How happy are your fish?

[Drakerizzo]

My question may seem crazy but how do we know if our fishy friends are indeed happy? I know we all try and provide the best environment possible but at the end of the day how do we really know?

I have a 20 G that has been set up for 4 months now and all seems to be fine (at least I believe so).

My water tests as follows:

KH - 125 ppm
GH - 140 ppm
PH - 7.4 - 7.6
Ammonia - 0 - 0.5 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Water temp 74-76

The tank is inhabited by:

6 Giant Danio
2 Keyhole cichlid
3 Julii Corys

Just wondering what fellow posters think.

[often dignified]

A healthy tank shouldn't have any ammonia readings - even small amounts can stress out a fish and possibly kill it. Not sure if it is your bio load, did you recently add alot of those fish?

I'm not sure if those cichlids should be in there... might require different water parameters (pH, hardness...) than giant danios and cories. A cichlid expert knows more than me though :p

[Drakerizzo]

often dignified, no fish have been added since the tank completed its cycle. To your point on ammonia I believe the slight reading has to do with a gravel and filter media cleaning performed earlier today.

With respect to the cichlids, I was under the impression that the keyholes were very passive and suitable to a peaceful community tank.

Thank you for your feedback.

[PumaWard]

I believe keyholes are dwarf cichlids from south america which prefer similiar water to the julii cories. They are also peaceful, similiar say to rams.