AGGRESSIVE CICHLID TANK WITH NO AGGRESSION
- Thread starter 4D3
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NO worries, to get rid of glare, just turn the flash off and get close to the tank!
+1
I posted earlier in this thread options in reducing nitrates that do not mention terracotta. I forget what page it's on.
My three previously mentioned options of reducing nitrates:
1. plants (chaeto in marine) absorb and use nitrates. converts to N2
2. Anaerobic bacteria in Deep Sand Beds (DSB). I am not going to debate the pros and cons of using a DSB. That is up to the hobbyist. All you have to know is anaerobic bacteria does denitrify nitrates.
3. Water changes
I will also mention that prime DOES denitrify nitrates in an established aquarium. I actually tried this method this past weekend on a test tank. My experiment involved using a tank and letting the nitrates build up. My readings were: ammonia- 0 ppm, nitrite- 0 ppm, nitrate- 20 ppm. A 10% water changed occured with an extra dosing of prime (beyond the recommended dosage for the water being added to the new water, i.e. 5mL for x amount of water. I added more to that x amount. The purpose was to see how much I could reduce my nitrates using prime. My readins were 0 across teh board. This is just a summary of what I did. Take it as you will. I dont personally like the idea of just adding prime to get rid of a nitrate problem because you arent figuring out why the nitrates are so high in the first place.
If anyone else has other options in reducing nitrates please share them
Its my understanding directly from Seachem that it does not de-nitrify nitrates or it does not remove them so to speak. But it de-toxifies. This is swhy you can still get readings of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate after dosing prime for them. it only detoxifies the effects on the fish.
Stock the tank so patches of water are visible between the fish. My rule of thumb: at least one inch of water should be seen at all times.
I did bit of reading about deep sand beds, it is just a case of adding 7-8cm depth of sand to the tank right and and the lower areas of the sand should not be disturbed?
but if you have a fish that likes to dig surely it will get disturbed, although i notice since i added sand back to my tank they only seem to touch the top 2cm.
I read this:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_7/volume_7_1/dsb.html
and
http://www.ronshimek.com/deep_sand_beds.html
would these articles be an accurate description of the process and what needs done?
but apparently my tank is over stocked and there is easily more than 1 inch surrounding the fish! can you elaborate on this?
thanks
It was sarcasm. What constitutes an overstocked tank is a debate for the ages, up there with whether or not God exists. I'll throw out what I think are necessary conditions to avoid it. There might be more, but these seem essential. They make fishkeeping an art, science, and PITA.
- Keeping nitrates under 20, in the Orange Zone on the test kit. Long-term exposure to the Red Zone weakens the immune system. It's like being a heavy smoker. The damage might not show up right away, but when it does all the meds in the store won't help.
- Keeping the peace is asking a bit much from cichlids. Avoiding mayhem is a reasonable goal.
- Giving the fish enough room to stretch their fins. This criterion is the problematic one. "Enough room" is like the Supreme Court's definition of obscenity: "I can't define it but I know it when I see it." Reasonable people disagree. (For instance, can you really house an Oscar in a 55 for its life!?) I wish we could ask the fish if they enjoy captivity.
I'm assuming with these criteria a sense of empathy with fish, that they're conscious and experience pain and that we wish to make their lives as pleasant as possible.
- Keeping nitrates under 20, in the Orange Zone on the test kit. Long-term exposure to the Red Zone weakens the immune system. It's like being a heavy smoker. The damage might not show up right away, but when it does all the meds in the store won't help.
- Keeping the peace is asking a bit much from cichlids. Avoiding mayhem is a reasonable goal.
- Giving the fish enough room to stretch their fins. This criterion is the problematic one. "Enough room" is like the Supreme Court's definition of obscenity: "I can't define it but I know it when I see it." Reasonable people disagree. (For instance, can you really house an Oscar in a 55 for its life!?) I wish we could ask the fish if they enjoy captivity.
I'm assuming with these criteria a sense of empathy with fish, that they're conscious and experience pain and that we wish to make their lives as pleasant as possible.
I seem to meet these criteria!
Nice to know the tank isnt over stocked according to these rules. I have no aggression, fish have plenty of room to swim and since i added the sand and did some big waterchanges my parameters are looking good
