40 gal african setup

[moneywastedonfish]

hi guys i was hoping to convert a 40 gallon tank to an african tank.
It is a 3ft tank 40 gallons and at the moment has a gravel substrate.
Any ideas on what i should change about the tank for africans and can you please offer any suggestionsas to what species and numbers of which would be comfortablein this tank. Can any fit in a 40?
Smaller species would be good or perhaps a species tank if the species was attractive.
Thanks heaps for any replies.

 

[yhbae]

hi guys i was hoping to convert a 40 gallon tank to an african tank.
It is a 3ft tank 40 gallons and at the moment has a gravel substrate.
Any ideas on what i should change about the tank for africans and can you please offer any suggestionsas to what species and numbers of which would be comfortablein this tank. Can any fit in a 40?
Smaller species would be good or perhaps a species tank if the species was attractive.
Thanks heaps for any replies.

If you are interested in mbuna tank, you can do either one or two species tank, if you choose peaceful species.

The following are known to be peaceful, if you choose 1M:3F, you can fit two groups:

- Iodotropheus Sprengeraes
- Labidochromis Caeruleus (Yellow Lab)
- Pseudotropheus Saulosi
- Pseudotropheus Acei

If you are looking for Peacock species tank or Lake Tang based tank, there are more options there as well...

 

[willywonka099]

Yhbae gave very good suggestions ... If you were intrested in fry maybe 2 males 6 female kribs ???

 

[moneywastedonfish]

cool thanks for the repilies,
so you think i could have two species 1m:3f, would that be maxing the tank out or could i putsome non cichlids in their as well, eg pictus catfish?
Ive done the krib thing and dont really like them thenks for the suggestion though.

 

[yhbae]

cool thanks for the repilies,
so you think i could have two species 1m:3f, would that be maxing the tank out or could i putsome non cichlids in their as well, eg pictus catfish?

I don't know much about pictus catfish but there are other catfishes that are native to african lakes - Synodontis species. Unfortunately, Synodontis multipunctatus (probably the most common Syn.) gets too large in a 3ft tank. The smallest one, called Synodontis Petricola could fit ok although you are still pushing it. You need at least 3 of these in the tank.

By the way, these guys are not cheap...

What kind of filtration do you have? You may need to upgrade it as the stock grows into larger size...

 

[Gunnie]

Just thought I'd confuse you more with this:

african cichlid compatibility chart

 

[yhbae]

Just thought I'd confuse you more with this:

african cichlid compatibility chart

Looks like that chart generalizes quite a bit - probably too much. Both Acei and Demasoni are Pseudotropheus and they have completely different levels of aggression and diet requirement.

I wonder what the table was based on?