Common Myths
Myth: The more fish, the better!
This is absolutely false. Overcrowding your tank, one of the mistakes made most often by first-time aquarists, is a recipe for disaster. One of the most common stocking errors is to fill a 5-gallon tank with upwards of 30 fish—yikes! Like people, fish need room to move. There also needs to be enough oxygen available for all of the fish you put into your tank. When stocking your tank, think "less is more."
Myth – you need to remove the fish from the aquarium before washing it or changing the water.
Truth – the fish are actually stressed terribly when displaced from their environment, specifically after being chased and caught in nets.
Myth – Changing the gravel is the best way of having it cleaned or washing it under the tap water.
Truth – changing of gravel will actually harm the fish, as with time the gravel will house friendly bacteria that help in clearing the fish waste, which in the long run will actually poison your fish.
Myth – you need to wash the tank as often as you can;
Truth – you should actually wash as rarely as possible, because the longer you leave the system by itself, the better the system works. You should have good filters attached to it and ensure that the water is oxygenated well.
Myth – you should replace all the water from the tank and replace it fully with new water every time you wash the tank;
Truth – you should actually replace only 20-25% of the water, otherwise you will create an imbalance in the system and harm your fish.
Myth – you should abundantly feed your fish if you will be missing for a few days from the house;
Truth – you should never overfeed your fish; this will not only cloud and pollute the water it will tempt the fish to overeat and kill them.
Myth: You have to give cichlids "feeder" fish to eat
NO! In fact, feeding live fish to cichlids is often discouraged due to risk of disease from poorly kept feeders. The best diet for all cichlids is a variety of commercial and home-prepared foods, all carefully selected to have the proper protein content for the species you are keeping. It is true that you may come across a wild-caught fish now and again that will refuse prepared foods, but this behavior can usually be modified within a month or two using live cultures (like brine shrimp), then frozen foods, and finally your preferred form of food.
Try cichlids for awhile, and you can switch if you don't like them
Although I can't imagine trying them and not loving them, this point needs to be addressed. Cichlids tend to be relatively long-lived fish, with 10 years being a fairly typical lifespan. Also, most cichlids are incompatible with many other types of fish, so letting your cichlids 'die off' and backfilling the tank with other fish is generally not possible. Giving your fish away once it is an adult size may also be difficult unless you can connect with other hobbyists, since adult cichlids tend not to sell well at aquarium shops. Keeping many cichlids is a commitment, and you should approach it as one. Once they take the plunge though, most people never look back because cichlids are so interesting, beautiful, and intelligent.
Now some common fish size and tank size.
Comon Name | Scientific Name | FISH SIZE” | MIN: PREFERD:
Green Texas (Herichthys carpinte) 12 55 75
Red Devil ( Amphilophus Labiatus) 12 55 75
Severum ( Heros Severus ) 8 40 55
CONVICT (Archocentrus Nigrofasciatus) 4-6 20L 30
JACK DEMPSEY(JD) ( Nandopsis Octofasciatum) 10 55 75
SALVINI (Nandopsis Salvini ) 6-8 30 55
OSCAR (ASTRONOTUS OCELLATUS) 12-16 75 125
bLOOD pARROT ( NONE hYBRID ) 6-8 40 55
gREEN TERROR (aEQUIDENS RIVULATUS) 8-10 75 75
RED TERROR (AMPHILOPHUS FESTAE) 12-15 125 125
Jaguar cichlid (PARACHROSOMIS MANAGUENSIS) 10+ 100 125
w0LF CICHLID (pARACHROSMIS DOVII) 12++ 125 150
flower horn (hybrid ) 12-16 55 100
PLEASE CORRECt if there is a error. my capslock is brocken .
</H3>
Myth: The more fish, the better!
This is absolutely false. Overcrowding your tank, one of the mistakes made most often by first-time aquarists, is a recipe for disaster. One of the most common stocking errors is to fill a 5-gallon tank with upwards of 30 fish—yikes! Like people, fish need room to move. There also needs to be enough oxygen available for all of the fish you put into your tank. When stocking your tank, think "less is more."
Myth – you need to remove the fish from the aquarium before washing it or changing the water.
Truth – the fish are actually stressed terribly when displaced from their environment, specifically after being chased and caught in nets.
Myth – Changing the gravel is the best way of having it cleaned or washing it under the tap water.
Truth – changing of gravel will actually harm the fish, as with time the gravel will house friendly bacteria that help in clearing the fish waste, which in the long run will actually poison your fish.
Myth – you need to wash the tank as often as you can;
Truth – you should actually wash as rarely as possible, because the longer you leave the system by itself, the better the system works. You should have good filters attached to it and ensure that the water is oxygenated well.
Myth – you should replace all the water from the tank and replace it fully with new water every time you wash the tank;
Truth – you should actually replace only 20-25% of the water, otherwise you will create an imbalance in the system and harm your fish.
Myth – you should abundantly feed your fish if you will be missing for a few days from the house;
Truth – you should never overfeed your fish; this will not only cloud and pollute the water it will tempt the fish to overeat and kill them.
Myth: You have to give cichlids "feeder" fish to eat
NO! In fact, feeding live fish to cichlids is often discouraged due to risk of disease from poorly kept feeders. The best diet for all cichlids is a variety of commercial and home-prepared foods, all carefully selected to have the proper protein content for the species you are keeping. It is true that you may come across a wild-caught fish now and again that will refuse prepared foods, but this behavior can usually be modified within a month or two using live cultures (like brine shrimp), then frozen foods, and finally your preferred form of food.
Try cichlids for awhile, and you can switch if you don't like them
Although I can't imagine trying them and not loving them, this point needs to be addressed. Cichlids tend to be relatively long-lived fish, with 10 years being a fairly typical lifespan. Also, most cichlids are incompatible with many other types of fish, so letting your cichlids 'die off' and backfilling the tank with other fish is generally not possible. Giving your fish away once it is an adult size may also be difficult unless you can connect with other hobbyists, since adult cichlids tend not to sell well at aquarium shops. Keeping many cichlids is a commitment, and you should approach it as one. Once they take the plunge though, most people never look back because cichlids are so interesting, beautiful, and intelligent.
Now some common fish size and tank size.
Comon Name | Scientific Name | FISH SIZE” | MIN: PREFERD:
Green Texas (Herichthys carpinte) 12 55 75
Red Devil ( Amphilophus Labiatus) 12 55 75
Severum ( Heros Severus ) 8 40 55
CONVICT (Archocentrus Nigrofasciatus) 4-6 20L 30
JACK DEMPSEY(JD) ( Nandopsis Octofasciatum) 10 55 75
SALVINI (Nandopsis Salvini ) 6-8 30 55
OSCAR (ASTRONOTUS OCELLATUS) 12-16 75 125
bLOOD pARROT ( NONE hYBRID ) 6-8 40 55
gREEN TERROR (aEQUIDENS RIVULATUS) 8-10 75 75
RED TERROR (AMPHILOPHUS FESTAE) 12-15 125 125
Jaguar cichlid (PARACHROSOMIS MANAGUENSIS) 10+ 100 125
w0LF CICHLID (pARACHROSMIS DOVII) 12++ 125 150
flower horn (hybrid ) 12-16 55 100
PLEASE CORRECt if there is a error. my capslock is brocken .
</H3>
