15 MONTHS Keeping African Cichlids: The 3 BIGGEST Improvements I Made to my Tank
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- čas přidán 9. 07. 2024
- In this video I give an update on my 15 month old Lake Malawi African Cichlid tank, and share the 3 biggest improvements I have made since setting the aquarium up.
If you enjoyed this video you might like to check out some of my other videos! I'm currently setting up another 6ft Waterbox aquarium and I am documenting the whole process from start to finish.
For more information on my setup checkout my playlist:
"My African Cichlid Tank"
• My African Cichlids
To follow along with my new setup checkout my playlist:
"Peninsula Setup"
• Peninsula Setup
If you enjoyed this video don't forget to give it a like, and I would love for you to subscribe to my channel :)
You can follow me on Instagram at Kaitys_Cichlids for more regular updates on my tanks!
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My African Cichlid Setup Details
Fish tank - Waterbox Clearpro 7225 (tank and cabinet)
Filtration - 2 Fluval FX6 Canister Filters
Lighting - 3 Freshwater AI Primes
Fish - Lake Malawi African Cichlids (Peacocks, Haps, and Mbuna)
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Music Provided by Lofi Records
💿| Listen everywhere
→ fanlink.to/HappyMoments
🎵 | Music by No Spirit
→ open.spotify.com/artist/4Xbnh...
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Awesome video! Youve inspired me to move beyond my little nano tanks!
Thank you! Nano tanks are lovely, but I really do find larger tanks to be easier to maintain
Sick tank. So good :D
Thank you 😄
lovely tank, your accent makes it more appealing too
Thank you 😄
Amezing setup happy to see made ma day
Thank you so much 🥰
Beautiful tank and chichlids 👍💯
Thank you!! 😊😊😊
Great looking tank. 🐠. Im gonna get those same lights. For the 150. Tank im about to buy
you have some good colorful ciclids im paul from englandand i alsow keep these fish
Oooh a fiddle leaf fig! I just got my first one. Wish me luck!
They're great plants! They are also very hardy 🤣 (any plant I keep has to be)
aquário muito bonito
very beautiful aquarium
GREAT JOB 👍
Thank you :)
👍🙂
Tanks looking great 👍
Thank you 😊
Faron here I like your cichlid tank
Thank you 😄
Hi Kaity,
Do you know what type of hap your blue one is please? The third Hap you show.
Thank so much!
Your aquarium looks beautiful.
Thank you Carlos 😊
Your aquarium started off looking outrageously good, now it’s just next level!!! Great work Kaity, I find this aquarium very inspiring. One day I’ll try to emulate this myself. 😊
Thank you so much Ross!! 😄
Yo Kaity, that tank is fully sick-lid........
😂😂😂 love it!!
Kaity I love your tank. It’s simply stunning. I’ve been in the hobby almost a year and I’ve just cycled a 75g and will be adding cichlids next week. You’re such an inspiration!
Wow, thank you so much! That is lovely to hear 😊 That's exciting to hear you are setting up a new Cichlid tank soon. I hope it all goes well for you
nice..cichlid.. 👍👍
Thank you 😊
Hi , could please advise on what to do or how to get rid of small particles in my cichlids tank? When my wave maker is on , small particles keeps flying around
Top Job Awesome. 👌👌👌👌
Thank you 😊
You did a good job
Thank you 😊
Bellissimo.... complimenti!
try adding some dollar fish dear..it wll add charm to the scape💗
I absolutely love your setup! The stock selection is amazing & it's nice to see your mix of African Cichlids are working out for you. The Purigen definitely works wonders. However, weekly water changes of 80% does seem like overkill but hey if it works it works. Great job & I look forward to seeing more content! 🇺🇲
Thank you so much 😊 I appreciate it! Yes 80% a week is more than I would like to do, but with so many fish and no plants I was struggling with high nitrates. I use the water for my garden though to make sure it doesn't go to waste 👌
Nice
Hi Kaity great video as always. Your fish are looking great, some beautiful colours. Most people will say never keep Mbuna Peacocks and Haps but your tank seems pretty peaceful. My opinion is that by putting them all in as juveniles it means that they grow up together and that way they seem to get along. Looking forward to the next one. Stay safe and take care. John
Thank you John 😊 I totally agree! It definitely helps adding the bulk of them in as juveniles
Oww no bird on the head this time, it was so cute just sitting there pecking and fixing your hair😁 Bring her/him back!!
