New Cichlid Tank

[lee420]

whats up guys. new to forum with a newly found addiction to fish, heres what i got so far for my new afro cichlid tank:

29g
80 temp
fluval c3 filter
argonite sand to buffer ph
2 small yellow labs
2 small red zebras
1 small acei
1 clown loach
1 bristle nose pleco (in another tank til i get some algae)

are aqueon flakes (color.enhancing) sufficient for all of them? (besides pleco of course)
they get along great now but will they as they grow?
will the sand always keep my ph up? or does it run out? (took it from 7 to 8 immediately)
should i keep the population where its at or overstock? theres plenty of homes for them how it is now

any advice or experiences with any of this would help a log. thanks guys

 

[Tuxyu3]

Not too experienced with cichlids but heres what i know:

Bristlenose will not be able to live jus off the algae on the glass.
Clown loaches need shoals and get way to big for that tank.

 

[lee420]

what are shoals?

 

[Tuxyu3]

A group of fish, quite a few fish like to live in shoals for social and security reasons.

 

[Yanks15]

Hey lee, welcome. First off, you should keep Mbuna only with Mbuna. They will graze on algae so no need for the pleco. No loach. The aragonite will help buffer your water and keep it at 7.8-8+ pH and as far as I know, will not lose that ability to do so. I keep mine at 78f temp. The 29gal is a bit too small for these guys. They grow to about 4"- 5" so you really should be looking at 55gal. That said, your filtration will have to be upgraded. At least 5x to 10x turnover of water. You should also look to try and build each species up to 3-5 of each. You are looking for a 1-3or4 m/f ratio if interested in them breeding. The labs and acei are pretty peaceful. The red zebra will be the aggressive ones and may stress the others without adding more to spread the aggression around. I feed mine Nutrifin Max cichlid flakes, NLS pellets, Hikari Excel pellets, romaine lettuce, zucchini, and peas. Brands are up to you. Make sure you have plenty of hiding places for them to escape any aggression and to also stake out a territory. Good luck.


Thanks,
Steve