New chichlid tank

[Lucas]

I am setting up a 75 gallon chichlid tank soon, and i am wondering about the basics of setting up one...so my questions are:

Are there any specific chichlids i can have?

What other fish could i have with chichlids?

Are they ok with live plants?

They like rocky landscapes, right?

Dont they need a ph of 7.8-8 or sumthing?

Any other things i should know?


Please respond! Thanks...

 

[Hrafnkel]

African or South/Central American?

 

[Lucas]

idk, which kinds are easier? Im up for a challenge though 8)

 

[Hrafnkel]

I have no experience with Africans and only a bit with South Americans, but I prefer the SA/CA varieties, myself. Larger (typically), and more personable. Not as fantastically colored but I still prefer them.

 

[Zagz]

I have malawi cichlids, a mix of mbuna, peacocks and a few haps. With careful research you can have success with whatever cichlids you want. My only don't break rule, don't mix cichlids from different lakes. Have you any preference for the aggression level, colors etc you want?

 

[Lucas]

I would prefer them to have a low agression level because i would want to put in a pleco. Would loaches be ok to? I have a bowtia loach and hes pretty agressive already, so would he be pretty good in there?

Color-wise, i would like them to be as colorful as possible.

I dont really know that much on chichlids, but i know basic stuff.

Anyone have photos on their chichlid tanks? If so, what kind of stuff do you have in there and what kind of equipment do you have?

Lucas

 

[Lucas]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=1825


Would those be ok? If i got some of those, would those be the only kinds i could get? I wouldnt be able to get any tanganyikans, right?

 

[jrp1588]

I keep a couple clown loaches with my mbuna cichlids, as far as africans go, they do like high pH...they are not typically successful with live plants but it can be done, ask travis about that one. hehe. other things to know...they need a lower protein diet, otherwise they'll get bloat. As far as some tank shots, here's some of mine.

http://www.photolocker.net/gallery.php?u=jrp1588&g=75-Gallon-Mbuna

 

[YuccaPatrol]

My 75 gallon houses the following:

1 large oscar
1 5" firemouth
1 5" Jack Dempsey
1 bristlenose pleco
small school of giant danios to annoy and amuse the oscar

Everyone gets along rather well as long as each has a good cave to call his/her own.

I have a mix of rock caves and driftwood. I grow Java fern on the rocks and driftwood and none of the fish bother it. I also have a large anubias plant that nobody bothers either.

 

[jrp1588]

yeah, if you go with malawi, stick with malawi.

 

[Lucas]

Would driftwood or rock be better, or should i use a mix of both. Also, should i got with sand or gravel? Lighting would only be a concern if i got plants, right?

 

[mr funktastic]

u can mix driftwood and rocks together but that all depends on the look u want. i would suggest sand becasue cichlids are notorious diggers and they would prefer the sand. lighting can be focused for the growth of plants but it also can bring out colours of the cichlids. if u get a mix of blue or yellow or even the peacock cichlids there colours can greatly be enhanced by havind a dual light strip with a marine glo and power glo bulb because these lights have different spectrums that bring out different colours. u can get a very colourful mix of african cichlid from lake malawi wiothout having alot of agression but they are not very good to mix with plants. u can get alot of blues and yellows that look really good together by mixing cichlids like yellow labs, aceis, demasoni and i just bought a auloncora jacobfreigbi(i cant spell it lol) which is a peacock that will turn almost a flourecent blue and yellowwhich u wouldnt really be able to see if u only had your basic flourecent.

 

[Lucas]

Does anyone know of any plants that ever been succesfully kept in their tanks?