Help with new tank

Okay so I have an 80 gallon tank. New to this. The guy at the store said I can fit 20 cichlids so I bought 20 cichlids ranging from 2-3 inches. There’s 2 that we’re slightly larger than the rest at like 3.5 inches. Anyways the bigger one has been bullying his brother (the other big one) literally every time he sees him he starts chasing him. Another problem I noticed a black spot in the bully’s rear tail fin. And on the side of another fish. Anyone know what this is? Thank you. AND another thing I also noticed these very small black dots on a fish that looks like black ick imo. How do I treat that?

 

Nice to see another African cichlid tank on here. Please could you confirm what the dimensions are of your tank.

These fish are pretty aggressive towards each other and are best kept in large numbers (overstocked) to keep aggression spread out. The fact that one is being chased in my opinion is a sign of you needing more fish. I'm going out on a limb and guessing you have a 4ft tank which I'd say 35 would be a decent number given you have juveniles.

Regarding colour - the black ich you refer to is a colour morph known as ob (orange blotch) which is bred to look that way. The single black spot on the tail fin is normal and the fish will colour up still and may lose it, if it doesn't lose it then it's a sign of it being a mix of 2 species or could just be like a birth mark. You have lovely fish and once they are over 5 inch you'll see them colour up.

By the way what food are you feeding them?

 

Okay awesome thank you so much for your reply. I was kinda worried. And yes they are aggressive fish. Only thing I’m concerned about with putting more fish would be not enough space once they are fully grown. What if I put some feeder fish in there? Would that curb the big guys aggression you think? This is what I am feeding them atm. Hope it’s okay. I am placing an order online for a big bag of cichlid specific food. Another question. I didn’t realize this when I bought the tank (obviously) but the filter they gave me is a fluval 206. It’s only rated for 45 gallons. So my question is, do I get another filter that’s rated for 75 and use both or do I just get one that’s rated for like 400 gallons (fluval fx6)? I can get the fx6 used for like 250 or I can get a 307 for like 100.

 

Aahhh I see you're in the states. Excellent for you because (if you're able to spend) there's tons of options out there for you. One of the best rated is Ron's cichlid food, give that a try. With cichlids and filtration you always over filter so aim for 10 times the amount per hour so 400l will be 4000lph and so on. Fx6 is an excellent filter and I would keep both running because more is always better when overstocking. Also note that filters are rated without any media so your filter at 45g rated with media can even be half that. Most people however use one filter on one end and a wave maker on the other to help with circulation, I use 2 cannisters instead because if I'm using the electricity to blow water around I might as well let it filter too but that's just me

 

Thank you guys! Good to know about the aggression. Yeah it seems I will def be getting a fx6 filter. Idk if I want to keep the old one in there tho cuz I feel like it will look too cluttered. Going to try and find a used one asap. The current filter will work for a couple more weeks right? Considering my fish are still small.

 

I would guess that you should be okay. However I would do an extra water change and per week just to Syphon the dead zone of any debris just to assist the filter in breaking down fish waste

 

How often should I be feeding them? They’re like 2-3 inches big rn. They are always hungry. But I don’t want to overfeed them.

 

At that size I'd usually do 2 times a day. Or 3 small feedings. They are forever hungry and can often trick you into over feeding them

 

Is over feeding bad? They are very good at getting me to feed them. Side note: I just picked up my fx6 filter and set it up The tank I have came with smooth tan and back gravel. I like the look but I’m reading online that cichlids should use sand. What do you think? If I do go with sand I heard you can use pool filter sand and save some $

 

Look at them every time I come up to the tank they all swarm and start begging for food

 

Yes over feeding is bad.. you will pollute the water and have ammonia spike or really high nitrates.

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

 

Congratulations on the fx6. Keep both running so you can seed the new one and then remove the old if you like.

Regarding sand, it does bring out the natural behaviour of digging and making pits but if you like it it's okay they will still dig gravel when they grow. Play sand or pool filter sand is okay to use but both require tiring cleaning procedures so just make sure you're ready for that work.

I overfeed often and I do water changes often too. Yes it is bad, but you sometimes can't help it the way they beg for food. Maybe do 3 small feedings a day rather just to be safe. @scotty_88 has outlined the dangers above quite accurately.

 

Okay cool. Well my fish are eating all the food I put in there. There isn’t ever any left over food when I feed them so I don’t feel like it is polluting the water any. I was more so asking like is it harmful for the fish if they eat too much? And yeah that’s what I do, 3/4 small meals a day.

 

What goes in must come out the fish waste will pollute the water the more you feed.

This may get away with with it if you running your fx6 once it's seeded with bacteria and going strong. There is no need over feed your fish at all though. They will eat themselves dead if they could. Control the feeding and break your feedings up during the day.

I can't comment t if over feeding is bad for your fish but moderation is important!

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

 

Thank you. I have one more question. What is all these little things floating around in my tank? I’ve been feeding them flake food, but I figured that with the fx6 I would have crystal clear water. Maybe switch to pellets?

 

I would definitely switch to pellets. However your filter would need some time to develop beneficial bacteria to make your water super clear. For this I would say allow your tank time to mature and your water clarity would fall in place. What media is in the fx6 and how did you set it up?