That is good to hear someone missed her!! She was in the cage "asleep" while I filmed this... But you can hear her squawking in the background haha
@@Kaityscichlids Yeaay!😁😁 cant wait to see the co-host on the next one pecking away at the salong😆
Tank and fish are mint 🙌 well done , great vid , a question for you, are you still using the JBL test strips and if so what’s your opinion?
Thank you!! I tried them out but I couldn't get a reliable result from them, and I struggled with the colour bleeding/smudging. I'm open to it being an issue with my technique too though as I've heard others say good things about them. I got them for free as they were out of date by a few months and I wasn't sure if that was part of the issue too
@@Kaityscichlids ah well , I’ll take it as we both failed trying to make life easier 🤣🤣🤣 Keep doin what your doing 🙌 awesome 💯
Your tank is looking fantastic. As a fellow African cichlid keeper I must say your doing all the right things. I have an FX6 and an FX4 on my 125 gallon tank which keep my water crystal clear. I enjoy your videos so keep up the great content
Thank you so much!! 😄
I can't believe they recognised the food container in your hand. 🤣
I know right!! 🤣 They are pretty clever
do wave maker is good for a big tank like your tank ? can you pls suggest , I have a tank of lenght 5 feet, a big size aquarium tank.
Yes I think they're great, I could probably have 2 in my tank but only have the one. Mine is the AI wavemaker
which camera do u use to recoding?
The tank is looking great and your cichlids are looking healthy keep doing what your doing i like watching your videos videos
Thank you so much Noel 😊
Your African cichlids tank is awesome and beautiful 😍 I need a millions of eyes to see this tank setup! Keep going kudos
Thank you so much 😊
Love the tank. What brand and model are the UVCs?
They are called Green Killing Machines 😊
Nice tank now start a Tanganikan Cichlid tank the fish from that Lake are really really cool
Thank you :) I'm sure I will do that at some point in the future!
Stumbled across your video whilst researching Cichlids, can you recommend any good how to guides for beginners to Cichlids
Kaveman Aquatics has a lot of great beginner guides 😊
Beautiful setup! I have a cichlid setup for many years! Generation after generation, enjoy the content and thank you for the video and tips!
That's awesome! They are great fish. Thank you so much 😊
Another amazing video and tank!! Wish I could get the aggression in my tank down a few levels!
Thank you so much 😊 Funnily enough I found that the biggest factor that helped me with aggression was making sure I only had one of each type/colour (for most of them). They love fighting with each other when they look the same!
@@Kaityscichlids good info! I mostly have 1 of each in a 135g 6tf tank and unfortunately been trying to get rid of the females to help keep things calm. Keep the videos and updates coming!
👏👏👏 Kaity, that is amazing growth in 15mnths ... Your fish just give off happy & loved vibes ... WOW ... Your nearly up to 7k Subs
Thank you so much, that's the best compliment of all to hear they look happy 😊 Yes almost at 7k!! There's been some big growth on the channel the past month
@@Kaityscichlids Please tease us with your potential fish choices for the new tank... I hope you have been recording all your steps for us, as you have already planted the tank 🙏
@@dinodinosaur2930 I most definitely have been!! So far I've got a spiny eel, a bichir and two striped leporonius in quarantine but nothing in the main tank yet 😄
@@Kaityscichlids 😉 OK... Your going for a Amazon basin set up... Very interesting... Thank you Kaity... I'm sure your mega busy editing videos... Have a good day 👍
Love your videos fish girl hahahah lol dream match
Love the video sister. Alot of information on this beautiful tank. thank you 😊
Thank you so much!!! 😊
What are you using for substrate? Tank looks awesome !
