Which fish are easier to keep: firemouth cichlids or convict cichlids?(Also please give tips lol)
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the beneficial bacteria are mostly living in your filter, if you switch the filter to another tank the bacteria will go with it and leave the first tank uncycled. There are also beneficial bacterias in your gravel, decor, etc; but in a newly cycled aquarium they will mostly be in your filter, may not be enough in the rest of the tank to sustain fish if you take the filter off. What you could probably do, is transfer the filter to a new tank, but put half of that filter media into whatever filter you put on the original tank. This way, you would be seeding (cycling) the new tank, and the original tank would not lose the cycle. There may be "mini cycles" in both tanks, where bacteria populations adjust to the level of ammonia being produced. You will need fish in the new tank at the same time as you add the filter to stop the bacteria from starving.
Ok, but it is possible to cycle the second tank if I do that? Because I might switch to a 30g and the filter is in my 29g.
With a general hardness of 300ppm you're probably better off with Amatitlania, or another small Central American, although Hemichromis are very adaptable
Below Herotilapis multipsinnossa (rainbow cichlid)
Below Herotilapis multipsinnossa (rainbow cichlid)
Also, I have a few pieces of driftwood that I could never get to stop releasing tannins. Can I use those to lower the hardness so I can have a HRP?
HRP like the higher gh as well, coming from central america. They also get about the same size as convicts like I said in last post- 30 gallon may be OK for a single male, personally think it's a little tight long term. Would be OK for a pair for a while, if you got them small. But maybe small eventually. Especially when breeding, too small of a tank often leads to dead female. Though HRP are usually not as mean as "normal" convicts.
Driftwood's effectiveness in lowering hardness/pH depends on the wood, and it doesn't really do that much IME. Peat or water softening pillows in filter would be more effective. Though again, if HRPs are your goal, I wouldn't try to soften your water.
I figured the nerite snails might become food for the HRP. Is this actually possible and if so can I do anything about it?
