# My 55g Mbuna Tank



## pringleringel

Someone said I needed more rocks but there is a lot of hiding spots in here, the castle is full of caves also. I can add more rock but it is seriously going to take away a lot of swimming space.


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## mec102778

You're putting 20 in here right? I would say the issue is the rocks themselves, cichlids like to hide and claim a spot as their home. The castle has some good spots but the rock doesn't seem to have much by way of caves/hidding spots.


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## pringleringel

I just added a bunch more of the rocks so the stacks on both sides are halfway to the top. There are lots of hiding spots in there. Wether or not they will dwell in a hole higher off the bottom like that is yet to be seen, by me.. I'm hoping.


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## mec102778

Post a new picture when you have a chance. And yeah but cichlids stay close to the bottum of the tank, but I think that's cause of the over powered powerhead I have in there.


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## pringleringel

I have a powerhead but it isn't set up, should I? This is it, I'm out of rocks...


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## NoMoreToys

Is there enough space for the bottom feeders? I have always been concerned that they would not have enough gravel space to root around in.


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## mec102778

pringleringel said:


> I have a powerhead but it isn't set up, should I? This is it, I'm out of rocks...


I would put it in to get some good circulation happening as long as it's not over powering so much they hide from it constantly or avoid it. Something for you to play around with when the fish arrive.

The rocks look a lot better.


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## pringleringel

I'm not really sure the best way to set it up tbh... It came with the tank and the guy had a 90' pvc elbow and then a 18" drop with another 90' elbow so it shoots water along the back bottom of the tank. 

The pvc looks gawdy though..


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## mec102778

What type is it? I don't think you need the PVC at all just pop it in and turn it on and see how strong the current is, you can also use a sponge filter on the intake to slow down the output.


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## pringleringel

Its a Powerhead 402, similar to the AquaClear 402 or maybe the same thing but it doesn't have the water baffle on it. 

It has a hole and a nipple on the output of it. When I turn it on it shoots water out of the hole. It's missing the airline that goes on the nipple also.


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## mec102778

Hrmm I think cause it hangs so close to the top of the tank is why your having that issue. My small powerhead is just like that one and I took the air hose off and haven't had that issue. Just get a little bot of hose and a cap for the hose that will solve that.

And again a sponge filter on the intake to slow down the output if the fish don't like it.


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## pringleringel

OK, I'll try it out. I think I have room for it. I have a HOB filter on both ends of the tank..


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## jrman83

Are you the one that said you had 20 of these fish showing up at once? I would not put them in there all at once or you will more than likely loose a few or more, because you will spike the ammonia really high. If the tank has already been cycled fishless, which would've been the best route to go, they will probably be okay. Otherwise, you may just have a time bomb on your hands. I definitely hope that you have an API master fw test kit (forget strips) and you're prepared for a lot of water changes to help these fish survive until the cycle is over?


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## pringleringel

This tank is cycled, I just took out the fish that was in it. Been feeding the biofilter fish food to keep it going but the fish was taken out yesterday.

I have an API Master kit and I am prepared to do as many water changes as necessary, multiple times daily if need be.  Hopefully wont have to though.

According to all of my research there is no other proper way to stock a mbuna tank. You overstock and put them in all at once otherwise if you put new arrivals in later they will be killed...


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## jrman83

As long as you know what you're in for. You will still get a serious rise in ammonia, unless what you previously had in there was producing the amount of waste these 20 cichlids will be. I'm guessing the fish you had in there probably didn't create as much, as cichlids can be big waste producers. The bio-filter will more than certain be exceeded. It is good that it had fish in it before. It will end faster for you, but not without quite a few water changes.


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## pringleringel

I know, I'm prepared  I'm not going to let my fish get poisoned.. 

When I stocked my 20g it was brand new, I didn't know about the nitrogen cycle much.. I learned about it the day after I stocked it but anyway, I put 12 fish in it, a gourami, neons, mollys, and guppies.. The ammonia never spiked over .75 in there but I done daily water changes of 25% and 2 times a week 50%... The nitrites actually worried me more than the ammonia ever did. We only lost 1 molly and the 2 guppys but they had a fungus..

I started treating with M.G. and I think I damaged my biofilter with it because now I'm getting ammonia again and back to water changes.


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## BETTABOUTIQUE

pringleringel said:


> Someone said I needed more rocks but there is a lot of hiding spots in here, the castle is full of caves also. I can add more rock but it is seriously going to take away a lot of swimming space.


Your tank looks awesome. :betta:


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## DocPoppi

It looks and sounds like you've got taken care of pretty well. The right side of the tank(2nd pic) looks like perfect hangout for the cichlids. I can't quite make out the other side. Our cich's take refuge in spots from top to bottom, so I wouldn't worry to much especially with the amount your puttin in there... 
Why do you wanna use the power head? Just for circulation? What kind of filter are you using? Because you may have all the circulation you need.
I would also suggest an increase in temp for a while 82-86 deg to keep stress low and ich away. I also swear by NovAqua in healthy amounts...
"Buddha in your tank"


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## pringleringel

DocPoppi said:


> It looks and sounds like you've got taken care of pretty well. The right side of the tank(2nd pic) looks like perfect hangout for the cichlids. I can't quite make out the other side. Our cich's take refuge in spots from top to bottom, so I wouldn't worry to much especially with the amount your puttin in there...
> Why do you wanna use the power head? Just for circulation? What kind of filter are you using? Because you may have all the circulation you need.
> I would also suggest an increase in temp for a while 82-86 deg to keep stress low and ich away. I also swear by NovAqua in healthy amounts...
> "Buddha in your tank"


I don't really know if I will use the powerhead, I didn't know if I should or not.. I have a AquaClear 70 at one end and a Aquatech 40 at the other end.

