Then I guess they have a case of the Stage Fright. I think it doesn't matter how big the Firemouth is, they always rule the tank. In my experience, when I popped in on my two FMs they always seemed to take cover, even after I separated them... Maybe it's just a New World Cichlid thing.... Or it's time to get them in that 75gal, like NOW!
Fishing Behaving Oddly. What is wrong!?
- Thread starter IWork@Costco
- Start date
Sciroccoman;2478513; said:
weird, really? The LFS said the complete opposite. they said they are the easiest fish to take care of and they are the mildest! They also sold a black ghost knife to someone with a 20 gallon tank so who knows what misleading info they spread....
Well your explination is the ONLY one that makes sense to me right now because the firemouth is acting most normal, swimming back and forth and coming up. the others, now that i think about it, are hiding from it....but I havent seen any signs of aggression from him/her (how do you sex them?).....but another thing. I woke up the other morning and I saw that there had been huge ditches dug and mounds of sand in an area under a tree stump/root thing....was that the firemouth or do parrots and dempseys dig as well?
If I cant get the 75 like within the next month, im probably going to give away the parrot and firemouth. I love my dempsey so hes not going anywhere right now.
IWork@Costco;2478464; said:
if you keep asking questions and then ignoring the correct answers... well.. have fun.. yer lfs is going to love you
The digging is most likely the FM. They love to sift through and move the substrate. When the two FMs were together, the dominant FM would clear a hiding spot under the driftwood. after I separated the two, the sub-dominant FM made an extravagant hiding hole, A very large mound of substrate was formed toward the front of the tank, as though to keep me from seeing him. The FMs are Omnivores, so they sift through to look for food, and also to "decorate" the tank for their preference. Nifty Cichlids they are...
Sciroccoman;2478564; said:
Lol ya exactly, I had all these weird tiny holes scattered ALL through the sand and we had no clue what the were. We watched them for awhile and saw the firemouth sucking the sand and sifting it. He loves that stuff!
chesterthehero;2478546; said:
Bro, I dont even know what your saying or the point your trying to make but your typical Snooty-Aquarium hobbyist attitude is enough for me to not pay attention. My TEST indicates everything is in the safe zone. And I didn't ignore any CORRECT answers, YOU made a FALSE statement by saying a filter designed to pump 300GPH for up to a 70 gallon tank was too LITTLE of filtration for a 29gallon tank. Also it isn't spelled YER. Another reason to not take YOUR advice!
Also, I meant, I didn't know what my ammonia was because I didn't have the test strip handy with me when I went out for the evening. My bad! But according to the test, it too is in the middle of the safe zone. ANy other comments, dear?
Desired Level
In nature nitrates remain very low, generally well below 5 ppm. In freshwater aquariums nitrates should be kept below 50 pm at all times, preferably below 25 ppm. If you are breeding fish, or are battling algae growth, keep nitrates below 10 ppm.
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/watercare/a/nitrates.htm
So since all my levels are fine, I believe Sciro has the best answer. Thanks Sciro for your input!
nitrate is the end result of ammonia in a cycled tank. If there is ammonia in the tank that hasnt been converted to nitrate that could be your issue.there should be no ammonia in a cycled tank.
tankboy_taylor;2478758; said:
ok so my kit covers Nitrite, Nitrate, Alkaline, PH, Chlorine and Hardness.....all tested to to be in safe, low levels. Chlorine and nitrite being 0... So should I do an ammonia test as well?
essentially, i think sciro had it right. And I think they are just scared of me because they act normal when im not around. So there is a different issue here than water quality....
yeah test for ammonia. Your tank has been setup for a few months? you should really read up on tank cycling just so you know.
tankboy_taylor;2478802; said:
I have and these fish were just used to boost the cycling but then I grew attached to them
. But the main thing is...they have been fine for months, just the other day they acted weird...only around me....fine alone....scared of me. That shouldn't have anything to do with water quality or cycling, should it?You seem to be pretty new to the fish keeping hobby. And you are acting like you know everything. Things that you have said show differently. For one you are using test strips. These are known not to be accurate and they do not test the most important parameter which is ammonia. If you want to become a good fish keeper buy yourself a good test kit such as a API master test kit for freshwater. Or any liquid/drop test kit will work better than strips. Second you are saying that a AC70 at 300gph is over filtering a 29g tank. It is a known fact that a good turn over rate from a HOB style filter is 10x your tank size. And you are at that with about 10 extra gallons an hour over the minimum. Check wikipedia for a full break down if you need more info on aquarium filtration. It is very important for someone in the learning stages to stay calm and take in every piece of info they can find. Saying that someone has made a false statement when they are just trying to help you is pretty rude and causes alot of people to pass your thread up and not even bother.
