African cichlid tanks

[Maxkolbe]

Hey everyone! I just bought a 60 gal long aquarium and am still deciding what to stock it with. I want to avoid a planted tank since I'm on a limited budget. Our water is also hard and alkaline. This made me think of an African cichlid tank. I am open to to ideas so please post photos of tanks you have had that are similar to this size. Even if there're not I still would like to see them. It would be nice if you could list the species in your tanks or give any suggestions! Thanks for your help!

Example-
28gal bow front
1cobalt blue cichlid
1yellow lab
1Pleco

 

[mfdrookie516]

I would definitely put the two mbuna in the 60 long. As I mentioned in your other thread, those fish need that 4' tank. If you go with mbuna, lots of rockwork is necessary to provide lots of cover. Here's a picture of how my 150g was set up when I had mbuna...

 

[Maxkolbe]

Where'd you get the rocks?

 

[mfdrookie516]

A local creek

 

[Maxkolbe]

Do you know anything about livingstoni? I was wondering if they could be kept with mbunas

 

[mfdrookie516]

They can be, but not in a 4' tank. They get 10+ inches, so they need a 6' tank.

 

[Maxkolbe]

Ok. What kind of catfish can you keep in this setup, Also what other mbunas would be compatible with the ones that I've already got.

 

[Convict2161]

I would definitely put the two mbuna in the 60 long. As I mentioned in your other thread, those fish need that 4' tank. If you go with mbuna, lots of rockwork is necessary to provide lots of cover. Here's a picture of how my 150g was set up when I had mbuna...

Don't mean to derail but your tank is SICK!! Just SICK!!

 

[Maxkolbe]

How much rock do you think I'd need if I wanted to do something like that in a sixty gallon. What kind of rock should it be? (This is the biggest tankI've had since my 10gal so I'm a little clueless) how much sand should I use?

 

[mfdrookie516]

You can keep smaller plecos (bristlenose comes to mind), synodontis catfish, and several others. Those two are the only two I am familiar with. I never kept any with mine. I had about 300-350lbs in my 150. Id say 150-200lbs would be equivalent in a 60g.

 

[Maxkolbe]

What is the best kind of sand to use? The actual aquarium sand costs $20 for 20 pounds and I'm a little short on cash

 

[mfdrookie516]

I used PFS in that tank, and use it in several others as well. It's $2-10 for a 50lb bag depending on where you look.

 

[Maxkolbe]

How do you clean the sand. Can I use a gravel vacume. Also if I transferred the yellow lab and cobalt blue into the new tank and got a BN what else would fit?

 

[mfdrookie516]

PFS is about the same as gravel in terms of cleaning. Just my opinion, but you can mix in about 20 mbuna if you stock properly. You want 4-6 females for every male. You could do 3-4 different fish, each with 1 male and 4-6 females and have quite a nice looking tank.

 

[Maxkolbe]

Do you think I could do zebras or are they too aggressive. How do you tell if they're a male or a female?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Some fish are monomorphic and require sexing via venting (google it). Some fish are dimorphic and you can sex based on coloration. It's individual to each fish. cobalt blue's are zebras. red zebras would work. hongi are another beautiful choice. I'd go to cichlid-forum.com and look at their profiles section. lots of great info and ideas.

 

[Maxkolbe]

Do you think my LFS would be able to sex the fish for me?

 

[mfdrookie516]

If your LFS doesnt breed them, I wouldnt trust them unless you happen to find someone who actually knows a lot about them. Venting is a careful process that most LFS employees don't know how to do, nor want to take the time to do. Its easiest to buy several extra of each when they're juvies, then rehome the extra males as they mature.

 

[Maxkolbe]

I don't really know what I'd do with the fry or extras since I don't have any other tanks to put them in. Would it work to do a tank Of only males or only females so that I don't get an abundance of fry that need to be Rehomed?