[lucifer1881]

Originally Posted by ptaneja

Dont know what is LPH. But the filter is normal water submersible pump with foam in the lower and upper section. Nothing external of aquarium.

Get a canister filter. Other than a sump filter, a canister filter is the best filter you can use.

LPH is litre per hour. A rule of thumb that you should follow is the water turnover in the tank. For example, if the flow rate of a filter is 1000 LPH then it can filter 1000 litres of water per hour. When this filter is used on a tank of 250 litre volume, then the water turnover is 4 times per hour. It is good to have a water turnover of 4-6 times per hour for an ideally stocked tank. What is an ideally stocked tank? I will respond to this a little later in this post.

Originally Posted by ptaneja

[*]How many cichlids? What type of cichlids?

I just bought looking at them together with the seller ...didnt knew their separate names.
As pointed out by another poster, the fishes were following -
Convict [Central American Cichlid]
Salvini [Central American Cichlid]
Blue Mbuna [African Cichlid, Lake Malawi]
Jewel Cichlid [African Cichlid]
Tiger Barbs

This was your mistake. Never buy fish before learning about their behaviour. The least you should know is their names.

You had a combination of African and American cichlids. African cichlids are from the African Great Lakes while American cichlids are mainly river fish. African cichlids are hard water fish. American prefer softer water. American cichlids like Oscars can grow to over 10-12 inches. African cichlids usually grow to 4-5 inches. I guess you know what I am getting at. Their environment and behaviour are greatly different. Obviously, they are not exactly compatible with each other.

Originally Posted by ptaneja

Normal Tap Water, hardness must be around 600-700 range (RO servicing guy came yesterday to test ! )

Get a chlorine test kit. Tap water is treated with chlorine. Chlorine is toxic to fish. Ensure your tap water is free of chlorine before filling your aquarium.

Originally Posted by ptaneja

Hard water !
Temperature was at 28 - heater was installed.

26 is a more comfortable temperature for cichlids in my opinion. Keep the heater on 24x7, even in summer. Its thermostat will ensure it only turns on when the water temperature drops below 26. So don't worry about overheating the water.

Originally Posted by ptaneja

Oh yes, nipping each other ! No patches on them, no rashes, all died with their fins nipped off.
And the only fish I could locate which was after them was the following - dont know the name ! And this is the ONLY fish left now in the huge 4" tank !

Already answered above. Compatibility issues.

That said, how many fish did you have in the tank? Let me now explain to you the stocking density.

Each fish needs a certain space to itself for optimum conditions. Discus need about 10 gallons per fish. African cichlids need about 5 gallons per fish. A kind of thumb rule is 1 gallon of water for 1 inch of fish. Otherwise the tank is over-crowded.

You have a 250 litre tank, which is roughly 55 gallon. Keep 11-12 African cichlids in it at the most. If Oscars, then don't keep more than 6. These guys grow.

Overstocking stresses the fish out. It is better to err on the side of understocking.

Originally Posted by ptaneja

Bought chiclids Flakes, Blood Worm dried etc - normal regular stuff I have been feeding since last 3/4 years to other fishes (starting from goldfish)

All this is fine, but ensure you only feed as much as can be consumed by the fish in 5 minutes. If uneaten food remains after 5 minutes then please scoop it out. Feed adults twice a day. They will be happy.

Originally Posted by ptaneja

Chiclids were the costliest I have purchased so far, and by far the experience with them was the worst - never knew that I would loose such wonderful so quickly.

Costly yes. But the pleasure a well-kept cichlid tank gives is priceless. Please read up on cichlids, tank maintenance, etc. It is a learning experience and your fish will thank you for it.

Originally Posted by audioholic

...Get small fish, grow them together and they will stay together especially oscars, cichlids etc.

This is the key. Usually, fish that are grown together tolerate each other better than those that are not. No guarantees, though. You only improve chances of compatibility. That's all.

Originally Posted by ptaneja

...
This time i'll be going for a complete revamp.

- New Filter - which one to buy ?
- New Substrate - Will throw existing one out. Looking for black colored gravel...
- Water ? Normal tap water with high TDS(hard water) or half of tap + half of RO ?
- most important - which fishes ? Hard breeds, which wont die so soon..

