please help me with my future cichlids

[Paroon Shark]

hello everybody,
i am new in the aquarium deal so any help would be great. i recently had a paroon shark but he passed from ick(common for this sort). i am interested in getting 2 cichlids for my 25gallon tank . do they produce ammonia ?
also i have 2 snails in my tank eating algae but they just arent cutting it haha . i will get 2 more but i was interested in fish that gulp has in his 110 g tank. it looked liked sum kind of bottom dweller catfish and i was wondering if it would take the algae off the sides of my tank. if not what would??
also if any1 has any general info on cichlids it would greatly appreciated.
thanks all

 

[justinb013]

All fish produce ammonia as waste. If I remeber correctly, Gulp's got a sydontis cat as his botton dweller...not an algae eater. You should look into the cause of the algae if its probelmatic, but a bristlenose pleco makes a pretty good algae eater. A sponge with a long plastic handle tends to work best

Gulp was replaced with mbuna, rock dwelling cichlids from Africa's Lake Malawi. If you like them, you may want to look into a small group (3-6) of Cynotilapia afra, as they are pretty small and should do OK in your tank. These fish like very hard, high pH water, so take that into consideration. If you want general cichlid info, check out http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/ for species profiles.

For a tank of that size, I'd consider rams (Microgeophagus ramerezi) or a pair of apistos (Apistogramma cacatuoides). There are many other species of apisto, but the cacatuoides are some of the more forgiving, good looking, and entertaining. Be sure to buy from a good source (and do your research), as many rams and apistos are either delicate (rams) or quite inbred (apistos). Check out http://www.raymccaleb.com/. Ray has quality stock and gorgeous fish.

Justin

 

[jariba]

Ammonia is simply a part of waste, so its not JUST your fish that are going to cause ammonia, if that's a concern. Rams are awsome cichlids but I find are relatively difficult to keep healthy. They take a lower Ph and much softer water than I could offer from the tap. 25 gallons is a pretty small tank size, but definitly doable. How much are you planning on spending? As far as algae goes; check your filtration, feeding rate, and water changes. Light is another factor. Hypostymus do the trick for me. Good luck!

 

[Gulp]

hello everybody,
i will get 2 more but i was interested in fish that gulp has in his 110 g tank. it looked liked sum kind of bottom dweller catfish and i was wondering if it would take the algae off the sides of my tank.

You must be talking about this guy:

He's a great vacuum cleaner for the tank, and cleans up most of the food the other fish miss, but he does not clean the algae in anyway. I give him algae tablets and he loves them........but again, he does not clean algae off of anything. As already mentioned, look into a pleco if you want an algae eater......but don't expect them to be miracle workers. You will probably have to clean the sides of the tank even with them in there if you have lots of algae. I'd recommend one of these: http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19055;category_id=2927 (they come in various sizes). One piece cleans the outside of the glass, and the other piece cleans the inside of the glass at the same time. I love these things. (And yes.....I realize the pic I posted makes it look like I NEVER clean the outside of the tank.....but that pic was taken the night I was adding a bunch of slate to the tank. )

BTW, make sure your tank is not in direct sunlight, if it is in the sunlight.....you will always have the green stuff problem.

 

[Paroon Shark]

ok sounds good

ok sounds good...i will look into the magnetic things. The cichlids i am looking into are the compressiceps(spelling?) and the guy at the lfs said i could have 3 in my 25 without them being crouded. any info info on that kind?
and also i am kind of worried about the cycle of my tank.i have been adding cycle each week and its been about three weeks.also0 what is every1s opinion on the aquaplus water conditioning stuff.

 

[case_rums]

I'm sort of in the same boat you are. I'm planning my next tank, and cichlids are the way to go IMHO. I'm going 29 gal +. One of my LFS' has a 38 gal which is I like a great deal. I'm going to do a heavily planted/caved tank. I'm thinking 3-5 Yellow/Blue Labs, and perhaps some other fishies. Will that work? Comments, questions, etc?

 

[Paroon Shark]

if u are asking me that i have no clue and if not can u make your own thread so that i can get questioons answered?haha thanks cya

 

[case_rums]

if u are asking me that i have no clue and if not can u make your own thread so that i can get questioons answered?haha thanks cya

Easy man. I figured since I have basically the same questions as you, why not add to your thread, and not make my own. If you have a problem with that, ask a mod to remove my posts.

 

[Paroon Shark]

your questions are about your setups not mine and i dont have questions about your setup therefore you should make your own thread

 

[N8DOGG]

Cycle doen't work so you can just throw it away. Also on the cichlids I would go either africian or CA/SA that stay under 6". Convicts, firemouths, rams, kribs, any shellies....etc. Do you have tests kits? read up on the cycle sticky. It looks like your well on your way.