my 55 gallon finally up and running**pictures**

[mr funktastic]

i have recently become interested in african cichlids. i was at big als and they had such a large selection that i started imagining a tank in my head and how cool it would look with some electric blue and electric yellow cichlids. the only problem is that i know absolutely nothing about cichlids or what kind of preferences that they have. i saw a tank that they had setup in the store and it was piled high with red slate in all sorts off cool formations which i really liked. i was thinking of doing a african cichlid biotope or something like that. so what i need from all the aquarium advice people is your expertise and opinions on what the tank should look like, the balances of the water, what cichlid can go with what cichlid, feeding information and anything else that may be important to know about cichlids. also i was really aiming at the blue cichlid that i saw. there is a link at the bottom to show the type of cichlid i was interested in.
http://www.jandjfarms2001.com/images/Electric Blue Ahli Cichlid.gif
thanks for the help

 

[Blazeherd2306]

Just keeping researching. I have never kept africans, but I know they need a higher ph and should be kept with fish from the same lake.

 

[mr funktastic]

thats the thing though i didnt want to start researching because it is always biased and every article s telling you the same thing. i was counting on peoples experiences with them to fuel my judgemeny. i have done some rudementry studying but from what i have read you can keep most different types of africans together as long as they are from the same area. the one thing i really have no idea about is how to set up the tank. i really need some good links to get a clear picture of what i am going to have to do.

 

[tetrin]

it is slightly more complicated than

you can keep most different types of africans together as long as they are from the same area

typically its not a good idea to mix cichlids from malawi/victoria with ones from tanganyika. again, its not a good idea to mix utakas and mbunas(both from malawi).

the blue fish that has captured your imagination is a sciaenochromis fryeri / ahli. it is a slightly more aggressive fish and the recommended tank size varies from 80-100g upwards. but if you want a good starter article, with similar type of fish (the copadichromis azureus is a similar brilliant blue, only calmer), you might want to go through this link,
http://www.hagblomfoto.com/article_peaceful_malawi.htm
HTH

 

[Guest]

you can't have Live Plants in a chiclid tank, is that correct? Ive heard they dig around in the gravel and rocks and stuff.

 

[tetrin]

travis has set a glaring example of flouting this common rule. but after thinking a while, and reading the harry potter series, you might think travis is a wizard .
he does have a huge advantage in his favor - space. also, he provides specific areas for the cichlids to dig (very cleverly hidden )

but what you said is true, they do like to dig around. some use sand to clean their gills, some forage for food, some make great breeding sites...and so on...
also, live plants are a part of the mbuna's diet, though i can't guarantee the non-mbuna won't taste them...

 

[Fishyfanatic]

It is difficult to have a planted mbuna tank. It can happen, but it takes an immense amount of time and money. Cichlids will tear apart most live plants.

Are you at all interested in the yellow labs or Electric Blues? Or possibly the Acei's? Check out www.liveaquaria.com and let us know which ones really stand out. There are MANY more that that site lists, but those are the basics. You could also try www.malawimayhem.com but there are several thousand on that site. Plus it also depends on availability in your area.

 

[FinkAlmighty]

you can't have Live Plants in a chiclid tank, is that correct? Ive heard they dig around in the gravel and rocks and stuff.

Some of the larger one are notorious for that, however smaller cichlids and ones that are more docile are not so destructive.

 

[mr funktastic]

ok here is the list of ones that i like
malawian
1.Demasoni Cichlid (Pseudotropheus demasoni)(zebra/ black and blue)
2.Yellow Peacock Cichlid (Aulonocara sp)(yellowy green with tip of fins different colour)
3.Blue Peacock Cichlid male (Aulonocara nyassae)(all blue with light black lines)
4.Electric Yellow Cichlid (Labidochromis caeruleus) (electric yellow lol)
new world
1.German Blue Ram (Microgeophagus ramirezi)
2. Double Full Red Cockatoo Cichlid (Apistogramma cacatuoides)
3.Orange Cockatoo Cichlid (Apistogramma cacatuoides)
ok then now i need to know what can go with what. i feel so useless with this becasue i know nothin about cichlids but so far your help has been great. also i didnt plan on planting the tank. maybe some plastic plants but no real. i was also going to go with a black sand base. and red slate for the structure if that makes any difference. thanks for all the help so far.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Which set do you like the best? The first will be more aggressive and you can only stock them with other Africans. The second set is more peaceful and can be stocked with other peaceful fish that are not Cichlids. You may have difficulty finding the Double Full Red Cockatroo and the Orange Cockatoo. Have you checked the availability of these around your area? BTW- Good choices.

