Marshall Stephens

Aquarium Specialist

Marshall Stephens is an Aquarium Expert at Private Oceans Aquariums in West Palm Beach, Florida. Marshall has over 20 years of experience in the aquarium industry and focuses on captive-bred animals. They specialize in tropical and marine aquariums and are a contributor to the Loggerhead Marine life center in Jupiter Florida.

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Q&A Comments (14)

How do you clean a cichlid tank?
You clean a cichlid tank the same way you would clean any other aquarium. Once a month, do a 1/4 of a water change using a gravel siphon to clean the gravel or sand. Keep in mind that different cichlids have different water parameters—for instance, South American cichlids like a soft water with a lower pH while African cichlids like hard water with a high pH. Any algae in your cichlid tank can be cleaned off with an algae scraper for the glass, or you might have different fish that eat the algae and help you keep the tank clean.
What is the best way to cycle a cichlid tank?
Once your tank is set up and running, get a bottle of ammonia, put it in the water, and test for waste (ammonia and nitrites would be the main things to look for). Over the course of a month, you would test on a weekly basis to see where your ammonia and nitrate levels are. After your ammonia is gone, the nitrate will start to go up—and after that, the nitrate is gone. Your cycle typically takes a month, though every tank is a little different. Once you've reached that stage, it's safe to add a couple of starter fish (fish that are hearty and not too expensive).
How do you raise the pH of a cichlid tank?
There are a couple of different ways! You can use coral-based rocks, which naturally give off a high pH, or you can use coral-based substrate (which will also increase the pH). There are also pH increasers; generally, the powdered forms are best since they have minerals in them (as opposed to liquid pH increasers, which have no minerals).
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Co-authored Articles (59)

How to Know if a Goldfish Is Male or Female: Physical & Behavioral Signs

Plus, how to encourage breeding & tell when goldfish are matureCurious about the sex of your goldfish? Whether you want to breed your fish or just need to double check that you gave them a suitable name, determining the ...

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Tell if Your Fish Is Having Babies

A quick online search can usually tell you whether your species of fish gives birth to live young, or whether it lays eggs. This tells you whether you should be on the lookout for a bulging pregnant abdomen, or for tiny ...

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Find and Care for a Pet Tardigrade (Water Bear)

"Water bears" is a colloquial name for tiny multicellular critters that have always delighted microscopists. They are properly called tardigrades ("slow walkers"), and with four pairs of stumpy legs and lumbering gait, ...

What Fish Am I Quiz

Fish are fascinating, intelligent animals that come in all kinds of beautiful colors, shapes, and sizes. They also have unique personalities, just like people! If you were a fish, which one would you be? Hit "Start quiz"...

Hermit Crab Care: Everything You Need to Keep Hermies Happy and Healthy

A beginner’s guide on handling, feeding, and housing the cutest crustaceans out there Hermit crabs, affectionately called hermies, are phenomenal low maintenance pets. But low maintenance doesn’t mean no maintenance!...

How to Cure Fungus on Aquarium Fish

Care for a fish with white or other kinds of fungus If you suspect your fish is sick, it could because of a fungal infection. Fungal infections, such as Saprolegnia and Achyla infections, are common diseases in fish that...

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Breed Guppies

Guppies have wonderful colors, cute faces, and best of all, easy to take care of. What more would you want in a fish? If you are hoping to keep your aquarium filled with these little beauties, you will need to learn how ...

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Breed Danios

Zebra danios (Brachydanio rerio) are the most popular and most common of all danios used in aquariums. Danios are from places like India and Pakistan and can be found in every type of water environment you can imagine (s...

What Do Snails Eat? A Guide to Feeding Snails

Learn the safest and most nutritious diet for your pet snail Snails make fabulous pets: they’re kind, easy to care for, and even easier to feed. However, every snail has different tastes. Whether you're caring for land...

The Life of a Clam: Reproduction, Growth & Survival

A guide to broadcast spawning, self-fertilization, and the growing pains of baby clams When you picture a clam, you probably don’t think of an active sea creature that’s capable of interacting with a potential mate. ...

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Breed Molly Fish

Mollies are an ideal choice of live bearing fish (i.e. they don't lay eggs) to place in a community aquarium or fish tank. For the most part, mollies are very easy to breed. A single female can produce over one hundred...

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Know when Your Hermit Crab Is Dead

Hermit crabs are prone to periods of solitude and lethargy, particularly when they're molting. It can be difficult to tell whether a hermit crab is molting, sick, or dead. As a general rule, though: assume molting before...

A Simple Guide to Breeding Neon Tetras

The best conditions to spawn tetra eggs & how to care for themNeon tetras are small and colorful tropical fish that make great pets. These fish are easy to breed, whether you want more fish friends or want to make some m...

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Check Ammonia in a Fish Tank

Checking for ammonia is a normal part of taking care of a fish tank. This element naturally builds up from fish waste, and at high levels, it can harm your fish. Luckily, testing for ammonia is easy! With either a testin...

How to Lower the pH of Drinking Water, Gardening Water, Pools & Aquariums

Fast, easy, and effective ways to lower pH in water naturallyIf you’ve tested your water and it has a high pH, that means that it’s too basic or too alkaline. Water with a high pH can have serious repercussions, whet...

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Help Guppy Fry Grow

Guppy fry are easy to keep, but their growth to maturity takes about three months and that can sound like a lot! They're not hard to keep, but you need to make sure you provide good nutrition and conditions so they grow ...

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Take Care of Molly Fry

Whether you are getting your fry from a pet shop or have a female molly fish that is ready to give birth, it is important to ensure that you have the right setup for your molly fry as soon as they arrive.You may opt to u...

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Save a Dying Betta Fish

It's so heartbreaking watching your beloved betta fish suffer from illness, but fortunately you don't have to stand idly by. There are all kinds of treatments out there that can help save a dying betta fish. In this arti...

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Care for Guppies

Guppies are one of the most colorful tropical freshwater fish in the world. They are small and relatively easy and inexpensive to take care of. They are a great fish to start with when beginning to build an aquarium, or ...

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Grow Coral in an Aquarium

If you have ever been wowed by the beauty of life under the sea, then growing coral is for you. You can grow your own colorful coral frags in a saltwater reef tank. Coral is delicate, but it survives well in the right co...
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