# Managing Cychlids



## firedragon (May 24, 2014)

Hello,

I am reasonably new to fish keeping and want to be the best I can and would therefore like to gain some advice on keeping the following fish together in one 450 litre tank:

1). Common Pleco - 16 Inches
2). Red Severum - 10 Inches
3). Jaguar Cychlid - 12 Inches
4). Jack Dempsey Cychlid - 10 Inches [currently sick - see illness forum for full story]

I purchased the tank and fish around 6 months ago and understand the fish are no older than 5-8 years old. The tank was already established but I am obviously not privy to the conditions the fish and tank have been kept in until I took them over.

The current tank set up: 450 litres and filtered by an external Fluval filter and one internal filter. Gravel is more akin to pea shingle rather than sand and I have a large bogwood [which the Pleco makes his home under] along with two clay plant pots for the Cychlids to hid and a variety of artificial plants. I have tried to keep living plants but they either die really quickly or get destroyed by the Pleco.

The current feeding program: Feed them once a day - Algae wafers, sinking pellets, cichlid sticks and flake food. Periodically blood worms and frozen cichlid diet [veggie].

Water parameters: pH usually 7.4-7.8, ammonia and nitrite usually 0ppm, nitrate always between 40-60ppm. Change 25% of water every two weeks and cleans filters in tank water every two weeks. I have struggled with nitrate since owning the tank [6 months], it is never below 40ppm.

*The main question is: Are these parameters and current feeding regimens ok for these fish or do I need to change anything?* :fish:

I have been informed to lower the nitrate I should increase water changes initially to 40% 3 or 4 times weekly and then revert back to 40% weekly once the nitrate drops below 20ppm.

Any advice would be brilliant.


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## Cichlid Debby (Mar 21, 2014)

Hey firedragon welcome,
I have read your other posts and hoping your jack pulls through.

You have been given great advice about the water changes to get the nitrates down. But I see you mention pea shingle for substrate. If this is what we call pea gravel here in the Midwest, and depending on how deep it is, it could be a big factor with your nitrate problem. Large gravel traps fish poo and uneaten food therefore breaking down and contributing to your problem. Make sure you are vacuuming very well. You might want to think about changing out to pool filter sand (PFS). And then only about an inch deep. Everything then lays on top and can get swept to the filter and makes it easy to just syphon the gunk off the top.

And as far as the food, feed them a good pellet. Flakes are a bit useless for this size fish.
I feed my big boys, (not as large as yours) what they will eat in about 15 secs once a day. If I did what the label says, 2-3 mins, the fish would be way over fed. You need to adjust to how your fish seem to eat. I also fast them I day a week. No food on water change day.

Hope this helps, I'm sure others will chime in. Good Luck

Deb


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## firedragon (May 24, 2014)

Hi Cichlid Debby,

Thanks for your reply, most helpful.

I take your point on the gravel, is kicks up a right mess when disturbed...I assume PFS is widely available in the UK too? Does the gravel bacteria not help with the tank cycling?

Regarding the flakes, the Red Severum loves them but the others don't seem to bothered.

Thanks for the best wishes...


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## Cichlid Debby (Mar 21, 2014)

Don't have a clue about PFS in the UK. We find it here at pool supply, home improvement and sometimes hardware stores.

Down deep in the gravel where there is no oxygen all this stuff (poo) turns into nitrates and pollutes your tank. The only way to remove nitrates is water changes and vacuuming out the excess waste so it doesn't turn into nitrates. All that gunk that is kicked up is waste, not the bacteria. The bacteria lives on the surfaces and sometimes you can see a bit of slime but otherwise if you can see it, it's bad for your tank. When you vacuum you are not removing bacteria just waste.

In the library section here there are articles on the "Nitrogen Cycle" these might help you understand this stuff better. It took me awhile to get it.

Keep the faith, you'll get there.
Deb


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## firedragon (May 24, 2014)

Cheers, I'll check out some of those articles and let you know how I get on.


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