cichlids

[Brutus]

Hi i have a pearl cich 4 jewel cich a jack dempsey blue acara and a green terra Gouramis and angels all I've read says to give them live food whats the best. Can they eat things like maggots for fishing worms things like that or is there special needs. cheers

[Severus]

When it comes to live food, i personally wouldnt feed any of those fish live food. They will do fine on a good quality staple pellet (Hikari). Mix things up with some Omega One flakes as well and you can also feed them vegetables like zucchini, spinach, peas, etc... Also some brine shrimp periodically and tubifex on occasion (no more than once or twice a week)

[Severus]

Also, beefheart is very good. And for live food bloodworms(or freeze dried), crickets, other various insects. Im not a fan of feeders due to the risk of disease

[Brutus]

Thanks for the help on my cichs. i was thinking of doing a marine set up how difficult is it to set up,maintain,and are the fish difficult to look after any advice would be great.

[Severus]

If you are just starting out with fishkeeping i wouldnt recommend a marine setup. As cool as they are it is worth it to wait and gain as much knowledge as you can before attempting to start one. There are alot more factors with water parameters, filtration, etc...

[Brutus]

I'm gettin a 6 foot tank next week and was just wondering about the marine set up I'll stick to freshwater i think. I've read a few threads and they say about cycling the tank and was wondering what that meant are there things I'm supposed to do before adding fish normally when i do a full water change i add aqua clear wait til the the water is at temp and add the fish i think I've come off lucky and not killed all my fish. I do a partial change of about 20% fortnightly and a full change every sixth week is this to much.

[Lady Hobbs]

I've never had a problem adding my fish right away either. The declorinator is supposed to act instantly. I will generally give it several hours with the pump running and then add the fish but never more than 12 hours. Others claim you have to wait many days. I haven't found a reason for this yet.