neurotik
Aquarium Advice Freak
So I've been planning on starting an African Cichlid tank for a couple months now, and if I want to stick to my originally planned schedule I need to start getting things in motion next week or so. I had a few questions before I got started, just to see what you guys would recommend:
1. What size tank should I plan on getting? I've heard that larger tanks are better because it allows each fish more room to swim around and it will help to avoid having too many confrontations between fish, as they will each be able to have their own little 'space' within the tank. On the other hand, I've also heard that keeping a well-stocked tank, one that almost looks a bit "crowded" is better so that there are less chances that you will have a couple of fish that become the dominant fish of the tank and end up running the show and bullying the others around, so I thought maybe a medium sized tank (maybe around 30ish gallons?) would be better, as it would be easier to give a more "crowded" feel to a tank that size, as opposed to something like a 70-90 gallon.
2. Need some suggestions on the most colorful of the African Cichlids. I've had my eyes on the electric blue/yellow Cichlids for quite a while now, and I also like the peacock Cichlids, as well as the red/orange zebras. Not sure exactly the best way to mix and match those different species, but some combination of the colors that those fish offer would be nice I think, as well as any other types of Africans that have very bright, vibrant colors.
3. Do you guys recommend any types of bottom-dwelling fish to go into a Cichlid tank, mainly to act as a bit of a clean-up crew as well as just adding some activity to the bottom of the tank? Or is it best to just stick to Cichlids exclusively and not try to mix any other species in to the tank?
4. Everyone says to add lots of rocks/caves so that they each have places to hide and so that each one can sort of find its own little territory and claim it. Any suggestions on the best types of rocks to use if I wanted to sort of stack them up to create my own cave-like structures? Or would it be best to just buy some cave decorations and just put them around the tank instead?
5. I will also be planting the tank a bit with some live plants, not sure which types as of yet, so any suggestions on plants that Cichlids prefer would be nice. I'd imagine that I'd need some pretty durable plants if the Cichlids are going to be munching on them, so that they don't totally destroy the plants after a while.
Alright, I think that's a good starting point for my list of initial questions. Once I get some additional info from you guys, I'll hopefully be getting my tank sometime next week so I can begin cycling it and making further plans after that.
Thanks in advance for the help!
1. What size tank should I plan on getting? I've heard that larger tanks are better because it allows each fish more room to swim around and it will help to avoid having too many confrontations between fish, as they will each be able to have their own little 'space' within the tank. On the other hand, I've also heard that keeping a well-stocked tank, one that almost looks a bit "crowded" is better so that there are less chances that you will have a couple of fish that become the dominant fish of the tank and end up running the show and bullying the others around, so I thought maybe a medium sized tank (maybe around 30ish gallons?) would be better, as it would be easier to give a more "crowded" feel to a tank that size, as opposed to something like a 70-90 gallon.
2. Need some suggestions on the most colorful of the African Cichlids. I've had my eyes on the electric blue/yellow Cichlids for quite a while now, and I also like the peacock Cichlids, as well as the red/orange zebras. Not sure exactly the best way to mix and match those different species, but some combination of the colors that those fish offer would be nice I think, as well as any other types of Africans that have very bright, vibrant colors.
3. Do you guys recommend any types of bottom-dwelling fish to go into a Cichlid tank, mainly to act as a bit of a clean-up crew as well as just adding some activity to the bottom of the tank? Or is it best to just stick to Cichlids exclusively and not try to mix any other species in to the tank?
4. Everyone says to add lots of rocks/caves so that they each have places to hide and so that each one can sort of find its own little territory and claim it. Any suggestions on the best types of rocks to use if I wanted to sort of stack them up to create my own cave-like structures? Or would it be best to just buy some cave decorations and just put them around the tank instead?
5. I will also be planting the tank a bit with some live plants, not sure which types as of yet, so any suggestions on plants that Cichlids prefer would be nice. I'd imagine that I'd need some pretty durable plants if the Cichlids are going to be munching on them, so that they don't totally destroy the plants after a while.
Alright, I think that's a good starting point for my list of initial questions. Once I get some additional info from you guys, I'll hopefully be getting my tank sometime next week so I can begin cycling it and making further plans after that.
Thanks in advance for the help!