WAHOO! the waters clearing up!

[spike06]

im converting my fish tank to an african cichlid tank. i had a couple goldfish before. so i brought the fish to a pet store. so i had my tank completely empty, and i put the cichlid gravel in. i washed it for several minutes first. anyway the gravel made the water so grey i couldnt se anything. i called the petstore just to make sure it was ok and he said it was normal and would clear up in a few days. well anyway, not even 24 hours later, and ican already see most of the stuff in the tank. if my water quality is good im gonna go pickup a few cichlids today. the guy at the petstore said that i could put fish in as long as i had good water quality!

[muzixman]

I wouldn't put any fish in it untill you test the water. I'm sure your tank/water is still going thru the cycling process which is very hard on fish and can lead to death. jmo I would hate to see you loss any fish.

[spike06]

well, im going to test it. i had to put my 2 plecos in there because i kept them and dont have an extra tank/filter. theyre still alive. all im saying is if the water quality is good, im gonna get a few cichlids.

[Adrya]

If you don't have a test kit for pH, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates... I wouldn't guess and assume that your water will be okay and go get some fish... I mean it wouldn't hurt to wait several days before getting the fish you want. I just wouldn't want you to waste money on some fish that died because the cycle didn't finish.

[mpgt]

Did anyone at the pet store suggest that you "cycle" the tank before adding fish? If they are suggesting the absence of nitrates or ammonia in a newly established tank, makes it OK to add fish, look around for another store. They'll gladly sell you the fish. Then when the tank gets cloudy and full of ammonia and nitrites from cycling, they'll sell you chemicals you don't need, which don't work. Then when your fish start gasping for air, itching on the rocks, and floating belly up, they get to sell you more fish. You and the fish lose, but they don't care.

African cichlids are hardy and really easy to keep under the right conditions. I hope it works out for you. It sounds bad so far though. Good luck anyway. Can I ask how big the tank is, how it's filtered, and what species you're looking at?

Here's an awesome website for info.
Aquarium Setup

[walls]

I agree 100% with the above post. The cycle was already started when you added the plecs. They will (hopefully) be able to adjust to the ammonia and nitrite spikes while the cycle goes on.

As of right now your tank has no where near enough BENEFICIAL bacteria to sustain the bioload from even a couple small fish.

IMHO you will do yourself good to just be patient and wait 3 or 4 weeks till the tank "matures" BEFORE adding any more fish. Otherwise im afraid you are in for heartaches.

[spike06]

the people at the pet store near me do whats best for the animals, not what sells. if they thought that it was bad for the fish, they would reccomend to me to not buy fish for a bit. again, my 2 plecs are doing great. theyre active. i bought 2 small cichlids and am planning on getting 3 more within the next few days. its a 10 gal tank. the only reason im putting 5 is because cichlids tend to be less aggressive when kept in larger groups. i have a regular filter and an airstone in the tank. and im getting african cichlids

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[luker3232]

im not trying to argue but that might be way to many in a 10 gal.

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters