Thinking of setting up a Cichlid tank

[fishygurl]

I am thinking of setting up an african cichlid tank for my bedroom when i can save the money, and have many questions.

1. What is the best way to harden the water? (my PH is 7.0)

2. I would like to include a few plants. I was thinking java fern anubis and valls. Are these ok?

3. I was considering two filters:
http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=22045;category_id=1711;pcid1=2885;pcid2=
and
http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=22583;category_id=1711;pcid1=2885;pcid2=
Which one?

4. What substrate would you reccomend? I was thinking mabye PFS?

5. Which type of rock is better? Lava or limestone?

6. What type of Cichlids would you reccomend?

7. What kind of bottom feeder is suitable for a cichlid aquarium?

I will post more questions as i think of them.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

First of all, what is the size of the tank?

The best way, IMO, to increase your pH is with cc in the filter.

I can not comment on plants except that if you want to keep them, plan carefully.

I am partial to the Cascade line. I have three right now and they are running perfectly. Two are on our 150 African tank and one is on the 55 gal community.

Pool Filter Sand is a great choice for Africans. It is easy for them to move around and rounded.

I prefer Lava rock over limetsone. We use it in ours. If you build it up, it looks really nice.

What types of Cichlids are you interested in? Colors? And the tank size plays a big part. Nothing under 55 gal.

To keep it simple, only Africans should be kept with Africans. This "guideline" can be broken if you have peaceful mbuna such as labs and aceis. Even then, cory cats are not an option. I have Pleco's that are thriving. A few members keep Clown loaches also.

 

[fishygurl]

I forgot to say.. OOOPS 55 gallon. Ya, i was thinking mabye a BN pleco. Bright colors! lol ha ha. I dont know what type i am interested in... I dont know alot about cichilds soim not sure. I was reasearching but i cant find a good site with profiles and pics. Do you know of one?

 

[greenmaji]

Well there are the Rift Lake Cichlids (the ones everyone seems to be intrested in)
then there are the Cichlids from the rest of the contenent.. their water peramiter needs are much diffent..

 

[Fishyfanatic]

www.malawimayhem.com is a great site for pics of Malawis. To get an idea of what is available in your area, check out the local fish stores and see what they have. Then come back and try to find info on them. This is of course assuming that you are wanting to go with Lake Malawi. They are the most popular and easier to find. Prettier IMO. But it's all in personal opinion.

 

[fishygurl]

Rift lake, i guess. I need a couple of begginer species that are fairly easy to keep.

 

[greenmaji]

I would be carefull as to wich ones I would pick for a 55 gallon.. its a borderline size, some Rift lake cichlids need more territory then a 55gallon can offer.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Yellow labs are very popular. But unless you find a quality "batch", they tend to be not as attractive as they age. They start to have the "coal miners" look to them. It is not noticed until they hit sexual maturity. Cobalts (Callainos) are also peaceful and add a nice bright sky blue coloration. Acei's are also beautiful and love to "school". Socolofi's are also peaceful.

Considering this is a 55 gal tank, I would go with peaceful Mbuna. When you start obtaining the more aggressive species, you need a larger tank.

 

[fishygurl]

FishyFanatic, what are the scientific names for those, i cant find a site the profiles under common names

 

[greenmaji]

http://www.mongabay.com/fish/lake_malawi_cichlids.htm
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=2

 

[nitrous]

if you want color go for some red zebra chiclids, they are nice i love mine they are so bright in orange color and are not as territorial as my kenyi but the red zebras are nice and i also have yellow labs which are also nice some have a brighjt yellow and a black stripe but if you want live plants its not easy with them, i dont kno how travis did it but my chiclids tear up my plants and dig in the gravel, its not to tretourus because its fun to watch them

hth

 

[greenmaji]

i dont kno how travis did it but my chiclids tear up my plants and dig in the gravel, its not to tretourus because its fun to watch them

hth

he tried diffent plant combinations untill he found things that worked..
check out his post..
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=73522

 

[fishygurl]

Here are some other species i like: (I was just looking at pics, so tell me if any of these are unsuitable in any way)
Cynotilapia afra http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1679
Cynotilapia afra (Ndumbi)http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1678
Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Ngara)http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=835
Pseudotropheus sp. "Elongatus Mdoka" http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=873
Metriaclima estherae (Red)http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1730

 

[Guest]

The best way to decide what you want in your tank is to go to your Local fish stores and write down the names of all the cichldis that look interesting to you. If you look them up onlineand find ones you like you may never find them in your area.

After writing down the ones you like (write down the colors beside thename so you remember which ones are whicH) come home and research all of them online. Find out which ones you like best and build around that.

In my 55 gallon i have:

Acei
yellow Labs
kenyi
Melanochromis johanni

 

[fishygurl]

Ill do that, thanks AshleyNicole.

 

[greenmaji]

My local shop will let me look at there distributors list of ARLC's.. If you have a mom and pop LFS ask the person that orders the fish if you can order fish that they dont have in stock.

 

[Guest]

i agree with greenmaji to. You can do research from what they have in stock but sometimes they can order for you.

I couldn't find SAE anywhere and i got to know the guy that does the orders at one of my favorite fish stores and he ordered them for me. He said he never ordered them before b/c he dind't know what they were!!! And i told him they're only like the best algea eaters... 10000 times better than CAE. So now he keeps them in stock!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Don't get your hopes up on ordering fish from mom and pop stores. There are many places around here that tell you they will order, but you can't get a fish that is not available from their breeders.

The Acei Ngara is a beautiful fish. I just aquired one last week. They are hard to find and are supposed to be more aggressive than the regular Acei. I haven't witnessed that yet since ours is still in QT.

The Estherae is a great choice for a peaceful mbuna. Here are the links to what I mentioned last night.

Callainos
Yellow Lab
Socolofi
Socolofi Albino

 

[fishygurl]

What are some orange colored fish that would fit in with them? There all blu and yellow. LOL

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The Estherae is an orangish coloration. And don't even try to find red, it's impossible. We have been searching for a red mbuna and they do not exist.