Accidentally dumped too much food in tank

[deeda]

I won't comment on the original question regarding adding too much food accidentally since that has already been addressed.

Definitely test your aquarium daily for ammonia and nitrite since this is a newly set up tank and your beneficial bacteria is probably not robust enough to process the bio-load of the 20 or so fish that you have just stocked in this tank. Keep a written record of the water parameters for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH and be prepared to do frequent, possibly daily water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite as close to zero as you possibly can as those are most harmful to your fish.

It would also be helpful for you to write down the names of the fish you have so you can keep track of them in the future. I know you asked for help in identifying at least some of them and Neutrino posted about 2 species that will get too large for this tank so you may want to consider returning them to your fish store now to avoid problems down the road.

 

[RD.]

Neutrino posted about 2 species that will get too large for this tank so you may want to consider returning them to your fish store now to avoid problems down the road.

I'm sure that you already know this, Dee, but the OP might not - it's not so much a case of the Nimbochromis getting too big, as it is their temperament, mixed with far less docile species, in a tank this size. I think that I counted 5 fish within this genus, and whether they end up being all males, or a mix of m/f, the end result will be similar. Not good, and a bunch of fish getting stressed out, torn up, and or killed outright. It's only a matter of time. The sooner they are returned the better for all involved.

 

[deeda]

RD, thanks for clarifying about the Nimbochromis! I actually did know this about them as I have kept them in the past and in a 220G tank that was 72"L x 24"W x 30"H and once the male got some size on him, he killed his 4 female partners and started after some other Lake Malawi cichlids in the tank so he was moved solo to a 75G tank. He was definitely a brute but oh so gorgeous!

 

[RD.]

Yep, seems the most beautiful always end up being the most aggressive.

 

[neutrino]

Yep, seems the most beautiful always end up being the most aggressive.

And the exasperating thing can be that oftentimes it's just when they start looking good that they also get aggressive.

 

[Matteus]

And the exasperating thing can be that oftentimes it's just when they start looking good that they also get aggressive.

Reminds me of a few of my ex’s. ?

 

[Kashif314]

Hmm. Looks nice kashif. I’m sure there are enough folks here right now who could id some of those fish without you starting a new thread about it. Just speculating

Kashif, I don’t think what rd is saying to not ask questions. I think he is saying do a bit of research before asking every question here on 16 different threads. It’s not bad to ask questions, but if you can narrow it down before asking it will eliminate some of the confusion.

To add context to the troll comments. It isn’t uncommon for people to come online and post threads similar to some of your threads with the intent of disturbing others. If you tell us you are not, we can give you the benefit of the doubt.

Good luck with your new African cichlid tank sir

How small are the fish? They can take some time to start coloring up.

Yes that one. But for your male aulonocaras i dont think it will help as only the dominant males show really vivid colors. And let they grow out more they will color up even more.

It's not about being inappropriate, but try viewing this from the other side of the fence. You say that you have this thing about being extra careful, but after all these questions in assorted threads, and all the answers given, in the end you pretty much just did what you wanted to do, and as far as I can tell never updated this tank, as in what you had actually done. Right? Kind of leaves everyone guessing, when you then start asking about fish such as frontosa, the type of food that you should be feeding, etc. How can anyone possibly give you accurate advice, with so many holes in the story? Think about it.

You now have a mix of mbuna, aulonocara, and haps. And just an FYI for you, some of those fish are predatory haps, and classified as carnivores. Not trolling to ask the species, but it would have made a lot more sense to ask first, then buy, not the other way around. That's the part that is most confusing to me. You ask a million questions, then just go out and buy a bunch of random "African cichlids", I'm guessing based solely on their looks/colors, with no real plan in place for overall balance and/or aggression levels, in a 100 gallon tank, that is sparsely decorated. Ok, no worries, good luck. Hopefully your Nimbochromis play nice as they all mature.

Kashif314


I'm sorry you got dogpiled.

Many folks come here with lots of questions, looking for easy answers.
They rarely ask the right questions or ask in a meaningful way.
Most of the questions people ask here don't have specific answers.

90% of the time questioners are asked to provide more specific data. If they didn't know enough to give that data first , it is a sign to us that, "Here is a novice, or perhaps even a time-waster (troll)." Most of the best and brightest here are very busy people, and rightfully jealous of their limited time for fishkeeping.

You see, not one of us can ever hope to keep up.

New fish are evolving and going extinct faster than humans can write it all down. This is an incredibly complicated business, where Cichlids are about the worst for rapid physical evolution and evolving behaviors.

Unless you purposely make yourself unpopular, the folks at MFK will help you with it all, but some effort (and a large portion of human understanding) may be required on your part.



You won't kill much if it's done correctly, and when conditions of pH and temperature are correct it blooms back almost overnight, given food enough.

You can get a suitable hose and siphon the media to a bucket. Rinse it in a sieve with tankwater, and siphon it right back into place with the hose. You can just scoop it, but a siphon makes less mess and insures good placement. Don't let the media get cold or dry ever.

But the fish come first.
Always and foremost.

They will live without the bacteria, given enough clean water changes and proper feeding schedule.
And bacteria grow right back, in a correct environment.

The more you know about what you have, the better we can give advice.

Strain the brain a bit more, fellow!

