also to make matters worse he/she has Africans in a 29 and a red devil in a 20 if the profile is correct.
Best Algae Eater with Mbunas Cichlids?
- Thread starter BaierBones
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
also to make matters worse he/she has Africans in a 29 and a red devil in a 20 if the profile is correct.
Quest84
Aquarium Advice FINatic
some nice fish in those tanks, yet not 1 African.
Species only tanks are great if your breeding them but I think hes going with a show tank, so not having 1 pleco in any of those tanks is irrelevant. I also have an aqueon water changer and magnetic algae scrubber but I rarely need it.
For what its worth I keep and breed only africans at the moment. I know what I'm talking about, i'm not a rookie
So they have Africans in a 29 and you think they should add a pleco? Or better yet a 20 gallon with a red devil.
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Quest84
Aquarium Advice FINatic
yea way to small for all of them.
Quest84
Aquarium Advice FINatic
did i say that? he asked a question and I answered it, not based on the size of his current tank. He shouldn't have any mbuna in a 29
Mogurako
Aquarium Advice Addict
My African cichlid breeding days are well behind me. I haven't owned Peacocks or Mbuna for over 10 years. I did have some Haps a few years back however.
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Dallascowboys16
Aquarium Advice Addict
You said before that "1 bristle nose pleco isn't going to hurt his bio load". I would have to heartily disagree with that. BNPs create a massive amount of waste for their size and believe me whatever "cleaning" (this always makes me laugh) they are doing is offset by a huge amount of waste.
Quest84
Aquarium Advice FINatic
this is what I wrote, stop taking bits and pieces please. If he has proper filtration for mbuna, which are already messy fish, 1 bristlenose pleco is not going to hurt his bio load. Of course you still need to do your water changes and clean your filters
OP
OP
BaierBones
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
It has been about 15% twice to three times a week because I was told by an old aquarist that large water changes are much more stressful on the fish. SO, what I have been doing is pre treating and pre dosing water, let it sit for a couple days, and then do a change and immediately get water prepped for the next time.
That being said, if you guys feel larger changes are better and ok stress-wise I would highly consider a water changer. I have questions though. How do you assure the water is close in temp? Do you put de chlorinator for the whole tank volume after the change?
Always Appreciated,
---BaierBones
Quest84
Aquarium Advice FINatic
what are your water parameters right out of the tap? you need an API freshwater test kit
seems to me you are doing way too much unnecessary work. Only time i use buckets is with small fry tanks. If you have some extra cash get an aqueon water changer. You send the water straight from the tap to the tank but dose the entire volume of the aquarium first with prime. After its filled I add a little extra prime for safe measure. To get the temp. close I just use my hand to make sure the temp feels close to the same before sending it to the tank, then I keep an eye on the thermometer that is in the tank and adjust the hot / cold as necessary
with my mbuna i do at least a 50% water change once a week. I don't see any stress from my fish, in fact right after a water change is when I get the most breeding, and most vibrant colors from them.
OP
OP
BaierBones
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I have a test kit both at home and in my classroom. My water from the tap, which is softened, is
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
0 nitrate
High KH
0 GH (which I add replenish in to fix)
pH 7.4 ( the tank is always about 8.3 without adjustments from me and I'm not sure why but not complaining)
Always Appreciated,
---BaierBones
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
0 nitrate
High KH
0 GH (which I add replenish in to fix)
pH 7.4 ( the tank is always about 8.3 without adjustments from me and I'm not sure why but not complaining)
Always Appreciated,
---BaierBones
Quest84
Aquarium Advice FINatic
throw some texas holey rock or crushed coral in there it will help buffer the tank and keep your PH stable. you can also up your GH by adding epsom salt. Mix it in a bucket first to figure how much you need to use and to dissolve it.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php
^^^^^^^^^ this article may help you ^^^^^^^
I would look into the aqueon water changer, no reason why you have to deal with all those buckets and letting the water sit. Just remember to does the whole tank with prime and try to match the temp
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php
^^^^^^^^^ this article may help you ^^^^^^^
I would look into the aqueon water changer, no reason why you have to deal with all those buckets and letting the water sit. Just remember to does the whole tank with prime and try to match the temp
CCXGT
Aquarium Advice Addict
BN's are absolutely fine.
If you want one, get one.
Mine keeps my rock work pretty clean, I feed him cucumber every now and then and he gets along fine with everyone else.
As far as bioload goes.... A single 5" Plec doesn't make a single bit of a difference when compared to 20+ Africans.
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If you want one, get one.
Mine keeps my rock work pretty clean, I feed him cucumber every now and then and he gets along fine with everyone else.
As far as bioload goes.... A single 5" Plec doesn't make a single bit of a difference when compared to 20+ Africans.
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