Bloat

[BeefyG]

Btw, I have a couple trophs in my 185 along with all the other fish in there. I got them from a friend who was shutting down his tank otherwise they wouldn't be in there but they do fine. I feed Thera A as well as Ken's Tropheus Lovers flake. I don't recommend mixing fish up like I have in that tank but it is possible to do successfully. You just have to cater to the most diet sensitive fish which in my case is the tropheus.

[moganman]

Malawi cichlids are more aggressive. That is a stress catalyst which results in bloat.

[michelleraia]

I found someone that will take the fish so that I can restock it with compatible fish. My question is once I remove the fish, will the tank clear up if its bloat or anything any else with no fish in it? Is there a good way to protect the tank from loosing its good bacteria while empty (if I am stating that correctly). I want it to be safe for the next fish I will add.

[mnemenoi]

With the trophs in the tank you'll be fine, otherwise throw in a few raw shrimp and let the fuel your Ammonia for awhile.

[SunnyHouTX]

A piece of raw shrimp will keep the bacteria alive like mnemenoi said.

On the subject of boat, I'd like to point out that it's next to impossible to truly sanitize a tank to rid it of parasites because all fish have parasites in them, but are held in check by the fish when healthy and there are reduced aggression levels in the tank. What you can do to lower the risk is to treat all new fish with anti parasite meds, provide conditions that reduce aggression in the tank, provide a proper diet, and put the tank on a regular day-to-day schedule.

[michelleraia]

Thank you. Will metronidazole be good to treat the new fish? Where can I find it at a good price? i will be treating 215 gallons? Is it safe for the main tank (won't turn the silicone blue, okay for good bacteria, etc? Does it make sense to leave the tank empty for a certain period of time of no? Thanks guys. I really appreciate the advice :)

[SunnyHouTX]

I recommend Tetra parasite guard fizz tabs and clout in addition to metro. Clout will stain silicone, but parasite guard won't. Both will turn your tank water nasty so you will have to do a water change every five days or so. Treat for at least two weeks.

Also, if you already haven't, I suggest visiting somebody with a proper Tropheus colony to see what that's all about so you know how to keep these fish.

[mistahoo]

Also TR are more hardy than WC. Most cases you won't need to treat them unless they're in bad condition

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[michelleraia]

I am not keeping any of the current fish I have. I visited a tropheus colony after I realized my mistake in adding these fish. I really didn't do much research in the beginning because I hired a local company to set up my tank, add the fish and maintain it for me. This was going to be a hands off tank. After not having good luck with the company early on I decided to try to maintain it myself and then added more fish (still not yet knowing about the horrible mix I had initially. I ordered more fish from an online company in Kentucky. I told the owner I was new (what I had in the tank) and he approved my order. Second disaster. He sent me the tropheus and others that didnt belong. The guy that is helping me too couldn't believe what was in the tank when he saw it. He has a tropheus colony and told me about them needing to be in groups of only them. After that I have been trying to figure out what to get rid of and what to add. I decided to get rid of all of them and go with the large Malawi haps so that is my plan.

Sunnyhoutx: Are you recommending all three meds simultaneously?

Mistahoo: "TR" and "WC"?

[mistahoo]

Tank raised. Wild caught. Anything that isn't wild caught will generally be more adapted to our waters and in a sense will be more hardy. Generally you'd want to treat all wild caught fish for parasites and other nasties.

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[SunnyHouTX]

I have used all three concurrently before on my WC Petro blue giants, which are larger than the average fish. For smaller fish, you could safely go two weeks with parasite guard and follow that with a week of metro and clout. There's also praziquantel, that I've used with metro and clout for smaller fish life Tropheus, but that's quite expensive compared to parasite guard.

Btw, where are you located?

[michelleraia]

I live in Montgomery close to 1488 and 2978.

[SunnyHouTX]

Right on.

If you're going with TR fish, you'll definitely find it easier to keep them healthy and looks like you're already planning your next phase.

[SunnyHouTX]

Michelle, get with Rene (thecichlidsplace) if you're gonna be getting WC fish. He gets fish from Malawi and Tanganyika, and quite possibly from Victoria as well. Plus, he's a sponsor of the fish box and an all round great guy to deal with.

[michelleraia]

Does he have Malawi Haps???