Electric Yellows

Question
Hi Lynda.  I have a 50 gallon tank with two parrots, two sevrums, two black knife ghost fish, two irridesent sharks, two electric yellows and one pacosamus.  My question is ...my electric yellows had babies..only one lived..not by my help..i didn't even see it..until it popped out of the driftwood in my tank. Now the female is not eating..at all.  So I think she is pregnant again.  she is favoring herself, and diving for the food, but won't eat it..Question:  should i separate her..in a breeding tank in the same tank..or do something else..I'm rotten at this..but i love my fish.  and would love to save these babies if I can...also,I have another tank that is 45 gallons.  and I'm having trouble with balancing the water..I have killed my pacosamus and just got another one.  I am going to put more ciclids in this tank, but don't want to do it until I'm in the clear.  I want to put one of my Sevrums, which is smaller and being picked on by the larger one in the 50 gal. tank into the 45.  is this wise..please advise...

Answer
Hi Barbi,
Usually we should never mix African Cichlids with South American Cichlids.  They have different needs, different water conditions.  For example the South American Cichlids need a PH of 6.5 - 7.0 while the African Cichlids need a higher PH of around 8.0  The African Cichlids are very very aggressive.  The Electric Yellow is less aggressive than his other companions in lake Malawi.  They are mouthbrooders.  When pregnant she should be put in another tank..15+ and she will look after the fry.  She may still have fry in her mouth, as they rush back to the mothers mouth when there is danger.  Try feeding her when she is in another tank, even when pregnant, sometimes they do eat a little food.  I must tell you that two black Knife Ghosts in the same tank is asking for trouble.  They will eventually fight.  They are loners, and they grow to 20 inches.  Severums grow to 8 inches, so you must provide enough space for them as they grow older.  When a bigger Severum is picking on a smaller one it is wise to separate them.  
When starting a new tank you must wait at least three weeks for good bacteria to form.  Buying a used sponge at the Pet Store, and putting it into your filter does a wonderful job of putting good bacteria into the water.  A sponge is good for a very very long time, and when you are cleaning your filter material, you must rinse the sponge in the same water temperature as your tank so that you don't kill the good bacteria that is in it.  Check your water to see if you have ammonia or nitrates in it.  Ammonia should be down to zero, and nitrates should be safe.  Then you may add one fish to your aquarium, and no more for a week or so...check your water again, and then if your water is fine, you may add another, and wait a few days, check again, and so on.  This is very important as you will kill your fish if the water chemistry is not right.  You can buy these small kits at the Pet Store, and they should be number one in your fish cabinet, along with a PH test kit.
Vary their diet, give them good flakes, pellets, bloodworms, the more your vary the better, and don't forget to feed your pleco.  There are special pellets to give him at the Pet Store.  Sometimes people think that they live on Algae, but they starve to death, so feed him too.
Never overstock your tank.  You already have too many in your fifty gallon.
Hope this helps, and if you have any other questions, just ask.
Lynda