help with my cichlids ASAP

[Ash]

In all honesty right now I think you should just stick with the African Cichlids you have now and no think about any other fish. See how you do with these africans first and do more research. When you feel comfortable with what you have then look into other Africans that you like and then post them on here and we can let you know if they are mixable or not. As for the fish coming with the tank, I agree you need to take them into a local fish shop they dont go together, the Jack Dempsy is going to get to big and they wont mix with the Africans either - if you keep those fish you will have problems.

As for food you need to feed Africans sinking food. No flakes or floating food. If they swallow air from trying to eat floating food your going to have a problem.

 

[NewETown]

I completely agree with Ash. Just stick with and enjoy the cichlids that you have now, and as you start to feel confident in your ability to care for them (i.e. no deaths, no ick, spawning behavior, etc) then branch out and start looking in to more fish. Stick with the African fish though! The South American fish get HUGE so you'll be looking at 6 foot long tanks minimum for most of them.

 

[rivendel]

None of these fish will get along with Africans. The Jack Dempsey is a very aggressive fish from South America (Central?) and the rest are community fish. I'm not 100% sure on the Honduran Butterfly, but seeing that it's got "Honduran" in it's name I'm assuming it's from Honduras which will tell me that it prefers the more acidic water of other Central/South American cichlids. If you get this tank for free I suggest taking all of those fish in to your local fish store (not a big chain, locally owned one) and donating them to the store.

None of those fish can go with goldfish either, putting anything warm water with cold water fish is a bad idea.

Do you have a tank just for your Victorians yet?

my africans are now in 33 gal from 10 gal, coz they are only five, i still have 50 gal and 20 gal empty, im looking for a yellow cichlid, what does it call again?

 

[navygirl76]

those other fish (the jack dempsey and others ) will not mix with your fish. i would give them to the lfs.

also, flakes do not kill fish. what it is, is flake food doesnt have that much nutrition for a full grown fish. i use flakes for baby fish and juveniles but mix it with small pellets and veggies.

dont ever just feed your fish flakes-over time they will starve to death or die from malnutrition-(and im talking about africans and SA/CA fish).

 

[rivendel]

oh thanks for your advice... well maybe my fish should thank you coz they are still alive because of you hehe...

 

[rivendel]

those other fish (the jack dempsey and others ) will not mix with your fish. i would give them to the lfs.

also, flakes do not kill fish. what it is, is flake food doesnt have that much nutrition for a full grown fish. i use flakes for baby fish and juveniles but mix it with small pellets and veggies.

dont ever just feed your fish flakes-over time they will starve to death or die from malnutrition-(and im talking about africans and SA/CA fish).

no flakes? shooooooooooooootttttttttt i feed them with wardley tropical flakes shoootttttttttttt.. i just bought it on wal-mart, hope its not too late..

 

[NewETown]

If I were you I'd spend some money and set up your 50 gallon very nicely! Get some really nice rock, good filters and lights and make a show tank. Then put your current Vics in the 50 gallon, and you can use the 33 gallon tank for some Yellow Labs (2-3 of them). The nice thing about using an old tank is that you don't have to cycle it again!

Just saw that you get food from wal-mart.... Don't get food from Wal-Mart. www.dainichi.com or talk to a guy on here named Mike (last name starts with a D, I don't want to butcher it) and he'll sell you a food called NLS (New Life Spectrum). I use both of the foods and both are amazing. You want to get the sinking pellets.

 

[rivendel]

If I were you I'd spend some money and set up your 50 gallon very nicely! Get some really nice rock, good filters and lights and make a show tank. Then put your current Vics in the 50 gallon, and you can use the 33 gallon tank for some Yellow Labs (2-3 of them). The nice thing about using an old tank is that you don't have to cycle it again!

Just saw that you get food from wal-mart.... Don't get food from Wal-Mart. www.dainichi.com or talk to a guy on here named Mike (last name starts with a D, I don't want to butcher it) and he'll sell you a food called NLS (New Life Spectrum). I use both of the foods and both are amazing. You want to get the sinking pellets.

check the website but im confuse, which one should i buy?

 

[tydus]

check the website but im confuse, which one should i buy?

Which ever one you prefer, since both are top quality foods. You can even try both if you would like to know which one gives you better results. I'm sure both will satisfy you though.

 

[NewETown]

I would get the smallest sinking pellet they offer and get the "Ultima" type, iit'll be the best for the Vics. It's also what I use.