3 Questions

[danon]

Hopefully going to buy my first tank at weekend, if it has arrived in store.
After much thought i think i am going to go for the Cichlid's.
Understand i need sand substrate and plenty of rocks for hiding.
OK first question: What type of rock should i use?
Second: Can i put other smaller shoals of fish in the Cichlid tank?
Third: Would really like some plants, can they be weighted down some how as i realise they could be dug up?

My tank to be is 215 litres with a trickle filter in the hood.
Hope these questions are OK and dont make me seem to STUPID!!!!!

 

[darrel69]

1) Any type of rock is ok aslong as it dont contain any metals. Mineral rock like Limestone, ocean rock, tufa rock ect.. is good for Africans as it leech's minerals into your water and contributes to a stable pH. However it isn't essential.

2) If your having Africans, no. Africans are too aggressive for other fish, and should be kept with other Africans only. Though, some types of plec's and catfish are ok.

3) You could have plants if you wish. If you do, go for the more robust, hardy types. Otherwise they aint going to last long, and will get shredded to peices or simply eaten. There are some types of plant that Africans dont like the taste of and will leave alone, but ive forgot what they're called.

What do you plan to stock with ??

 

[danon]

I am currently looking at Yellow labs, Yellow tail acei and Kribensis.

Any other suggestions would be much appreciated.

Cockatoo cichlids?
Ram?

Just tested my tap water its PH level is 6.8, will this rise when it is added to the tank with the sand etc and after the fishless cycle is complete?

 

[kj23502]

I haven't experienced it myself, but I've heard it's not a good idea to mix Kribs w/mbuna.

My tap water is about 7ph and I have slate and granite in my tank. I add Seachems Malawi/Victora Cichlid buffer and it works very well! There are other products out there as well, that's just what I use.

As far as other cichlids...are there certain looks you want? Specific color.....there are 100's of different mbuna species! yellow labs and acei will be fine with each other.

Give us an idea of what look your're trying to acheive!
As far as plants, I've heard Anubias(i think that's how u spell it but I'm not sure) should be alright. I have java fern and java moss in my tanks. The ferns are taking a hit....they should make it, they grow fast. And they nibble on the java moss too.....but the java moss looks to be in better condition. I have mine attached to the rocks. I used fishing line to attach the ferns and pinched the moss in between rocks. I plan to get some potted plants to put in the sand and see how that goes! At least they can't dig up the potted plants! If the plants are seated on the bottom of the tank then the fish should be able to dig around the plants and hopefully not knock them over! However, in the natural habitat, there aren't many plants around....

Since cichlids require lots of rock in the tank, it's a good idea to put that egg crate lighting cover stuff on the bottom of the tank to help disperse the weight!
Gotta go...if I think of more, I'll add it later!

edit---
if my calc are correct you could have about 15 fish at the most(of mbuna that is). You may have read this but I'll put it in anyways...it's a good idea to have a filter than turns the tank over at least 5 times per hour. I'm not sure what a trickle filter is, tho. I've only done hang on back and canister.

 

[danon]

Just want a colourful looking tank to be admired.

Just out of interest what do you have?

 

[kj23502]

I have 3 different species. I would say they are all juvies...I have about 22 total fish right now and will be adding about 10 more in the future.
yellow labs

cynotilapia afra cobue

and pundamilia nyererei(my dominant male)

These are pics of my actual fish.

you could go with 6 yellow labs and 6 c. afra's or 6 acei

---edit--
my setup is kinda new, but I've been reading about mbuna cichlids since last December! I've read a ton on this forum and other websites and books. I guess you could say i have a ton of Book knowledge and only a little experience knowledge. However, if anyone gets steered wrong, someone will usually state it and give the right info. It's a good idea to do alot of reading yourself from multiple soures(the people on here do have very good info!)