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The cichlid fish has a very colorful appearance which makes them one of the most popular fish to own. Their care is not that difficult but they do have requirements that must be adhered to in order for them to be healthy.

Most cichlids come from Africa, but they are also found in Central and South America. They are found in many different kinds of waters, such as rivers, lakes and ponds. There are many different cichlid species and many different color variations.

In your cichlid tank, you must provide places for them to hide, such as large pieces of driftwood or rock caves. If you have a large species of cichlids, it is best not to put plants in their aquarium because they tend to dig up substrate materials. Other species, like the angelfish and discus prefer a planted tank.

Most cichlids like to be in water temperatures in the mid seventies. The Discus species prefers slightly higher temperatures. The staple food of your cichlid’s diet should be a large flake food, but you should also feed many different types of live and frozen foods. It’s good to have variety in their diet. If you have a large cichlid, it can even be fed earthworms and crickets.

Cichlids are very territorial which makes them aggressive. You must watch out for this aggression. If you have a mating pair, the male will usually drive away the female after mating. There needs to be somewhere for her to hide or else she can be killed. Because they are so aggressive, you should only keep them with other large fish that can stand up against them.

If you carefully select the fish, cichlids can be kept in a community tank. Dwarf cichlids work extremely well for this. They can be kept together pretty easily with schooling fish like Characins. If you keep cichlids in a tank together just make sure there is enough room for them to claim their own territory.

Large cichlids should only be kept with fish of the same size and temperament as themselves. Do not keep any large cichlid with a small fish because they will probably make them a meal.

If you decide to breed cichlids, you need to realize that there are two different types of breeders. Substrate brooders lay eggs out in the open on a surface or hidden in a cavity. They will fan the eggs to increase oxygen supply and after they hatch, the fish will look after the young until they are eating on their own and free swimming. After that, the parents will still protect the young against predators. The parents will be extremely aggressive during this time.

The other type of breeder is called a mouthbrooder. They put the eggs and larvae in their mouths. They keep them in their mouths until the young are free swimming. Most mouthbrooders stop looking after the young once they are free swimming, but others do continue to care for them by letting them go back into their mouths when there is danger.

Cichlids are really fun fish to own. There are so many different kinds of cichlids and some of the colors are truly stunning. Before you get cichlids, just try to do as much research about them as you can.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Aquariums

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The fish tank is the most important thing for your fish. Goldfish get their air from the surface, so get a tank that has a lot of surface area. In order to calculate the surface area, multiply the aquarium’s length in inches by its depth in inches. For every inch of your fish’s length, you must have 30 square inches of surface area. So if your fish is three inches long, you need 90 square inches.

Your goldfish needs to have the water at the right quality to be healthy. Tap water is usually okay to use, but try to let the faucet run for a minute or so before taking any water. Before you use the water, you need to let it sit out overnight. This will get rid of any chlorine in the water.

The water in your tank must be kept clean. You can accomplish this by doing water changes. Don’t change all the water at once though. You just do a partial water change. About once a week you should do a 30% water change. If your tank is ten gallons, then change out three gallons of the water. Remember to let the new water sit out overnight before putting it in the tank. Take out the three gallons of old water and slowly add the 3 gallons of fresh water. The best way to remove the water from the aquarium is by using a siphon hose. You can also use this to vacuum the gravel.

Your goldfish will need to be fed every day. There are many commercial goldfish foods that will work fine. Be sure you don’t overfeed your fish though. Don’t feed more food than they can eat in a couple of minutes. If they don’t eat all the food, you should remove it from the tank or it will make the aquarium dirty.

A filter for your tank is highly recommended. This will keep your water clean and remove and impurities in the tank. An external box filter works great because it doesn’t take up space in your tank and adds more oxygen for your fish.

There are also a few other things you will need for your tank. A hood should be added to prevent any fish from jumping out or dust falling in. An airstone should also be put in the tank. It puts bubbles into the water which keeps the water oxygenated. At the bottom of your tank, you should put an eighth of an inch of gravel. Your goldfish will really like this.

If you do these things for your fish, they will be very healthy and happy. Try to watch your fish everyday so you will notice if they are acting strangely. If they are acting funny, something in your tank is probably wrong.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Aquariums

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DIY driftwood takes time, but it will save you tons of money. Some small pieces cost well over $20. Also, the soak method (minus salt) will work for store bought driftwood. Store bought driftwood is cleaned and has not been soaked. This may lead to tannin’s being leaked into your tank

What you’ll need:
Driftwood, which can be found anywhere. It doesn’t necessarily have to come from the water. You could find it in the woods, as long as it is weathered down and looks unique. Also make sure the wood is not rotting.

BIG soaking container, I use a 15 gal rubber maid container.

Aquarium Salt, I use Doc Wellfish brand. This is used as a natural way of killing bacteria and parasites.

First step, clean off your wood! Make sure all debris and bark are removed from the wood (or it’ll fall off in your tank!). Once complete, boil the water in the BIG pot and add aquarium salt. I use about a tablespoon per gallon. Boil the entire piece for about 2-4 hours depending on your size. If you can only fit half the wood in the pot then you will need to boil the other half.

Once the boil is complete you can transfer your wood into the rubber maid container. Add water until the whole piece of wood is under water (you can also add salt if you want). If the wood does not sink place something on top of it until it does. It’ll sink after a week or two. You’ll notice the water turn into tea-ish color. It is the result of the tannins that are released into the water. If you didn’t soak the wood, the water in your tank would be this color. Tannins are natural and some fishes actually like it because it’ll make them feel more at home. It’ll also affect your PH, I’m not sure about GH or KH. You’ll need to do water changes every other day to clean the water. This may take weeks or months.

When the color of the soak water suffices, you will need to soak your wood for another week without any salt. This will make sure that the wood does not hold any salt that may leak into your tank.

Once soaking is complete wash the wood well and transfers the wood into your tank. Do not keep the wood out of water for a long time or it will float.

For more information and pictures about this project, please visit www.CarolinaFishTalk.com and check the DIY section.

Article written by krayzievanh@yahoo.com, member of CFT Community
Proof read by Brandan Njagu b.njagu@gmail.com

Site owner of http://www.CarolinaFishTalk.com.

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