CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

i recieved a fish from a friend of a friend. the guy did not want it anymore so he put it in a bucket to let it die. it stayed there for about a week i am told. i decided to take it in. i bought a a 10 gallon tank, filter, and pump. he seems to be doing ok now. from what they told me about the fish and what i found on the net it is a convict cichlid about 3 years old. the tank is bare so i need to get something for it to hide in. i read i could put a flower pot in there. is that right? what kind of pot can i put in there(clay,plastic)? my main problem is the strong fish smell. what can i do about that? the water also got hazey after only one day but maybe that was from the food . how long do these fish live? i did not want to just let the fish die but i think i am in over my head.

Hi, Firstfish, and welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your fish -- my commendations for taking care of it. Flower pot would be fine. I think clay would be better, but that's just me. As to the smell, There is something called the nitrogen cycle that you should be aware of. As fish eat, metabolize, move about, etc, they produce waste, just as we do. This breaks down into various forms of nitrogen. The first one you have to worry about is ammonia. Uneaten food also decays, and breaks down into nitrogen and other chemicals, so we try not to feed more than the fish will eat in a couple of minutes or so. Ammonia is quite toxic to the fish, and needs to be removed or changed to something less toxic. Over a couple of weeks, bacteria will multiply in sufficient quantities to convert the ammonia to nitrite -- also quite toxic. Over another couple of weeks, different bacteria that metabolize nitrite into nitrate, a less foxic nitrogen compound, develop in sufficient numbers to do the job. These mostly live in (on) the gravel, rocks, filter media, etc. It takes, as you notice, about a month for this biological stabilization to happen. Meanwhile, your fish has a problem. The best way to help him through it in your present situation is to do regular (every day or every 2 or 3 days) partial water changes -- say 20 to 30 per cent. Meanwhile, be sure that you aren't overfeeding him. Once this "cycle" is complete, life gets somewhat easier, and you can start to actually enjoy your new friend. You might want to stop by your local pet shop, and pick up one of the little paperback pamphlets on cichlids, to help you understand some of the specific needs of your fish. Good luck, and keep us posted!

Originally posted by firstfish
i recieved a fish from a friend of a friend. the guy did not want it anymore so he put it in a bucket to let it die. it stayed there for about a week i am told. i decided to take it in. i bought a a 10 gallon tank, filter, and pump. he seems to be doing ok now. from what they told me about the fish and what i found on the net it is a convict cichlid about 3 years old. the tank is bare so i need to get something for it to hide in. i read i could put a flower pot in there. is that right? what kind of pot can i put in there(clay,plastic)? my main problem is the strong fish smell. what can i do about that? the water also got hazey after only one day but maybe that was from the food . how long do these fish live? i did not want to just let the fish die but i think i am in over my head.

Hi, FirstFish -- Welcome to the Forum!!!!! DanRad's advice is (as usual) excellent, and I really don't have anything to add except to comment that you are not over your head. Also, thanks for doing research rather than letting the fish die! Convicts are wonderful, personable fishfaces and it's not hard at all to keep them healthy.

--Mark:cool: