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Be prepared to make many trips to the fish store to buy/exchange Cichlids until you discover a combination of particular fish that work in relative harmony.

I have a 55g Cichlid aquarium that is over a year old. I have always had issues with some discoloration on my rocks. This reddish-brown stuff has always been present to some extent. It is present on the rocks and on plastic items like my filter intake and outlet, but it doesn't grow on the...

Update: I took readings tonight before my weekly 25% PWC and they were great! Ammonia = Zero Nitrite = Zero Nitrate = 15-20ppm , after the PWC = 10ppm Looks like my tank is setting pretty now! Thanks for the help folks!

I will certainly schedule weekly PWCs from here on out. I can tell that they are not stressed anymore cause they have finally started digging holes, a typical cichlid behavior that they didn't previously do. There are 3 Kenyi, a blue Acai, and a red zebra, I believe. Dont quote me tho;) Thy have...

I was getting normal nitrate readings up until a few weeks ago. During cycling, I was seeing 10-40ppm. I also had 9 fish then and almost no algae. I "donated" 4 of the cichlids to a LFS 6 weeks ago because I thought the bio-load was too high to cycle. I had been cycling for 3 month at that...

There are no additives whatsoever in the tank, aside from the dechlorinator I add with water changes. My cycle completed about a month ago.

I have 5 cichlids in the tank. They are young, about 2.5-3" long. I do think the bio-load is kinda low like you suggested. I have done a hardcore shake at least 10x and I have repeatedly banged the bottle on the table numerous times as well. I can say with confidence that I believe my testing...

No live plants. I plan to do PWCs every couple of weeks for the reasons you said:)

I have had my 40gal cichlid tank going for about 5 months. I posted here a few months ago regarding my terribly slow cycle that took 3 months to finish. It has been a month now since the cycle completed. My ammonia and nitrite levels are always at zero:) My question is this: Is it normal/good...

Did you ever come up with a solution? I have a tank with mirror back too and I don't like it. It seems to confuse the fish endlessly. I thought about a few ideas, like dark plexiglass or something like that but nervous about chemicals.

Finally done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got fed up and didnt take any readings for 3 days or mess with anything at all. Today I checked the water today and the readings were 0ppm ammonia, and 0ppm nitrite. No water changes in the last 5 days either. I have been feeding the fish too!!! Thanks for the...

I'm STILL having issues. My tank simply cannot develop the appropriate kind of bacteria levels to convert the Nitrite to Nitrate. I have no issues with the other type of bacteria that convert the ammonia to Nitrite, as that process happens very fast. Not matter how little or how much I feed...

I'm not trying to poo-poo your advice, but have you read the whole thread from the start? If not, please do because most of any concerns you may have would be comforted. This process has become insanely non-routine for reasons unknown to anyone so far. At this point I've tried everything under...

I'm not trying to poo-poo your advice, but have you read the whole thread from the start? If not, please do because most of any suspicions you may hve would be solved. This process has become insanely non-route for reasons unknown to anyone so far. At this point I've tried everything under the...

Well, it has been 7 days since I started this week long experiment of feeding only once and allowing the tank to have time to get into its groove. I did a 75% PWC on day 0. I fed the fish only once, on day 4. I did one PWC during this past week. On day 1, my levels were: Ammonia 0ppm Nitrite...

I'm using the cycle brand of dechlorinator. It doesnt have any bacteria in it, just a dechlor. I usually do 3 x5gal buckets with each PWC so its between 25% and 50%. I do manage to keep the levels down near 0.5 most of The time. I'm gonna do a large water change, and then stop feeding for a few...

I thought about the filter just now and it has actually been alot longer since I've changed it. I looked back at a previous post from Oct 13th and at that point, I stated that it had been 6 weeks since I changed the filter. I'm still using that same filter so in reality, it's been at least 2...

Still having the same issues with the Nitrite. I reduced my cichlid count to 6 2 weeks ago. Certainly my 40g tank should be able to handle 6 small(1.5-2") cichlids. I have been doing the darn 25% water changes almost every friggin day for over 3 months. I have had the same gravel, decorations...

The Gouramis were given away a few weeks ago to ease the load. The information you wrote regarding the buffer is interesting. I still use it with all my PWC. Based on your advice, I am going to half the amount of buffer powder I am adding with the PWCs. That should put me at a pH of 7.5 vs the...

Well..... its been 3-4 weeks since I first posted. Thank you all for the comments... I have taken all the advice given here, but I am still having Nitrite issues! I haven't changed the filter in 6 weeks. I do 25% water changes every day. I reduced feeding to a min. I stopped using...

I often wondered if I was supplementing too much... I will take the advice and cut the bio additive and just stick with the Prime. I certainly plan on upgrading to a 75 gal once they start to outgrow the current tank. I also plan on finding a new home for the original WalMart fish when I...

Thanks for commenting! I have only been rinsing the filter when it starts to resist the water flow thru it, which is about every 2 weeks. I just ran out of the Cycle bacterial treatment tonight, so I'll hold off on buying more and try it without for a week or so. I was reading the forums...

Hello all! First post here, but avid reader up till now. I am having a very frustrating time with my new tank.:banghead: The Nitrite levels are proving very difficult to get under control. Please read my whole post before responding, because I am going to provide a lot of info in order to...