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Lookin good . my only concern is the smooth rocks on the left side falling. im sure they are more stable than it looks (pics never do justice) but for peace of mind id putty them in place for a semi permanent hold. Also a black backdrop would be nice imo :P other than that the tank looks great. i would love to see a large group of demasoni in it but thats just me :P cheers

Going to refer back to here
buy some de-encapsulated brine shrimp eggs or Fry starter

As far as survival rate, it should be pretty good as long as you have nothing else in the tank that will eat them. The parents will protect the young, and each spawn will also help protect the next and so forth. As far as the breeding cycle, it takes 6 to 7 days from egg laying to hatching. And they spawn about every 3 weeks in ideal conditions. So expect the next spawn about 3 weeks after the first sighting of little fish. And the spawn size will likely get bigger each time. Hopefully you have something lined up with your LFS or have a way to sell them, unless you plan on getting multiple tanks or just one really huge tank.

Depending on what you have for filtering, I would look into getting something to put on the filter intake if you want to minimize babies getting sucked into your filter. While I've had baby plecos survive and grow to a good size in a filter, I don't believe the same would happen with baby Daffodils. My local LFS sold me some foam like this and I cut it to size to put around the intake. You'll need to clean it periodically as it acts just like an additional pre-filter filter.

yeah, two 18" T8s are going to be woefully underpowered for light penetration.

I'll assume you're in the US, and I'll assume that your 55 has a central brace.

The first thing you'll need for better lighting is to get rid of black plastic lids and replace it with a hinged glass top. This will also keep you from losing as much moisture thanks to less evaporation. Marineland right now is probably the cheapest. Found it at Foster and Smiths for $29.99 + shipping

Now you have a whole world of options, all for a lot less than what you're paying.

Bargain Option

Dual 48" T5 NO by Deep Blue from Ken's Fish is 69.99 right now with free shipping. This will offer roughly 2.5 times the light you have right now. The bulbs they come with are going to be a little pink so you might find that you prefer to replace the bulbs. 48" T5 bulbs are going to cost from 12.99-20.99 each and need to be changed every 6 months or so to keep your spectrum. They do have a reputation for having the occasional lemon ballast, however I've had 2 of them running for more than 2 years (now at family's houses) with no issues.

Bargain LED Option

48" Finnex Planted+ 24/7 available for 152.97 from Amazon. This is a newish product but offers a ton of the great LED features at a nice entry point including a built in 24 hour timer, multiple lighting modes, and adjustable spectrum so that you can get the perfect wavelength for your fish. They also offer better light penetration and more lumens/PAR than the NO or HO T5s (though i think VHO T5s still trump them). Plus they're made by Finnex, who are a really good manufacturer. Here's a decent youtube demo review on them so you can see what you're getting for the price.

Now if you want to spend the full 250, you can do all kinds of custom LED or go with a T5 VHO dual or triple fixture. But I figure giving you a decent $100 and $200 option out the door works for your request. Let me know if you have any questions at all.

Feel free to ask as many questions as you want to the aquarium based subreddits, we all don't mind :) The subs are here to help people be successful with this hobby and to share our love for our fish.


I just wanted to say I'm really happy to see you asking questions now, before you've gotten your fish yet! The reason why most people come to these subreddits for the first time is that their fish is dying and they want to save it, but the damage has already been done if they didn't know about how to cycle a tank, have been over feeding and gave their fish fatty liver, etc.


I really recommend picking up a water test kit like this one, as you will need to check your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels (your "water parameters") once a day for the first few weeks of setting up your tank as it cycles. :) Don't bother with the paper test kits, as they're ~$10 for a pack of 12 and notoriously inaccurate. For ~$20, the liquid test kits have 800+ tests in them. Once you can get a cycle established, taking care of your fish will be 1000x easier. I only have to do ~30% water changes once every week or two on my main nanotank now.

> Well, if the husband doesn't want to be Aquarium Robert Smith, just wait.

Cure reference, nice.

> The cheapest way would be to purchase a good HOB filter like an Aquaclear 70 or a fluval C5, though you can get a SunSun canister through amazon at just barely a little more. You're definitely going to want both filters on as you're cycling.

Is this one appropriate? Then to confirm, you are saying run both the 220 that we already have and the SunSun?

> Speaking of which, you've mentioned you're cycling your tank currently--what method are you using to cycle it and do you have a testing kit for your water parameters?

The tank has been filled & there are some cherry shrimp in there right now (We'll find them another home before the cichlids hit the tank.) My husband was in charge of the cycling process, but I can tell you he did some minimal reading & then winged it LOL. He put a used filter from our other tank in there for a week or so in a mesh bag, along with a decent amount of gravel from an active tank. We have since removed all of that so we could put in the sand to prepare for the cichlids. Other than that, cycling has mostly just been waiting (2-3 weeks so far). We tested for ph & ammonia. Ammonia is 0 and I don't remember what the ph was offhand (but it was within range of the cichlids I was considering at the time). We'll need to test that again anyway since we pulled the gravel & put in the sand this past weekend. I also ordered a water hardness test that hasn't arrived yet after reading that cichlids seem to like hard water.

