Convict Cichlid odd behavior

[Bill Baxter]

Hi! I'm the somewhat proud keeper of a now 5 year old Convict Cichlid.
I say "somewhat" because it has been quite an experience getting this
far with any fish I've ever owned as most died within the first 6
months! When you buy these in the stores, unless you ask questions,
they don't offer answers and the pesky ammonia and nitrites/ nitrates
step in to undo your efforts in a very short time if you don't know
about them. Luckily, an informative cousin stepped in to help this
time, but he's long distance which makes my possible latest issue
problematic.

I say "possible" issue because it may not be at all, but thought I would
throw it out here. A few weeks ago, my aquarium hood light switch
nearly caused a house fire and definitely would have if the house
circuit breaker hadn't tripped. Needless to say, I definitely wasn't
going to use the hood for lighting again and, for now, decided to clip
the LED bulb to one of the back, outside aquarium corners. With algae
problems last year, I cut back lighting to 4 hours a day set by timer.
Anyway, a month ago, I started noticing "Jake" (my Convict) swimming
slightly sideways. It wasn't much and not all the time, but noticeable
especially during feeding. My cousin didn't suggest much, but the pet
shop said drop the aquarium temp a couple of degrees and feed him a
protein supplement they gave me. That was about 10 days ago but no
change.

No change, but I think he is deliberately swimming this way when the
light comes on! Because the light is now clipped at the upper back side
of one of the corners and not overhead, I could be wrong, but I think
Jake is angling himself perpendicular to the light's angle. If I flip
off the light, he goes back to normal swimming.

Does the aforementioned sound feasible and will this type of fish do
this, or am I just imagining it?

BTW, I *hope* this group is still active. Not many posts over the last
few years (keeping my fingers crossed).

Anyway, thanks in advance.

Bill

[Stephen Wolstenholme[_4_]]

Some cichlids will position themselves to get the light overhead but
most are OK with light from any direction. This is almost certainly
the behaviour as he is normal when the lights are out. 5 years is not
too old for convict cichlid if the tank is big enough. I haven't kept
American cichlids for years but I know some of the larger ones can
live for 10 or more years in big tanks.

Steve

--
Neural Network Software for Windows http://www.npsnn.com

[Bill Baxter]

On 03/20/2016 08:04 AM, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
> Some cichlids will position themselves to get the light overhead but
> most are OK with light from any direction. This is almost certainly
> the behaviour as he is normal when the lights are out. 5 years is not
> too old for convict cichlid if the tank is big enough. I haven't kept
> American cichlids for years but I know some of the larger ones can
> live for 10 or more years in big tanks.
>
> Steve
>

Thanks for the fast response, Steve. When I posted initially, I sort of
thought it might be weeks for a response but happy I was wrong. The
latest issue was with the heater. It became stuck on maximum, but I
discovered it in time before Jake was fried. I now have a temp
controller on the way that the new heater will be plugged into. Sort of
security in case this sort of thing happens again.

Bill

[Stephen Wolstenholme[_4_]]

On Sun, 20 Mar 2016 08:19:24 -0400, Bill Baxter
> wrote:

>On 03/20/2016 08:04 AM, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
>> Some cichlids will position themselves to get the light overhead but
>> most are OK with light from any direction. This is almost certainly
>> the behaviour as he is normal when the lights are out. 5 years is not
>> too old for convict cichlid if the tank is big enough. I haven't kept
>> American cichlids for years but I know some of the larger ones can
>> live for 10 or more years in big tanks.
>>
>> Steve
>>
>
>Thanks for the fast response, Steve. When I posted initially, I sort of
>thought it might be weeks for a response but happy I was wrong. The
>latest issue was with the heater. It became stuck on maximum, but I
>discovered it in time before Jake was fried. I now have a temp
>controller on the way that the new heater will be plugged into. Sort of
>security in case this sort of thing happens again.
>
>Bill

There are a ways to prevent tanks getting too warm. The easiest way is
to combine more heaters to heat the tank. Each heater needs to be too
low power to overheat the tank if any stick on. Electronic heaters
never stick but they are expensive.

