# still new at this PLEASE HELP!!!



## jenn134 (Nov 14, 2014)

Hi guys 
My name is Jenn and I am still new to the Cichlid world 
I have been into fish for over 6 months and I always kept live barriers
I so far have 6 Cichlids in 2 diffrent tanks one bing 20 Gal and one 30 Gal I have a 75 Gal for when they get too big for the other two tanks

My question is

I have a blue and black stripped Blue Johnnie ( I believe it's a male ) He's in my 20 Gal with not sure what the other 3 Cichlids nt sure if they are male or female

The Johnnie keeps going and digging under one of the hides I have in there it is kinds like a tunnel 
he keeps going out of it from the side by turning side ways and all the gravel under it is mostly missing and I am watching him move one piece of gravel at a time

I was wondering if this is what Male Cichlids do when they are getting ready to mate?? 
or is he just making his spot in the tank they way he wants it???

Please help me understand what he's doing

Thank you
Jenn


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Mbuna, especially the Pseudotropheus and Metriaclima species like to dig and rearrange their territories. Pretty normal. It is more about marking his territory and showing dominance. He also might be trying to make a safe hole to sleep in, which is more instinct than actual need in the aquarium.

Mbuna do not really have a breeding behavior, adult males are always in breeding mode. The will spar with other males, and if they see a female they will she if she is interested. Mbuna do not pair off, a female breeds until she is out of eggs... then the male will look for another female.


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## jenn134 (Nov 14, 2014)

Thank you for your reply
I was just wondering I already figured he would be the boss
he is so pretty very blue and my fav out of all of my fish 
I personally picked him when I was at the pet store

again thank you

Jenn


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

As soon as they are 1.5" including tail I'd move them to the 75G. If you keep mixed genders shoot for 1m:4f of each. Johannii are very aggressive so for them I'd do 1m:7f.


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## jenn134 (Nov 14, 2014)

I have another question

How big should the Cichlids be before I try feeding feeder fish??
I have a seprate tank ( 1 gal) for the feeder fish and so far I bought 15 
I was just wondering

Thank you 
Jenn


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

jenn134 said:


> I have another question
> 
> How big should the Cichlids be before I try feeding feeder fish??
> I have a seprate tank ( 1 gal) for the feeder fish and so far I bought 15
> ...


Don't feed them feeder fish. These are not normally predator fish. They don't need feeder fish.


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## jenn134 (Nov 14, 2014)

Ok thanks for the reply 
I guess I will save the feeder fish for my Oscar


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## rennsport2011 (Oct 21, 2013)

jenn134 said:


> Ok thanks for the reply
> I guess I will save the feeder fish for my Oscar


I wouldn't feed them to the Oscar either. Typically feeder fish are not kept in great conditions, often diseased including parasites. Not something I would want to introduce to my pets. Pellets and other prepared foods better meet the nutritional needs of your fish as well.


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## jenn134 (Nov 14, 2014)

I bought 15 feeder fish and I am keeping them in a seprate tank feeding them fish flakes and watching for any issues before they would be fed to an of my animals or anyone elses animals 
I know buying feeder and just dumping them in the tank with a fish to eat them could cause harm to the animal 
but if I keep the feeders for about 1 month and none of them die or get sick then they should be safe to give as a snack not a meal

am I correct about this or should I just keep the feeder fish as pets???

I take great care of my animals and would never cause them harm on purpose

Thank you
Jenn


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## Lou21 (Dec 11, 2014)

Feeder fish are a sensitive topic, my local fish store is extremely clean and very helpful. They keep their new feeder fish in a seperate tank to ween out the diseased/parasitic ones and then after about a month move the healthy ones into a fresh tank to sell. I suppose with my last tank of malawis I got lucky then. I used to feed them feeder fish about once a month and never had any issues, they loved it. But I always had full confidence in this store since they always treated me and their tanks so well. So I guess maybe it depends on where they are coming from? The mbunas/frontosa and venustus had a field day with the feeders lol


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