Thank you so much for this info! I actually looked into the aqua clear 50's and also 70's. Another user, MoistDiapers mentioned that I could use 2 or just 1 powerful filter, so I was thinking about using just one, the Marineland emperor 400, what do you think about that?

EDIT: This is the filter I read many good reviews about, along with the 50's that you recommended.

The Hikari pellets are the sinking type - I've never been a fan of floating, as the dominant fish don't often allow the other fish to eat enough. Here's the link

Currently, the fish are only eating 1-3 medium sized pellets per feeding, so no more than 6 or so per day. Normally, they'll happily take 4-6 each feeding, plus some of the New Life Spectrum smaller pellets. Most of my Cichlids are at least 4", several are fully grown adults around 6-8". It's primary a peacock tank, with a Frontosa, Leleupi, Brichardi, and Hap Obliquiden.

I probably don't feed enough for them to eat longer than about 15 seconds right now, since I'm trying to keep things light. Under normal conditions, they'll usually eat all of the food I put in the tank within 1-2 minutes. As you know, they're pigs when healthy!

I've always avoided feeding on the weekends as I've heard it's wise to give them a fast day or two in order to clear out their bowels.

I have an IP cam sitting infront of my tanks so I can watch them when I leave, that's how I'm able to count and make sure they're all good. :)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0145OQTPG/ref=sxts_kp_bs_lp_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=8778bc68-27e7-403f-8460-de48b6e788fb&pd_rd_wg=21B1o&pf_rd_r=12GS5PW18PBW9ABXCZSV&pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-top-slot&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B0145OQTPG&pd_rd_w=u0VUM&pf_rd_i=amcrest&pd_rd_r=ab67158b-001c-48ca-ad6b-e3b762f8f7e6&ie=UTF8&qid=1542416904&sr=1

They lock in pretty good on their own, but I have holes drilled with plastic dowels and some aquarium safe silicone holding them all together.

These are the rocks I have: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F8DVAO4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have 80 pounds.

I'd leave off the Cichlid Trace, because it is an all in one application that is raising both KH and GH.
the home version is :
1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 tbsp epsom salts in each 5 gallons of treated tapwater going in to the tank. The tanks in my profile get treated this way.

For your situation, I would try the home version next water change, BUT without the Epsom. ( the epsom salts just raise GH, you got enough already )

FWIW: 1 tablespoon of epsom salts per 5 gallons takes my tap water from 161 ppm to 241 ppm. (from 9 drops to 12-13) A digital tester is pretty cheap fyi. I got one of these For $12, you pull off the cap, fill from the tank, and put it back together and look at the display. (I also have a 'drops' kit'. The meter I got seems accurate.)

Yes, anti ich medicine should work.

This book is a good overview of fish diseases and how to cure them:

Manual of fish health, amazon link

I have a 12 Gallon Mr. Aqua with 7 similis.

I'd get a pack of 36 escargot shells from Amazon for about $17.
https://www.amazon.com/Roland-Snail-Shells-Extra-Large/dp/B004Y18ANU/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1499669502&sr=8-1&keywords=escargot%2Bshells&th=1

Get 20 lbs. of Caribsea for $11.

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/caribsea-super-naturals-aquarium-sand

I'd use 1 to 2 sponge filters to keep it cheap and safe for the fry.
https://www.amazon.com/Hydro-IV-Sponge-Pro-Filter/dp/B0002602SC/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1499669556&sr=8-7&keywords=sponge+filter

So I would need this

Sonoff TH16 Wifi Temperature and Humidity Sensor Switch+AM2301 RF Controller for DIY Smart Home,Wireless Remote Control Home Appliances and Work with Amazon Alexa, 1 Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075FSHKQ5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_uZaZBbF8TQQ5Q

And the probe:

Diymore 5Pcs DS18B20 Waterproof Temperature Sensors Thermistor Temperature Controller Length 1M Thermometer with Probe (1M) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JKVRVNI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_VZaZBbN6WY76M

They never look mangled, they were swimming around like normal not hiding or anything.
They looked like bones which ive never seen before.
I am feeding them https://www.cobaltaquatics.com/collections/flake-fish-food/products/cichlid-flake-food and yes they were eating before death.

They are fed 3 times daily by 2 EHEIM Automatic food dispensers and they do not leave much if anything behind. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B001F2117I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Escargot shells appear to be the common choice.

I got these:

https://smile.amazon.com/Roland-Snail-Shells-Extra-Large/dp/B004Y18ANU