African Tank Give Me Advice!

[DiscusAngel]

I Really want to change my community tank to a African tank, The owner of my Lfs is my friend and will swap my fish for some of his africans so what type of tanks do africans live in? dothey like Rocky Planted Plain? also what types of Gravel? Sand or Stones? I love all the bright colours in the africans unlike the tank i have atm i have 2 black angels 4 discus that arent very colourful and some phantom tetras also 4 keyholes its abit boring. so if you have pics post them for me and please give me the most information you have!! many thanks!!

 

[ASD]

It all depends on what type of African tank you want, judging by your post, you want the colourful 'Mbuna' from lake Malawi, i could go on forever about these beautiful fish, but basically, they do well when slightly overstocked, hard water, and plenty of rocks as these fish are rock dwelling fish. If you google them there is a wealth of information out there.

 

[nukeonekitty]

There is no way anyone can post everything you need to know. It's on you to research enough and ask the right questions.

P.S. ASD is that link in your sig for real?

 

[ASD]

It is for real, and it has been proved by a BBC documentary. Its basically a promotions offer where you have to get referrals. Most people think its a scam so getting referrals is quite difficult. There is a whole web community dedicated to getting free stuff including forums like this one.

Yeah i agree with nukeonekitty, jsut research and if there is any specific questions you need to know then ask them here.

 

[Ferris]

Check out all the info and pics in the pinned section of this forum - that should give you most of what you need to know to start off with.

 

[DiscusAngel]

Thank you all! as at the moment i have a planted tank and i will change this to a rocky tank!! and now i will research research and research before i transform!!

Thanks!!

 

[adambrum]

Dont forget tank size 140l/35g is really to small for most mbuna and will make it very difficult.

You should really be looking at 200l/55g 48" long.

 

[Boids-n-more]

I agree your tank is too small. But the basic set up is lots of rock structure , natural rock substrate , no plants, also you need lots of filtration. Your water needs to be a bit on the hard side. What you ned to research is the exact fish you want in your tank and tweak the set up to what they require and need.

 

[DiscusAngel]

Unfortunatly i cant get a bigger tank ! as it is in a space. but cant i have a small amount of the smaller africans?

 

[nukeonekitty]

It isn't their size or bio load that is the problem here. It is more or less the aggression. An African cichlid being chased around by another needs room to get away and hide. If it doesn't have the room it will get overly stressed possibly resulting in death or illness or a combination of both.

 

[Boids-n-more]

you can go with some shell dwellers. I have never done this but i have seen it recommended for smaller tanks. If i'm wrong on this understanding can some please chime in here.

 

[ASD]

I have kept malawis in a similar size tank to yours. It can be done, just keep away from the more aggressive species. IMO, some of the best ones are the least aggressive, i.e, Yellow Labs.