This is a compilation of articles I have written. I will add more as I write them.
I have added a Remedy Chart page for those who would like assistance in identifying diseases and finding cures.
Species Profiles
Pseudotropheus Demasoni - are a dwarf cichlid from Lake Malawi, Africa. These are a spunky little cichlid who's aggression and territorial behaviour make up for their size ! They prefer pH of 7.6 to 8.2 and a temperature of 78-80 degrees Farenheight. They are maternal mouthbrooders with the females tumbling the eggs and finally fry in her mouth for as much as 30 days. Males and females have similar coloration. The males tend to be slightly larger and darker than the females. Because they can be so close in size and color, to be accurately sexed, venting is the only reliable method.
I really like this fish. Their color and antics are fun to watch, and they are not anywhere near as mean as people make them out to be. The best ratio I believe should be 2-3 females per each male. I recommend a diet high in vegetable matter, and low in fat and meat protein. I do feed them live newly hatched baby brine daily.
Haplochromis Ishmaeli - are another maternal mouthbrooding cichlid that is native to Lake Victoria.
These fish also do well with a pH of 7.6 to 8.2 and a temperature of 78-80 degrees Farenheight.
The males have a bright yellow body with deep black stripes, a blue-grey head and the caudal is a neon pink-orange-red color. Very flashy fish :-)
The females have brown stripes with a kind of gold base color on the body and little fin coloration.
These are a spunky fish as well, and can be quite aggressive, but again are fun to watch. I recommend a ratio of 2-3 females per each male. They eat a variety of foods, and love live baby brine.
Haplochromis "Ruby Green" - The care is the same as the previous Hap. Ishmaeli. This particular morph seems to be much more peaceful, however. The males are have intense red in the top 1/3 of the body with a yellow center "divider" and an emerald green lower body. The females are typical of this species and are greybodied with some striping. As with all Haps, the fry should be reared in separate quarters from the adults as they see them as a tasty snack !
Pseudotropheus Polit - are a dwarf cichlid from Lake Malawi. Males have a bright and brilliant blue/white body with a black face mask and fins. They look like bandits ! The females are blue-grey to orange-brown. Mine all look more of the rust color than the lighter ones I have seen pictures of. These are fairly rare in the hobby compared to other Pseudos. The care is the same for the other Pseudo I have detailed above.
Pseudotropheus Saulosi - are yet another Pseudo that I "had" to have :-) I think these guys are very boisterous and puppy-like. They seem much more affable than most Pseudos. Like the others, they should have a high vegetable based diet, low in fat and meat protein.
These fish are really cool as far as coloring. They are bright yellow-orange when they are babies, and the females stay with this coloration. Males turn blue with black stripes, but only if they are the top of the heirarchy. Subdominant males typically take on female coloration to blend with the females, thus protecting themselves aggression of the dominant male(s). Some females have been known to form stripes and take on a pale blue coloration. They are a very interesting fish.
Live Brine Article-Kate Burchard
I have found over a period of time that methods of
hatching live brine for our fish are varied and some
appear to be less than successful. In this light, I
thought I'd submit my method, as an alternative.
I use the cone type hatchery available at Equatic
Ecosystems that holds 2 litres of water, and fill the
hatchery about 3/4 full of tap water at 80-82 degrees,
and add 1.5 tbs of solar salt (non-iodized table salt,
Kosher salt, or Rock salt is fine as well),1/2 tbsp
epsom salts and 1/2 tsp baking soda. Bear in mind
that your water may differ and I'd suggest using
a salinity tester to judge the specific gravity and
salinity, to make sure it's accurate. Add your cysts,
whatever amount you think you will use in 24 hours.
Start with maybe 1-1.5 tbsp. I add the salt, etc and
let it bubble while I am feeding the fish the last
harvest...by this time the solution will have mixed well,
and I add the cysts.
Put the lid on the hatcher and stick the rigid airline
down through the hole all the way down into the valve.
Run enough air to aireate the shrimp eggs, but not too
violently or you will end up with orange soup. Use a
regular lightbulb a few inches away to trigger the
hatching process. I have a swing arm lamp, and I use a
100 watt bulb. Most people use 40-60 watts. I
experimented and found that 100 watts at 4-5 inches
away optimizes my hatch. I try to get the better eggs,
and I usually get 85-95% hatch. I barter a lot with
people with my fish, and bid on EBay, make deals with
people, etc for the precious eggs.
In about 24 hours, when ready to harvest, remove the
air wand and wait 5 or 10 minutes to let things
settle. Use a small cup and open the valve just ever
so slightly and close it again. This will clear all
the unhatched eggs that will be on the bottom, put
these aside to add back later. Now with a second clean
cup open the valve and fill up the cup. This is almost
pure shrimp at this point. Empty this into your brine
shrimp net which I hang on the rim of a large cup.
This process takes several fills and dumps. Rinse
well, and dump into the rinsed large drain cup,
rinsing the net clean to get all the bbs. I use
lukewarm water for this. I'll fill to the top and wait
a minute to pour off any extra shells that may have
been added to the net. These rise to the top fast, and
if using an opaque cup, the shrimp will settle lower,
so you can safely pour off the shells and save the
live bbs. Depending on how you hatch your shrimp (what
container) you'll have to modify this procedure some.