I'm using Unicorn Pool Filter sand 😊
Love your videos 🐠 I've learned so much from them.
That's so awesome to hear!! Thank you! 🙌
Another great video, I got same great tips from you!.! Such a beautiful tank too!! Thanks heaps!
Thank you so much Joe 😊 I appreciate it!
Hey Kaity , I just wanted to share a video that I just watched and thought of you since you might be interested and the title of the video is No more filter socks by Realtor Ashfaque Kwan .... I have 2 WATERBOX and I never have thought about the possibility to make a reusable version for the sake of saving money & less waste . The best part of his idea is to make it using a water bottle and the other thing is if you do like the idea PLEASE GIVE IT YOUR FULL ATTENTION BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO USE A SHARP INSTRUMENT TO MAKE YOUR EVERLASTING FILTER SOCKS 🧦LOL 😂 I trust that you have some serious skills in the surgical field. Take care and the new space is Awesome 🎶🎵🎶
Thank you so much!! I will definitely check it out 😊
What do you think about ? Putting a black backround. For your tank. Or a 3 d. Background. ?
I kind of like it without a background, but I might try one one day
Hi Katy, where did you get your tank lid/cover?
Hi Christina! It is from NVS Aquariums in Australia 😊
Beautiful tank and setup. Do they all have a name? :)
Thank you! Two of them have names. There is Ryan who is my baby fish, and then there's Bart who is my yellow trewavasae
Hi Kaity,you have a aquarium to be proud of and you have a lot of knowledge about African cichlids.
Thank you so much 😊
Tank looks amazing as always, I love it. Its like an aquatic box of skittles
Arkadaşım her şey çok güzel eline sağlık
Cool channel!. I love how enthusiastic you are about the hobby in your videos. Also enjoy seeing all the cool little fish shops on the south side. Makes me regret living on the north side 😂
Thank you!! 😄 It's great seeing other local hobbyists on here. Funnily enough I actually headed to the north side today to visit some stores 😂 I went to Smith's Aquariums and Atlas and both were amazing
Smiths is excellent! They really know their stuff in that store. The tech den, Atlas and Smiths have all had massive store expansions in the last 12 months
Beautiful Aquarium 🥇❤️
Can you share what lighting you are using? Very clean minimalistic look 🥇👍
Thank you 😊 They are Freshwater AI Prime lights
@@Kaityscichlids Thank you 🙏
Thanks for the video , very informative. My fish in my main tank are about 10 cm and have in a small one to grow them out. They are about 5cm but not as bulky, can I move them . I will try take some pics
Send me some pics on Instagram, my account is Kaitys_Cichlids 😊 I find they are normally fine as long as the smaller ones have places they can hide
Thank you , just off to the Rugby game today. So maybe tomorrow
I love you 😭
There are mixed opinions on the filtering ability of Hydro-Pure filters, but what's consistently agreed upon is how clear they make the water, and some use them just for that purpose.
❤
Ur really my motivator 🐠🐠kc 🐠I am going to build a big aquarium l,, shortly i will sent u 🐠
Woohoooo 😊🐟🐟
Hi kaity, beautiful aquarium you have. My rocks look exactly like yours did so I think I'm going to get one of the plecs. Keep up the great videos. Just come across this video and I've now subscribed 👍
Thank you so much Alexander :) And thank you for the sub!
@@Kaityscichlids you're welcome 😊
I just came across your channel today, I haven't kept African cichlids for awhile now but it doesn't stop me appreciating other peoples collections...I always have a painted background on my tanks as my wallpaper behind always has a pattern on, you don't have that problem I see!
