Cichlid Help Please!

[marmi]

hi!

i have a 3ft 120 litre tank,and we have hard alkaline water in my area.

i have been advised to go for cichlids as they seem to like this water,although having done some research i'm confuddled as to which would be suitable for my tank?!

if anyone could help i'd be very greatful

 

[Davo86]

hard alkaline water is suitable for african cichlids, however the majority of these would require a tank of at least 4 feet and around twice the volume.

You could however go for something like a pair of kribensis with a shoal of dithers (gold barbs maybe)

 

[Corleone]

Most small Tanganyikan cichlids would be ok for the tank size. Their behavior differs from mbuna, which need the big tanks as mentioned. In my experience, they're a bit harder to come by. The "assorted afrcians" nearly every store sells are all mbuna.

How high is your pH? For most commonly sold fish, pH is really a non-issue. I have a tropical community at a pH of 7.6-7.8. Most fish adapt fairly well to any stable pH as long as the extremes are avoided.

 

[marmi]

thanks!

i thought kribs liked a more acidic/soft water

the ph is 8.4 so quite high

anything else that would thrive?

am not totally commited to cichlids,i just want the right fish for my water so they are happy

am going out this afternoon to get the decor/rocks plants etc and want to have decided what fish to keep before i get it all.


thanks guys xxx

 

[Davo86]

Kribs aren't really fussy, they do well in any stable conditions

 

[Ace Of Spades]

Kribs aren't really fussy, they do well in any stable conditions

could go brackish and get 2 figure 8 puffers, with a few BBG ?

 

[marmi]

well i wont be doing anything now...


i sprung a leak

 

[rabbut]

Sounds rather un-hygenic On a more serious note, if you bought new, the seams will be under garentee, and a free replacement is in order. Second hand, repairs are easy. I hope it diden't do too much damage? Many insurance companys won't cover water damage from a tank, so you could hit some un-xpected expence through this

Onwards and upwards though...

to TFF

Most taganican cichlids would be OK. Most livebeares like higher hardnes and pH so they are also worth looking at.

While getting the tank fixed (along with any damaged decor), look through the "new to the hobby" section, particularly at the fishless cycling thread. This will quide you through prepairing your tank for fish, without putting them through ammonia poisoing. Fishess cycling involved adding ammonia to the tank for a few weeks to grow the filter bacteria. most shops advise fish-in cycling, where the tank sits empty for a week, sometimes adding "bacteria in the bottle" products. The product don't usually work, and the tank cannot cycle without an ammonia source. When you add fish to the tank after a week, the ammonia spikes and the tank tends to kill all it's occupants. Just a heads up to save this happening to you There are cases where this works, but the cases are few and far between.

HTH
Rabbut