Alge

[cichlidfreak]

Well I just got through a bit of research. Tucker's mom were you using waste control cuz that might spike your amonia the best thing to do for your fis is weekly 10-20% water changes and no chemicals if your tank is already astablished. which your is not so obviously don't worry too much on that one. The algae is actually cleared up a lot and we are doing water changes, we are not adding anymore chemicals as I just found out that is not a good thing to do right now as our water is unstable. (mostly cuz of all the chemicals)
We will clean the rocks and deco's in a few more days once the tank clears a little more, the sides as well. The lights on our tank are too bright for our fish so we have to get dimmer ones and that shoukd fix the problem. Stressful, but we are about 3/4 the way there. Do you have fish Latorgator? just wondering Thank you for all your help with the rocks too I got rid of those messages though so that the original question would get answered. K ttyl

[latergatorj]

cichlidfreak:

I've been an owner of fish for 20 years. Always freshwater and brackish (for puffer fish), never saltwater simply because i don't have enough time for that type of tank. I've bred fish and have had many different types of fish over the years.

Because i know you love them, I've ever had a Cihlid :-), they're too aggressive for the type of fish I typically have, but they are pretty.

This may seem silly, but my first love has always been goldfish. I just love their bright fat little bodies and how they wiggle their way to wherever they're going. I have a goldfish, that i won a few weeks ago, his name is oscar wilde ocean. My ideal tank would be filled with fantail goldfish of all colors.

Right now, I also have a Raphael catfish (12 years old and 6 inches long).

I've been waiting for my fish to die off, which is why my tank is so sparce right now (not typically that way). I'm planning on renovating my tank, both inside and out, by painting the outer case a different color, re-applying aquarium glue to the inside walls... etc. And i simply couldn't do it with a large number of fish to find another temporary home for while the renovations go on.

So, that's my long answer to your simple question :-).

[Tucker'sMom]

Originally Posted by latergatorj

I don't know if you tried this, but the best way to remove ammonia in water is by adding anti ammonia rocks. These rocks "eat" the ammonia.

The ammonia does not come from the water you put in the tanks per say- it is a natural excretement of fish. In nature, fish don't typically live in enclosed spaces for a long period of time, which is why the build up occurs in tanks and not in the wild. In the wild, the ammonia is absorbed naturally by rocks and micro-organisms that already exist.

I hope you find this explaination helpful should you chose to get another tank later on.

I tried the anti-ammonia rocks, to no avail. The fish store suggested that maybe there was something in the water giving me a false reading. They gave me bacteria to eat the ammonia, also to no avail. We added fish, the guppies did great, and I even had about 200 babies, they survived and thrived. The frogs, etc (which I have been told are very much more susceptible to ammonia/water quality issues) died within 24 hours of their addition to the tank. In the end, I gave up. I have had aquariums for about 20 years also, and never encountered anything like that. I figured I would take a break for a few years. We'll see what happens. I am also home now with my boys and have more time to deal with an aquarium now. We'll just wait and see. Thanks.

[cichlidfreak]

Originally Posted by latergatorj

cichlidfreak:

I've been an owner of fish for 20 years. Always freshwater and brackish (for puffer fish), never saltwater simply because i don't have enough time for that type of tank. I've bred fish and have had many different types of fish over the years.

Because i know you love them, I've ever had a Cihlid :-), they're too aggressive for the type of fish I typically have, but they are pretty.

This may seem silly, but my first love has always been goldfish. I just love their bright fat little bodies and how they wiggle their way to wherever they're going. I have a goldfish, that i won a few weeks ago, his name is oscar wilde ocean. My ideal tank would be filled with fantail goldfish of all colors.

Right now, I also have a Raphael catfish (12 years old and 6 inches long).

I've been waiting for my fish to die off, which is why my tank is so sparce right now (not typically that way). I'm planning on renovating my tank, both inside and out, by painting the outer case a different color, re-applying aquarium glue to the inside walls... etc. And i simply couldn't do it with a large number of fish to find another temporary home for while the renovations go on.

So, that's my long answer to your simple question :-).

I started with goldfish as a kid. We just did the renovations on our 90 gallon tank and that was no picnic, thats why is is no fun having these problems with it now, we never had the problems in the 29 gallon. Anyways the reason I love cichlids is because they ARE that mean, and colorful and I find they tend to take on a whole personality as they get to know you, it ROCKS. It has just actually become more of a hobby over the las year as we watched our oscars grow. I figured you had to have some kind of fish tough. well TTYL

[Whizzy]

To control algae, get something that eats it. A couple of otocinclus, some snails, black mollies. Cut down on the amount of light your tank gets; too much light = too much algae. But remember that a little algae is actually good for your tank.

The ammonia problem is a little more difficult. You have to cycle a tank and allow the proper bacteria to grow in your substrate and filter media. You also need to do periodic water exchanges. And don't over crowd your tank. Too many fish create a lot of ammonia. Also be sure you aren't over feeding. Left over food on the bottom of the tank adds to the ammonia problem.

[cichlidfreak]

we can't have smaller fish like that as we have ALL cichlids, and they will eat them, we have since figured out how to controle it all, but thank-you for posting, welcome to the site and enjoy the forums