I have already answered your query on filter and water. There is no need to throw out the existing substrate unless you are bored of it. Give it a good wash in some hot water and it would be sterilised and clean.

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

...for your 4x1.5x1.5 tank dwarf cichlids are a good choice. Convict and Salvini's are good choices. I would suggest you get one Oscar and one Convict for your tank.

Get fish in groups. Don't get one of each. Better to have, say, 4 fish each of 3 varieties than 1 fish each of 12 varieties.

I had 4 types of African cichlids in my 5x2x1.5 tank. Gave them enough rocks to hide behind, and they were all very happy. My tank was overstocked in a way - I had 12 each of Strawberry, Banana, Albino Ice Blue and Electric Blue. But, and this is a big but. I have the knowledge necessary to keep such large number of fish happy. I would not suggest a beginner to have this many fish. But it is always good to have 4-6 fish of a variety in your tank. This keeps the fish happy and less stressed.

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

...get an external filter and an internal power filter. your tank volume is approx 260 liters so look for filters with a LPH [liter per hour] of 1600-1800.

Get a canister filter. That is all you need.

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

read up on filtration methods. you need the internal filter to trap the junk and debris. you need the external filter loaded with ceramic rings and bio balls to provide biological filtration.

Very good advice. One needs to understand how an aquarium filter works.

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

...
oh and please don't buy bala sharks:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bala_shark

Bala Sharks may be endangered, but all the Bala Sharks sold today are captive bred. In fact, 99% of all ornamental fish are captive bred. In a way, this hobby is keeping species alive that would otherwise have died due to habitat destruction. We can all debate on the ethics of keeping a species alive this way, but to me it is better to have a species alive than to have it go extinct.

That said, I am not fond of Bala Sharks or Tiger Sharks or Rainbow Sharks.

[deathwalkr]

@Lucifer: Buying American cichlids in groups is the biggest mistake one can do especially when one has a 4ft tank. In a 4ft tank, for the usual American's space is never enough for their territorial disputes. And if they breed then god save the other fishes in there :P

African's sure, they thrive in groups

As for my comment on Bala sharks, it was more towards how big they grow and how much room they require. Bala sharks along with the Iridescent shark are very commonly sold in fish shops and are bought by novice hobbyists not knowing just how big they grow :(

[lucifer1881]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

@Lucifer: Buying American cichlids in groups is the biggest mistake one can do especially when one has a 4ft tank. In a 4ft tank, for the usual American's space is never enough for their territorial disputes. And if they breed then god save the other fishes in there :P

African's sure, they thrive in groups

Kind of agree with you. One group may kill the other. It happens, especially if you keep Texas with Green Terrors. Texas grow much larger and may kill the GTs. But I have had a Texas breed with a GT as well. The hybrid they produced was interesting . So there is no hard science to it either way.

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

As for my comment on Bala sharks, it was more towards how big they grow and how much room they require. Bala sharks along with the Iridescent shark are very commonly sold in fish shops and are bought by novice hobbyists not knowing just how big they grow :(

I agree. A lot of lakes have been destroyed because novices have released aquarium fish when they grew too large for their tanks.

[ptaneja]

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

I agree. A lot of lakes have been destroyed because novices have released aquarium fish when they grew too large for their tanks.

Sadly market is not good for exchanges ... for instance, I want to exchange my tank with a larger 5" tank, would I find any dealer - I don't think so. Even if they agree, the max I'll get is 500rs !
Same for fishes ..my Bala's grew big enough in 3years or so, and to an extent that I felt I should let them go. Talked to 3 or 4 shops, none were willing to take them back - not even for exchange of same species babies.

Luckily found a neighbor with empty aqua to fit them in ... Else, I would have either waited for them to die in congested tank, or maybe let them go in any water source.

[lucifer1881]

Originally Posted by ptaneja

Sadly market is not good for exchanges ... for instance, I want to exchange my tank with a larger 5" tank, would I find any dealer - I don't think so. Even if they agree, the max I'll get is 500rs !
Same for fishes ..my Bala's grew big enough in 3years or so, and to an extent that I felt I should let them go. Talked to 3 or 4 shops, none were willing to take them back - not even for exchange of same species babies.

