Quarantine for 6 juvenile Sajica

[tiger15]

30 to 40% every other day is 100% weekly, equivalent to discus management. I do 75% weekly, still not enough, but they are kept in a tank crowded with other medium to large cichlid. I had more bloat with American than Africans cichlids, used to be the other way around in the old days.

I’ll be in Costa Rica for a week in March, touring Arenal, Manual Antonio & Monteverde. I’ll take a creek boat ride in one of the places and hopefully can spot some cichlids.

 

[Dwl0222]

Sponge filter is great for quarantined tank, easy to clean and accommodating to medication if needed.

1.5 inch Sajica are decent size fish, ready to be sexable. Sajica have not been hardy for me, susceptible to bloat and bacterial infections. I lost many before a few reached adulthood.

Females are actually almost ready to spawn at 2", I believe the first time mine spawned the female was @ 2", of course the male was about 3 Xs her size.

Sajica come from very pristine water conditions in Costa Rica, where they are in constant water change, and if water is kept pristine will be very healthy, I did 30-40% water changes every other day on their tank to keep nitrate in the single digit range.
If I slacked off, they quickly became subject to infections.

Oh wow, not gonna lie this is surprising to hear. Most of what I’ve seen in my research is that they’re very hardy and adaptable to a wide range of water parameters etc. Now, of course I fully plan on keeping everything as perfect as I can, but I won’t be able to do every other day water changes. As of now I do about 40-50% weekly. I may have to make a last minute switch as far as whether Sajica is for me or not...

 

[duanes]

I'm sure many people have had success not being as anal as I am with water changes.

 

[Gourami Swami]

My experience with sajica has been that they are actually relatively hardy. I had a female which lived for years with once weekly water changes, nitrates hovering around 10-20. I gave the fish to a friend who still has her, in a 20 gallon which is a bit overstocked, and the fish is still doing well with once weekly water changes.
I believe all fish would appreciate water changes every other day. I don't think a sajica is particularly more susceptible to high nitrates than other similar cichlid species. I would just aim to keep them as low as possible (as should always be the case)

 

[Dwl0222]

I'm sure many people have had success not being as anal as I am with water changes.

My experience with sajica has been that they are actually relatively hardy. I had a female which lived for years with once weekly water changes, nitrates hovering around 10-20. I gave the fish to a friend who still has her, in a 20 gallon which is a bit overstocked, and the fish is still doing well with once weekly water changes.
I believe all fish would appreciate water changes every other day. I don't think a sajica is particularly more susceptible to high nitrates than other similar cichlid species. I would just aim to keep them as low as possible (as should always be the case)

Thanks guys, I don’t wanna make it seem like I don’t want to put the work in....I just know my schedule and I try to keep the right fish to fit that. I thought Sajica was a good choice. I can definitely try and add another partial water change mid week, at least to vacuum the substrate.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Thanks guys, I don’t wanna make it seem like I don’t want to put the work in....I just know my schedule and I try to keep the right fish to fit that. I thought Sajica was a good choice. I can definitely try and add another partial water change mid week, at least to vacuum the substrate.

gotcha, doesn't come off that way, seems to me like you're doing your research and being responsible.
I don't think you'll have problems with one large weekly WC in a properly stocked tank. Since you have the other tanks available, a 29 sounds like the perfect size to QT these guys to me.

 

[Dwl0222]

duanes tlindsey Gourami Swami
Ok guys so I’m a few days from getting my 6 juvenile Sajica. I’ve got a 20 gallon long set up with pvc elbows and a couple cheap plastic decorations I had laying around, there should be plenty of hideouts available. I need help with how to go about preparing to put the Sajica in the tank. I have 2 sponges in my AC110 for about 5-6 weeks or so now....one will be used as a sponge filter and the other I can put on my intake of an AC30. I can also take some matrix from the 110. But what is the process? Fill tank with water and dechlorinate, then add the sponges? Do I let that run the night before to allow the beneficial bacteria to remove anything left? Do I add water earlier than that to make sure I get the temp set correctly? I’ve never done a quarantine tank so I just want to make sure I do it right. If you could give me basic step by step instructions to make sure the water is safe, I’d appreciate it so much. I’m not dumb haha so don’t go too crazy, just a few steps or a timeline that i need to make sure to follow would be great.

 

[duanes]

There really aren't any rules, but if the tank is fishless, you can wait with the dechlorinator until it full, and after that add the seasoned sponges.
Whenever I quarantine (if the main tank already has fish), after the new fish are in quarantine, I add some water from the tank they are going to every day until the tank water is basically switched over.
If the tank they are going into is fishless, I just think of that s my quarantine tank.

 

[Dwl0222]

There really aren't any rules, but if the tank is fishless, you can wait with the dechlorinator until it full, and after that add the seasoned sponges.
Whenever I quarantine (if the main tank already has fish), after the new fish are in quarantine, I add some water from the tank they are going to every day until the tank water is basically switched over.
If the tank they are going into is fishless, I just think of that s my quarantine tank.

Great thanks, yeah the quarantine tank is empty.

So this would be ok? I will be getting the fish Friday morning FYI

1-fill the tank with water Thursday afternoon so I have a bit of time to get the temp right.

2-add Prime Thursday night and run the filters empty just to circulate the Prime as well as keep the tank an even temperature.

3-Friday morning I add the established sponges and matrix to the quarantine tank and continue to run.

4-Add fish.

Sound good? From then on it’s just normal tank maintenance/observation I assume?

 

[duanes]

Sounds like a good plan to me.