Yes it is handy having the white wall! A few people have been bugging me though to get a background anyway 🤣
🐟🐟🐟Really peaceful and beautiful cichlids tank. Great fish keeping. 🐠🐠🐠💯👏
Thank you so much 😄🐟💕
Love you’re tank. Wanted to know how many gallons is you’re cichlid tank?
Thank you 😊 it's about 180 gallons all up including the two FX6 filters. The tank is a Waterbox Clearpro 7225
Thank you for the answer, I looked in the Waterbox website and can only find clear 7225 not clearpro or they the same thing lol?
I have recently discovered this channel and the content is amazing sister. Just love those huge African cichlid that reminds me of my kenyi cichlids which died due to my lack of water changes but nice to see your cichlids happy .
Thank you so much Akshay!
Awesome,could you please share the tank measurements? LxHxW ?
It's about 6ft by 2ft by 2ft, which I think is 180cm (L), 60cm (W) and 65cm (H). It's the Waterbox Clearpro 7225 😊
Hi Katie, hope everything‘s going well! Sounds like you’re doing a great job with your Africans. I’ve kept Africans for a little over 10 years now, and as far as the color Foods go, you definitely wanna stick to foods that are high in krill and algae content for your color enhancement. I don’t know much about hormone injected food other than if you ever stop feeding that food the colors will dole out on all of your fish and they will not come back. I don’t know about the health of the fish concerning hormones though. Other than that I’d say you’re doing everything wonderfully. And if the color food is not harming the fish then I say go for it! I also keep a mixed African tank and you’re exactly right, if you set it up correctly everybody can get along and have exactly what they need to thrive! I just did a tank recovery for a business office yesterday and they did not take care of their in Boone as very well at all. The water was at a 6.4 pH, and full of ammonia. There were around 15 fish in this 125 gallon tank which should have been more than adequate Lee large enough for 15 and Buna. But, as of this morning only three of them have survived. It’s been an absolute tragedy. They did not adjust well to clean African Cichlid water from the subpar standards that they were in before. Keep up the great work!🤘🏻🐠🦯
Hi Brandon!! Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom, that's really good to know. Those poor Mbuna!! 😭 It's crazy to think they were living in that, poor little babies :(
anytime! And yeah it really hurt me bad. I took it really hard losing all of the fish. But, I went today and buy it eight new baby mbuna‘s! Three yellow labs, three rusty cichlids, and two powder blue cichlids. So I’m going to restart the Nobuna community. I also moved all of my peacocks over out of my hat tank into the Ambuno tank and it is actually looking pretty good now! Also, I love keeping bristle nose in my African tanks they’ve always done extremely well and they keep a lot of the funk out of the tank that is pretty unsightly.😁🐠🦯
Nice video what size tank is this??
Thank you 😊 it is a 6ft by 2ft by 2ft, about 650L/180 gallons altogether
i like that blue one with white stripe down head and along top fin! Ahli malawi cichlid?
He is!! It's an electric blue Fryeri
Hey Kaity, how often do you change your chemical Purigen ???
I am planning to change it once every 3 months when I clean my canister filters
@@Kaityscichlids Thanks a lot....
Absolutely gorgeous!!! 👌
Thank you Ryan 😊🙌
Hi you haven't thought of keeping background black or white?
I've considered it but I think I like it with no background
YOUR EFFORTS ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED 😇
Thank you so much 😊🙏
Looks great.. But I think it would be better with a few less fish.
Beautiful tank looks better all the time! I use the duel Fx6 to on my hap/peacock tank too. I also added a Seachem tidal 110 in the center of the 6’ tank. My water is very clear but I do have algae grow on surfaces of decor and glass. I may try the UV and see how it works.
Thank you! The UV has been a game changer for me, I'm really happy with how much it's improved the colour of the water
Kaity how many fish are in your tank?. Thanks..