Nice tank in the video, Kashif. I don't remember every thread I comment on, or whose thread is whose half the time, but if this was the tank you were having trouble with, your fish look happy with nice color in the video. As long as ammonia/nitrite are good in the tank, that mild cloudiness should clear up over time and not bother the fish-- I think that was a question in one of your threads. And, yes, if someone accidentally drops too much food in the tank, best thing is simply to vacuum it right back out and normally it's not a big deal.

Some of the fish you have will get large as adults. C. Moori (dolphin cichlids) and Nimbocrhomis (the mottled looking fish) can get 9 inches or more, some Nimbochromis a good bit more, and are fish predators in the wild, meaning in a tank they can eat smaller fish. Eventually they won't all fit the tank and you'll need to make adjustments, but this is common with a Malawi cichlid tank and for now it looks good. I also see what looks like Copadichromis borleyi in the tank (blue head, red body, blue dorsal). They're nice fish, normally peaceful, though I've had a couple of exceptions that were unusually feisty.

...It's true, sometimes guys show up on fish forums and pretend to be newbies and ask a barrage of questions just to amuse themselves or start arguments. But I was a mod on cyphos.com (which is gone now) for years and maybe 10 years ago we had someone who posted a lot of questions, sometimes several versions of the same question, for similar reasons as you mentioned. Don't remember his name but he was a nice guy and meant well, just unsure of himself, worried about doing a good job with his fish, etc. and for him it was all a bit intimidating. Took him a lot longer than you to make decisions, all the while asking many questions, but his tank turned out nice. So no offense meant to him, I liked him, but so far you're moving along much faster.

I won't comment on the original question regarding adding too much food accidentally since that has already been addressed.

Definitely test your aquarium daily for ammonia and nitrite since this is a newly set up tank and your beneficial bacteria is probably not robust enough to process the bio-load of the 20 or so fish that you have just stocked in this tank. Keep a written record of the water parameters for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH and be prepared to do frequent, possibly daily water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite as close to zero as you possibly can as those are most harmful to your fish.

It would also be helpful for you to write down the names of the fish you have so you can keep track of them in the future. I know you asked for help in identifying at least some of them and Neutrino posted about 2 species that will get too large for this tank so you may want to consider returning them to your fish store now to avoid problems down the road.

I'm sure that you already know this, Dee, but the OP might not - it's not so much a case of the Nimbochromis getting too big, as it is their temperament, mixed with far less docile species, in a tank this size. I think that I counted 5 fish within this genus, and whether they end up being all males, or a mix of m/f, the end result will be similar. Not good, and a bunch of fish getting stressed out, torn up, and or killed outright. It's only a matter of time. The sooner they are returned the better for all involved.

RD, thanks for clarifying about the Nimbochromis! I actually did know this about them as I have kept them in the past and in a 220G tank that was 72"L x 24"W x 30"H and once the male got some size on him, he killed his 4 female partners and started after some other Lake Malawi cichlids in the tank so he was moved solo to a 75G tank. He was definitely a brute but oh so gorgeous!

Yep, seems the most beautiful always end up being the most aggressive.

And the exasperating thing can be that oftentimes it's just when they start looking good that they also get aggressive.

Thanks guys. All good. No issues.

I will Google about the fish which can grow so big. For now I see no chasing or bullying or anything. I have so many unidentified fish. So will google the names you mentioned to see which one can be problematic in future.

 

[RD.]

For now I see no chasing or bullying or anything.

The group of Nimbochromis are still very young, but once they start approaching sexual maturity things will change fast.

 

[Kashif314]

The group of Nimbochromis are still very young, but once they start approaching sexual maturity things will change fast.

Thanks so I did google and you mean this fish right as mentioned by "Neutrino" as well:



She is a beaut. I didn't know if its predatory. I will have to re home in future then. Thanks for informing me.

The problem is that here we don't have dedicated tanks for haps, peacocks and mbunas. They are all dumped in a common big tank and store guy tells you they are cichlids and when I ask if they are compatible, he replies look its in front of you they are getting along fine in the same tank.

Its not possible for me to come home and research every fish store has. Not possible to take pictures of each fish and come home and get info and go back. Its more easier for me to just re home them. Its always possible to return them for free to the store. They gladly take it when its free.

My previous tanks as in my YouTube videos of which all thought I killed them with my negligence maybe were given to stores and friends but mostly to stores. My scat got so big. My ghost knife became so long so I had to give them for free. That time I was not physically and mentally good enough to care for a bigger tank.

I am keeping a close eye on my fish and if and when I see things getting out of hand I will take decision and will give them to store. I did read that this particular fish hunts on small cichlids with his hunting technique of playing dead under sand.

I need one more advise. I have many more questions to ask, shall I ask them in my "tank journal" thread instead of starting new threads for each question?

 

[RD.]

Its not possible for me to come home and research every fish store has. Not possible to take pictures of each fish and come home and get info and go back. Its more easier for me to just re home them. Its always possible to return them for free to the store. They gladly take it when its free.

Why is it not possible to research first? Of course it is. Lots of web sites supply profile info, such as https://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/?region=M and ALL of the fish in your tank are commonly sold African cichlids, nothing rare or unique. At the very least you can research the different genus, and different groups that will coexist, and which fish will be more aggressive, in the confines of an aquarium. Individual personalities of each fish aside, you can at the very least get a general idea of what may or may not work out long term in a 100 gallon tank.

How much research one wants to do, and how careful one wants to be, is up to them. Certainly we have all made impulse buys over the years, myself included, but with the WWW the data is always available for those that want to put in the time.

You can post a link here to your tank journal, and folks can help you there. Up to you.