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July 9th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| setting up new 55
I'm in the process of setting up a new 55 gallon tank and I'm using crushed coral. I'm rinsing it off pretty good but not good enough i guess because the tank is about full and it's cloudy. All the filters are running so hopefully that'll help. Also the store gave me some tlc product and said I could put the fish in within a couple hours. | 
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July 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Will it hurt to put the new fish i bought tonight in the 55 with the cloudy water? They are still in the bag from the store and I don't know how long it'll take for the cloudiness to go away. The Kenyi and socolofi are i n a 20 gal with a divider in it. They seem to be ok with the cramped areas they are in. | |
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July 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| is the tank up to temp yet and how are you going to cycle it? but i would get the new fish out of the bags asap.
as for the it being cloudy it will be ok for the fish my tank still gets cloudy when I rearange it
Last edited by deathtroll; July 10th, 2009 at 01:08 AM.
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July 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| The temp is about 78 and i used two of my old filters from the 30 gal tank. The fish store person gave me this tlc product and said I didn't have to wait to drop the new fish in. The new fish are a yellow lab and a red zebra? It's orange. Hopefully they will be ok when i wake up in the morning so I'll be able to put my two bigger fish that I already had in the new tank. | |
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July 10th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Good morning. If your tank is cycled, I don't see that you have anything to worry about as far as the cloud is concerned. It will settle. Keep an eye on your readings and don't add too many fish at one time. Best of luck. Beautiful fish you have there!
I'm not familiar with the TLC product you are speaking of. What is it for? What does the bottle say it will do for the water?
Last edited by aquarist48; July 10th, 2009 at 03:49 AM.
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July 10th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Crushed coral is a "cloudmaker" when it comes to water. It won't hurt the fish.
In order to prevent the cloudiness, I rinse small handfuls at a time, put them in a bowl, and rinse them again with more water.
To set up my 55 gallon, I spent three hours rinsing both the new substrate and the coral.
If your 20 gallon tank is cycled, add your filter cartridge to your 55 gallon and that will speed up your cycle. | |
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July 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| The tank is alot more clear than last night but just a touch of cloudiness. Maybe It'll clear ujp byh tonight. The tlc bottle i have says it eliminates toxic NH3 and N02. Also says cycles aquarium in 3 to 7 days rapidly yet safely. The two new fish seem to be ok this morning in the 55. I still hae my Kenyi and socolofi in the 20 gallon tank until i can be assured the new tank is stable enough for them. Thanks to all for the replies and advice.
Here's some pics i just took of the new tank. The new guys are exploring every crevice in the rocks which is good because i think they are going to need those areas when the Two big fish go back in.     | |
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July 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| I was so busy setting the tank up last night I forgot about the canopy.
Tomorrow I'm going to try to pick up two more fish the same size as the lab and zebra. I can't wait to get the Kenyi and Socolofi in there in a few days, they don't seem thrilled being in the 20 with the divider.   | |
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July 11th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| I picked up two more fish today. One is a peacock and I forget what the rusty orange colored guy is. The yellow lab was the dominant between him and the red zebra but when the rusty orange colored guy hit the water the lab circled him and bit him and that made the new guy very mad cause they were in a liplock for a few minutes and now the lab stays clear of rusty ( his new name).
Can you identify this rusty guy from this pic?  | |
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July 11th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| looks to me like a rusty cichlid lol. thats the common name for them, if im correct. if you have seeded filter media i wouldnt add any chemical to assist the cycle, the seeded media from an already cycled tank is all you need and its possible that the chemical may harm the good bacteria on the seeded filters. | |
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July 11th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Here's a better shot of the rusty guy to help identify and the peacock. Whatever he is took over the tank already.   | |
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July 11th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| im no cichlid master, but the top one does look like a rusty to me. the bottom one doesnt resemble a peacock to me, i cant remember what it does look like tho, ill update if the name comes back to me. | |
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July 11th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| The red zebra hasn't been doing well all day and i just got home and he was partially stuck to the filter still alive so I got him free but he isn't getting around too well....now he is swimming upside down on the bottom....I don't know what to do, he isnt looking good at all.. | |
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July 11th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| do you have a test kit so you can provide your water parameters?
sorry that hes not doing to well, hopefully somebody can help you out. try and get your parameters posted ASAP, that will need to be known before you can really be helped out | |
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July 11th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| I just tested it with the jungle brand 6 test dip strips and all of the readings were within the safe range........poor guy doesn't look like he's gonna live much longer, he's upside down on the bottom wiggling. | |
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July 11th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| Def a rusty, Iodotropheus sprengerae. In my experience my dominant male was a bit of a jerk but that comes with the type of cichlid. He would also breed with anything that was willing.....so after awhile I kept mine in a species only tank as a group.
