# Will I have to cycle my tank again?



## fish268 (Apr 4, 2012)

I am intrested in acei's and yellow labs mainly, So maybe i'll get some other mbuna fish. Can you reccomend anyothers. My lfs doesn't sell very many different types.I was thinking of changing the setup. What if i took out 60% of the water, keep the flter running, took out the gravel, replace it with sand and put in some big rocks. Will the tank still be cycle?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

If you aren't using a UG filter, changing water and substrate shouldn't have much effect on the 'cycle'. Most of your filter bacteria are in the filter.


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## P.senegalus (Aug 18, 2011)

When I moved my fish from a 30 gal. to a 55 gal., I used the old filter on the 55 and all was good.


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## fish268 (Apr 4, 2012)

Should i keep the filter running? I have a canister filter(fluval 204)


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## Superfly724 (Sep 16, 2007)

Keep your filter running. You want the bacteria colony in the filter to stay moist, otherwise they will dry up and die, which will result in you having to start the cycling process all over again.

What size is the tank? I've always been a huge fan of the coloration of the Pseudotropheus Johanni, but they're pretty aggressive, as are most Mbuna, so a decent sized tank and lots and lots of rocks are key. Also, making sure you don't overstock with males. They're pretty common at the local stores, though. So are Auratus.


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## fish268 (Apr 4, 2012)

I have a 50 gallon tank. I have heard that they are suppose to be kept with a lot others so the aggresion can spread out. How much should i keep? I have a yellow lab now.


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