Yeah the left side was a little more difficult to stack because of the heater and filter intake but there's a bunch of hiding spots over there also.

I have the tank at 80 right now. I can kick it up a notch.


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## mec102778

I would stick the powerhead in the middle of the tank along the back pointing towards the front for a little more current.


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## pringleringel

Fish arrived!! They are beautiful from what we can see. Haven't turned on the aquarium light yet, not sure how long we should wait. 

We only had one casualty, they were eating it... it was the runt of the bunch.

There is a beautiful orange/black calico whatever it is. I'll post the list in a second.


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## pringleringel

Chalosi, Orrange Blotch Zebra, Demasoni, Red Zebra, Msobo, Socclofi, Chipokae, Flavus, Maingauo, Cobalt Blue


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## mec102778

Awesome! Can't wait to see some pictures!


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## DocPoppi

Does the plant decor in the tank show signs of movement? If yes then I would say you have enough water flow. Place a tall thin plant or somthing to act as a "current gauge" in various spots of the tank. My cichlids has always seemed best without alot of flow. Natural lake environment as opposed to river.
And start this fish at the 80deg and bump up after they are in. 
"Buddha in your tank"


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## DocPoppi

I'm late on the last post....
Cool u got the fish!!!!


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## pringleringel

Yeah, my camera isn't quick enough to get a good picture of them lol.


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## pringleringel

They are all healthy, I put a little food in there and they went on a feeding frenzy. Hard to pick a faorite so far they are all really cool. I like the Red Zebra, the bigger one has a funny face along with the Orange Blotch, they are cool too. THe Socolofi's are very nice too lol...


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## mec102778

Just take full tank shots with no zoom.


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## pringleringel




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## mec102778

Looks like you got some Johanni Cichlids possibly male and female.


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## pringleringel

So I noticed one fish is favoring one of his pectoral fins and was scratching a little.

There is no sign of ich on any of the fish nor is there signs of velvet or anything else. It's just the one fish. I don't know if I should treat the tank as a precaution or not. I'd hate to damage the biofilter with malachite green but I'm open for advise.


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## mec102778

I would kep a close eye on it before treating. If they all start scratching you have a problem that needs to be addressed. My Cichlids do this also, but it's no were constant enough to warrant a treatment. And they are all very active and look healthy.

If you have concern for this one in particular, I would remove it from the tank so if it does require treatment it doesn't spread to the others or force you to treat the whole tank.


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## pringleringel

I don't have another tank to put it in lol.. I think it's ok, I've been watching them and I thinks it ok.. I'll keep a close eye on them though..

No major ammonia spike yet. It went up to .25 but I just checked it again and it has went down. I'll check again in a couple hours.


Man I gave them a little more food, it is so cool those things are so active and fun to watch!! 

I think I have a male trying to get a female to breed already. He gets by her and starts quivering. Or maybe it's a dominance thing, not sure lol.


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## mec102778

it's small just put it in a 1G container with an air stone.


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## DocPoppi

Ok, this is what I referring to when I said get the heat up. Parisites, especially ich cannot survive in temps above 84/86 but the fish can. I absolutely do not treat with anything but heat and salt (another thing parasites do not survive in). I also separate fish and give the high salt bath, and this is the one thing that I've seen make trophozites drop off, due to the osmotic action of the high salt. Here is a great article....
Using Heat to Treat Ich in Freshwater Tropical Fish - Article at The Age of Aquariums - Tropical Fish
Love those tiny little cich's, have fun watchin them grow. We have at least 10 little ones in our tank with more about to release.
"Budhha in your tank"


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## pringleringel

Tank update..

Almost 24 hours since insertion, Ammonia 0, Nitrites .5 Didn't test nitrates because I'm getting ready to do a partial water change and nitrates aren't a concern at this point.


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## jrman83

I hope you drip acclimated them. Fish death from not acclimating can come weeks later. Looks like, "possibly", your bio filter may be handling it for now. Just keep testing. I wouldn't feed very much for about a week to play it safe - like every 2-3 days.


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## pringleringel

I followed the instructions from the supplier. I figure he's not in the business to replace fish for free.. According to him cichlids can acclimate very well being put in a tank with PH higher than they are used to, the problem with them occurs if they are put in to water with a lower PH than what is in the bag.. I'm not saying he's 100% right but I followed his directions and they seem to be just fine, so far anyways.

I guess I broke the feeding rule, I fed them 3x's yesterday.. whaaat, they are little hogs!!! I suppose I can cut down a little.

. Acclimating a fish purchase from livefishdirect.com
i. First float the bags in the tank until the temperature stabilizes.
ii. Don’t open the pouches until the temp is stable
iii. Cut open the bags and strain the fish water in the bag through a net into a
bucket or bowl.
iv. Drop the fish right in the tank.
v. Do not slowly add tank water to the pouches this will raise the ph causing
any ammonia in the bag to go from a non toxic to a toxic form and cause the
fish to suffocate. The only time I recommend this method if you are dealing
with very large fish that have been packed to tight but it is risky either way
in that situation.


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