How to Care for African Cichlids

[Labenator65000]

The most disturbing fact to me is that excessive and EXPENSIVE filtration is needed... I can do plenty of hiding places and time-consuming water changes, but there is no substitute for the special filtration that they need. This is the only thing keeping me from buying some quite soon.

Jmedic25 is about to reply and suggest that you build your own DIY overflow and sump...

EDIT: Here I'll save him a step http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f100/good-inexpensive-second-filter-184953.html

 

[phoenixkiller]

Thanks. I'll wait for him.

 

[Jmedic25]

Thank you! lmao! And a few bucks at the hardware store you can build a python..Makes water changes a snap

 

[phoenixkiller]

Ok, how do I do these things? Any directions or other videos?

 

[kay-bee19]

On a scale of 1-100 (1 being mollies or something, and 100 being impossible sting rays to keep) what would you rate African Cichlids??

With the type of african cichlids I keep (Lake malawi Mbuna's and Haps, and Lake Tanganyika Frontosa's and Tropheus) I'd rate them a 1 in terms of sheer hardiness.

The primary difficulty with them is probably counter-balancing their aggressive and territorial behavior which is a separate issue from their hardiness.

If their behavior isn't managed properly (adequate aquarium size and aquascaping, gender ratio, population size, tank mate compatibility, etc), they can become challenging to keep, 90-100 on your difficulty scale (potential fish-loss due to aggression). If their aggression and territoriality are balanced then they're not hard to keep, 5-10 on the scale.

For herbivorous mbuna's they're difficult to keep if provided the wrong diet, 95-100 on your scale. They can easily contract and die from the often fatal malawi bloat. Provide them the correct diet and this ailment will not typically manifest. 1 on your scale.

 

[phoenixkiller]

Ok, thank you all!