My mom's Cichlid

Padfoot · 05-30-2005, 06:54 PM

Hey, all

Remember I was asking Candice about what species of cichlid was my mom's fish... well, here is a better picture. What do you think about it?

Another with the cichlid and the plecostomus

They are on a temporary plastic tank, soon will be moved to a 15g tank/fountain I'm preparing and when they are too big for it, will be moved to a larger tank. 8)

Candycane · 05-31-2005, 12:32 AM

I lightened the picture with my Photoshop and I think your mom does have a Jack Dempsey after all.

Take a look.

Though, the color looks a little light to me. What type of diet are you feeding? We feed a variety of foods but mostly krill, spirulina and algae tablets. Our Jack's color has greatly improved with the better diet (we were feeding him cichlid flakes before).

You may want to look into something much larger than a 15 gallon.

We are currently looking for a 200 gallon tank to hold our Jack, Blue, and pleco.

Padfoot · 05-31-2005, 01:03 AM

I'm feeding them cichlid pellets and shrimp-based pellets. Yeah, the 15g is temporary.... they are only about 3 inches now, the pleco is a bit larger... They will go to a bigger tank when they grow a bit more. 8)

Candycane · 05-31-2005, 10:46 AM

I haven't had much luck with pellets or flakes. I find that they contain a lot of filler (wheat, brewer's yeast, soy) and some of the key ingredients (spirulina) are not very high on the ingredient list. Plus, some pellets/flakes contain nasty preservatives like Ethoxyquin (Omega One).

Even some of the best brands, like Hikari, have way too much filler.

The krill that we buy is a bit pricey but lasts for quite awhile. We buy the spirulina flakes in bulk and they are super cheap. The algae tablets are cheap too, just make sure they are high quality and fresh. Ours will not eat anything that isn't fresh.

You can also supplement with various veggies, like zucchini, spinach, peas.

Padfoot · 06-01-2005, 01:30 AM

Thanks for your help! 8) I'll take a look next weekend at the pet store to see what i find. 8)

redrose · 06-01-2005, 12:15 PM

Hi Padfoot,

May be you should try Color Bits made by Tetra. I use it for my Discus and other fish. Its a slow sinking tropical granule....even my pleco loves it.

Red

Padfoot · 06-01-2005, 06:34 PM

Thanks! I'll have to write all this downfor when I go back to the pet store on the weekend! 8) I would love to see him show better his colors, he's so pretty! 8)