Just wanna make sure this is a good setup

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anna

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Oct 12, 2006
Messages
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-The tank: 47 tall, (20x20x37, I have to plant with a pair of super long tweezers, used for reptile feeding its so tall)
-The fish: 1 reg pleco, 5 african cichlids (yellow labs etc), 2 panda cories, 1 pictus cat
-the plants: (pretty new, but taking off nicely) one huge red lotus, some amazon sword, some anubia, and some 4-leaf clover, oh, and some duckweed.

lighting- 1 plant grow bulb I slapped on there (18 inch, 6800k) and another brand that the fiancee brought home, 18 inch "specific to low light plants" about a 2800k output, glows a very soft red color.
C02- 1 liter reaction canister hooked to a submerged diffuser, placed low and away from bubble-line (do I even NEED this??) Puts out a bubble about every two seconds.
Substrate-very fine reef sand
-water conditions: just checked-
NO3+: 20ppm
NO2-: 0ppm
GH: 180ppm
KH: 175ppm
pH: 7.2

Filtration: submerged canister all in one filter, rated for 150 gallons, turned all the way up.
airation: one bubble line in the back of the tank, going full blast. Kinda pretty bubblewall.

This has been working so far.
 
African cichlids aren't community fish IMO, so I really wouldn't keep the panda cories in there with them. Yellow labs are not too aggressive, but I still wouldn't keep cories with them.

Also if the pleco is a common, it will eventually outgrow the tank or get stunted. Any chance you could exchange it for a Rubbernose or Bristlenose pleco? They stay a better 4-6 inches, while the common should reach over 12 inches.

I'm sure others may have more to say...maybe, but I'll leave it to them. :)

Are all the Africans Yellow labs? I noticed you put etc.... Its best to find out what types you have because some are more aggressive than others and a 47g tall doesn't provide alot of space for them.
 
Hmm, didn't think about that with the pleco.

Okay, specifics on cichlids. 2 labidochromis caeruleus, one pseudothropheus socolofi, one labidochromis chisumulae, and one pseudotropheus estherae. *whew* Malawi species.

Along with my plants I have a tall driftwood structure (made of 3 smaller ones) with lots of caves. The cichlids are small now, but I am looking for an excuse to get another tank. Looks like I should do so asap....and remove my pandas. The cichlids aren't bothering the pandas... yet, I guess.

So far under observation of the cichlid action (lol) I haven't noticed any fish that have been denied a territory, or one that is being accosted more than the others. They all seem to chase one another in a sort of "musical territories", and during feeding time there's no real aggression, just a lot of eating.

I do have them on a frozen "cichlid delight" along with sinking pellets for the pandas. Saturday mornings as a treat I pipette some black worms into the sand and let the cichlids go to work. I do one frozen cube of this stuff a day and 3-4 pellets.
 
I too am concerned about the Pandas. They are peaceful community fish whereas the Cichlids are peaceful Mbuna. There is a big difference in the "peacefulness".

The Mbunas that you chose is a good specie mix. They yellow labs, Socolofi's, and Cobalts (Estherae) are peaceful and will work well together. I am unsure about the chisumulae since I do not have first hand experience with them. Are you sure that they are chisumulae's?

Watch out for the plants as the Cobalts and socolofi's mature. They become quite the diggers and like to uproot plants. If you upgrade tanks to something like a 55 or 75 gal (minimum IMO for Africans), you may want to leave the plants in the current tank and stock it with the Pandas along with a few schools of community fish. That will make a beautiful tank. In the African tank (assuming that you upgrade them to a larger tank) fill it with plenty of rock structures and caves. In nature they live in rock structures. You will find yourself plenty of Cichlid fry if you provide enough flat rock surfaces. :)

What kind of food are you feeding them? You mention "Cichlid delight" but what exactly is that? Suppliment their diet with items such as zuc and peas. The Africans and pleco will go wild for it. My cories go nuts for the peas too.
 
I am also wondering about the food. Most Mbuna are more herbivorous and need a plant based diet so only feeding them live foods won't work. You should try zuchinni, peas, and cucumber, like FF mentioned, as well as a good Spirulina flake, if they'll eat flakes.

New Life Spectrum Cichlid food is a good staple food as well that alot of people feed their Mbuna.

A 4 foot tank would be the minimum like FF said for most Mbuna. A tall tank doesn't have enough horizontal swimming room.

You could leave the pandas in the 47g and get another tank for the cichlids. Then replace them with a pair of angels and a school of fish in the 47g. That tank would be perfect for angels since they get so tall. If you upgrade the lighting a bit you could get some stem plants that would grow the height of the tank.

You could design the new tank around the Malawi Mbuna, since they are rock dwellers....and give everyone enough room for their own territories.
 
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