African Chichild

[chabooky386]

So I am re-doing my tank with a new wet/dry and the rena XP3. Im taking out my sump and skimmer that i have on there right now. And sadly my flowerhorn is gonna be sold off... I am going to do a African chichild theme now in my tank. Is there anything i need to know as far as buying about 20 of these guys? Do i need to buy em all at once? Is there certain kinds that don't go together? Juss need some general info b4 i go buy me a bundle of em.

Thanks,
Chabooky386

 

[Fishyfanatic]

There is so much information about African Cichlids that it would be impossible for me to tell you what fish go together and what don't. What kind of Africans have you decided on? What species are you looking at? How large is the tank? Do not buy them all at once due to ammonia spikes. They are very dirty fish and will send ammonia levels through the roof. The tank must be cycled before adding them. Stay away from Auratus or Kenyis. There are tons more, but I have to know what fish are available to you and what you are looking for.

 

[chabooky386]

Thanks for the heads up i didnt know that all that was going to happen... Ok well i have been looking at the electric blue african chchilds and some of the yellow ones don't really know the names of those... i have a 72 gallon reef redy tank. so what is there to do when i am cycling my tank and preping it for chchilds? i need some help...

 

[Fishyfanatic]

You're going to want plenty of rock work, a sand substrate (is preferred), over filtration, and a quality food such as New Life Spectrum. When cycling, just do a fishless cycle. It is easier and faster than with fish. Once the cycle is over, start adding a few fish at a time. Sinch Africans are huge waste producers, do it slowly.

 

[severum mama]

Please, don't just go buy a bundle of them! This is a major tank overhaul for you and things will go a lot better if you do your research first. There are certain species that you just shouldn't mix, not only because of aggression, but dietary requirements are also definitely a concern. Also, you should decide whether you want to keep cichlids from Lake Malawi or Lake Tanganyika, as it is generally best to stick with species from one or the other. I'm not saying it can't be done, but especially for a beginner it's probably not a good idea.

What are your water perameters? Africans generally like water with a high pH, so if you have soft acidic water you may want to alter the pH. Don't use chemical additives to do this. You can use crushed coral in your filter or in your substrate, or pick decor such as Texas Holey Rock (honeycomb limestone) that you wouldn't normally use in community tanks.

You may want to take a look at some of the cookie cutter setups on www.cichlid-forum.com for some ideas on species compatibility, or I'm sure Fishy can give you plenty of links to get started on your research. She recommends www.malawimayhem.com to a lot of people so you may want to check that out.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

You know me too well Sev!

There are plenty of sites out there that can be recommended, but first I need to know what kind of Africans you are interested in. As Sev pointed out, it is not good to mix the lakes. Malawi's are easier to come by and tend to be brighter in coloration. While Tangs are still beautiful, they can be harder to find.

In Malawi there are essentually two groups of Cichlids: Mbuna and Hap. Mbuna's seem to be easier to come by. The Yellow Labs and Electric blues are both Mbuna. Haps are pretty common also, but the females are usually drab in coloration and not very attractive.

I prefer Mbuna because of the body structure, rich coloration, and personality. But it is all personal preference. Don't get me wrong, I love my haps, but Mbuna's are more to my liking.

 

[chabooky386]

THANKS A LOT GUYS...

In reply to that message below. I need some help on defining what you meant by sand subtrate? Over filteration means? and what is new life spectrum? and how do i cycle?

You're going to want plenty of rock work, a sand substrate (is preferred), over filtration, and a quality food such as New Life Spectrum. When cycling, just do a fishless cycle. It is easier and faster than with fish. Once the cycle is over, start adding a few fish at a time. Sinch Africans are huge waste producers, do it slowly.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Sand Substrate= Sand instead of gravel on the bottom of the tank.

Overfiltratoin= Extra filtration is needed. If you are using a hob filter, have a turnover rate of 10x per hour. That's just an example. When dealing with Africans, buy the filter that is rated for at least twice the size of the tank. Example, for my 150 gal tank we are running filters that combined together can be used on a 300 gal tank. They are very messy fish.

New Life Spectrum is a brand of fish food. They make African Cichlid pellets and IMO are the best brand on the market.

To read up on cycling, check out both of these articles: Fishless Cycle Nitrogen Cycle. The same method can be used for freshwater even though it says saltwater. I prefer the pure ammonia method since it is faster and doesn't cause such a mess. Try searching this site for "Fishless cycle". You should find tons of threads since it's discussed quite often.

 

[chabooky386]

PERFECT... I am getting a new wet dry i have a sump right now... and my rena xp3 is shipped on fri. so i am over for sure. as far as lighting i need to down grade... sand i got already from my old tank i converted my saltwater tank to freshwater and i kept the same sand. and as far as the food i dun have until i buy the fish... what would you think a fair amount of fish to buy the 1st time would be? any common ones that i should look for like electric blue chchilds or anything? and how many...?

thanks again ur great help to me

 

[Fishyfanatic]

After the tank has cycled, I would start with maybe 4 fish. Then add 1 or 2 each week, monitoring the ammonia levels to ensure that you don't have a spike.

Check out your lfs and see what is available in your area. It is really hard to tell with Africans. Some regions are abundant with certain species whereas they may be rare in another.

 

[nitrous]

well if you want the yellow ones like you said that is most likely yellow labs so i would add them first because they seem to be least agressive, in chiclids, and then add the electric blue ones so the electric blues dont make the tank their own and not let the yellow labs have a say if they can live there but thats just how i would do it

 

[DeFeKt]

i'd keep the sump.
I think they are far superior and it is my opinion that it is "how" you filter, not "how much".
I think this is an easily mistaken area of the fishkeeping.

I'm also trying to figure out how africans, particularly haps and mbuna are defined as "messy" fish.
Compared to some of the americans i've kept, and my extremely overstocked 100gallon malawi tank, these are the cleanest fish i have ever had, admittedly in the shorter-then-most time i've been an aquarist.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I can attest to the "messy fish" reputation for Africans. If you would look at our tank 4 days after a water change, you would think we haven't done one in weeks. Africans poop alot. The larger they get, the more they do. When they were smaller it wasn't such a big deal. Even our fry tank isn't bad. But when they are adults, they are very messy.

 

[DeFeKt]

maybe im not feeding enough.

 

[chabooky386]

Ok thats cool... Thanks for the info and sharing guys... My sump isn't really all that in AAA condition. It has algae in it and couple bags of carbon and nick nacks like that... and i have my coral life skimmer in there which i am going to take out... so i guess ill do a cycle and see from there... thanks...