Thinking About Starting An African Cichlid Tank.

[CrazyAirborne]

well my 4 ft 50g tank has turned into a community tank, and im enjoying it, but Ive recently been reading a lot about these awesome fish, and seeing as I have HARD water, and a high PH, ive realized african cichlids should have been something i considered a long while back.

so right now, i have a 29g tank, (30 inches long) that i would love to get a little african setup going. I really want something colorful (dont we all) but would be willing to look into something not so colorful if it had an awesome personality.

given my hard water and 8+ ph, what would u guys suggest for a nice little 29g tank?

If I really start getting into African Cichs I could see myself making my 4ft tank into a nice mbuna or tang tank as well.

Shell dwellers sound neat... I think something yellow would be awesome looking.

give me all advice and thoughts

 

[elisew]

well my 4 ft 50g tank has turned into a community tank, and im enjoying it, but Ive recently been reading a lot about these awesome fish, and seeing as I have HARD water, and a high PH, ive realized african cichlids should have been something i considered a long while back.

so right now, i have a 29g tank, (30 inches long) that i would love to get a little african setup going. I really want something colorful (dont we all) but would be willing to look into something not so colorful if it had an awesome personality.

given my hard water and 8+ ph, what would u guys suggest for a nice little 29g tank?

If I really start getting into African Cichs I could see myself making my 4ft tank into a nice mbuna or tang tank as well.

Shell dwellers sound neat... I think something yellow would be awesome looking.

give me all advice and thoughts

A 29G tank would be way too small for the African cichlids such as the mbuna or malawi peacocks I`m afraid. Even yellow labs and the number you should keep together would be too much for a tank that size

A Tang setup consisting of shelldwellers such as multifasciatus or brevis would work but an awful lot of reading needs to be done as Tangs aren`t the easiest fish to keep unless you get the levels of aggression correct at the start. A lot of frustration, heart ache and dead fish can be avoided IF you do your homework first

I think to be honest the thing I would suggest before anything else would be for you to have a google and read as much as you can about different species, what kind of aggression levels are associated with certain fish you like and then post a list of the kinds of fish you like, we can probably help you more when we have some specific idea of what you would like to keep

 

[CrazyAirborne]

thanks Elisw. Ive been reading, and ive seen the "cookie cutter" suggestions for my 29g on cichlid forum. com but was wondering what you guys would do if u had my setup. surely someone here has a 29g with some africans in it. I have more reading to do, but was looking for some ideas. I also would like to have u guys tell me why these kinds of fish are so addicting, and give me some reasons to convert my 50g. Im not a total novice, so i understand its not really cut and dry, but i figure someone here likes to talk about why they love their small setup so much.

btw, you have some gorgeous tanks!

 

[minnnt]

Leleupi species only tank with about 4 - 6 in there with a nice plec or two.

 

[elisew]

thanks Elisw. Ive been reading, and ive seen the "cookie cutter" suggestions for my 29g on cichlid forum. com but was wondering what you guys would do if u had my setup. surely someone here has a 29g with some africans in it. I have more reading to do, but was looking for some ideas. I also would like to have u guys tell me why these kinds of fish are so addicting, and give me some reasons to convert my 50g. Im not a total novice, so i understand its not really cut and dry, but i figure someone here likes to talk about why they love their small setup so much.

btw, you have some gorgeous tanks!

In a 29G setup I personally would opt for a pair of the neolamprologus caudopunctatus (punks) and 2 pairs of multifasciatus (multies) and separate the 2 species by a decent sized rock pile between them. I say that because I have both species myself and find them extraordinarily entertaining and peaceful. The compressiceps 'shell' would be something that kiriyama would be better advising you on as I`ve never kept them myself.

Although on the 'cookie cutter' suggestions it says 3 different species, I would advise 2 only, especially as multies and punks breed very readily and your tank is likely to become overun with fry if you have too many different species.

I wouldn`t go with Mbuna or Malawi in a 29G because you`re way too limited on how many fish you can have. A big tank that is heavily stocked with these species is much better not only for the fish but so that you can enjoy the colours and behaviour of the fish, bigger is definitely better for the enjoyment that can be achieved with malawi/mbuna.

I would strongly advise against leleupi or brichardi as both species are nasty bug gers the majority of the time. I know this from personal experience but also from following the experiences of some of the other members here.
You could possibly have just a leleupi OR brichardi only tank but it would be a shame to have a species only tank when there are others that will live comfortably and peacefully side by side, unfortunately neither leleupi not brichardi are suitable for tankmates in a 29G tank

What are the dimensions of your 50G? You may well find that mbuna would be fine for a tank that size but you would have to be careful that you didn`t keep too many different mbuna that look the same (if you get what I mean?) as it would just encourage aggression and possible cross breeding, you would also have to create a lot of cave areas for them which in turn then cuts down the space and the amount of fish you can keep

Anyway, these are only my personal thoughts and suggestions, I`m sure others will chip in with their ideas and thoughts from their personal experiences

There are some great journals and photos here:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/forum/110-journals-and-photographs/

 

[Lufbramatt]

Sounds like tangs will be right up your street!

