Buccal

I get the cloudy tank now and then , I am doing 50% water changes twice a week. My readings do not change though.
I have question though , prime detoxifies chlorine and chloramine so the filter can remove them later. So how does the filter then remove them?

theres your problem right there,,, 50% wc way to much, try 35-40% twice a week.
50% is just on that edge of just a bit to much which explains the occasional ammo spike.
You can get away with 50% twice a week with a real beefed up filtration system that revived much faster after the shock of a water change.
When winter hits and water is cooler, you’ll get ammo spikes even easier again.
This isn’t up for debate, this is fact, so no need for my further replies.

The Amazon has also taken a interesting history.
There has been sea water running through large amounts of it in history, there has been relatively fast change resulting in salt water systems being completely secluded from the ocean.
The mind boggles at all the scenarios that took place as ocean life was trapped in these systems.

When one looks back to the hows and whys, it helps to appreciate the animal itself,,, it's just not a thing that's there, or a collectable,,,,,,,,, but are marvellous survivors and express this through crazy diversity.

I love reading that type of documentation.
There is so, so much compacted description with so little words.
Though I must admit, the intriguement and wonder I guess, does set of the stronger interest for it all.

Very nice mate
All true looking fish (pure)

My perfectly fine posts, no aggro, not half as bad as the person I'm being attacked by, and my stuff is getting wiped,,,,, What's going on here,,,, you guys are wacko

KH I do 12.
If you set 12 or around that, it's highly likely that your ph will automatically hit 8.4 or so,, higher is fine,,, and ph will become very stable.
This is why your KH additive is called a buffer, it buffs the ph, or stabilising it for no fluctuations.
Added bonus is that carbonates (KH),,, is part of the process for the bacteria's nitrification.
So basically in lay mans terms, it supercharges your filters by improving the nitrification process.
This is why I like to even run medium and semi-soft water fish in higher levels "especially for breeding".
I believe my high success with stingrays has been due to higher KH levels,,,, as every single fish including Rays are sitting in the same water, every tank and every pen runs through the main centrifugal sump.

So I tend to say,,, you are a master of water, but the water is the master of the fish.
The KH trick makes medium keepers look pro...

Getting a hard to breed fish actually breed,, these fish are in the right place for that,,,, hah ha.

Well her belly popping out near the anus area is looking the goods.

Bostave - Unofficially yes in many people's minds, but officially it was to address a perceived biosecurity threat. There's a strong argument that suggests the measures taken are a huge over reaction.
Paul I'm not having a go at you but I think it's a shame and a sign of a poor situation when people getting stuck into the cichlid hobby select fish based on the saleability and profit potential of selling juveniles. It just doesn't seem like a hobby but a business decision. If that's the motivation then I think those people are best advised to get a second job rather than breed cichlids.

Prior to the "glory days" of being able to breed 100s of a certain type of fish and move them on at a price that covered costs and put some coin in your pocket, hobbyists used to trade freely with each other if they bred fish. The Mecca I remember was when you could give 10 or so fish to a mate that you bred because they liked them and then a few months later you'd get a call from them asking if you wanted 10 or so fish that they'd bred. From time to time something really special turned up at an lfs or over east and a few mates would chip in and get them here, spread a couple colonies around and one or two would have luck, start breeding and get that species established here. I remember hongi costing a few people hundreds of dollars for a small colony. It was disappointing for some not to be able to keep selling fry for $50 plus but it's an unrealistic expectation and if you manage to find yourself in that situation, sooner or later someone will want a piece of that profit so it can't last forever.
10-15 years ago, making money wasn't factored into the decision making process of whether you get a certain type of fish or not and the hobby was full of passionate, excited people. From my perspective, I've seen that attitude change in regards to keeping cichlids in Perth and a thriving hobby start slowly die off over time with too many profiteers and a lot of newbies being turned off by that and taking up different hobbies. I think buccal is right that you need a couple of stalwarts to ensure some species are not lost when the hobby goes cold (it goes hot and cold all the time) but if everyone's making decisions on keeping fish based on what money they stand to make, then the hobby will never pick up again and everyone loses.

Personally, I expect my hobby to cost me money and if I'm able to recover a bit of that cost then I consider that a bonus. I'm not sure but I think I might be the odd man out having that attitude - basing that on discussions on this forum over the past 3 or 4 years.

lol, funnily enough I agree every single bit.
One even more horrible thing you left out,,, price of electricity, my god, it's magnified the problem by 7x and that's fairly accurate I'd say.

