A problem with tankmates

jaymekelley said:
Has a few sparkly spots near the gills

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Jack Dempsey, but I can't tell the sex without a close-up of the face and cheek/gill-plate markings
jaymekelley said:
Little brown one with bands. I think this is the one that came with the big blue and orange ones, they were the only three fish in her tank so I'm thinking maybe this is their baby?

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Another African Mbuna from Lake Malawi - I am unsure of the species going by this picture
jaymekelley said:
This one hides most of the time so it was hard to get a decent pic. When he pops his top fin up he has a thin line of bright red along the length of the fin

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this one is also a Jack Dempsey
jaymekelley said:
Better pic of the blue one. My phone doesn't take very good underwater pics I guess lol

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again, not sure due to quality -----which I think revolves much more around your lighting than your camera. Try sitting still with the camera aimed and wait until they stop moving.
 
So, you clearly have a mix of African and South American cichlids. Which you will really want to sort out. The mbuna will be much more aggressive than the South Americans in the long run. Mostly because you are likely to have much more spawning. These fish will readily hybridize with each other and I wouldn't be surprised if they are already hybrids. Cichlids in spawning are actually kind of jerks. In the long run, if you really like the rope fish and the peacock, I'd suggest keeping the two of them, getting rid of the cichlids that you have and trying to find some large bodied schooling fish.

Additionally, I'm more concerned about your tank maintenance and the lack of cycling. Have you tested the water at all and how often do you do water changes?
 
Tifftastic said:
So, you clearly have a mix of African and South American cichlids. Which you will really want to sort out. The mbuna will be much more aggressive than the South Americans in the long run. Mostly because you are likely to have much more spawning. These fish will readily hybridize with each other and I wouldn't be surprised if they are already hybrids. Cichlids in spawning are actually kind of jerks. In the long run, if you really like the rope fish and the peacock, I'd suggest keeping the two of them, getting rid of the cichlids that you have and trying to find some large bodied schooling fish.

Additionally, I'm more concerned about your tank maintenance and the lack of cycling. Have you tested the water at all and how often do you do water changes?
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Still haven't been able to get a test kit, all of my money has been going to bills and my daughters birthday party this weekend. But, I came home last night and my husband had put about fifteen little rosy feeder fish in there. It was a massacre. I think he intended Snowball and the rope fish to eat them, and though I saw the rope fish eat, I doubt snowball got any because he still wanted the krill when offered. I did not feed the cichlids last night because I watched them eat soooo many tiny fish. This morning only two of the feeders remain. But I think this changes the levels in the water right? I kind of wish he hadn't done that while I'm in the process of trying to figure out what the hell we have going on with the tank. I do ADD water with the drops for dechlorination and the rest of the drops that came with that kit when it gets lower, but I have been kind of afraid to take any out or clean anything in the tank besides rinsing the fliters because I don't wanna mess things up worse. What's the right way to do it?
 
Have been talking about our mix with hubby and he has traded Snowball to that lady at work for a pair a rodeo tickets, so she's gonna ditch the fish she has and keep just him. Looking for another tank for the peacock and the rope fish as I think I want to keep the Kenyis, they're so pretty and bright. Hubby seems to want to just start over, but we can't find anywhere that will trade. They all accept donations, but I don't wanna donate that much money worth of fish and they pay for more.
 
Frank Castle said:
Jack Dempsey, but I can't tell the sex without a close-up of the face and cheek/gill-plate markings

Another African Mbuna from Lake Malawi - I am unsure of the species going by this picture

this one is also a Jack Dempsey

again, not sure due to quality -----which I think revolves much more around your lighting than your camera. Try sitting still with the camera aimed and wait until they stop moving.
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I'll try to take better pics of the few you mentioned when I get home from work.
 
Definitely do a water change. . . if you only add that doesn't do anything for the levels of waste as they don't evaporate. I really suggest reading up on tank cycling and the nitrogen cycle to start. That is the MOST important thing right now.
If a bunch of feeder fish were just added and eaten you really need to do a water change. Without knowing the readings I'd suggest a 25% change every other day to not go too fast, but you really need to be taking some water out of this tank.
 
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Tifftastic said:
Definitely do a water change. . . if you only add that doesn't do anything for the levels of waste as they don't evaporate. I really suggest reading up on tank cycling and the nitrogen cycle to start. That is the MOST important thing right now.
If a bunch of feeder fish were just added and eaten you really need to do a water change. Without knowing the readings I'd suggest a 25% change every other day to not go too fast, but you really need to be taking some water out of this tank.
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Okay, so I need to take a quarter of the water out, and replace it with the same amount of room temp, decholrinated water every other day, right? Just wanna be 100% clear on that. I did research the ammonia cycle as suggested, but I'm not sure I really understand how I am to affect those levels. Really need to make a liquid test kit a priority. After the baby's birthday this weekend my spending cash can go to the fish tank as needed. Think I'm gonna go ahead and change some of the water now before I have to go clean the house I have scheduled for today, just so I don't forget or procrastinate on it.
 
jaymekelley said:
It would be nice to find an option that would be best for the fish, but I have kids. I have lots of fish, don't have lots of money. I have to take that into consideration.
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Donating the fish so they get their needs taken care of does not take money away from you, and it will save you money since you won't need to feed them.
 
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