African cichilds help?

[_Nick_]

I'm bout to start a African cichilds tank what are the basic I need to kno bout African cichilds how many can I put in a 36 gallon how many should I put in at a time

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

get the least agressive first!! then they can claim the territory. this is almost the biggest bit of advice i can give lol!
personally im an mbuna girl, i love the colours and personalities! especially the zebras and afras, but labs and auratus are cool too.
in a 36, about 12-14 dwarfs or 8-10 regular for colonies, or a small group of something to breed like jewels or auratus (both get phenominally mean and territorial during breeding lol). u need a ratio of 1m 3f with each type of fish.
what colours do you like? what were you looking at? xx

 

[_Nick_]

Well I like all kind of color fish that's the thing I don't know the types of cichilds fish I can mix so I can mix up any kind but just get the less aggressive cichilds then get other kinds this is my tank will this tank make them happy?

 

[Wy Renegade]

If you're looking at Africans, you really should have a 4' long tank minimum, unless you're going with some of the shell dwellers. Assuming that is a standard 36gal bowfront, you are only at about 30", so less than 3 feet. Because of the territorialism and aggression of most Africans, anything under 4 foot is going to be too small in a very short amount of time. As the fish establish territories, they will become aggressive and eventually end up killing each other off. I would look into the shell dwellers given your aquarium size.

 

[_Nick_]

WoW fish really don't need all that space ive seen on YouTube 10 gallon tanks full of cichilds my 36 gallon should be fine I've had Bala sharks in my tank and they was happy they live for 8 months until I accidentally kill them while doing a water change

 

[kelbaker79]

African cichlids need a lot of room, he's right, they will kill each other off. There are a lot of videos out there that people see that make them think its ok to have that many fish in one tank, a lot of them are breeder tanks, meaning allll of those fish won't be in the same tank for long. Just use caution...I have a 125 gallon with 19 Africans and a 75 gallon with 10... And in telling you, thats PLENTY...Lol

 

[Mogurako]

WoW fish really don't need all that space ive seen on YouTube 10 gallon tanks full of cichilds my 36 gallon should be fine I've had Bala sharks in my tank and they was happy they live for 8 months until I accidentally kill them while doing a water change

Yes they do need all that space for their adult size to be healthy and happy. You have been given good advice and it would be prudent to follow it, it's sheer ignorance to think other wise. I would consider doing more research and not trust stuff you see on YouTube.

 

[_Nick_]

Ok so what kind and how many can I put in a 36 gallon BowFront tank

 

[kelbaker79]

The number of how many will depend on what type you get...go by their adult sizes to calculate it...

 

[kelbaker79]

Try this website, it may help ya...

WWW.aqadvisor.com

 

[_Nick_]

I didn't understand that website I appreciate all the help from you guys I'm sure petsmart will tell me what I need to do

 

[Convict2161]

I didn't understand that website I appreciate all the help from you guys I'm sure petsmart will tell me what I need to do

I wouldn't bank on it. I'd ask around here. I listened to Petsmart and all my fish died about 1 week later. But that was just my experience with them. They gave me tons of advice to help but to TBH I've found this forum more helpful then any LFS/LPS hands down!!

 

[_Nick_]

Yeah I think petsmart don't care they just trying to make money

 

[mattrox]

In terms of colourful fish, you could put a trio of Pseudotropheus salousi.

or a trio of red top ndumbi reef, but you will have a spectacular male and dull females

or you could do pseudotropheus minitus.

But be aware that you would need to construct great rockwork. Doing this in a 36g would be considered an advanced technique and general advice would be to avoid it.

You might be better if with lake Tanganyika shell dwellers.

Electric Blue Rams and well chosen apistos would be a different way to get a colourful tank.

 

[kelbaker79]

In terms of colourful fish, you could put a trio of Pseudotropheus salousi.

or a trio of red top ndumbi reef, but you will have a spectacular male and dull females

or you could do pseudotropheus minitus.

But be aware that you would need to construct great rockwork. Doing this in a 36g would be considered an advanced technique and general advice would be to avoid it.

You might be better if with lake Tanganyika shell dwellers.

Electric Blue Rams and well chosen apistos would be a different way to get a colourful tank.

I agree!! With everything you said! And yes, don't listen to Petsmart...

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

i reccomended a higher stocking for a reason. cihclids like those will need a good upkeep of pwc, however the overstocking will mean no (or very little) teritories are established and the fish are much calmer. my african adore swimming in the higher area on half the tank so i think they would be ok in this shape, even if a longer would be better.
dont listen to petsmart!! so many bad reviews. its almost why AA was set up lol.
id still go for labs, zebras and fuelleborni for your tank. peacocks not so much, but the mbuna yep. any serious disagreements?

 

[mattrox]

Zebras will get to 6 to 7 inches (or more) over the years and there is just not enough swimming space. fulleborini can get massive too.

In the suggestions above you could add up to 2 more females.

Rusties are not territorial but size will be the issue.

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

what about the pseudocrenilabrus range? cute and smaller, some have stunning colours. or apistos.

 

[_Nick_]

Thanks everybody for the help but I went and got and albino Oscar and it has a weird problem it don't like my aquarium light it act like it's about to die when my aquarium light is on and when I turn it off it does fine eatin and swimming

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

oscars need a minimum of 55 sorry. will u be able to upgrade and soon? x
its just not used to the light, it may just need adjustment time. or they are too bright. either way the tank wont do.