Help For A Newb To Africans.........

[penguinpimp1990]

ive never owned any african chiclids before and i have a few questions:

1. How much current do malawis prefer? (ie fast flowing)
2. Is there any preference to the depth of sand? (I dont want any diggers in my tank)
3. How much salt do malawis prefer? (I heard one tablespoon per 10 gallons but Im not sure)
4. Can you reccomend a malawi predator for a 75 gallon tank? (I want one thats not overly aggressive and wont eat any fish under 5 inches. I love feeding silversides )
5. I plan on feeding lots of spirunla (i know i cant spell) and kelp but would it hurt any to try to get some algae growing? (low wattage full spectrum flourescent should speed up the algae growth some)
6. Bottom feeders for a malawi tank? I dont want anything non malawi native (ie plecos). Maybe an eel? (I havent seen eels for malawi but i love the mastacembelid eels of lake tang. , anything similar?)

thanks guys

 

[freddyk]

The reason some of these answers are in the form of questions is because 'Malawi' cichlids range from an inch to two feet, from herbivorous to piscavorous and everything in between, so it's not much easier to generalize 'Malawis' then 'Africans', or even worse, 'Cichlids'?

1: They don't care much about current one way or another so it's not worth worrying about

2: Digging is a very common trait and it should be expected. If you don't want digging then be very careful in your fish selection, but in general these cichlids aren't the best idea if digging bothers you

3: What are the parameters of your water? They don't necessarily need any salt at all - there can be no right answer to this because there are other variables involved

4: What do you mean by predators? There are many micro preds or insectivores that would do well, but if by predator you mean piscavore then they get big any you can get would eat any fish that it can catch.

5: Again it comes down to what you want to keep. Some Malawis will thrive off spirulina and graze at algae in the tank, others should have spirulina only as a supplement to other food and won't touch algae.

6: Synodontis types like nyassae, multipunctatus, petricola etc.. work great in these tank. Bristlenose plecos could work but it won't help if you want to grow algae. Eels are generally not a great idea in a cichlid tank. Keep in mind many malawi cichlids are good bottom feeders in their own right.

 

[penguinpimp1990]

The reason some of these answers are in the form of questions is because 'Malawi' cichlids range from an inch to two feet, from herbivorous to piscavorous and everything in between, so it's not much easier to generalize 'Malawis' then 'Africans', or even worse, 'Cichlids'?

1: They don't care much about current one way or another so it's not worth worrying about

2: Digging is a very common trait and it should be expected. If you don't want digging then be very careful in your fish selection, but in general these cichlids aren't the best idea if digging bothers you

3: What are the parameters of your water? They don't necessarily need any salt at all - there can be no right answer to this because there are other variables involved

4: What do you mean by predators? There are many micro preds or insectivores that would do well, but if by predator you mean piscavore then they get big any you can get would eat any fish that it can catch.

5: Again it comes down to what you want to keep. Some Malawis will thrive off spirulina and graze at algae in the tank, others should have spirulina only as a supplement to other food and won't touch algae.

6: Synodontis types like nyassae, multipunctatus, petricola etc.. work great in these tank. Bristlenose plecos could work but it won't help if you want to grow algae. Eels are generally not a great idea in a cichlid tank. Keep in mind many malawi cichlids are good bottom feeders in their own right.

2. Well i wouldnt mind some digging but i just dont want piles and piles of sand thrown everywhere.
3. my tapwater is 7 and sort of soft. I want to raise the pH and hardness through my sand, coral chips, rocks, and some salt. I read somewhere that when you have a small mix of everything it helps add a much wider variety of minerals or something to the water? so if its true id like to add a small amount of salt.
4. I mean a piscavore, one that wont get too big to eat a fish at 5 inches in length. maybe one that tops at 9 or 10 inches.
5. I want some malawis that will graze on algae a lot and it makes up a good portion of their diet.(not sure what species yet), so i thought growing some algae would help.
6. ohhhhh i wasnt aware that they were good bottom feeders, also do they come to the surface to feed?
thanks a lot

 

[penguinpimp1990]

also if i keep a full spectrum bulb on for 12 hours daily (the full spectrum light is for algae growth) could i light the remaining 12 hours of tank with moon lights or actinic 03 blue lights? will it effect the fish?

 

[freddyk]

Dimidiochromis Compressiceps would probably be the type of predator you're thinking of, but there really isn't room to mix them with mbuna unless it's a big tank because it would need a good balance of rocks and open space for those very different types of cichlids. Also, at larger sizes they'll eat smaller mbuna - predators are predators.

Salt is nothing but sodium chloride. Aquarium salt is spretty much the same. Adding marine salt is a way to add some minerals to the water. If the KH of your water is low you can use baking soda to boost it up.

 

[penguinpimp1990]

Salt is nothing but sodium chloride. Aquarium salt is spretty much the same. Adding marine salt is a way to add some minerals to the water. If the KH of your water is low you can use baking soda to boost it up.

i was orignally planning on using marine salt. So what your saying is use baking soda instead of aquarium/marine salt?

 

[j.c]

Salt is nothing but sodium chloride. Aquarium salt is spretty much the same. Adding marine salt is a way to add some minerals to the water. If the KH of your water is low you can use baking soda to boost it up.

i was orignally planning on using marine salt. So what your saying is use baking soda instead of aquarium/marine salt?

my malawi's come to the top to feed so i dont see why they wouldnt in anyone elses tank.

 

[penguinpimp1990]

i was asking because i didnt know if they were only midwater feeders, like a lot of chiclids (south american ones not african as i have no experience with them)

 

[freddyk]

Of course they'll come to the top to feed, even my bottom dwelling Synodontis do that, because they learn where the food comes from, but in they end they are still excellent bottom feeders because they won't let any food go uneaten in the tank.

I meant Baking soda as well as marine salt.