Dieing fish??? New Fish???

Question
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Thanks for the fast and full response. I have a few extra questions.

The aquarium i'm using is the 36 gallon bowfront. Its too bad that people can do this to fish. I never thought that this would affect the fish like it did me.
So you think a pair of smaller Jack Dempseys along with the 2 plecos and loaches would work. What you said sounded like it would work. Getting them while they are small. It seemed like it would be perfect, I have the perfect aquarium design also.

Are you talking about the Green Terrors? What are they like?

About the algae. There is a good mixture of it. There is a little hard green spot algae and just a little normal green algae and in some spots brown. The plecos don't seem like they're eating much of it, I can hear them at night but it doesn't look like they are doing anything.
Are 20 percent water changes safe for the aquarium? It would seem that doing that many water changes so frequently would deplete your biological system. I'll try decreasing the light.

I live near the distributer for liveaquaria.com. They are run by the DrfosterSmith company I think, which is only about 2 hours away from me in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. I have never see the Calvus cichlid there, bad timing.

Thanks again for your help
Jack

Answer
Hello again Jack, your welcome!

~Well, I can't guarantee a pair of dempsey's raised together to forever live peacefully. As they grow larger things can always change. Particularly if you end up with two males, trouble can't start as one decides he wants to be ruler of his aquarium. But then again it can work out. You can try it and everything can be wonderful but you must condition yourself to expect that there can be a arguments over the two as they grow older.

~Green cichlids (my email won't print out their full name for some reason!) are beautiful cichlids!They are semi-aggressive but generally can get along with most other fish but again, sort of like the dempsys, they can get intolerant of other fish as they get mature. They are a pretty easy cichlid and mature to about 8 inches and can tolerate quite a wide range of common water conditions.
They typically won't live peacefully with others once they reach maturity and in order to keep them with others--they do best in a larger aquarium.

Both these cichlids should be able to well in your aquarium. But you may have to keep a single fish or upgrade to larger quarters if you have problems with a pair.

About water changes. I generally don't believe and it's been proven that large water changes--if done correctly, will not deplete your biological bacteria colony. That is if you only do moderate gravel vacumming and only briefly clean the filter media in the old aquarium water. I have done 50% water changes every day on some cichlid aquariums of mine and the fish thrive--not suffer from it. Water changes help duplicate a fishes natural habitat where they have almost always fresh water with very little pollutants at all. And some aquariums require giant water changes--especially breeding tanks for the fresh water induces spawning in some species of fish--including cichlids.
I have tried to believe what other sources say that more than 20-25% is dangerous and harmful. But I have continued to practice larger water changes on all my aquariums and no harm whatsoever has ever been done. Now if you are neglectant on insuring the replacement water is equal to that in temperaure of your aquarium (a little warmer is better) and you forget to put in a proper amount of water conditioner, that's where you will have problems. Or if you let your aquarium go for several weeks to a month without and water change and suddenly do a big one. The once old pollutants and builtup minerals the fish were adapted to is suddenly replaced by fresh clean water that can harm them and throw them into shock to a too-rapid change in water parameters. Maintaining frequent water changes is the key. They are the best thing you can do for your fish...

You're lucky you live near Liveaquaria/drsfoster and smith company! You sometimes have to check back on them because sometimes they only occasionally have a certain rare species for sale.
I hope you can get lucky find and Calvus cichlid however!!

Your welcome for everything and I hope this helps!
Best of luck and best wishes and all with your fishkeeping!
Karen~