Steve

--
Neural Network Software for Windows http://www.npsnn.com

[Bill Baxter]

On 03/20/2016 09:11 AM, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
> On Sun, 20 Mar 2016 08:19:24 -0400, Bill Baxter
> > wrote:
>
>> On 03/20/2016 08:04 AM, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
>>> Some cichlids will position themselves to get the light overhead but
>>> most are OK with light from any direction. This is almost certainly
>>> the behaviour as he is normal when the lights are out. 5 years is not
>>> too old for convict cichlid if the tank is big enough. I haven't kept
>>> American cichlids for years but I know some of the larger ones can
>>> live for 10 or more years in big tanks.
>>>
>>> Steve
>>>
>>
>> Thanks for the fast response, Steve. When I posted initially, I sort of
>> thought it might be weeks for a response but happy I was wrong. The
>> latest issue was with the heater. It became stuck on maximum, but I
>> discovered it in time before Jake was fried. I now have a temp
>> controller on the way that the new heater will be plugged into. Sort of
>> security in case this sort of thing happens again.
>>
>> Bill
>
> There are a ways to prevent tanks getting too warm. The easiest way is
> to combine more heaters to heat the tank. Each heater needs to be too
> low power to overheat the tank if any stick on. Electronic heaters
> never stick but they are expensive.
>
> Steve
>

Steve,

Can you provide an example of a non-sticking "electronic heater"?

Thanks, Bill

[Stephen Wolstenholme[_4_]]

On Tue, 22 Mar 2016 05:07:34 -0400, Bill Baxter
> wrote:

>On 03/20/2016 09:11 AM, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
>> On Sun, 20 Mar 2016 08:19:24 -0400, Bill Baxter
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> On 03/20/2016 08:04 AM, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
>>>> Some cichlids will position themselves to get the light overhead but
>>>> most are OK with light from any direction. This is almost certainly
>>>> the behaviour as he is normal when the lights are out. 5 years is not
>>>> too old for convict cichlid if the tank is big enough. I haven't kept
>>>> American cichlids for years but I know some of the larger ones can
>>>> live for 10 or more years in big tanks.
>>>>
>>>> Steve
>>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks for the fast response, Steve. When I posted initially, I sort of
>>> thought it might be weeks for a response but happy I was wrong. The
>>> latest issue was with the heater. It became stuck on maximum, but I
>>> discovered it in time before Jake was fried. I now have a temp
>>> controller on the way that the new heater will be plugged into. Sort of
>>> security in case this sort of thing happens again.
>>>
>>> Bill
>>
>> There are a ways to prevent tanks getting too warm. The easiest way is
>> to combine more heaters to heat the tank. Each heater needs to be too
>> low power to overheat the tank if any stick on. Electronic heaters
>> never stick but they are expensive.
>>
>> Steve
>>
>
>Steve,
>
>Can you provide an example of a non-sticking "electronic heater"?
>
>Thanks, Bill

Fluval do a range of electronic heaters but there are lots of others.

Steve

--
Neural Network Software for Windows http://www.npsnn.com

[Bill Baxter]

On 03/22/2016 05:20 AM, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
> On Tue, 22 Mar 2016 05:07:34 -0400, Bill Baxter
> > wrote:
>
>> On 03/20/2016 09:11 AM, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
>>> On Sun, 20 Mar 2016 08:19:24 -0400, Bill Baxter
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 03/20/2016 08:04 AM, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
>>>>> Some cichlids will position themselves to get the light overhead but
>>>>> most are OK with light from any direction. This is almost certainly
>>>>> the behaviour as he is normal when the lights are out. 5 years is not
>>>>> too old for convict cichlid if the tank is big enough. I haven't kept
>>>>> American cichlids for years but I know some of the larger ones can
>>>>> live for 10 or more years in big tanks.
>>>>>
>>>>> Steve
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Thanks for the fast response, Steve. When I posted initially, I sort of
>>>> thought it might be weeks for a response but happy I was wrong. The
>>>> latest issue was with the heater. It became stuck on maximum, but I
>>>> discovered it in time before Jake was fried. I now have a temp
>>>> controller on the way that the new heater will be plugged into. Sort of
>>>> security in case this sort of thing happens again.
>>>>
>>>> Bill
>>>
>>> There are a ways to prevent tanks getting too warm. The easiest way is
>>> to combine more heaters to heat the tank. Each heater needs to be too
>>> low power to overheat the tank if any stick on. Electronic heaters
>>> never stick but they are expensive.
>>>
>>> Steve
>>>
>>
>> Steve,
>>
>> Can you provide an example of a non-sticking "electronic heater"?
>>
>> Thanks, Bill
>
> Fluval do a range of electronic heaters but there are lots of others.
>
> Steve
>

I ended up adding a regulator that's in series with the heater. Seems
to be doing a good job keeping the temperature constant.

One problem I'm now having though..... At the same time I added the
regulator, I decided to place a small, ceramic "cave" into the aquarium
as I never had anything in there before. Now, my convict spends 95% of
the time in the "cave" and I hardly ever see him. In fact, even when I
add flakes, he darts out of the cave so quickly that he misses about
half of the flakes. I'm not sure I should have added the cave.

Bill