Second fish appears to be Sciaenochromis ahli, elec blue, to me. Cool fish, they get to about 7". Also a male as females stay a dull grey color.
Brian | |
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July 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| That is def a rusty I agree, and the other is a hap ahli. (electirc blue).
I would be cautious on mixing the metriclima esthere with the metriclima lombardi (red zebra with kenyi). Mixing 2 fish from the same group can cause havoc. www.cichlid-forum.com has great cookie cutters for picking out fish, just search on their site.
They also do well with 1 male to 2+ females up to 15 fish in the 55g.
I would get the tank cycled good first before stocking it fully, and consider moving all the cichlids to the 55g and leaving the scolofi in the 20g until its fins heal.
Also the test strips aren't that accurate, I would try to get an API master to get exact nitrite/ nitrate/ ammonia measurments.
It looks great!! | |
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July 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by steveangela1  That is def a rusty I agree, and the other is a hap ahli. (electirc blue).
I would be cautious on mixing the metriclima esthere with the metriclima lombardi (red zebra with kenyi). Mixing 2 fish from the same group can cause havoc. www.cichlid-forum.com has great cookie cutters for picking out fish, just search on their site.
They also do well with 1 male to 2+ females up to 15 fish in the 55g.
I would get the tank cycled good first before stocking it fully, and consider moving all the cichlids to the 55g and leaving the scolofi in the 20g until its fins heal.
Also the test strips aren't that accurate, I would try to get an api master to get exact nitrite/nitrate/ammonia measurments.
It looks great!! | Unfortunately the red zebra didn't make it last night.
The rusty is the king of the tank for now and seems to be the fastest of the three. How long should I wait until I introduce the Kenyi to the 55? ..Should I stock a few more 2 inch fish in there first?
I missed hearing your fish input and advice lately.Will I be able to pm other members after 50 posts? | |
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July 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by 91Stang Unfortunately the red zebra didn't make it last night.
The rusty is the king of the tank for now and seems to be the fastest of the three. How long should I wait until I introduce the Kenyi to the 55? ..Should I stock a few more 2 inch fish in there first?
I missed hearing your fish input and advice lately.Will I be able to pm other members after 50 posts? | Ive been working, and Ive got a sick 3 year old so I haven't been on much the past couple days... Yes after 50 post you can pm.
I would get the tank cycled and once thats done I would put the kenyi in there. Then stock the rest that you want to put in.
Sorry to hear about the red zebra. | |
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July 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Would it be a bad idea to put the socolofi in the 55 once the tank is ready so he can heal and become the king of the tank before putting the bigger Kenyi in. | |
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July 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by 91Stang Would it be a bad idea to put the socolofi in the 55 once the tank is ready so he can heal and become the king of the tank before putting the bigger Kenyi in. | You could do that, but with tank being new it would be better to keep it quarintined until the rest of the fish settle, then move the rocks around some and ad the socolofi. If any of the new fish from the store have any bugs (infections, etc) and the socolfi is still healing he might get sick from them. Or you could put him in the 55 and quarintineany new fish in the 20g.
I was a non believer of quarintining fish until my last shipment, and Im glad I had that eery felling about those fish, they did have so mething going on and they are in a tank to themselves getting treated. | |
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July 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Here's how the Socolofi's fins are progressing.   | |
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July 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| yeah sounds like you are not cycled and buy a api master test kit......wait until you are cycled and adding fish dailey can make you have a mini cycle blooms etc etc....i learned the hard way add a couple then wait a week check your water again... | |
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July 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| I'll pick up one of those test kits tomorrow and see how everything reads.
Does this look normal for the Kenyi? It looks like his mouth is puffy like hes holding gravel or something?   | |
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July 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| just watch him... I think this is the fish that reverted back and forth colorwise? it could be a holding female. | |
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July 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Yes, thats the one. I'll be glad if its just holding instead of another ailment.
The fish is occasionally nacting like it's trying to spit gravel out but there's none in it's mouth... I'll have to be schooled on what to do if it is holding.
Last edited by 91Stang; July 12th, 2009 at 11:17 PM.
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July 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by 91Stang Yes, thats the one. I'll be glad if its just holding instead of another ailment.
The fish is occasionally nacting like it's trying to spit gravel out but there's none in it's mouth... I'll have to be schooled on what to do if it is holding. |
They will swirl the eggs around in their mouth when they are holding all through the "pregnancy" that last about 21 days. They don't eat, but still offer a flake or two everyday because they can get some in thei rmouth sometimes.
I would just keep a close eye on that one, and if it is "holding" yo uwill know it. | |
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July 12th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| I did notice it hasn't really wanted food for the last day or so..I'll keep an eye on it and see what happens. | |
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July 13th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| The Kenyi is still doing the mouth gargling thing. I'm waiting for my 50th post so i can ask someone something in pm instead of here lol. | |
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