help on mixed cichlid tank

[peachywolf]

Sorry this is a long set of questions i did a lot of research and the lady at the pet store confused me a lot when i got my fish but here is the story/questions that i been trying to find answers for a while


the water from my 10 gal that had my 3 tetras and my placo i got the tank for him. the cichlids in the tank are 2 jewels 1 bumble bee 1 acei and 1 blue johanni im gonna be adding a electric yellow soon since the other one i got died the day i got him. i got the 3 tetras in with the cichlids until the 10 gal is ready for them again my questions are. how long will it take the placo and cichlids to grow and is it safe to add african cichlid mineral salts to the tank when i take the tetras out in 4 weeks and will my rhino placo be ok with some salt in the tank . and i do know the bumble bee will get to be 7 inches and might need a bigger tank how long will it take him to out grow the 55 gallon tank so i know how long i got to save up for my next tank (250 gal) and how big will the other 4 be and what should i feed them i got a flake food for african cichlids and i feed the placo his algae chips with a cucumber and some other veggies can the cichlids eat the same veggies as the placo to? .... so far all my fish in the big tank are very active and getting along just fine and they look really happy so if any of you can help answer my questions i would really appreciate it
and as i said i will be moving the tetras in a couple weeks when i get the 10 gallon tank fixed up again the placo i got wouldnt go to the big tank with out it.. will be getting him a bigger cave in a couple weeks as well
oh and the cichlids are about an inch and a half in size so they are still really small

 

[m1ste2tea]

its safe to add the aquarium salt now, dont worry about that. Worry about your nitrates, as you are really pushing it with all of those cichlids in a 10 gallon. your best bet is to do a lot of water changes, maybe one small one every day and then a big 50% water change once a week. I also recommend that you make cleanup easier and more efficient by removing all but a few caves from the tank. Anything that may cover up fish waste needs to be taken out.

In the meantime go on Craigslist and look for a 55 gallon tank, theyre common and you can usually find just the tank for $50. try to find a filter or two there as well, Sometimes garage sales may have tank setups as well. African cichlids are fine in an overstocked tank, so dont worry about getting more once you get a bigger tank.

 

[peachywolf]

they are in a 55 gallon tank i only have the 10 gal for the tetras but it was kinda messed up when i put the water from the 10 gal to the 55 to add the good bacteria to make sure its ready for the fish just a bit faster (hopefully with out killing them)

 

[spadoc79]

the good bacteria is in the filter media and substrate...very little in the water itself.

 

[peachywolf]

ok i did take the mesh part of the small tank filter and put it in the large filter for a temp hopefully that will help a bit as well