But back to the profit or breaking even so it's not costing, (stalwarts) yes, but large numbers must be sustained with the states ability to buy to keep the turnover,,, because when little profit is made, the bad times shadow the good times,,,, turn up the number production, then the good times start to shadow the bad times.
These are obvservational bussiness techniques I'm using here which are usually used for bussiness issues situations.
But knowledge of sciences directly through hands on and plenty early days of failure has earned me knowledge from a different direction than what most others see it as.
This hobby often becomes one dimensional, meaning, some people tend to think if someone mentions profiting from fish, that they have no passion.
I'm a full time carpenter working for multiple builders and I'm 41 and and been doing it solidly since I left school at year 12.
I love to try and make as much profit from my fish as possible in hope to cover the bad times.
I also find it very hard to believe anyone out there has the strength in passion like I do.
But I'm more interested in the husbandry and economics sides of things,,,, most importantly sustainability, with no short term shot gun decisions for instant signs of improvement, as those instant signs are always short lived.
Well thought out long term strategy is what's needed.

Very nice mate,,, looks like your slowly building a collection of special stuff.
A pair to.
Any history of breeding functionality ??

Plus Germany is a also a specialist Cichlid supplier (cichlidstadel), as they only keep cichlids and no other types,, they weren't interested in obtaining scores of cheap fish from outside of their bussiness to add to the fish orders as test sacrificial fish.
They don't consider us as a worth while customer (low expedatures), and then go to the trouble to suit silly nanny Australia.
And most importantly,,, not our beloved cichlids.
Asian countries cooperate no probs,they got good numbers to, unfortunately specialisation in the rift Cichlid isn't any where near as accurate as Germany for quality, purity.
Gemany holds the highest paid collectors license, first dibs to wild collection site, I sure its first.[/quote]

No more imports coming in anymore from Germany, unless rediculous prices are paid for the new testing laws, that was designed to deter importing.

In earlier stages, all fish are imported to begin with,, but not many.
They are then bred and distributed to fish lovers within oz.

The sooner the fish scene becomes starved and fish become illusive, there is a chance some value and collectors start up.
It's not the cycle of fish species interest,, the market has been flat for a very long time.
It's more likely that you didn't start out in a realistic manor,,, please don't take the wrong way.
But if the market isn't flash, then you can't expect a positive outcome,,, but you would of started out fueled with passion.

They simply dont sell for this in store. You cannot compare apples to oranges either.
 
 
The FB post is Wild Caught, it is also a rarer version in Perth than the Kigoma, which is all over the place now. I bought from PCS auction 6cm F1 Kigoma fry with beautiful blue fins at $5-8 each and they always go cheap. It is a breeding trio not a full blown colony as per FB.
 
 
You can only look at what is selling here in Perth for the same species over the past year to 6 months, in stores and online and then GUESS an approximate value based on the fact they are private sale. As more of the same fish becomes available and spreads around perth the less value it has the interested parties have bought them already. I am sure most folks would agree with that.
 
If Aquotix had WC Mpimbwe 15-20cm for $245each and they couldnt sell until they lowered the price that says it all. That is full blown retail. Privately you would have to accept that unless a person is very keen you will get significantly less. 

you quoted "as more of the same fish become avaliable and spreads around perth the less interest in parties that have already",,,
I agree,, but that's the past and how it was when the hobby was ticking over well.
Saturation points of species in the market don't begin in Perth anymore, well, not like it use to.

I think reset approach is needed if to many people have fallen to the wrong side.
Most people with experience in the 'total scene', know that most people don't mind paying a little more fish if they are decent, this also helps a lot to strive for quality also
And also knowing well, this that little extra money on a one off up front cost is a lot less lower blow than a breeder having his profit margins compromised on the very already tight situation,, I tell you what, I've really had to economise and invent more to make the comeback to breeding and worthwhile.

It's healthier to promote a system with items of strong structured values,, the diversity in the species being thousands enables us to have plenty of cheap common ones affordable then working your way up to more expensive ones based on breed ability and other factors,,, rather than making everything cheap.

You only need a little a few serious single breeders to each state and you got a Mecca.

It's pretty heart breaking to get serious and spend big coin only to find it's costing you big time on consumable items, electricity, water, food and much time.
It's very amazing how much difference it makes when a breeder can get a extra 50c, $1 or $2 for each fish..

Hey poncho, can you source German fronts from Germany now ?

And check out little LexAgate,, still young,, intelligent little pocket rocket you become hey !! Good on ya.

And by the way all, just because someone loses interest in fish and shuts their tank down and sells privately for rock bottom prices,,, does not mean that's the new value,,,, I'm hoping for those reading they understand and realize this in the future and work it out when particular instances arise.