Over feeding is the worst, and I stopped that all together, I only feed every other day and that works for me even though I have tons of fish. That being said, sadly I’m closing down a lot of tanks and rehoming over 1000 fish and animals. It breaks my heart but I know it’s the right thing to do right now. Well I flipped my perspective about selling my fish and pets, so that’s good, I’m seeing like art, in the sense that I have put time and energy in helping creating their beauty. So sharing is the best possible thing I can do, plus I’m helping any fish that don’t sell and that way I can help out and may even get to keep some, so it’s a win win that way instead of all loss. I can live with that. So I’m a pet store, sorta now. Stay happy and healthy my friend!
vacuuming the gravel. ive found it works better with the types of fish i like to keep to just have a good population of plants and worms and things and allow it to form an ecosystem in the substrate. i disturb it as little as possible now and it makes for lush plant growth that works wonders for the fish
@@HapiPETSWM Oh Will, I'm sad to hear that. I mean, it's nice what you're doing for your fish given the circumstances, but I'm sure it'll be hard for you to shut down a lot of your tanks and say good bye to your fishy friends. I hope it all works out like you're expecting it to, and that you can get more tanks up and running in the near future. You're a great fish keeper.
@@CichlidCharmertimes are hard but if I quit it’s a complete loss. So like I said, if I think of it as art suddenly it’s something I can share and that benefits all the fish and pets I still have. I know things will get better so it’s about riding out the storm for now. I was struggling with it, but this gives me an opportunity to share my passion and give people great fish ! Something I’ve always wanted to do! I’m sorta paraphrasing Matthew McConaughey, in that, life is all how you look at it, the moment that story turns dark and never looks to light that’s where the failure is. So it’s starting a new chapter which is tough but I’ve already made several sales that suggest to me I have a chance right now as long as I continue to look for those doors open to me. Your support and responses always help and I’m touched by your support. Thank you for always reaching out and sharing your story, I’m metaphorically adopting your fish to help me not get distracted by what’s happening. Winters are tough but I played hockey and am used to cold, so I’m not quitting in any case, just changing the view, stay happy and healthy good sir Dave!
I was born in Zambia and often went across the border to Malawi. I snorkeled in the great lake several times. To see these beautiful cichlids in their natural environment was amazing!! They are very curious fish and would often swim right up to me !!
@CichlidCharmer South Africa has its problems. I live in the city of Port Elizabeth on the east coast. We have great pet stores here. I used to keep African cichlids, but i stopped. You need a very large aquarium because they fight a lot, establishing territory and pecking orders constantly. Lake malawi was the biggest aquarium i ever visited, and these beautiful fish had all the space they could ask for!!!
When I first started I was completely obsessed with over cleaning, unaware of Biological filtration and beneficial bacteria. I’d clean the filter( in tap water) same day I’d do like a 75 percent water change 😅 luckily I had piranhas( very forgiving). Nice Vid! HUGE fan of all of you tanks ✌🏾
Love your videos they are so well presented and easy to watch. In regards to your Nitrate levels going up quick have you tried some emersed house plants? I have an 80 gallon Central American Cichlid tank and my Nitrate levels rarely rise above 5ppm even adding some plant food in on 10 day water changes.
There's actually an alternative to quarantining fish separately. 6:12 You can feed medicated food to all of your fish, old and new. The old tankmates get a prophylaxis treatment too! I used Ron's Cichlids medicated food and they all did great.
Finally someone states they use tap water to clean the filter, sponges, and all bio material. Been doing this for 50 years and I’m still in the hobby!!
I always use tsp water to clean my media. I’ve been in the hobby 30 yrs and I’m also a state licensed drinking water operator. The contact time of chlorine is what kills bacteria. So just don’t take too long. Also Kevin on Prime time Aquadics channel covers this great! A he is a biologist of some sort. I love your channel and Africans too. My main focus. Thank you
I've ditched cleaning mechanical filter media in tank water as well. It's mechanical filter media, and I don't rely on it for biological filtration, so I just use tap water. I've gone in the opposite direction with how often I clean it though. I actually started cleaning it every day about a year ago. I have a setup where I have very easy access to it, and it only takes me about 2 minutes to rinse out each day. I notice less detritus in my sump since I've started doing that, and a bit better water clarity, and haven't noticed anything negative... I enjoy your videos, and your tanks are all amazing!
It's so interesting how people do this all in different ways with good results. Maybe it isn't so important to do your cleanings a specific way after all. Thank you!