I have about 25 African Cichlids and 3 bristlenose catfish 😊
im also starting my cichlid tank in 75 gal.. so far so good.. happy fish keeping
That's great 😊 I hope you enjoy it!! 🙌
@@Kaityscichlids yeah im enjoying and still looking for the fishes like yours in my local pet store.
You have some stunning looking Cichlids. Ive had mixture of Cichlids for 6 to 8 weeks so still rather small but your spot on with what your saying as the only aggression I have is with peacocks of the same color even though I have them in a 250gallon tank with heaps of room.
Thank you so much Zac :)
Most of the tanks I see on CZcams have a black background..Any reason why you don’t have any background in your tank?
I really wanted to make the most of the low iron glass so I didn't want to cover the back up. I might eventually try a background in the future though
@@Kaityscichlids Thanks! What do you mean by low iron glass?
Nevermind! I just googled it and it makes absolute sense now👍👌
Just beautiful ❤❤❤❤
I recently introduced 2 peacocks to my peacock tank and unfortunately they harassed them to death how did you do it
That sucks :( I normally try to add smaller fish, make sure they have plenty of hiding spaces, and feed the fish before I add in the new ones and have found that works
I tried getting absolute color fish food but nobody ships it to the netherlands 😢
Really gorgeous fish! Do you check your phosphorus levels for causing algae and how do you if you do remove phosphorus?
Thank you 😊 I don't! I have actually never measured it in my life 😂
She does 80% water changes which will definitely keep the levels down.
@@Kaityscichlids Tetra does a test strip kit just for phosphate, nitrate and carbonate hardness. I use mostly that one for my Tanganyikan.
You have gone through a great learning curve. I highly recommend Chemipure Blue instead of purigen. I was a fan of Purigen til I tried Chemipure
I have heard a few people recommend Chemiblue! I'll give it a go in my new setup
I've been keeping African chichlids over couple of decades the color food I feed my fish is White Crane fish red this food does not have hormones it's a blend of marine algae in Thailand the breeders of most of our OB peacocks that's what there fed on I feed my mixed Malawans on this with excellent color including my OB peacocks it's the way I go and on other thing is there are no hormones in White Crane love your videos kaity
Thank you Mark 😊 That's great! I think I have heard others mention good things about White Crane. The Absolute Colour I feed them says "no sex hormones" but I'm suspicious since my females all seem like males now 🤣
Yes the female fish do color up also for breeding don't feed White Crane dosnt make them infertile just the male won't spawn with a colored female doesn't make them infertile feel relaxed the food is good I've been using it for years
HI
Kaity
What is the PH of your water?
Hi Luiz! It's a 8.2 😊
Without plants, how are able to manage such great water clarity?
I do a weekly 80% water change, and have two Fluval FX6 canister filters on the tank, one which has Purigen in it. I also have two ultraviolet clarifiers in the tank too which help keep the water nice and clear :)
If bristlenose ate the algae it wasn't black beard, Either way it's cleared up now
I have heard good things about drp fish food, not sure how it goes with cichlids though
Beautiful! The close ups u did of tank really shows how much space they actually have which is great!
Wow it has come a long way! Those before shots were a great comparison. I love looking back at gow far mine have come.
Great video kaity. Happy weekend.
Thank you so much Laura 😊 Yes it has seriously come so far!! It's great being able to look back on it
Also I agree with you with the smaller fish growth situation I have three small ones forgot the name but it’s exactly like your big green one with the black spots but anyways they were 2 inches when I got them and now there like 4.5 inches now and I’ve noticed a big growth change in them out of everything else
I think the ones you are referring to are the venestus/giraffe cichlids
Do you use color food
I do! I use Absolute Colour a couple of times a week
Amazing! How many fishs do you have?
Thank you 😊 I have about 25-30 African Cichlids (I've lost count now 😂), and 3 bristlenose plecos
Great! Do you think your tank reaches the max cichlids? I saw your cichlids very health and eat well. How do you manage it? In my tank 5ft, the cichlids in total around 30, i found that two or three now eat not well and even the food out from the mouth. These fishs i think now not in good conditions. I dont know why like that
Have you come across it before?
