Help, With Convicts cichlids

Question

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-----Question-----
Hey Ron,
Hey Ron, I have a 2 foot fish tank, sorry im australian i have about 6 months experience with fish, I am finaly at the stage where i have about 60 (NO JOKE) babies swimming around i have had the babies before but they all died, I am not sure what to do?

Do i pull the babies out of the fish tank and leave parents in the orginal fish tank

or

Do i pull the Parents out of the fish tank and leave the babies in the fish tank? oh by the way i have 5... 4 foot fish tanks set up around my house, I LOVE FISH!! lol..

And i have a turtel and some days he is really really active and other days he just sits around and sleep under the water all day, i dont mind if u dont answer this question but i would really appreciate if you could answer the question about the babies

Cheers Simon
-----Answer-----
Hi Simon,
  You can doing either option, i.e., remove the babies or remove the parents.  I keep them together for about 3 to 4 weeks because I really like seeing the parental behavior. After that time, the kids would normally head off on their own in the wild and the parents start thinking about having another batch.

  You may only have 6 months experience, but clearly you seem to be doing things right.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>
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Hey Ron, Thankyou very much for your time and effort, And that comment you said to me, Meant alot too me :)...

Just 1 or a few more questions too ask
How much would it cost for me to set up a Salt water fish tnak with about 10 fish may be dear or cheap? If you dont know the questions thats fine? And my babies are doing well for now :) *HAPPY_FACE*

Cheers Simon.

Answer
Hi Simon,
  It's pretty hard for me to talk about costs in Australia, other than in a vague way.  Basically, a salt water tank is MUCH more expensive than a freshwater tank, and substantially more effort to maintain.  It can be done, but salt water tanks are less forgiving, i.e., you have to pay a lot of attention to them or bad things happen.  The basic equipment is the same, i.e., tank, heater, filter, gravel, etc but you also need extra stuff, e.g. many people use what is called a protein skimmer.  In addition, lighting becomes important.  For freshwater tanks, the lighting is mostly for your viewing pleasure -- the fish don't really care all that much.  In a saltwater tank, particularly if you decide that you want corals in it, you MUST have strong lighting and that will often cost more than everything else combined.  If you don't want any corals, then this isn't an issue, i.e., the fish don't need strong light.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>