Luckily found a neighbor with empty aqua to fit them in ... Else, I would have either waited for them to die in congested tank, or maybe let them go in any water source.

Get out of the hobby, please. This is not for you. You are treating your fish as a commodity with no regard to how its release affects the native population of a lake. This is not only unethical, it is against the very tenants of humanity.

[TorqueyTechie]

petrol_power,

Sorry for hijacking your thread! Since this is the only thread (and very active) on fish-keeping wanted to ask few novice questions from my end.

I am right now planning to start keeping an aquarium at home but I am completely new to this and not sure how and where to start. Pardon me if my questions below comes across as naive or if they have already been answered.

1. What kind of fish would be easier to maintain at home? I am looking at keeping ones which does not grow big .
2. What size of tank should I buy considering that I am just starting this hobby?
3. What is the frequency of cleaning needed? and how is it done? (asking this as I am not sure how to transfer fish to another bowl in-case if I have to clean the tank)
4. What all things do I need to buy?
5. Last thing is which would be the best place to buy from in Bangalore. (preferably south Bangalore).

[deathwalkr]

A pic of my tank. Apologies for the rather inglorious scratches :( and a few pics of my clown loaches going nuts over a piece of cucumber

The tank currently occupies 3 juvenile indonesian datnoids, two black widow tetras, one juvenile severum, 6 clown loaches, 3 yo yo loaches, 2 sailfin plecos and a royal pleco.

Sold off the buttikoferi, the green severum and the blue botia. Expecting some exotic plecos and might give away the sailfin plecos and get me some of the nicer ones.

[ptaneja]

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

Get out of the hobby, please. This is not for you. You are treating your fish as a commodity with no regard to how its release affects the native population of a lake. This is not only unethical, it is against the very tenants of humanity.

Dude, chill ...you all right ? or had a bad day ?

We were discussing something else, and you have directed this whole conversation to ethical/non-ethical never ending cycle.

I gave a very simple statement, which every new comer to this pet keeping will face - either he will loose fishes, or the fishes will outgrow his aquarium. What choice does one have in this case ? let them live as long as they can, return it to the shop, pass it on to known person, or release them to a water source.

And yes, next time something unfortunate like this happens, I would have to choose one of the above options - be it ethical or what.

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

A pic of my tank. Apologies for the rather inglorious scratches :( and a few pics of my clown loaches going nuts over a piece of cucumber

The tank currently occupies 3 juvenile indonesian datnoids, two black widow tetras, one juvenile severum, 6 clown loaches, 3 yo yo loaches, 2 sailfin plecos and a royal pleco.

Sold off the buttikoferi, the green severum and the blue botia. Expecting some exotic plecos and might give away the sailfin plecos and get me some of the nicer ones.

18 fishes !!
Whats the size of tank ? 5 Feet ?
And lucky that you have a shop which lets you do these exchanges ...

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by ptaneja

Sadly market is not good for exchanges ...

Which is why it is all the more important to do your research before you buy fishes Fishes are like other pets like dogs. You wouldn't buy a great dane if you are in an apartment now would you?

And like dogs, fishes need regular and proper care to raise them well. You cannot just get a tank, get some random fishes and then just expect them to thrive.

So calm down, spend time reading up about fishes, fish tanks, filtration etc. Then fix a budget. Work with that and end up at a good result. You can always ask in here.

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

petrol_power,

Sorry for hijacking your thread! Since this is the only thread (and very active) on fish-keeping wanted to ask few novice questions from my end.

I am right now planning to start keeping an aquarium at home but I am completely new to this and not sure how and where to start. Pardon me if my questions below comes across as naive or if they have already been answered.

1. What kind of fish would be easier to maintain at home? I am looking at keeping ones which does not grow big .
2. What size of tank should I buy considering that I am just starting this hobby?
3. What is the frequency of cleaning needed? and how is it done? (asking this as I am not sure how to transfer fish to another bowl in-case if I have to clean the tank)
4. What all things do I need to buy?
5. Last thing is which would be the best place to buy from in Bangalore. (preferably south Bangalore).