 

[greenmaji]

Your first set could be a lake Malawi bio-tope... there is good information on the water peramiters(PH, KH...), tank size...ect. ect. ect.....
http://www.mongabay.com/fish/biotope_lake_malawi.htm
http://www.mongabay.com/fish/mbuna.htm
http://www.mongabay.com/fish/peacock_cichlids.htm
HTH

 

[tetrin]

first group - aulonocaras and the labs would go along great. but you have to cut the demasoni out. they would be killed in a week by the high protein diet the peacocks require to keep them healthy.
BTW, yellow lab-peacock is a very good combo. but i'd suggest a red peacock (choose) since you'll be having yellow in the tank already.

if you deperately want the demasoni, you'll need to make it a totally mbuna tank. the yellow will go with it, but you'll have to leave out the peacocks as they would be highly stressed in such a tank...

second group - don't know much...

HTH

 

[mr funktastic]

well i can drop the demasoni because the blue peacock cichlids is very similar. so from what i under stand i will now have the electric yellow, blue peacock and the yellow peacock all in the same tank. this sounds good to me but i was wondering if their was a red species that would fit into this group. i will be setting the tank up with all rocky structures i think i will go with black sand and red slate. now what i need to know is what kind of food do they need. i would prefer not to go with live as it will get very expensive. i would like to go with mixture of pellets and frozen food such as blood worms as i already buy them for my ghost knife. thanks for the help everyone this is becoming way easier to do since i have been getting your help.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Cichlid Pellets, Cichlid Flake, frozen peas and zuc are great. They can be fed the bloodworms.

To my knowledge, I have never seen a red African Cichlid. But there have been many that I've never seen. And this is just going from the prospective of availability. I'm sure they are some that are rare, but won't be readily accessable. Check out your lfs and see what they have. This will give you a good idea of what you are able to get. And see if they are willing to special order fish for you. That will broaden your options.

 

[mr funktastic]

i have check my local fish store and have never seen a red one either so i am stuck with that is available. if i did stock a 55 gallon with cichlids how many could i put? also how many could i put if i decided to go with dwarf cichlids?

 

[mr funktastic]

ok if i did stock it i would go with 4 electric blue and 4 electric yellow. is that under stocked? how big do cichlids get? if i went with drawf cichlids how many more could i put in? sorry for asking so many questions but i am really counting on your replies

 

[mr86mister]

understocked? wait what...lol. its always better to be understocked then overstocked.....but great pick, those are some great cichlids

with the dwarf cichlids just make sure there are enough pairs and lots of hiding places for each

 

[travis simonson]

The L. caeruleus are a great all around African. Because they are omnivores they can more easily be kept with utaka (Aulonocaras and Haps). They are dwarf mbuna (like Ps. demasoni) and can alternatively be kept with herbivorous mbuna. I keep L. caeruleus with Ps. demasoni, Ps. acei, and Ps. elongatus "Usisya" with no problems, although I do have a fairly large tank (125G) which reduces crowding and the territorial conflicts that go along with it.

I would say that 4 H. ahlis and 4 L. caeruleus would be comfortable for a 55G. The Haps prefer some open swimming space so four of each may not be understocked. I don't keep utaka so I'll defer to the experts on stocking levels

 

[greenmaji]

~5" for the eletric yellow not to sure about the electric blue
http://www.mongabay.com/fish/mbuna.htm
approprate tank size and other information is avalable at the link as well..

 

[mr funktastic]

i noticed that the lighting in the tank on that site is fairly low. is this to be expected in a cichlid tank? i really like having a lot of light in my tank espically with such vibrantly coloured fish. apparently the electric blue cichlids get up to about 8 inches. so the tank would be almost perfectly stocked based on the 1 inch per gallon rule. they suggest a 90 gallon tank for them but i think with only having 6 fish in a 55 gallon this will give them more than enough room to find their own place and they should addapt to it. thanks again