African Cichlid Ecosystem

[dustyeisner]

I was wondering if anyone knew how to create as close to a complete african cichlid ecosystem as possible. Are their aquarium insects and or shrimp and or copepods that will breed in the tank without anyreal specific care like in a saltwater setup (ie. copepods)? I know that there are creatures in the african rift lakes that fit the bill but are they available for purchase. Are these just pipe dreams or do I need to get a saltwater system going?

Please let me know.

Thanks

dusty

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I am moving this topic to the Cichlid Forum so it receives proper attention.

Are you interested in a specific Cichlid tank like Mbuna, Peacock, Malawi in General, Lake Tang?

 

[dustyeisner]

Sorry about the placement. Still figuring out the site.

I am currently running 2 tanks. One is a 50 gallon mbuna tank. The other is a 38 gallon, with a small school of Cyprochromis (bulu point).

I just hear about these self sustaining saltwater set ups and would love to figure out how to do it with freshwater.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Chances are, if you add any kind of shrimp to an Mbuna tank, they will be eaten promptly. I haven't kept Cyprochromis before so I can't comment on their behavior.

 

[dustyeisner]

I was actually wanting to start a new larger tank where I could get some of the critters going for a few months. That is the shrimp insects and algae. Then once those guys have a viable situation going I could add the mbuna.

Plus like in saltwater I have read that the african lakes have copepods shrimp and even sponges. In a saltwater set up copepods once situated can feed all the tanks inhabitants.

Cyprochromis are relatively peaceful. They would probably only feed on the shrimps babies and leave the adults alone. Again this would only work in the tank had lots of time without any predators. They feed on plankton in the wild.

 

[Zagz]

It's an interesting idea. I would be interested in your progress. I have a cichlid tank but it wouldn't be considered that close to their natural habitat.

 

[dustyeisner]

Thanks for the interest I will definately let you know what happens. It probably will take awhile though. I think patience will be the key to this experiment.

 

[Zagz]

I agree patience will be key, but it does sound exciting and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

 

[DeFeKt]

I don't think you'll ever be able to create a "self-sufficient" eco system in form of the rift lakes.
In such a small space the cichlids would consume critters at a rate far faster then they could ever produce..

Having said that though, what would be the harm in throwing some in their to stock the population up once in a while..
I'll also be following this thread.

 

[dustyeisner]

I don't think I can with whats commonly available but I think it can be done with the correct creatures. I recently watched the National Geographic special on lake tang. In that they dicussed how the lake is so diverse its almost like the ocean there are copepods shrimps jellies sponges. If you had access to the lake you could probably even get some type of live rock equivalent.

Anyway, I think I will still attempt it when I upgrade my tank but to really satisfy that need I think it would probably be easier to start a reef tank. What is really needed to make this work is not available.

Maybe I could do a refugium that I could raise some shrimp in and just slowly add to the tank. Maybe eventually the births will out pace the deaths

 

[JeffreyL]

Very interesting idea, dustyeisner! One thought, though, a setup that will sustain a population of all the 'extra' critters you are talking about likely will not support many fish. Look at a saltwater reef tank. Compared to a mbuna tank, it is almost fishless. lol

A refugium may help, haven't heard of anyone doing it in freshwater. But I am sure someone has.

Good luck with this, I hope you can make it work!!

Jeff

 

[Idealconcepts]

dustyeisner - I think what you are looking to do is pretty cool. My assumption is you will need a very large tank, preferably a very wide long tank, for you to accomplish this. I wouldn't be suprised if you are looking at several hundred gallons. I believe there is some type of crayfish in one of the lakes and I'm not sure where bichers fit in. You might want to check out the message boards dedicated to cichlids and african cichlids, I bet you will find someone who has done this or looking to do this. Good luck with your journey.