I've never kept rams as such but I used to have Electric blue Acre in with my Tropical fish always in brackish water. Mine was fed morning & evening, canister cleaned every 3mths & media done in tank water & any jail bird's visited my local aquarium shop with misbehaviour. Every week I did 2 water changes of 30% from a 252L tank & I never had to vacuum having 30 Cory's, 9 Hillstream loaches & 10 mature kuhli loaches besides detritus worm's, all these are a good base clean up crew & I had the pressure hitting around the tank like a washing machine & oxygen bouncing off the front glass to hit the middle so it didn't have a dead spot of oxygen & with all this never had dead spots on the sand.
Lake Malawi where these fish come from has very little higher order plants in it. The vast majority of plant life is algae and the water column is affected by the southerly winds which mixes upper and lower water levels together, bringing up nutrients, predominantly ammonia and phosphates which feeds the upper level algae. This plankton feeds smaller fish on which the cichlids predate. Canister filters may not be up to scratch to mimic the required parameters needed for the fish. My suggestion would be to change your substrate to highly enriched soil about an inch deep, place 2 -3 inches of sand over the soil and plant heavily. They absorb ammonia directly as well as other nutrients and keep the pH balanced within the tank limiting the dreaded fluctuations. I never test my parameters anymore, the plant sort all of that stuff out for themselves. The surface area of the leaves increases the infusoria levels as well and these keep the water in a pristine condition. The secret to a healthy fish tank are plants. Mind you if you don’t like the look of the plants in the tank because it takes the lake Malawi look away you could consider heavily planting out a sump in which the tank water flows and is cleaned by the plants and substrates and micro organisms. Place dried levels in your sump with some decaying leaf mulch from a pond, be sure to take up a bit of mulm with it and pond water. Replace the dried leaves as they decay which increase the micro organisms, which your fish need to survive without too much human intervention. The decaying leaves and waste from the fish convert to all the fertilisers need to keep the plants healthy. The micro organisms also reduce the risk of disease and parasites. I’ve never had to use medications. And you don’t have to do water changes at all, just top up what is evaporated off. Water is water, it hasn’t changed for millions of years, if you’re doing large water changes it means your filters aren’t up to it. Which is usually the case when you ignore mother natures tried and true methods. I still use a sponge filter but mainly for water column exchange. I’ve been using this method on Australian natives for years and it works a treat, no diseases, only had Ich once which were killed with a temperature rise over 4 days. Your fish are much more aggressive and veracious feeder than mine and the circumstance may be different but try to mimic the lake conditions, scrub your water with plants and you’ll find you’ll be doing less work and enjoying you hobby more.
Two schools of thought on rinsing sponge, filter media in tapwater: One is that rinsing in tapwater for the short period of squeeze-squeeze-squeeze isnt enough to harm the bacteria. The other is that the rest of the tank will carry the job until the media builds up again. At any rate, i just use aquarium water at the end of a water change, and then i use that to water plants with.
I drip tap water to top up all the time. Even with algae builds, just chill, don't worry too much. I only have guppies and they are the simplest to have. No water testing period, no medications, etc.
Water changes in general, I have overstocked cichlid tanks with high volume filters, I have biological filters (plants growing in HOB filters) my nitrates are never an issue so no need to change the water
Ben has provided some great advice and insight into filter maintenance and cleaning. Just look at the quality of his fish and tanks speak volumes of his experience. I was a tank water cleaner in filters but now just use tap water. Very rarely I clean my biological media as it’s always spotless. (If filter is setup correctly you will only clean sponges as biological media doesn’t get exposed to muck or detritus). I used to clean canister filters once a month also but now I go 3months to 6months, if they relatively clean at 3months I leave it to 6months and then just do it at 8-9 months depending on how much flow is lost by then . Feeding and good filtration (biological filtration) will keep nitrates lower, especially if you aim for a full cycle . Plants help with that also.
Ben is a good guy with a lot of helpful knowledge. It's kind of nice that we don't have to clean our filters as much as we once thought, isn't it? More time to sit back and enjoy our fish. Thanks, Stefanos!
David, Great video. I also used to clean my filters when I did a water change and than I realized I was disturbing the BB to much. I stopped cleaning my filters during a water change. I wait like a week later I do all my filters are the same time. My tanks have been up for years though so there is plenty of BB in the tank. That is a myth about the tap water killing off all the BB. Jason from prime time aquatics said the sponges and media would have to left under the water for hours to kill off all the bacteria. I rinse mine in tap water as well and never had an issue. I wanted to tell you that yesterday I lost my gold severum. It sucks he was such a personable fish. I think he contacted a bacteria infection which is strange because there was no signs and every one else was fine. I did a water change last week and added salt I dosed with polyguard yesterday and I didn’t catch it in time I guess. Some people think he may have caught HITH or ellipsis I think it’s called. I throught HITH was more drastic and I thought I had time. It’s always sad to lose a fish prematurely 😢
I trust Jason over any fish tubers out there, so I believe him. I wonder if it matters if the water has just been highly dosed with chlorine or not. Sorry about your severum, Jeremy! I know you loved him. Yeah it's always so terrible to lose one prematurely. I have had some die from mystery deaths over the years. When I first see they have died it's like I can't believe my eyes.
