs would be enough maybe add a couple more labs of the same size for a total of 6 that will be pushing it and remove any rouge Labs that are causing problems later down the road..

[efors]

^ I totally agree with Pittbull.

[blue2fyre]

I also agree, no other species, just labs.

If you were willing to remove all your fish are start over I would suggest Ps. Saulosi. They are a dwarf mbuna and would be better suited to the size tank you have. They also make a nice species display since the males are blue with black stripes and the females are bright yellow.

[Coler]

No more fish in that tank when you remove the zebras...bettter would be bigger tank and more fish, or as blue says replace with e.g. Pseudotropheus Saulosi.

[Pittbull]

YEAH....