Cichlid tank Scavenger?

[Wy Renegade]

Play sand makes everything dirty and continually raises dust. Pool filter sand calms down much more quickly.

By the way, your kuhli needs buddies, like at least another 5 or maybe even 10.

But not in a 29gal tank with all those others. Your also going to find that the kenyi (one of the most aggressive of the mbuna IME once they mature) and the peacocks are going to outgrow that tank very quickly.

 

[kdpuffer]

I would suggest small catfish as bottom cleaners, cories perhaps. Only issue is your mix of fish and their different water needs. I have panda cories in my 29g and they do well for cleaning the bottom. Swapping for sand is also a good option which is also best for cories as their barbels can be damaged by gravel. Pool filter sand is top choice but I use playsand and found it to be just fine but it does require more washing before putting it in the tank. Sand is easier to clean and from my experience fish enjoy it more, they are able to sift it and move it around at their leisure.

 

[joel618]

I would suggest small catfish as bottom cleaners, cories perhaps. Only issue is your mix of fish and their different water needs. I have panda cories in my 29g and they do well for cleaning the bottom. Swapping for sand is also a good option which is also best for cories as their barbels can be damaged by gravel. Pool filter sand is top choice but I use playsand and found it to be just fine but it does require more washing before putting it in the tank. Sand is easier to clean and from my experience fish enjoy it more, they are able to sift it and move it around at their leisure.

Imo mbuna will kill anything not synodontis. Mine have big bites out of them from time to time. The synodintis being armored prolly helps.

 

[Jmedic25]

I use black diamond blasting sand..I love it and so do the fish. But you have a stable tank with crystal clear water, and no sickness. Sounds like you may just want to enjoy your tank as is.

 

[LyndaB]

But not in a 29gal tank with all those others.

+1

You need more kuhlis, kuhlis need more room...... not a good candidate for this tank.

 

[doberman15]

+1

You need more kuhlis, kuhlis need more room...... not a good candidate for this tank.

Kuhli was in the tank long before all of the others. He had buddies and they all died off before I had Cichlids. Once all of my tropicals died I switched over to Cichlid and thank God I did. So much more active and fun. Kuhli seems to be fine, hes more active with the sand now than he was with the gravel. All the others seem to just leave him alone. I've never seen one of the cichlids even acknowledge his existence.

 

[StevesPrettyCool]

i got one of these for my tank because I couldn't stand debris on my substrate. Its a little battery operated gravel vac with a sock looking thing that catches the stuff and the water goes back in the tank. worked great for me! substrate cleaning without taking out the buckets is awesome

Electrical Aquarium Battery Fish Tank Vacuum Gravel Cleaner Hose | eBay

Cons: Its cheap, plastic hook broke on mine the day i got it so expect it to eventually break. Also if you have sand as substrate it will eventually clog the motor if you dont clean it, cutting its life significantly. In my sand tank, after a couple months I had to beat the thing senseless to work.


Pros: Quick tank clean up (took 2 minutes tops for my 55), Vacuuming without water changing, No heavy bucket lifting. Came with multiple attachments (Algae scrapper and such, i just used mine with no attachments for precision vacuuming), Easy clean up...

All in all, even with a sand substrate mine lasted at least 4 months and when that broke I got another. I cant imagine using the siphon for small time clean up anymore. $10 free shipping I got what I was looking for...

Edit: I guess it starts a siphon too, never tried myself...

 

[doberman15]

i got one of these for my tank because I couldn't stand debris on my substrate. Its a little battery operated gravel vac with a sock looking thing that catches the stuff and the water goes back in the tank. worked great for me! substrate cleaning without taking out the buckets is awesome

Electrical Aquarium Battery Fish Tank Vacuum Gravel Cleaner Hose | eBay

Cons: Its cheap, plastic hook broke on mine the day i got it so expect it to eventually break. Also if you have sand as substrate it will eventually clog the motor if you dont clean it, cutting its life significantly. In my sand tank, after a couple months I had to beat the thing senseless to work.


Pros: Quick tank clean up (took 2 minutes tops for my 55), Vacuuming without water changing, No heavy bucket lifting. Came with multiple attachments (Algae scrapper and such, i just used mine with no attachments for precision vacuuming), Easy clean up...

All in all, even with a sand substrate mine lasted at least 4 months and when that broke I got another. I cant imagine using the siphon for small time clean up anymore. $10 free shipping I got what I was looking for...

Edit: I guess it starts a siphon too, never tried myself...

I've seen these at my local pet stores... and I've always wondered if they're legit. They're always like $25 vs a regular siphon vacuum is like $10, so I've never dove into it. I can say that switching to sand has already hugely improved the look of my substrate. The fish go down and clean up all the mess on their own. It's been a week with it and I dont see any need to vacuum yet.

 

[StevesPrettyCool]

nice man congrats! yeah the vac is cheap so if you do get one dont expect much. for 25 honestly its not worth it. if ya grab it for 10 bucks online its almost like i dont feel bad putting it through the tortures of sand lol... get a few months out of it and toss it

 

[Ckennedy37]

I have a pictus cat and he eats like a machine