lighting and stocking help please

[buballo]

Hi guys,

Went to the LFS today. They showed me this new T5 light and was wondering if anyone had suggestions. This light had twin globes, 1 blue and 1 white and the affect was brilliant in the cichlid tank they had on display. Much better then a standard single. BTW the light was about $270 AU with the globes.

So here are my questions:

I have a 55G 4 foot tank 20 inch high. What would the light you suggest I use for the best display. I dont intent on using live plants although in the future it may be an option.
My secong questin is one of stocking and this has two parts:
the first part is if I go for a cichlid tanks, how many and what other type of fish can I stock as I have heard they are aggressive. The second part is if I dont go with a fully blown cichlid tank can a have a couple with all other types of fish.

Thanks for your help....AGAIN!!!

PS i have just built my own cabinet and filled the tank. Looks great, should post pics soon.

Regards,

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Moved to the Cichlid Forum.

The light you want to use depends on what fish you are going to house. If you go withA frican Cichlids, Actinic or 50/50 bulbs really bring out coloration. But if you go with SA or CA, I'd stick with regular white bulbs.

What kind of Africans are you looking for? you say you have heard that they are aggressive, but there are both African and SA/CA Cichlids that are aggressive.

 

[buballo]

Higuys,
It has taken a while to respond, sorry about that. I have done more research on cichlids and have a couple of questions:

I am looking at cichlids from lake malawi, I have a 55G tank in the cycle process and the questions I have are:

1. How many cichlids can I sock with this tank size
2. What type of cichlid from this group should I be trying to get if I do want a community tank of cichlids.
3. In the process of doing a fishy cycle and have heard that it is important to fully stock at the end of the cycle instead of introducing cichlids progressivelly. Is this really possible?

Thanks any help would be great.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

1. It depends on what specie you want. It's difficult to say exactly how many you can have. It depends on how many are comfortable in your tank. I have 22 in a 150 Gal tank and consider it stocked. Some choose to put 22 in a 55 gal tank (WAY too many IME but some do it).

2. None. Africans should never be mixed with Community Fish. The Community fish will be an afternoon snack.

3. If you choose to cycle with fish, do it slowly. Only add a few at the beginning. Monitor the Ammonia and nitrite closely and do water changes reguarly. This may be every day or every other day. Depends on what you choose to cycle with. Only after it is cycled should you fully stock the tank. And even then you may hit a mini-cycle because your tank doesn't have the bacteria. This is why I really push a fishless cycle.

 

[FWaddict]

Yea it would be highly appreciated by the forum to do fishless cycle... I am a hypocrite to this LOL but I have no say in it, my parents do -_-; lol I am in the same predicament you are, I have a 55 gal and i need to know what to stock it LOL

Lighting-wise, from what I was told and read, either 50/50 or actinic would work great they are supposed to bring out cichlids colors more and promote 0 to very low algae growth as they are a different spectrum.

 

[buballo]

Thanks Fishyfanatic,
When I said community tank I actually meant a community of malawi cichlids. Sorr my fault. I new there are several species of Malawi's and was wondering if it was safe to mix within this species?

The LFS has 30 in their tank which is about 65G and they recommended aroung 20 for mine. This is why I wanted to check prior to purchasing anything.

I started a fishless cycle with a prawn or two which was working really well unfortunately the smell was overbearing for my wife so I had to stop that. In Sydney I have no access to ammonia, I have check all our hardwares and grocery stores and have no luck, the closest product I could find was cloudy ammonia.

Currently I have 12 white clouds upon recommendation from my LFS and am cycling with them. I am concerned for these poor guys even though they will probably be a feeder fich to the cichlids. I check every 12 hours and change water etc appropriately. Will 12 white clouds be enough after the cycle is complete to maintain a cichlid tank. Do I need more?

Thanks again

 

[FWaddict]

12 fish in a 55g to cycle? Personally I think that would be enough... I used feeder goldfish to cycle when I tried out the garden tank and I started with 13 and ended with 8.... we had one with no left fin so I called him nemo lol. Maybe you shoulda tied a rock to the prawns LOL!! Good luck with the cycling! hope to see pics of your tank asap

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Yes, 12 should be enough. We tried the shrimp too and I did not like looking at the tank with a decomposing shrimp or the smell that it put off. That was put to a stop pretty fast.

You can mix many different species of Mbuna. When you get into housing the docile species like Labs, Acei, Cobalts, etc, they prefer to be in groupings of at least 3. We started out wiht 1 lab and when I added 4 more the original lab had a personality change. It was out more, exploring, playing with his new lab friends. Total turnaround.

If you want to stick 20 Mbuna in your tank, you can. I just do not recommend that many in such a small tank. Don't get me wrong, 55 gal isn't tiny, but when it comes to Africans it's the bare minimum IMO. Use you best judgement. You won't be fully stocking the tank right away so when you start stocking, do it slowly and observe the behavior of the fish that you add. You'll know when you're stocked. You will get a feel for the tank and the personalities of the fish. Africans are different than community fish. I can easily look at my 55 gal Community and know how many Tetra's I can have in that tank to be comfortable. But when it comes to Africans it's anybodys guess. Just remember that you are buying Juvi's and these fish are going to grow in length and girth. If the tank looks busy, you're over stocked.

Regarding the White Clouds, I'd return them to the lfs before adding a single African to the tank. The stress of a cycle compounded with the stress of living with Africans is going to be too much for those fish.

 

[buballo]

I am now in the 5th day of my fish cycle. I bought the ammonia alert by seachem and am currently trying it out. I am cycling my tank with the use of stress zyme to make things easier on the fish. I , till this day have had zero readings on ammonia, nitrite and very very low readings on the nitrate.

If I use a product like stress zyme am I likely not to get any readings? Should I still see these things spike?

My water is also a coudy colour, how do I know if this is a bacteria bloom or gunk in my tank. This cycling is confusing me slightly.

I got my light by the way, its great however the air bubbles blown by my spray bar can be seen though my tank and look like heaps of dust particles, is this normal? The bubbles at the top of he tank almost look foamy.

ANY help on the abov would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

It's probably a bacteria bloom. What kind of test kit are you using? Don't rely on the Seachem Ammonia Alert.

 

[buballo]

It's probably a bacteria bloom. What kind of test kit are you using? Don't rely on the Seachem Ammonia Alert.

I am using the API master test kit. I have tested ammonia with both with the same result. It seems that I am getting no fluctuations in levels of my reading which is making me think that Stress Zyme is may be the cause