I have a 29 the same size as yours which is home to 5 brevis shellies. I was going to add a pair of julies but after watching the brevis play out their little soap operas I really don't think a second species would add anything to the tank. The two that I bought as a pair stayed as a pair for about 3 weeks then the female decided to play away and moved in with the male on the other side of the tank. Really cool to see the way they interact with each other, and they seem much more deliberate in the way they swim around the tank, exploring all the nooks and crannies. Although lots of places say the brevis stay near their shells, mine swim all over the place, and use the whole height of the tank. Thats not to say they swim around like zebra danios as they do tend to stay near the bottom, but it just maes it more interesting when you glance over to the tank and one of them is right up near the top of the tank seeing whats going on!

I also really like the way they can change colour in an instant from a pale tan to a deep browny purple with tan stripes, and they have lovely purple flashes around their faces.

Heres mine:

http/youtu.be/39qoXpTun_I

 

[kiriyama]

Hi, I would seriously advise anyone considering an African tank not to...
Just kidding, seriously addictive, that's the main problem, you will want more tank, even smaller ones for shell dwellers etc...
I think you could get a lot out of the Tanganyikan cichlids, the colours are more sibtle but with the right substrate, background and use of lighting the colours are very attractive indeed, the behaviour of Tangs though will keep you interested, the way they interact with there tank mates, you'll be glued to the tank...
Shell dwellers are great fun and can work in most Tanganyikan "community" tanks, the main thing is to give each species its own space or territory and (fingers crossed) it should be easier going for you...
A straight forward set up would be shells at one end (for your shell dwellers), rocks at the other for Julidochromis (very interesting Tang) and tank size permitting some Cyprichromis in the open water. Or as previously mentioned Caudopunctatus, maybe with Calvus or Compressiceps, as previously mentioned Leleupi and Brichardi are probably best avoided, especially if you are wanting a community type set up....sorry for going in, hope this helps...

Cheers, Sean

 

[CrazyAirborne]

Thanks everyone, this is what I wanted to hear from u guys. Now I have some things to think about and ill keep u all informed. Keep going with suggestions tho guys if you've got more to add

 

[elisew]

As kiriyama has mentioned the julidochromis, I would also suggest adding only one of them. myrtle has recently posted about how aggressive hers became once they settled in her tank and they`ve basically terrorized the other fish.

My local Maidenhead Aquatics are brilliant with their honest advice and suggested adding only the one juli when I set my tang tank up and I have to say that it`s the main piece of advice that I`m so glad I took. My juli has on occasion had a bit of a pop at the other fish but it`s only ever been when there`s an algae wafer that he`s claimed as his own and he chases the other fish away from it, apart from that I`ve had absolutely no bother with it at all. Plus, if you end up with a pair of julis they will breed like mad and the first you`ll know about it is when you see loads and loads of 'pinprick' sized dots in the tank. Obviously IF you don`t mind becoming overun with fry then its a viable option for you to have more than one juli.

I spend hours watching my tanks, the malawi setup gives the enjoyment from colour and 'busyness' but the Tang setup gives entertainment based on the behaviour firstly and colour second. I bought all of my tangs as juveniles so they were all pretty drab to look at but their colour is improving all the time now along with their displaying/sexual behaviour as they`re all maturing and that has only added to the interest value.

It`ll be interesting to see which route you decide on so do let us know how it`s going

 

[myrtle]

Yeah, definitely just go for the one Julie if you go down the Tang community route! Unfortunately my lfs doesn't give great advice and I let my heart rule my head on that one. I've only recently converted my 240l tank to Tanganyikan and I'm already aching for a bigger tank. I considered Malawi for a short time but decided that I'd prefer the interesting behaviour over just a bunch of bright fish which let's face it, you can get with livebearers (no offence to Malawi keepers, I know it's not the same!). Oddly enough, the Rainbowfish I kept from my previous setup are doing better with the Tangs than they did before and have started breeding too.
So, +1 for Tangs!

 

[jonnyuk]

+ 1 for the tangs.

i only have a 75ltr tank but in this i have 1 masked julie, 1 punk and 1 calvus + 8 rainbows that add a dash of colour to the upper layer of tank.

90% of the time my fish get on fine, the julie and the punk face off sometimes but there is never any damage done (they don't actually nip, just dart at each other).

they all have there own area in the tank they can call home but tolerate other fish passing by.

by far my fav fish is the punk, so much character and fearless.

word of caution, i tried two brevis but did not work out. they wanted the whole tank

tried a pair of multies, again wanted the whole tank

tried 2 punks but think i ended up with two of the same sex as one bossed the whole tank and pushed the other punk into the corners. since i removed this one punk everyone gets along.

it's all trial and error.

 

[james_fish]

I'd like a Malawi setup, but if I did it, I'd do it proper. Something like 150gal! Money and space restrictions!

I had a nice surprise last night, I was at a house party and I was upstairs going the the bathroom, as I peaked into a bedroom on my way past I was delighted to see a lovely Malawi setup!

James.