Is my Aquarium overstocked?Why did my Severum die?

[duanes]

I agree with Toiletcar, HRPs are a good choice for that size tank.
Some I had.

male above, female below

Most water providers, if you are on municipal, have a web site that explains their water parameters of your tap water (they do in the US, if the city is large enough), or you can call and ask.
basics like pH, alkalinity, hardness, etc

 

[Justepic]

I agree with Toiletcar, HRPs are a good choice for that size tank.
Some I had.

male above, female below

Most water providers, if you are on municipal, have a web site that explains their water parameters of your tap water (they do in the US, if the city is large enough), or you can call and ask.
basics like pH, alkalinity, hardness, etc

I think I am gonna go with 5 firemouths and 10 Odessa Barb's and a striped Raphael catfish

 

[Justepic]

I think I am gonna go with 5 firemouths and 10 Odessa Barb's and a striped Raphael catfish

Or 3 firemouths, 2 jewel cichlids and 5 Odessa barbs

 

[tlindsey]

Or 3 firemouths, 2 jewel cichlids and 5 Odessa barbs

Personally like your previous choice of stock. The Jewel Cichlid are more aggressive than the Firemouth.

 

[neutrino]

Jewel cichlids are inconsistent with new worlds ime. Some are okay, even with peaceful SA; in my early, naïve days I had one in the same tank as a curviceps with no problem. But some-- same species-- can go psycho. Jewels are funny. Also in my early days, I had one tear the fins off a betta overnight. The betta began relentlessly stalking the jewel, following it all over the tank while flaring at it. After a few days the jewel was so unnerved it wouldn't go near the betta forever after. The problem is jewels can be lightning quick and an aggressive one can make a mess of a much larger but less aggressive cichlid in minutes.

Just for future reference, not saying your severum's problem was a cycling problem, but there's something to understand about 'cycling' I didn't see mentioned. Cycling isn't binary, a tank is not either cycled or not cycled. There's a relationship between available nutrients and size of your beneficial bacteria colony. There are other factors, but essentially the beneficial bacteria population grows or shrinks in response to how much ammonia and nitrite is available to them. Lower your stocking level and beneficial bacteria population shrinks in response, add fish and it grows (doesn't happen instantly). Bacteria population is more dependent on fish load than filter capacity. You can have huge filter capacity but very few fish and your bacteria colony will only be in proportion to fish population and feeding, it won't be bigger due to the extra filtration.

In other words, 'cycling' with a few small fish doesn't make your tank immediately ready to add any load of fish you want. You can mitigate this a bit by feeding lightly for a few days after increasing your fish population, or by adding fish gradually. Like I say, just for future reference.

 

[magpie]

Also, as a fishkeeper a water testing kit is just as mandatory as the fish food, particularly with a new tank. You can get them online - look for the drop style vs. strips. You can have your LFS test your pH but really need the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate tests for yourself.

This site has much more reliable information on adult fish size, aggression levels, general preferences, and tank size recs for adult fish. It's a good starting point for reference and then you can come back here to ask people for their real life experience, which is huge. This community is fantastic.
https://www.seriouslyfish.com

Sorry to hear that your LFS led you sooo wrong. It's unfortunately not uncommon.

 

[Justepic]

Alright, this gonna be a long post.
So, I went to my lfs today and had them test my water straight away ( I mean after looking at some cool fish ; they had pea puffers, red eye puffers and congo tetras!)
The guy said it was pretty bad because there was a lot of No2- or nitrates ; he said that I need to change the water every day about 10%-20% and feed the fish only once every two days and a tiny pinch.
He said also to use something called ' Microbe-Lift Special Blend Water Care '. It introduces bacteria into the system and reduces nitrates. If anyone has used this please tell me if it is good, but I went ahead and bought it anyhoo.
He then tested for ammonia and luckily there was none.

I talked to him about the livestock in the tank and about my severum's death. Then he pretty much repeated what neutrino said about cycling and that you should a fish every week or so. Understanding this, I knew that he was a pretty good aquarist so I went ahead and asked him if I could keep Jacks in a 200 litre. He unfortunately didn't know much about cichlids but he knew about jacks and severums , not salvinis. He said you can keep 2 adult jacks in my aquarium and he said yes , but that it would't be that great because of the filter I have - a fluval U4. He said if I had a fluval fx4 or 5 or any good canister filter then they would do well in my tank. So I asked him if I could return the severum and salvinis. He said he could't right know because of the poor water condition as my sev might introduce some bad stuff to their aquariums. He said if I come again in a few weeks and the water was noice , then I could return them for a bit of their original price which is good enough for me. I will still try to sell it on ebay though

Few, sorry if I made any mistakes , had to type this in a rush.
So far , I think I can correct my wrongs and learn from my mistakes.
Thanks!

 

[fishhead0103666]

The mere fact that you’re willing to learn from your mistakes is fantastic, I believe you have the potential to go far in this hobby if you stick around on this site .

 

[Justepic]

Thanks for the motivation!
Do you think I can keep 2 adult Jack's and two salvinis in my 200 litre, 100cm x 50 x 40?