@ Ty buddy it’s always hard to lose a fish prematurely. I am still dosing the tank with poly guard at least for a few doses to make sure no one has any parasites or bacteria. I don’t want to lose anymore fish prematurely.
I often rinse my media in the sink, and when I do, it always takes longer to rinse it out than expected, as water is so brown and so I rinse and rinse. I don't think the exposure to a little chlorine over the course of a minute or so kills all the beneficial bacteria.
Oh, I never have any old bad habits, haha, now if you believe that, instead I make new bad ones! I'm always learning new things especially from your videos, lately I'm getting less and less tolerant of mean fish, I try everything I can to curb issues but now days they must go, after losing fish like Sal this was my last nerve. And another area is fry.. there are 4 fry tanks going right now of mutts of all sorts, since figuring out who are the females in my "all male" tanks, all the females are now in separate tanks the hormones were just going too strong here. Now for my last bad habit, sigh and I admit, is having way too many tanks, with me getting the new 60gal saltwater in progress, I have way too many... this is a bad habit indeed, all my free time is fish, tanks, fish, tanks, or pets, fish, etc..... Thank you for another great video, I'm going to try and break some more bad habits!
I think you have more going on with your tanks than info, Polly. I don't know how you do it. And starting a new saltwater tank, too...? You're insane. My exact demographic for these videos lol.
Cichlids are well known for liking caves and hiding places. I have Mbuna and Peacocks and I have no aggresion issues. I also feed once a day. Your tanks don't seem to have so many hiding places so is that a reason if you are getting aggression ? I agree with filter cleaning. I only do it when the pressure drops in the spray bar.
They do. Wiith peacocks and haps the general idea is to leave it pretty open. Adding a lot of hiding places can create territories that are worth killing for. However, with these but jobs you never know what's going to work until you try it. And then it can work for years, but they wake one morning and decide it isn't going to work anymore lol. I don't really have aggression issues now except for Kevin in the American tank, and he isn't hurting anyone, so it isn't serious. Yet. But that tank does have hides in it. It's all very interesting. Thanks for your thoughts 🥰
When you put that low ph water in your tank, once you turn on the filters, the water agitation will change it rather quickly. So, your fish aren't having to deal with the ph difference very long. Leaving tap water just standing will take it 12 to 24 hours to adjust, depending on what your tap water is treated with, but agitating or aerating the water makes it happen much quicker. Mine goes from 7.2 to 8.3. If I do that in just a glass it takes over 20 hours. If I agitate it, takes less than an hour. Same effect when filling your tank and turning on the pumps. If you did the ph test with the tank water I bet you'd see the same. I have been doing 80% changes on my 150 for 3 years and the only fish I've lost are do to aggression. I was really worried about it the first month of my 150, but 3 years later I don't even think about. My AC's breed like rabbits in my water so I know they don't mind. All that said, I used to fill a 50 gallon trash can with tap water and agitate it before a water change just for the ph. I definitely don't that anymore.😂😂😂My other old habits are the same as yours!!
I bred my first african cichlid back in the late 80's - kept reef for a decade. Know my stuff. Some advice: without a sump nitrate reduction has limited tools other than water changes. However, one trick I pulled from the reef side is bio pellets. You don't need a reactor. Just water flow. Put them in a mesh baggy and in your cannister. After a couple of weeks they will start to beat down nitrate. Next, the amount of 'beneficial bacteria' in your tank is based on bio-load, not fancy media in your filter. That stuff is a waste of money. Last, African's don't need crushed coral substrate. They've evolved to tolerate high pH, but do best in my experience at a more normal pH in the mid 7's. There's a reason you don't see Mbuna in the ocean.
@blasterman789 are you saying that you can use the bio-pellets sold for saltwater aquariums and putting them in mesh bags in your canister will provide good biofiltration?
you need a bio pellet reactor for your nitrates for those type of fish it take about 4 to 6 week for it to really start working for you , believe me it works our coral will only take clean stable water and a reactor take care of your nitrates it work for fresh water
@@sschario60 No. I have to put my roots in mesh baggies and drop them in the tank near the top. If the mesh baggy falls off, the roots are gone within hours lol.
I am not finding the video that explains why the tank ph is rising so much after a day or so after a water change. Is it due to buffering from the sand?