@Torque dude:
1) I would have you looking at tiger barbs, red swordtails, mollies and such.
2) 2ft tank would be ok but a 3footer would be nice to start with provided you have the space and can spare the monies
3) By cleaning we mean water changes. Gone are the days when we used to take the fishes out of the tank, clear the tank completely, scrub it, refill it and then put the fishes back in. You do more harm than good by doing that.

If setup with a good filtration setup then all you would need to do periodically [depends on frequency of feed, type of fishes etc] is a 30-50% water change.

4) Tank, Gravel [please not the bright gaudy ones. look for garvel which is as close to natural], internal filter, external filter, lights, driftwood and other decorations as per fish requirement
5) Cannot help you with that. But i remember a nice place in Koramangala called gulmarg or something but its been years [10+] so who knows?

edit: looks like they are still active
http://www.gulmargaquarium.in/

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by ptaneja

18 fishes !!
Whats the size of tank ? 5 Feet ?
And lucky that you have a shop which lets you do these exchanges ...

Na, it's a 4footer only. They are all Juveniles well except the clowns, fatties they are

Weekly water changes with external filter loaded with bio media helps keep the tank stable

He's the lucky one, considering how much i spend there

[audioholic]

Hey guys,
My black tetras and clown loaches are developing white spots from yesterday. Still not yet spread to neons and the glowlight tetras. Had not experienced this anytime before. Which is the best method/medicine for this condition? Just wanted to ask you people before I might get misled/fleeced by the aquarium guy(he is not that kind of a person, but the latter is possible)

Please help!

[deathwalkr]

See if he has imported medicines like seachem, jbl etc. They will have specific ones for white spot disease.

Increase aeration.

Reduce or switch off lights.

[lucifer1881]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Hey guys,
My black tetras and clown loaches are developing white spots from yesterday. Still not yet spread to neons and the glowlight tetras. Had not experienced this anytime before. Which is the best method/medicine for this condition? Just wanted to ask you people before I might get misled/fleeced by the aquarium guy(he is not that kind of a person, but the latter is possible)

Please help!

White spot or ich is a common fish disease. Put in a heater and set it at 26-28C. There are two chemical treatments you can use - methylene blue (sold commonly as Mr. Blue solution) or malachite green (sold commonly as Mr. Green solution). Both have their pros and cons. Methylene blue kills the beneficial bio bacteria. So you should disable your filter when using it. Malachite green is toxic. So the dosage has to be carefully controlled.

There are other chemicals such as formalin, potassium permanganate, chelated copper, copper sulphate, etc. that one can use. But these are for advanced fish keepers. A slight dis-balance will kill all fish. I don't advice you use any of these.

[TorqueyTechie]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr;3889390

@Torque dude:
1) I would have you looking at tiger barbs, red swordtails, mollies and such.
2) 2ft tank would be ok but a 3footer would be nice to start with provided you have the space and can spare the monies
3) By cleaning we mean water changes. Gone are the days when we used to take the fishes out of the tank, clear the tank completely, scrub it, refill it and then put the fishes back in. You do more harm than good by doing that.

If setup with a good filtration setup then all you would need to do periodically [depends on frequency of feed, type of fishes etc

is a 30-50% water change.

4) Tank, Gravel [please not the bright gaudy ones. look for garvel which is as close to natural], internal filter, external filter, lights, driftwood and other decorations as per fish requirement
5) Cannot help you with that. But i remember a nice place in Koramangala called gulmarg or something but its been years [10+] so who knows?

edit: looks like they are still active
http://www.gulmargaquarium.in/

Thanks buddy! I will have spend some time over the weekend researching about the places to buy from. Any ballpark estimate for the above setup?

[groom]

Originally Posted by ptaneja

Sadly market is not good for exchanges ...

No market is good for exchanges. can you exchange a car ? No, in reality you are selling your old car and getting a new one.

Think similar way even in fish keeping. All you need to do is sell your old equipment and install a bigger tank.

But the pets you have are not commodity. My mollies ended up breeding and gave nearly 40 "teen aged" mollies. I didnt trade them, gave some to friends, gave them back to aquarium at no price etc.

I just wished them good life. On the contrary, one of my friends ordered four tanks to take care of 100 or so fries.