Hi all, I have a female Malawi Cichlid that has been holding for over a week now, and I want to get her into a quarantine tank so that we can save as much of the fry as possible. Usually when we have babies they are all gone pretty quickly.

My dad has a tank I can use but obviously it has not been cycled yet.

We have washed the filter (since the tank has been used before) and can fill it with water from the main tank, so my question is would this be safe to put the fish into? Will the fact that the water is already cycled mean that it is safe for the fish whilst the filter gets up to speed? Or is there a chance the filter itself will chuck out anything harmful into the water before the bacteria etc are established?

Thanks as always...

The water doesn't cycle, the filter media does. So your plan will only get you half way there. You need to transfer a good wad of the filter media across to the new filter when the fry go into the tank. This might trigger a mini-cycle in the main tank but it should be ok if you reduce feeding a little over the following week and are not heavily stocked.

After transfer monitor the water parameters carefully and be prepared to do frequent small water changes should there be any sign of ammonia or nitrite.

thanks Eagle. So does this mean that if I fill the tank with water from the main tank, and use filter media from the main tank, it is pretty much ready to go and can take the cichlid straight away?

also, what do you mean by triggering a mini-cycle in the main tank?

Yes, make sure the filter media is only out the tank for a few minutes (30 at the most) or the bacteria could start to die off.


By "mini-cycle" I mean that you will have removed some mature filter media (media that is full of good bacteria that eats the ammonia and nitrite) so there is a chance that ammonia and nitrite will climb a little before the bacteria culture recovers. Like when the tank cycles, but less severe. You could get this mini-cycle in either tank or both. A mini-cycle is easy to control and keep safe with water testing and small water changes.

that's great - thanks very much

right, tank has been set up with water and media from the main tank, so I have put the female straight in (with a nice chunk of rock for her to hide in).

Two questions:-

1. Should i introduce the male as well, for company, or is this a bad idea?
2. How long should I leave the adult(s) in there as well once she has dropped the fry? Will they try and protect them or try and eat them?

remove her as soon as she releases the rfy and don't but eny other fish in with her they will prey on the fry when they are released

that's great, thank you - i'll go and put the main tank back together now...