@@jeffjeffy3534 I thought I had, but it turns out that my pH skyrockets after it's been out of the tap for a bit. Goes from 7.4 or 7.6 all the way to 8.4 all on it's own. So it wasn't the agragonite doing it, it was just the affects of having the pressure removed so that the water could release the CO2 and take in more oxygen. I've heard it really does work though -- the aragonite.
I had the kind of cichlid that said I’m a jerk above his head I just can’t remember what they’re called I love their body shape because their head reminds me of a barracuda minus the gaping mouth and razor sharp teeth🐠💙🔥
I love cichlids but I’m definitely over the aggression The only cichlid I have now is an Oscar and I don’t plan on gettin’ anymore I wanna get some fish with him that can defend themselves but aren’t cichlids or cichlids that aren’t super aggressive because he’s not insanely aggressive
African cichlids will pick one fish to target and pile in on them like piranha after one or two of them severely injure it I’ve only seen it happen once because they usually do it when you’re asleep or gone because they are intelligent enough to know when you’re asleep or gone💯💀
Well, I can see the first five minutes of this video. I have done everything wrong so far. I over panic, clean too often, temp too high, lowered my pH, lower the acidity, an added plants In a cichlid tank. My goodness. I should just wear a green hat.
3:02 But this just isn’t true. There isn’t enough chlorine or exposure time to kill the bacteria. Jason from primetime aquatics has a video on it and the scientific studies to back it.
Yes Jeremy also mentioned that Jason has said that before,and I believe just about anything Jason says. He's the go to for these kinds of topics. Thanks for the info!
My water is like yours in that I have carbon dioxide that gasses off and my ph shift is from 7.6 to 8.5. I solved this by storing water in garbage cans aerated and heated to solve this. However I don't have 80000 gallon tanks. But I will some day will just add more stored water
I suspect “beneficial” bacteria may be more susceptible to tap water chemicals, than the nasty kinds of bacteria chemicals are employed to treat tap water with, in the first place? Clearly, both of us are speaking without scientific proof.
So your hands smell good , of course. Lol. No, actually it takes quite a while for the chlorine in tap water to kill off the bacteria in your media. I just don't know how long that is. Jason from Prime Time Aquatics knows, I've been told. He's a fish wizard, that guy.
I am not finding the video that explains why the tank ph is rising so much after a day or so after a water change. Is it due to buffering from the sand?
What are some of your old habits or practices you've ditched over the years?
Over feeding is the worst, and I stopped that all together, I only feed every other day and that works for me even though I have tons of fish. That being said, sadly I’m closing down a lot of tanks and rehoming over 1000 fish and animals. It breaks my heart but I know it’s the right thing to do right now. Well I flipped my perspective about selling my fish and pets, so that’s good, I’m seeing like art, in the sense that I have put time and energy in helping creating their beauty. So sharing is the best possible thing I can do, plus I’m helping any fish that don’t sell and that way I can help out and may even get to keep some, so it’s a win win that way instead of all loss. I can live with that. So I’m a pet store, sorta now. Stay happy and healthy my friend!
vacuuming the gravel. ive found it works better with the types of fish i like to keep to just have a good population of plants and worms and things and allow it to form an ecosystem in the substrate. i disturb it as little as possible now and it makes for lush plant growth that works wonders for the fish
@@HapiPETSWM Oh Will, I'm sad to hear that. I mean, it's nice what you're doing for your fish given the circumstances, but I'm sure it'll be hard for you to shut down a lot of your tanks and say good bye to your fishy friends. I hope it all works out like you're expecting it to, and that you can get more tanks up and running in the near future. You're a great fish keeper.
@@CichlidCharmertimes are hard but if I quit it’s a complete loss. So like I said, if I think of it as art suddenly it’s something I can share and that benefits all the fish and pets I still have. I know things will get better so it’s about riding out the storm for now. I was struggling with it, but this gives me an opportunity to share my passion and give people great fish ! Something I’ve always wanted to do! I’m sorta paraphrasing Matthew McConaughey, in that, life is all how you look at it, the moment that story turns dark and never looks to light that’s where the failure is. So it’s starting a new chapter which is tough but I’ve already made several sales that suggest to me I have a chance right now as long as I continue to look for those doors open to me. Your support and responses always help and I’m touched by your support. Thank you for always reaching out and sharing your story, I’m metaphorically adopting your fish to help me not get distracted by what’s happening. Winters are tough but I played hockey and am used to cold, so I’m not quitting in any case, just changing the view, stay happy and healthy good sir Dave!
