Re: Rift lake cichlids without lake salts

[anggrek@juno.com (Tsuh Yang Chen)]

tom, 

thanks so much for the posting on moving your fish.  what a major
enterprise!  i hope to move sometime soon (within new york) and your post
certainly helped me a lot in terms of planning for it.  i assume that you
didn't have many fish to transport, though.

in answer to your question about rift lake cichlids, i think they are
very tough and adaptable.  in new york, the water is of very good
quality, soft and close to neutral, but it is not adequate to fish to
from hard and alkaline waters.  however, i was told that a breeder in
long island breeds tanganykans in our water without any additives.  

for some of my livebearers and rainbowfishes, i've added oyster and clam
shells (that i brought home from restaurants after dining out).  the
shells have increased pH and hardness and added buffering capacity to
those tanks.

btw, Pseudotropheus auratus is not a dwarf.  there are however many dwarf
cichlids in lake tanganyka (Neolamprologus --which include the colorful
daffodils and leleupis-- and Lamprologus, shell-dwelling beauties, for
example) that would make a great community tank.

tsuh yang chen, new york city