Fish Tank Ammonia

Most people who have kept a fish tank have heard of Ammonia. Often it isn’t until you start running into trouble that the real research starts in an effort to track down reason why fish keep getting sick and dying.

Quite simply, Ammonia in your fish tank is bad for your fish. But why does it occur, how does it occur and what can we do to remove and prevent the build up of fish tank ammonia? Understanding the chemical cycles in your aquarium is your single biggest asset for minimizing fish death.

Symptoms of Ammonia in your aquarium

• Fish remain at water surface
• Fish have brightly discolored gills
• Fish are lethargic and will not eat
• Fish deaths

Where does Ammonia come from?

Uneaten food and fish waste breaks down into ammonia, dependent on your PH, small amounts of ammonia in your aquarium can be poisonous. If your PH is less than 7.0 then small amounts of ammonia will be less harmful.

And then where does it go?

The good bacteria in your filter oxidizes ammonia in your water and if there is sufficient good bacteria in relation to ammonia then your water will effectively remain ammonia free. This oxidization process releases a by-product called Nitrite which is also toxic to your fish.

Great, so how do we remove Nitrite?

Again the good bacteria in your filter gets to work and converts the nitrites into nitrates. Fortunatly Nitrates are not highly toxic to your fish in low levels. The Nitrates remain in your water and are removed when you perform your partial water changes either weekly or bi-weekly.


What can I do?

Get a test kit from your local fish store and test your water regularly. Ammonia and Nitrate are the most critical tests. And your test kit will provide a guide that will help identify any problems. If you find ammonia is present carry out a 50% water change then a 20% change the next day and monitor the situation. Make sure your filter is adequately sized for your aquarium and that you are not overfeeding or overstocking.

Cichlid Fry - How to Breed Cichlids

Malawi African Cichlids

Milking Cichlid Fry

Introduction

The most enjoyable part of fish keeping for me is when a mouth brooding cichlid releases her cichlid fry.  It is incredible that the mother can hold so many fry, it is incredible that she has done so while not eating for weeks and fending off other fish. It is a time that as hobbyists we closely monitor the health and progress of our fish and they are always the first thing I check when I come home from work. This is a time where, as fish keepers, we often have to intervene to make sure that all goes well for mom and her fry.

Milking Cichlid Fry

Milking refers to the process of extracting fry from a mouth brooding fish before they are naturally released. The most common reason to milk a cichlid is that you will loose the fry to larger fish if they are released into a community aquarium. It may sound a little rough on the fish but it is actually quite a safe and widely used way to make sure your fry have the best chance of growing into juvenile fish. The cichlid milking process is to catch the holding fish around 21 days into the holding period, gently pick her up across your fingers in one hand and hold her head gently with your thumb. Keep her mostly underwater in a small container of water from your aquarium and hold her mouth open for short intervals to let the fry swim out. Cichlid fry should be well developed at this time and able to swim freely, if they have a sack on their underside then they need to remain with the mother for longer to completely develop. Once you have released all or most of the fry from the mother put her in a hospital or floating nursery tank for a few days so she can get her strength back and start eating again.

Raising Cichlid Fry

I’ve written a longer in depth article on this topic and you can find the link to my Cichlid Fry hub at the end of this article. The article also includes videos of holding female cichlids and the milking process discussed above. The main things to consider are the health of your fish, mother and fry, the dangers in the aquarium such as other predatory fish, water quality and tank setup. Before having fry in my tank I never gave a second thought to my filter intake, however after seeing one baby fish get succeed up into the inlet it was covered with fly screen in a matter of minutes.

In summary, make sure you watch a video of the milking procedure and understand that for your particular species there will be a right time to do so around 21 days into holding.

Have fun and good luck.

Cichlid Fry - How to Breed Cichlids

Malawi African Cichlids

Mini Aquarium Heaters

Introduction

I’m often asked and I see numerous questions on the web regarding mini aquarium heaters to heat tanks as small as one US gallon (~3.8 Litres ) of water. This question always makes me worry. There are mini aquarium heaters out there however they are addressing a heating issue in a fish tank that will certainly be running into problems.

Are small fish tanks easy to look after?

The best way to look at this question is to consider the amount of water in the ocean or a river. The quantity of water is so large that the temperature is stable and other factors such as PH and salinity are stable as well. Introduction of heat from the sun on a hot day will have a gradual warming effect, so gradual that it will only affect the surface water. Contrast this to the miniature aquarium with only one gallon of water, switching on your small and low powered mini aquarium heater has the potential to raise water temperature by a number of degrees in only minutes. Likewise with water changes, replacing half the water will have a drastic and immediate shift in temperature.