Water changes, I stopped completely, just top off
I was born in Zambia and often went across the border to Malawi. I snorkeled in the great lake several times. To see these beautiful cichlids in their natural environment was amazing!! They are very curious fish and would often swim right up to me !!
How wonderful that would be. Are you still near the lake?
@CichlidCharmer no, i, now live in south Africa.
@@Odipodi I watch a TH-camr from South Africa, and it looks beautiful. I hope you like it there 🥰
@CichlidCharmer South Africa has its problems. I live in the city of Port Elizabeth on the east coast. We have great pet stores here. I used to keep African cichlids, but i stopped. You need a very large aquarium because they fight a lot, establishing territory and pecking orders constantly. Lake malawi was the biggest aquarium i ever visited, and these beautiful fish had all the space they could ask for!!!
When I first started I was completely obsessed with over cleaning, unaware of Biological filtration and beneficial bacteria. I’d clean the filter( in tap water) same day I’d do like a 75 percent water change 😅 luckily I had piranhas( very forgiving). Nice Vid! HUGE fan of all of you tanks ✌🏾
Thank you
Love your videos they are so well presented and easy to watch. In regards to your Nitrate levels going up quick have you tried some emersed house plants? I have an 80 gallon Central American Cichlid tank and my Nitrate levels rarely rise above 5ppm even adding some plant food in on 10 day water changes.
Good question. I do have pothos on top of Alcatraz, but it doesn't do very well.
There's actually an alternative to quarantining fish separately.
6:12 You can feed medicated food to all of your fish, old and new. The old tankmates get a prophylaxis treatment too! I used Ron's Cichlids medicated food and they all did great.
Often sick fish don’t eat though
Finally someone states they use tap water to clean the filter, sponges, and all bio material. Been doing this for 50 years and I’m still in the hobby!!
Yep. It probably takes a lot longer exposure to chlorine to do some serious damage.
David love your calm short and sweet videos.
Thank you 😊😊
Another awesome video! Thanks for sharing your experiences I'll def be taking a few pointers. The feeding twice daily one for sure
Glad to help, and thank you!
I always use tsp water to clean my media. I’ve been in the hobby 30 yrs and I’m also a state licensed drinking water operator. The contact time of chlorine is what kills bacteria. So just don’t take too long. Also Kevin on Prime time Aquadics channel covers this great! A he is a biologist of some sort. I love your channel and Africans too. My main focus. Thank you
You are right, and Jason is a wizard.
I do 50% water changes but sometimes if I go a little longer than I wanted without a water change I’ll do a bigger water change
I've ditched cleaning mechanical filter media in tank water as well. It's mechanical filter media, and I don't rely on it for biological filtration, so I just use tap water. I've gone in the opposite direction with how often I clean it though. I actually started cleaning it every day about a year ago. I have a setup where I have very easy access to it, and it only takes me about 2 minutes to rinse out each day. I notice less detritus in my sump since I've started doing that, and a bit better water clarity, and haven't noticed anything negative... I enjoy your videos, and your tanks are all amazing!
It's so interesting how people do this all in different ways with good results. Maybe it isn't so important to do your cleanings a specific way after all. Thank you!
Great knowledge. This is a practice that I definitely need to stop. I do it every time that I clean that filter. Thanks
Thank you, and you're welcome!
I've never kept rams as such but I used to have Electric blue Acre in with my Tropical fish always in brackish water.
Mine was fed morning & evening, canister cleaned every 3mths & media done in tank water & any jail bird's visited my local aquarium shop with misbehaviour.
Every week I did 2 water changes of 30% from a 252L tank & I never had to vacuum having 30 Cory's, 9 Hillstream loaches & 10 mature kuhli loaches besides detritus worm's, all these are a good base clean up crew & I had the pressure hitting around the tank like a washing machine & oxygen bouncing off the front glass to hit the middle so it didn't have a dead spot of oxygen & with all this never had dead spots on the sand.
Stay happy and healthy good sir, your tanks will always be some of the best.
Thank you, Will!
Lake Malawi where these fish come from has very little higher order plants in it. The vast majority of plant life is algae and the water column is affected by the southerly winds which mixes upper and lower water levels together, bringing up nutrients, predominantly ammonia and phosphates which feeds the upper level algae. This plankton feeds smaller fish on which the cichlids predate. Canister filters may not be up to scratch to mimic the required parameters needed for the fish.
My suggestion would be to change your substrate to highly enriched soil about an inch deep, place 2 -3 inches of sand over the soil and plant heavily. They absorb ammonia directly as well as other nutrients and keep the pH balanced within the tank limiting the dreaded fluctuations. I never test my parameters anymore, the plant sort all of that stuff out for themselves. The surface area of the leaves increases the infusoria levels as well and these keep the water in a pristine condition. The secret to a healthy fish tank are plants.