This amount that I hatch will adequately feed all my
185 tanks...I try not to overfeed. Every other day,
I'll do two hatcheries that mature at different times
and feed the baby brine twice that day. Because I
alternate this additional feeding with decap and
microworms, it's not necessary to feed the baby brine
2X a day every day. Due to the high cost of cysts, I have
been adding other live foods to my feeding schedule. I have recently started a vinegar eel culture as well, but that's
another article !
Bear in mind that all cysts are not equal !! Some
require much longer to hatch, and some have different
salinity requirements, etc. I have found that
maintaining a temp of 80-85 works well for all.
Decap Article-Kate Burchard
There are several sources on decapsulated BS eggs
available. On the IFGA site there is an article on the
method of decapsulation that is quite selfexplanitory.
Here, I will quote Brine Shrimp Direct on decapsulated
eggs.
"Decapsulated eggs are fed directly, without the
necessity and downtime of hatching. Decapsulated eggs
have a higher energy and nutritional value than a live
brine shrimp nauplii. Since these eggs are
non-hatching, no energy is consumed in the hatching
process and lipids, amino acids, and enzymes are left
intact. Simply rehydrate the decapsulated brine shrimp
eggs in some water and feed directly to your baby fish
or reef tank."
I have had excellent growth, health, vigor and large
and healthy drops, with the utilizaton of decapsulated
BS eggs. My average 2nd and 3rd drop is 80-130
healthy, viable fry. I soak the eggs in hot water for
10 minutes or so, while I am checking my fishtanks,
before feeding.
Since I have only shown and placed in the Novice
Class, my statements carry little "umph", so to speak.
I know of one (well known) and thus more "viable"
breeder who has eliminated live and has been utilizing
decapsulated eggs in his large fishroom for several
months. He has also seen a very positive impact on his
fish (and I'm sure a savings). If you like, I can ask
him to expound on this subject. There are several
other such breeders as well, that have switched to
this method of feeding, with excellent results.
I think once the "old timer's" way of thinking is set
aside, and/or differentiated, we will see new and
possibly improved ways of feeding and caring for our
fish. If you read older articles, you can see how many
methods of care, etc. have changed and evolved, over
the years. The shortage of brine eggs may make this
alternate method a viable and invaluable option.
I have utilized decapsulated eggs for years for my
cichlids, before it was a novelty and source of
discussion, and found it to be an excellent food for
Angels, Discus and SA Cichlids, both fry and adult.
Please bear in mind that this is MY opinion, and
possibly that of other breeders, as well. I am WELL
aware that "live" is a tried-and-true method of
feeding. I, too, utilize live in my fishroom, as well
as the decapsulated.
I have found, (and did do a closed experiment this
last quarter-year with the same strain, age, and line
of Green guppies from the breeder afore mentioned,
with semi-surprising and I will say self-smug results)
that the decapsulated eggs were as well, if not better
received than the live. They were more totally
utilized and produced actually more fry, and a larger
growth rate. I did this with newborns that had not
been fed either type. This is only one study in a very
small environment needless to say, and might produce
other or dissimilar results in other environments.
I do not claim to assume that my feeding methods are
better than anyone else's. I will say that my fish are
large, healthy and produce well.
I DO make 3 or more substantial water changes per
week, and I am sure this has an impact on the growth,
health, breeding and vigor of my fish, as well.
I tell people and will CONTINUE to tell people that
whatever they find that works BEST for them is what
they should do for the care of their fish.
Microworm Information-Kate Burchard
I use microworms in a daily meal. What I normally do
is every day I do decapsulated eggs for the AM meal,
which is preceded by flake. The microworms are
predeced by flake at the noon feeding that I do on my
lunch hour. Every evening I feed flake, followed by
live BBS. On alternate days, I delete the decap and
use live on the morning meal, thus every other daythey get live BBS 2X a day.
I have a large variety of flake/granular/rotifer foods
that I use, as well as a high protein blend that I
made from a combination of different flake/granular
feeds. You might want to consider getting several high
protein flakes (egg, spirulina, earthworm, krill meal,
brine flake, and plankton) and make a blend similar to mine.
The microworms work great for all ages of the fish,
including adults. The medium can be fortified with
various additions, such as spirulina powder mixed in
to the medium as well as using vitamin fortified baby
cereal and liquid baby vitamins. I have found that the
best mix, for me, seems to be a combination of
cornmeal, oatmeal, potato flakes, baby cereal,
spirulina powder and vitamins (which I add to the
water for mixing). I use my food processor and grind
the drygoods all together as a medium granular consistancy,
dump it into my plastic shoebox, sprinkle with a bit
of yeast (which REALLY does make the yield of worms
more than double) and then pour lukewarm water over
and gently mix. I then add a couple tbsp of my worms,
cover with my vented lid, and in 3-5 days, it's ready
to go.