Genial acuario muchas felicidades ✌👌💞😘
A few things Love^^ If you give fish etc.. To have what they need with the right Natural Hardness Minerals... Clean water etc.. Fish can grow really super fast for the first year of their lives~
If they get what they need! Then they will still grow, but a lot slower after a years time, to fill out if they still get what they need to do that with!~? I know how to make fish too get bigger than anyone has seen.. Like A Black Angel fish to get ""18 inches"" in diameter from top to bottom & Nose to Tail with just body measurements.. No fins or tails with the measurements!!
With The rest of the Angels to getting~ 14 to 16 inches in a year! Same with Discus to get 18 inches in a year~ Just body measurements again with them!
We have Lake Blue Gills in our lakes Not the hybrid ones!! Same goes for them 18 inches in a year from fry or really small fish! That is rare to see in the wild~ So yes I don't have all the data on all the fish.. But the fish eaters & I think the bottom feeders will get 6" a month in growth, & the rest get 5" a month in the first year of fast growth~
The thing I, need to do is get a head because I am not near that now~ It is Winter here now! So I have to wait till more things open up, and I can afford to do more research~
To have more to offer the world! Of some things they know nothing about!~ Not even the best experts know what I know~ For the best results of fish keeping!! To Conclusion..
Also I was checking out a Discus expert on U~Tube.. With also comparing too seeing when I had Africans C's I/we found it is better with ""less sand"" in the tank to have better control over the Anaerobic Bacteria that stores & lives, and is trapped in the very bottom place of the bottom of the tank!~ To where if your fish don't and can't get to the bottom of the tank you end up with methane gas going into the water~
I do not like Silica Sand!! Because it is to fine`` and I believe it clogs up the gills of the fish!~ I know you don't want do breath the dust in yourself!~? In like with messing with it yourself moving and putting it in the tank dry!!~? Ya know~? Just a little advise Kaity love^^ I Love what you are doing!~
I am at some different kinds of cross roads, right now!! I am Brilliant with My Guitar Play & Music Creation, and it is 50% of me, to put time into! It all keeps my mind moving really really fast
So I am always learning more & more fun & new things~ Of fun stimulus things to do!` & yes the Fish Love it when I play My Guitar for them!~
Get some drums going along with it & They will listen good to me!~ They know I am doing it for them
They will stop swimming, to look & listen to me~ Just like concert goers would do~ Lol.. It's Crazy to see~
They the fish only like real rock music~ I have found!! Not all that fake pop or rap, snuff~ That has no direction true feeling to the music~~~~~ Fish are not Tone-Deaf~ Like some people are~
I will be Back~ Later, for now!~
Keep up the great work educating people!! Because they need it bad!~ You and your boyfriend, rules!~ & Stay safe in that Wild Country Of Yours!~ 🕷🐊🌞etc...
Amazing tank of Africans it inspired me to get back into collecting fish. Also subscribe to your channel 😀
That's so awesome to hear 😊 Thank you for the sub!!
I like how you point out the fish, as you say their names. Not all of us know their names.
Yes I thought it would be helpful to do that! For the ones I could remember 🤣
i have a mix tank and i been adding
same as you i haven’t had any aggression problems
hello, could you tell me the name of your fish please. I would like to recreate the same. Thank you so much. I love your videos 🥰
Thank you so much 😊 These guys are Lake Malawi African Cichlids. I have a mix of peacock cichlids, haps and Mbuna in there
hi ther I dot think you missed anything your tank looks great whatever you doing keep doing it your tank looking great water is really clear/ big Roy her 👍👍
Thank you so much Big Roy!! 😄 Yes I'm loving how clear the water is now
Super nice fishes🐠 🐟 and tank 👍👍👍❤️
Thank you 😄
Helloooooooo