Mind you if you don’t like the look of the plants in the tank because it takes the lake Malawi look away you could consider heavily planting out a sump in which the tank water flows and is cleaned by the plants and substrates and micro organisms. Place dried levels in your sump with some decaying leaf mulch from a pond, be sure to take up a bit of mulm with it and pond water. Replace the dried leaves as they decay which increase the micro organisms, which your fish need to survive without too much human intervention. The decaying leaves and waste from the fish convert to all the fertilisers need to keep the plants healthy. The micro organisms also reduce the risk of disease and parasites. I’ve never had to use medications. And you don’t have to do water changes at all, just top up what is evaporated off. Water is water, it hasn’t changed for millions of years, if you’re doing large water changes it means your filters aren’t up to it. Which is usually the case when you ignore mother natures tried and true methods. I still use a sponge filter but mainly for water column exchange.
I’ve been using this method on Australian natives for years and it works a treat, no diseases, only had Ich once which were killed with a temperature rise over 4 days. Your fish are much more aggressive and veracious feeder than mine and the circumstance may be different but try to mimic the lake conditions, scrub your water with plants and you’ll find you’ll be doing less work and enjoying you hobby more.
Sounds like you know what you're doing!
Love the video! What kind of tanks do you use, and where do you get them from?
Thank you! Acrylics are Tsunamis and the 435 gallon is from Custom Aquariums
Two schools of thought on rinsing sponge, filter media in tapwater:
One is that rinsing in tapwater for the short period of squeeze-squeeze-squeeze isnt enough to harm the bacteria.
The other is that the rest of the tank will carry the job until the media builds up again.
At any rate, i just use aquarium water at the end of a water change, and then i use that to water plants with.
You're right. And with your method you get good plant fertilizer. Thanks for commenting!
I drip tap water to top up all the time. Even with algae builds, just chill, don't worry too much. I only have guppies and they are the simplest to have. No water testing period, no medications, etc.
Definitely want to hear more of your habits as a fish keeper
Thank you!
Water changes in general, I have overstocked cichlid tanks with high volume filters, I have biological filters (plants growing in HOB filters) my nitrates are never an issue so no need to change the water
Ben has provided some great advice and insight into filter maintenance and cleaning. Just look at the quality of his fish and tanks speak volumes of his experience. I was a tank water cleaner in filters but now just use tap water. Very rarely I clean my biological media as it’s always spotless. (If filter is setup correctly you will only clean sponges as biological media doesn’t get exposed to muck or detritus). I used to clean canister filters once a month also but now I go 3months to 6months, if they relatively clean at 3months I leave it to 6months and then just do it at 8-9 months depending on how much flow is lost by then . Feeding and good filtration (biological filtration) will keep nitrates lower, especially if you aim for a full cycle . Plants help with that also.
Ben is a good guy with a lot of helpful knowledge. It's kind of nice that we don't have to clean our filters as much as we once thought, isn't it? More time to sit back and enjoy our fish. Thanks, Stefanos!
Where do you get your decorative rocks from.
? They look amazing.
Thanks. Most of them are from aquadecor.
David,
Great video. I also used to clean my filters when I did a water change and than I realized I was disturbing the BB to much. I stopped cleaning my filters during a water change. I wait like a week later I do all my filters are the same time. My tanks have been up for years though so there is plenty of BB in the tank. That is a myth about the tap water killing off all the BB. Jason from prime time aquatics said the sponges and media would have to left under the water for hours to kill off all the bacteria. I rinse mine in tap water as well and never had an issue. I wanted to tell you that yesterday I lost my gold severum. It sucks he was such a personable fish. I think he contacted a bacteria infection which is strange because there was no signs and every one else was fine. I did a water change last week and added salt I dosed with polyguard yesterday and I didn’t catch it in time I guess. Some people think he may have caught HITH or ellipsis I think it’s called. I throught HITH was more drastic and I thought I had time. It’s always sad to lose a fish prematurely 😢
I trust Jason over any fish tubers out there, so I believe him. I wonder if it matters if the water has just been highly dosed with chlorine or not.
Sorry about your severum, Jeremy! I know you loved him. Yeah it's always so terrible to lose one prematurely. I have had some die from mystery deaths over the years. When I first see they have died it's like I can't believe my eyes.
@ Ty buddy it’s always hard to lose a fish prematurely. I am still dosing the tank with poly guard at least for a few doses to make sure no one has any parasites or bacteria. I don’t want to lose anymore fish prematurely.
I often rinse my media in the sink, and when I do, it always takes longer to rinse it out than expected, as water is so brown and so I rinse and rinse.