I recommend a minimum aquarium size of five gallons (~20 Litres ). This is also a good size to use as a nursery or fry raising tank.

Why are these rapid changes bad for our fish?

Fish are processing the aquarium water through their bodies constantly. Sudden and drastic changes in water parameters are bad news for all fish and dependent on the severity they invoke temporary shock or leave permanent damage. Shock can also lead to less resistance against diseases such as white spot.

Recommended heater size for your mini aquarium

Assuming your mini aquarium is 5 US gallons you should be comfortable in most climates using a 25 Watt heater. Here is a rough guide to heating as you increase the volume of water:

• 5 Gallons / 20 Litres = 25 Watt (Mini) Heater
• 10 Gallons / 40 Litres = 50 Watt Heater
• 25 Gallons / 100 Litres = 75 Watt Heater
• 40 Gallons / 150 Litres = 100 Watt Heater

If your living in a particularly cold climate where your tank will need to heat the water 10 degrees Celsius or 18 degrees Fahrenheit above the air temperature then select the next higher rated heater in the table.

Selecting your mini aquarium heater

I’ve researched a number of the lower rated and miniature heaters for this article however I can’t recommend anything other than the Jager 25 Watt aquarium heater as the smallest heater to use. (Note that I have no association with Jager/Eheim) With a background in electronics and many years of experience working with aquariums the Jager makes me feel safe putting my hands into the water (although we know the heater should be turned off first I don’t know anyone that does), the Jager uses laboratory quality glass and incorporates a number of safety features. They are now the only heater I use and I can’t recommend highly enough.

In summary, my recommendation for a mini aquarium is a minimum of 5 US Gallons and a 25 Watt Jager Heater.

Good luck and have fun!

Cichlid Fry - How to Breed Cichlids

Cichlid Fry - Aquarium Water Quality

Introduction

Water quality is the single most important thing that you need to get right when looking after any aquarium fish and is critical to raising strong and healthy cichlid fry. You can go deep into the water chemistry and variables involved with water quality however this articles intention is to keep things simple and address only the important variables that you need to understand and test. Today we will look at water temperature and PH and the next article will move onto Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite and the natural environment.

Before we go any further and before you are scared off with ‘testing’ if you’ve never done any water testing before I need to let you know this is actually very simple. Water testing kits are available at your local fish store and usually around $50 for a kit that will test everything you need to know. Here are the most important water quality parameters you need to test:

Aquarium Temperature

The temperature of your aquarium should be kept as stable as possible. The average temperature suitable for your fish will vary dependant on the species so do a little research. In the wild, large bodies of water, such as Lake Malawi in Africa have a surface temperature that can vary from 23 to 28 degrees. Keep in mind your tank only has a relatively small quantity of water and unlike in Lake Malawi the fish don’t have the luxury of deciding where to swim. 26 degrees is usually quoted as a safe average. Cichlid fry may benefit from a slightly higher temperature, most agree they will grow slightly faster.

To test temperature you will need a thermometer, a mercury thermometer in a glass tube is cheap and accurate however digital thermometers are safer and still relatively inexpensive. Test the water in a couple of areas to make sure the temperature is consistent throughout your tank. If you find hot and cold patches then you need to increase the movement of water in your aquarium.

Aquarium PH

The PH value of your aquarium should be as close as possible to your fish’s natural environment. The PH value in Lake Malawi, for example, varies between 7.8 and 8.5. And it is important that your aquarium has a similar PH value and that it is consistent. Cichlid fry in particular require a stable PH and they will not thrive in an aquarium with a PH of 7.0. Your test kit will show you how to measure PH and it is as simple as taking a small sample of your aquarium water and adding a couple of drops of chemical then waiting until the water changes colour. You will match the colour to your testing kits colour chart to get the PH value. Also test your tap water to see what PH your local supply provides. Raising and lowering can be done with PH buffers, it is best to have a routine setup where you know you need to add a certain amount of buffer to your water change to keep the PH consistent. If possible do some testing before adding any fish to the tank, significant changes in PH are not good for any fish.

In summary, do a little research into your fish’s natural environment and replicate the temperature and PH as closely and consistently as possible. This will be a big step in ensuring you have strong and healthy cichlid fry.

Good luck and have fun!

Cichlid Fry - How to Breed Cichlids