I have posted a couple of topics but no one seems to answer them? Anyways I really need everyone to tell me everything you know about cichilids, anything, what they eat...etc! Please I need help!

mike there is sooooooooo much that everyone could tell you about cichlids, you may want to start by doing research online, and through books and what not, i have raised and bred cichlids for quite some time now, you need to keep the water at a higher ph than you would for a regular tropical community tank, the alkalinity depends on the lake where your cichlids are from, they generally eat flake food, cichlid sticks or pellets, i also like to feed mine shredded romaine lettuce as they love to pick at it they will also eat feeder fish which i feed to mine as well as a snack about once a week. this should be enough to get you started, just make sure you read up about the diff lakes as they are all diff.

hope this helps
Brandon

mike you can buy a ph test kit that includes ph up and ph down, they are relatively cheap, however if you plan on keeping cichlids i would buy one of the larger all in one test kits that will allow you to test alkalinity, ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrates, it's best to have the upfront expense of fifty or so bucks than to lose more than that in fish over a few months time if your levels get out of whack.

hope this helps
Brandon

mike i am a firm believer in BIGGER is BETTER!!!! i have a 125 long and i love it, i can do soo much with it and have many fish with out disputes and what not, if you are planning on a nice display tank i would suggest 110 gallon tall, they are gorgious tanks but they are deep as in from top to bottom. if you want something more along the lines of a whole wall tank i would say a 125 long or bigger. i have always found that the more water you have the less work it is in the end once you have it cycled and the fish in it, just make sure you have ample filtration, for my 125 i have a fluval canister filter that's rated for 200 gall, a little more than needed is always ok! and if you are getting it for christmas i would say "go big or stay home" to quote my little sister.
i have seen and setup 500+ gallon tanks that are well expensive however the end result is something that can take place of a whole entertainment system, i actually designed a whole 450 sq ft room around a wall tank that was 750 gallons the gentleman had surround sound stereo in the room with leather sofas and two smoking chairs (cigar fanatic) and the seating faces the tank he refuses to have a television in his house as he sees it as a drain and the downfall of society, lol a bit eccentric but hey he paid in cash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
if someone is going to spend a large amount of cash on a tank the store may also give them a bit of a discount on the rest of the supplies as the tank alone really isn't the biggest expense.
Welcome to the addiction!!!!!!!!!
Brandon

hi,

definately stay away from any chemicals
cichlids usually prefer higher pH more in the range of 8 and up, that's the reason you will need to buy the pH high test kit anyway
there are natural ways to raise pH, like limestone and crushed corals

hope that helps
eve

micheal, i agree with eve in that you shouldn't use chemicals when starting a tank up initially, however a little bit of start right... to get the bio cycle going doesn't hurt a thing, and yes there are relatively cheap ( when i say this i mean under ten bucks), ph test kits that come with both ph up and ph down. i do however use a dechlorination chemical in the water with my big tank when i do large water changes, because of the area where i live the levels of chlorine in the towns water are higher than normal due to one reason or another. it's either that or set ten buckets of water out in my kitchen for two days for the chlorine to naturally evap from the water, and hope and pray that my puppy doesn't knock them over... lol hence the dechlorination chemicals, you can get tablets or a liquid for that. if you put heavily chlorinated water into a stable tank it can become unstable in a hurry. that is also something you will want to consider when doing water changes after you have your tank setup properly. a ph test kit is something that you should have already if you have anything bigger than a ten gal with only a few fish in it. I test my ph once a month whether or not it needs it and this is always during the in between time of my major water changes, although i do small amounts once a week. in my 125 gal i take out around 20 gal of water a week and replace it, and then when i do my big water changes each month i take out 50+ gal depending on how dirty the water is when i go over the gravel to sift it a second time during this cleaning. and at this point is when i change out my filter inserts, removing the trays ad cleaning them out and removing the charcoal bag along with the amo carb pads, the amo carb pads that i buy can be recharged simply by putting them in salt water and letting them soak for a few hours, note don't use table salt for this, i use cichlid salt.. it's a brand you can buy at the pet store. under five bucks here. lol hope this info doesn't confuse you or persuade you to find another hobby, fish are wonderful pets and are great to have however like any living thing they need attention and to be cared for regularly, it's not just something that you can setup and walk away from and only look at from time to time, but when you have a healthy tank and awesome colored healthy fish it's quite rewarding to just sit back and watch them do their thing and enjoy the relaxation they can bring at the end of a hard day doing whatever out there in the fast paced hustle and bustle of the real world.


Brandon