My first personal aquarium

[Frickmiester]

My mom gave me her old 90 gallon tank and down sized to a 35g i have had the tank since early December. I am turning it into a cichlid tank. What should I get as a good water tester kit? Any ideas on good fish to add? I have two red fin borleyi a male and female, a small venustus and a somewhat small blue electric two mini catfish and my favorite a placo.

 

[Frickmiester]

That wa the old setup. Here is what it looks like now

 

[librarygirl]

The API Freshwater kit is what most if us on here use.

I'm going to move this thread to the Cichlid forum so the folks there can help with your stocking questions.

 

[Taiken5968]

Beautiful aquarium. I think it looks better now than it did before. I wish someone would just give me a 90 gallon haha

 

[Frickmiester]

Haha ya my mom got it in the early 90's and kept it in her daycare it had a lot of bar water deposit so I spent a week getting arid as much as I could but you can still kinda see a ring on the top of the. Tank I had a few tetras but the guy at the fish store talked me into going to cichlids and sold me the two male and female red fin borleyi and a smal venustus a couple days later I added the electric blue even tho the venustus and elec blue are more egressive I think the will be ok and wanted to add a few more as long as they leave my placo alone

 

[Frickmiester]

The API test kits are around 25 to 30 dollars correct?

 

[Frickmiester]

Also what do you think would make this tank look better what fish would be good additions I like active a lil more on the colorful side

 

[Albino Sick Led]

Nice tank to start off with

Also what do you think would make this tank look better what fish would be good additions I like active a lil more on the colorful side

Hi there,


As far as stocking for your tank you will have to ask yourself this with Cichlids

Am i going with African Cichlids, Southern or Central American Cichlids, Victorian Cichlids or New World cichlids?


Personnaly i have a mixed African Cichlid Tank with some mixed Central American and Victorian ones in there.

Some of my personal favorites that i have owned so far are

-Tropheus duboisi (juvenile colors)
-Haplochromis obliquedens
-Amatitlania nigrofasciata (female only)
-Tropheus demasoni

A very colorful variety can be found with assorted cichlids , most of the time these are assorted peacocks, these can be some of the most rare and exotic ones your find sometimes. Granted, these i am mentioning are only some of the ones that I personally have owned. There are far more colorful varieties out there and some cichlids that are simply breathtaking with how beautiful they may become. Just keep in mind how big they will get so that you don't overstock large cichlids, some of these guys can get HUGE. As far as what type you personally would like, a website that might help you look at pictures for certain cichlids is

Buy African Cichlids from Live Fish Direct

Good luck!

 

[Frickmiester]

I believe the electric blue and the Redfin borleyi are African idk about the venustus so I would probably go with African cichlids some one was saying something about fresh water angel fish

 

[Frickmiester]

Btw you have an awesome aquarium I like the layout

 

[Albino Sick Led]

I believe the electric blue and the Redfin borleyi are African idk about the venustus so I would probably go with African cichlids some one was saying something about fresh water angel fish

The Electric Blue
-Sciaenochromis Fryeri
and
Red Fin Borleyi
- Copadichromis borleyi

Are definitely African, both endemic to Lake Malawi

As far as Angel Fish, i have never owned one but i know they are South American Cichlids. They naturally range anywhere from Venezuela to Columbia to Brazil.

Btw you have an awesome aquarium I like the layout

Thank you,
I tried to go for a natural look. Many people insist that a planted tank with cichlids is impossible. I started this aquarium last year and it is thriving beautifully. From my experience it all depends on how much "personalization" space you allow for the cichlids. They are territorial fish and like to make pits/caves. This can very well be done with plants as well though. I even run DIY CO2 in my tank and am very careful about how low i allow my pH to drop, since african cichlids prefer a higher pH anywhere from 7-8.5 basicity. Keeping parameters within their range is key, but doable with careful monitoring.

Can't wait to see how your tank turns out. Keep those pictures coming!

 

[Albino Sick Led]

New addition of

Crinum natans
-Crypt. wendtii "Florida Sunset"

You also see my
-black bichir
-Haplochromis obliquedens Cichlid

 

[Frickmiester]

Beautiful fish love your tank