snip

I posted some links to another post Larry made, possibly in the RAFM
newsgroup. As I stated in at least one of my articles, many, many people
start off just as you and Larry did. Aside from the cost and addiction,
keeping a tank can be very calming and rewarding. Don't let getting started
off on the wrong foot discourage you. The fact that you're willing to take
the fish back, research and set the tank up properly shows that you'll
succeed in the hobby where others haven't. I've spoken to countless people
in chat rooms who ask if they can keep various species in certain tanks.
When I tell them it's a bad idea, they ask someone else. And they'll ask a
hundred people until they get one person to say, "I've done that with no
problems."
If you want more details on any of the Rift Lake fish or West African
cichlids, stop into our site, post on the forum or catch me in chat and I'll
do my best to give you as many specifics as you like. If you test your water
and find it softer and more acidic, check into the South American dwarfs.
Great site to look into for that would be www.apistogramma.com At some
point, I hope to have enough experts at our site to field those questions,
but we're not quite there yet. ;-)
Tim
www.fishaholics.org

Thank you very much Tim,

Mission has been accomplished (I hope). Have returned the 7 larger
cichlids and got a community of smaller fish. We got some Rams,
Rasporas and Key Holes along with a Cory.

I've read something about maintaining salt in the water at 1tbsp/5gal.
Should I be looking into this soon? An the Ph level should be...?

Much appreciated ,

All the best,

Larry
Southern Ontario