Hello... just wanted to ask about my cichlids..

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djb3848

Small Fish
#1
May 27, 2007
10
0
0
Palos Hills, IL
#1
This is my first post and I am quite happy with the amount of information this site has. I just recently became interested in cichlids. I had angels before but after a house warming party my angels mysteriously died. My fiance and I suspect someone poured liquor in the tank. We won't be having another party needless to say. Basically I had to clean out the tank and start over. The only fish that lived were my algae eaters.. (2 of those fish that look like they have suckers for mouths). cant spell or pronounce their name. lol. Anyway I got the tank clean and allowed time to get the tank ready for new fish. I recently got 2 jack dempseys and 2 red devils. I got the dempseys to try to get the red devils to not focus their attention on just each other. The tank is 100 gallons. A castle, a few rocks and some plants I am trying to grow. I wanted to go with some dovii's but I have heard I need at least a 300 gallon tank for them. I also hear that fish would end up as the only fish in my tank. My question is.. does anyone have suggestions to help me keep my cichlids happy. Is 4 cichlids to much in a 100 gallon tank? Can dempseys and red devils coexist? The algae eaters are fully grown with all their armor so I am assuming they will be ok when my gish reach adult hood. The dempseys and red devils are all juvies and none is alot bigger than the others. I know I am writing a book here but you guys have alot of good information and I didn't want to post 10 threads for my questions..

Thank you,

Derek
 

Dan Steveo

Dan Steveo

Large Fish
#2
Apr 1, 2006
707
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33
South England UK
#2
right. im quite new to cichlids as it is but im now keeping kribensis. for a 100 gallon tank :p im pretty sure it could accomodate the fish you described... unless anyone else states otherwise. welcome to mft.net and this is the best place ive been for info on fish. we all help each other as you should soon see the experienced aquarists posting. (if they havent when im typing this).

the algae eaters: we could id them if you have pictures or a good description. if you need to know how to put up pictures just ask... =]
the deaths are likely to have been caused by the liquor/alcohol....
was the tank cycled? how long had it been running? and did you let it cycle befor adding the cichlids???
 

C

Cichlid-Man

MFT Staff
#3
Jul 9, 2003
8,866
14
38
38
Columbia, SC
www.youtube.com
#3
Me, the chronic overstocker and pusher of limits says it might work....but i'm sure others will disagree. And i'm not to keen on new world cichlids, i "specialize" in africans so i'm sure someone else can give a better informative post then i can. The only problems i see is if they pair up and breed.

Provided you keep up with your water changes (big SA/CA cichlids can be really messy) then i don't see a big problem. Just keep your eyes open for trouble.

The algae eaters sound like common plecos who also grow large. And poop A LOT. This adds a lot of waste to the system. Again, just keep up on the water changes.
 

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djb3848

Small Fish
#4
May 27, 2007
10
0
0
Palos Hills, IL
#4
yeah plecostomus is my kind.. they always have a string of poop for me to clean up. i have to clean the tank today.. at least the majority of his waste he seems to like to put into one spot... i seem to have one tough red devil and one tough dempsey. the other two just hang out. now that i rearranged the rock and castle layout i have they seem to of found their niche. granted they are all young anyway. i hear the older they get things may change..

lol,

Derek
 

SinisterKisses

SinisterKisses

Superstar Fish
#5
Jan 30, 2007
1,086
0
0
#5
Won't work as a permanent setup.

I assume these fish are juveniles? Any idea of what sex they are?

Two JDs can live in a 100gal no problem for life, but the RD's are the problem. If you end up with two of the same sex, one of them will likely terrorize the other (likely to death eventually). It may also terrorize the JD's. If you end up with a pair, IMO a breeding pair of adult RD's should have nothing less than a 125gal or so tank, to themselves with no tankmates. Keeping a breeding pair (as adults) in a 100 gal is likely not going to go well forever. Even just keeping one of the RDs may not go well if it decides it wants to claim the entire tank to itself as it gets some size to it - it may turn on the JD's without any notice.

I'd suggest deciding whether you want to go the JD route or the RD route, and stick with just one species. If you go the RD route, be very prepared to remove one when it becomes necessary.
 

SinisterKisses

SinisterKisses

Superstar Fish
#11
Jan 30, 2007
1,086
0
0
#11
I can't say much about what you're currently feeding them, because I've never even heard of it ;)

My guys all get Hikari Gold pellets, I have yet to find a fish who doesn't love it and it does an awesome job of naturally bringing out their colour.
 

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