I don't think the exposure to a little chlorine over the course of a minute or so kills all the beneficial bacteria.
I think you're right. Thank you!
Oh, I never have any old bad habits, haha, now if you believe that, instead I make new bad ones! I'm always learning new things especially from your videos, lately I'm getting less and less tolerant of mean fish, I try everything I can to curb issues but now days they must go, after losing fish like Sal this was my last nerve. And another area is fry.. there are 4 fry tanks going right now of mutts of all sorts, since figuring out who are the females in my "all male" tanks, all the females are now in separate tanks the hormones were just going too strong here. Now for my last bad habit, sigh and I admit, is having way too many tanks, with me getting the new 60gal saltwater in progress, I have way too many... this is a bad habit indeed, all my free time is fish, tanks, fish, tanks, or pets, fish, etc..... Thank you for another great video, I'm going to try and break some more bad habits!
I think you have more going on with your tanks than info, Polly. I don't know how you do it. And starting a new saltwater tank, too...? You're insane. My exact demographic for these videos lol.
Cichlids are well known for liking caves and hiding places. I have Mbuna and Peacocks and I have no aggresion issues. I also feed once a day. Your tanks don't seem to have so many hiding places so is that a reason if you are getting aggression ? I agree with filter cleaning. I only do it when the pressure drops in the spray bar.
They do. Wiith peacocks and haps the general idea is to leave it pretty open. Adding a lot of hiding places can create territories that are worth killing for. However, with these but jobs you never know what's going to work until you try it. And then it can work for years, but they wake one morning and decide it isn't going to work anymore lol. I don't really have aggression issues now except for Kevin in the American tank, and he isn't hurting anyone, so it isn't serious. Yet. But that tank does have hides in it. It's all very interesting. Thanks for your thoughts 🥰
I stopped putting aquarium salt in all my tanks. Particularly because I have live plants. #2 today yay!
That's another one I quit. Good to see you again!
When you put that low ph water in your tank, once you turn on the filters, the water agitation will change it rather quickly. So, your fish aren't having to deal with the ph difference very long. Leaving tap water just standing will take it 12 to 24 hours to adjust, depending on what your tap water is treated with, but agitating or aerating the water makes it happen much quicker. Mine goes from 7.2 to 8.3. If I do that in just a glass it takes over 20 hours. If I agitate it, takes less than an hour. Same effect when filling your tank and turning on the pumps. If you did the ph test with the tank water I bet you'd see the same. I have been doing 80% changes on my 150 for 3 years and the only fish I've lost are do to aggression. I was really worried about it the first month of my 150, but 3 years later I don't even think about. My AC's breed like rabbits in my water so I know they don't mind.
All that said, I used to fill a 50 gallon trash can with tap water and agitate it before a water change just for the ph. I definitely don't that anymore.😂😂😂My other old habits are the same as yours!!
That totally makes sense. I'll have to test that out, but I believe you.
Nice. I clicked on your video because of the big words.. I Quit 😊
Well glad you watched!
Almost never do gravel vacs in general. I keep cichlids that are okay with plants though.
I bred my first african cichlid back in the late 80's - kept reef for a decade. Know my stuff. Some advice: without a sump nitrate reduction has limited tools other than water changes. However, one trick I pulled from the reef side is bio pellets. You don't need a reactor. Just water flow. Put them in a mesh baggy and in your cannister. After a couple of weeks they will start to beat down nitrate. Next, the amount of 'beneficial bacteria' in your tank is based on bio-load, not fancy media in your filter. That stuff is a waste of money. Last, African's don't need crushed coral substrate. They've evolved to tolerate high pH, but do best in my experience at a more normal pH in the mid 7's. There's a reason you don't see Mbuna in the ocean.
Good info. Someone else mentioned bio pellets, and I am definitely going to be checking them out.
@blasterman789 are you saying that you can use the bio-pellets sold for saltwater aquariums and putting them in mesh bags in your canister will provide good biofiltration?
you need a bio pellet reactor for your nitrates for those type of fish it take about 4 to 6 week for it to really start working for you , believe me it works our coral will only take clean stable water and a reactor take care of your nitrates it work for fresh water
I will have to look into this. Thank you for the suggestion!
1:35 what is the black fish with the red tail
Redtail shark
Yep 👍
I added Pothos to my African Cichlid tank that is heavily stocked and I only do one water change every 2 weeks.
Excellent maneuver. Mine doesn't get enough light,even though they are a low light plant. Or maybe my aura is killing them lol
Lol it's tough to kill pothos though@@CichlidCharmer
Pothos roots can survive mbuna?
