Afreakian good idea

[Quirkyeyes]

I am a pretty environmentally conscious person for the longest time I would not do saltwater tanks because I thought they were a sin to the inviorment and the kind of are but then I decided to do a reef with zoathids peppermint shrimps and damsel blue noes and other CBB fish with my only sin fish being a couple of tangs just to help out with grazing.

Although its quite hard I have seen it done before and i just wondered about your thoughts on converting african cichlids to saltwater

Africans were the only fish I had for a while and I've really grown to love them and am trying really hard so that I can see my deep water Electra hap swimming next to my electric blue kupang damsels:idea:

 

[Quirkyeyes]

Do u think that Africans would b reef safe

 

[Quirkyeyes]

Do you think they would bother coral or inverts or both

 

[Allmost]

so you want a reef tank, with cichlids ?

 

[Quirkyeyes]

It would be cool to try something new ya

 

[Timfish]

It's sad what people will do to animals to get a little attention.

 

[Dr. Reef]

u are an environmentally conscious person and consider a reef tank sin to environment...
but ur not environmentally conscious person when u remove cichlids from their natural environment and place them in saltwater to kill them over time.
u have re-defined the word environmentally conscious to me.
good luck

 

[Quirkyeyes]

Well u obviously don't realize african cichlids are commonly captive bred all over the world and having a few die isn't a huge deal

 

[Quirkyeyes]

I never said reefs were a sin I said I have enviormetally unfriendly fish like tangs and from Protecting our inviorment standpoint are a sin


I love reefs

 

[Quirkyeyes]

Well so far all 3 of my test cichlids are up to near saltwater and still doing perfectly fine

 

[Quirkyeyes]

Ya it's sad what people do to animals to get attention like catch millions of ocean fish that have populations in trouble and ship them to a differnt country just to have half die during shipping and holding

 

[Quirkyeyes]

I know all kinds of fish guys and they have told me how bad the death tolls are to saltwater fish and I work partime in a fish store so I know

 

[Quirkyeyes]

I feel that displayl only tanks with big angelfish triggers lions a wrasses groupers nd other huge show fish are compley I unnessasary

U can do a african cichlid show tank to save the inviorment and still have a beutiful show tank

 

[Dr. Reef]

so ur 16 yrs old? no wonder. i am out
good luck with ur science projects and
yes maybe killing a few fish intentionally to u is not a big deal but it totally goes against this website, mine and my fellow reefers efforts and RC staff.
i am sure none of us want to see a fish die due to our deliberate actions.

 

[Quirkyeyes]

#11 @ timfish

 

[tmz]

I'd encourage you to research the Chiclids before deciding to drop one in a saltwater tank.
Very few of the 3000 or so species of these fish live in brackish water,less in hyper saline environments but some do at least for periods of time. They are in the same group of fishes as damsels ,( labroidae). So, if you want to try to acclimate one to a typical reef tank salinity of around 1.025/6 be sure you pick one that currently lives in a higher saline environment;;most of them don't.
Some folks acclimate mollies to reef tanks with a benefit as algae eaters. Chiclids are pretty good herbivores too.
I would note than none exist in Island lakes except for some in Cuba. This tells me that they haven't adapted well to Ocean environments throughout their evolution or you'd find some on many Islands. So, I'm not sanguine about the idea of finding some that will live for very in a reef tank. But it's an interesting thought to me. They do seem to require higher alkalinity and pH than many freshwater species.

There are poor practices in the hobby for commercial interests or just lazy and/ or impetuous husbandry.This often results in including unnecessary carnage. Many folks on Reef Central are committed to improving the care animals receive and sharing information and experience to help .

I hope you stay with this hobby ,learn new things and keep great aquariums in the future. I do not personally consider the loss of any fish or other animal in my care "no big deal" btw. It takes a lot of effort and learning for success in this hobby but it' a rewarding journey.

 

[billsreef]

Well u obviously don't realize african cichlids are commonly captive bred all over the world and having a few die isn't a huge deal

While captive bred fish dieing isn't a big deal from an ecological point of view...unless you start factoring in the resources to breed and grow them, like electric, food, shipping, etc. Also there is that idea of personal responsibility towards the live animals in your care, or at least there should be...

Ya it's sad what people do to animals to get attention like

Like trying to make FW fish turn into a SW fish despite the fact there are substantial biological differences that enable one species to live in FW vs SW that don't come about just because you want them to.

 

[Quirkyeyes]

No I am going to slowly acclimate it not just through it in there I might not explain myself very well but I know my stuff if I see the african cichlids starting to have trouble with the saltwater than I will just slowly acclimate them back to freshwater and keep them in my freshwater turtles tank

 

[billsreef]

Slow acclimation does not change the fact that the cichlids are not biologically equipped to be SW fish. It has to do with fundamental biological differences, primarily in the kidneys and gills. Doesn't matter how fast or how slow you acclimate them, that just won't change.

[chimp]

 

[pmcarbrey]

No I am going to slowly acclimate it not just through it in there I might not explain myself very well but I know my stuff if I see the african cichlids starting to have trouble with the saltwater than I will just slowly acclimate them back to freshwater and keep them in my freshwater turtles tank

I'm sorry but you very obviously do not ""know your stuff".

First off: it's spelled environment, if you want someone to read and respect your posts spell check them.


Second: African cichlids will NOT be able to osmoregulate in salt water. Given enough time the salt will kill them due to the massive amounts of energy their bodies will be using to purge the salt from their system.

Third: you're environmentally conscious? But killing a few cichlids just because you're curious and think that they'd look pretty in a salt tank? SO responsible and conscientious.

Fourth: I OWN a fish store. Stop acting like you know everything. If you're responsible and organize shipments well and have a quick turnover the MOST death you will see is maybe 10%; whereas with your little "experiment" here you will have a 100% mortality rate.


Fifth: just figured I'd leave this here: Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse or animal neglect, is the human infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defense or survival. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for food or for their fur, although opinions differ with respect to the method of slaughter. It usually encompasses inflicting harm for personal amusement