@@MiamiObi Yeah, it's still hanging on. It just isn't growing much.
@@sschario60 No. I have to put my roots in mesh baggies and drop them in the tank near the top. If the mesh baggy falls off, the roots are gone within hours lol.
I am not finding the video that explains why the tank ph is rising so much after a day or so after a water change. Is it due to buffering from the sand?
There is a link at about the 9:20 mark.
@ Thanks! That was interesting and never thought of testing that way. What sand do you use in your tanks?
@@jeffjeffy3534 I have Caribsea Aragonite in my Malawi tanks, Torpedo Beach in the 180, and Kleen Blast in the 10-footer.
@ Have you noticed any ph buffering with the aragonite?
@@jeffjeffy3534 I thought I had, but it turns out that my pH skyrockets after it's been out of the tap for a bit. Goes from 7.4 or 7.6 all the way to 8.4 all on it's own. So it wasn't the agragonite doing it, it was just the affects of having the pressure removed so that the water could release the CO2 and take in more oxygen. I've heard it really does work though -- the aragonite.
What do you consider high nitrates?
Generally above 40ppm.
Nice
I had the kind of cichlid that said I’m a jerk above his head I just can’t remember what they’re called I love their body shape because their head reminds me of a barracuda minus the gaping mouth and razor sharp teeth🐠💙🔥
Dimidiochromis strigatus
I love cichlids but I’m definitely over the aggression The only cichlid I have now is an Oscar and I don’t plan on gettin’ anymore I wanna get some fish with him that can defend themselves but aren’t cichlids or cichlids that aren’t super aggressive because he’s not insanely aggressive
Not for everyone! Sometimes not for me either lol
African cichlids will pick one fish to target and pile in on them like piranha after one or two of them severely injure it I’ve only seen it happen once because they usually do it when you’re asleep or gone because they are intelligent enough to know when you’re asleep or gone💯💀
They are smart and devilishly so.
Well, I can see the first five minutes of this video. I have done everything wrong so far. I over panic, clean too often, temp too high, lowered my pH, lower the acidity, an added plants In a cichlid tank. My goodness. I should just wear a green hat.
Lol! You're funny 🤣🤣
When are we gonna see Severums in your American cichlid tank 🙈
There is one. He's a mouth brooding severum. Kind of a low key guy of course. I also want a red shoulder.
What do you do to make the back of your tanks so BLACK?
The lights are placed more towards the front. If light shines on them, they seem less black.
I just lost 14 fish,not sure what happened.they were breathing heavy and died off over a few days.
Man that's rough. Hope you're doing alright.
Thanks mate,I'm just going to rest the tank for a bit and reset.
This man needs to google algae turf scrubber and sumps asap.
This man googled them already.
@CichlidCharmer have you considered them? Changed my life
3:02 But this just isn’t true. There isn’t enough chlorine or exposure time to kill the bacteria. Jason from primetime aquatics has a video on it and the scientific studies to back it.
Yes Jeremy also mentioned that Jason has said that before,and I believe just about anything Jason says. He's the go to for these kinds of topics. Thanks for the info!
I clean my sump every 3-4 months
Why not add real plants to the tank and bock it off with something to prevent the cichlids from getting to it?
I could add them to the sump on the big tank. Just need to set up a light for them. Future project 😊
Subscribe or die? Charming.
Thank you.
My water is like yours in that I have carbon dioxide that gasses off and my ph shift is from 7.6 to 8.5. I solved this by storing water in garbage cans aerated and heated to solve this. However I don't have 80000 gallon tanks. But I will some day will just add more stored water
That's a great way to do it.
@CichlidCharmer forgot to mention i start with 17 PPM nitrate. What 🐕 💩 lol
I dont think tap water kills the bacteria. If it did, what would be the point of washing your hands with soap?
I suspect “beneficial” bacteria may be more susceptible to tap water chemicals, than the nasty kinds of bacteria chemicals are employed to treat tap water with, in the first place?
Clearly, both of us are speaking without scientific proof.
So your hands smell good , of course. Lol. No, actually it takes quite a while for the chlorine in tap water to kill off the bacteria in your media. I just don't know how long that is. Jason from Prime Time Aquatics knows, I've been told. He's a fish wizard, that guy.
click baiting is bad but damn you're so pretty it doesn't matter 😆😆
I'm assuming you mean my fish are so pretty. And they are quite lovely 🌹. Thank you!
Tap water*
Care less. Stability is key.
Totally agree 👍 I feed 2x a day
An empty stomach can = grumpiness 👀🫣😱😂👍
Exactly! 😊
I am not finding the video that explains why the tank ph is rising so much after a day or so after a water change. Is it due to buffering from the sand?