---> Nicks Cichlid Journal <---

[Nick16]

Aquarium: 48x24x24 standard tank from aquariums ltd.
Cabinet: Home made by my dad
Lighting: 4x54w Arcadia T5 Luminaire (only 2 will be used for the majority of the time)
Filtration: Tetratec EX1200 x2 and possibly and fluval 4plus
Heating: 2x Hydor ETH 300w
Substrate: 5mm coral sand/gravel
Hardscape: rock sourced from the builders merchants and Redmoor root
Plants: Plastic as real will be eaten!
Fish/Inverts: TBC - perhaps yellow labs, acei's etc. BN's, Syno's.

hi all, time to get the journal up and running. the hardscape is almost complete, with the wood just soaking and some plants to buy.
some media is being cycled by a friend from uKaps.

this will be my first ever cichlid tank so i need as much input from experianced members as possible so i do things right.
im aiming to keep some less aggressive fish that wont fight constantly so i can learn the tricks of the trade!

as usual all comments are welcome.

pictures to follow in a few days.

 

[Squidward]

Sounds good.

In tank there is always a tank boss, and he will always be keeping the other males in theeir place. Can't be helped, it's the nature of these fish.
Some are less aggressive than others. The aim is to try and limit the aggression as much as possible.

A few tips:

Less aggressive species

Overstock

Don't stock similar looking species

I also found that if I had males only of certain species, they would be less aggressive as they weren't trying to breed constantly.

And also, if you tank is big enough (mine wasn't) don't have just one pile of rocks along the back. If space allows, have a few piiles of rock with sand in between. That way, the more aggressive males can stake out a pile of rock and wil leave the males alone on the other piles.
If you can't do this, try and have bits of rock projecting into the tank to break the line of sight.

 

[ian]

make sure you get some pics up Nick. Are you setting this up at home?

 

[Nick16]

yeah, im back at home now...

i have gone for a large stack of rocks but the siight line is broken, i will be adding redmoor wood. once a planted person always a planted person! cant do without my numberous lumps of wood!

the knarly branchy nature will reduce flatness in the scape and also giive the plecs something to graze on...

hopeing to find some nice rare plecs...

 

[Carlovel1]

Really wanna see the pics!

 

[Squidward]

hopeing to find some nice rare plecs...

Rare Plecs and Malawis is not a good mix.
I tried and the Plecs did not do well unfortunately
Bristle noses, common and maybe bulldog is about all you will safely get away with.

The rarer plecs are mostly wild caught, and all prefer soft water, low ph and less boisterous tank mates.

 

[Nick16]

ahh shame mate..

i wont even get away with a gold nugget or a phantom?

i will be having a BN, hopefully a female.

 

[Squidward]

ahh shame mate..

i wont even get away with a gold nugget or a phantom?

i will be having a BN, hopefully a female.

Yup, really not a good idea.

BN should be fine though.

 

[Nick16]

a brief update with a couple of snaps. rockwork in.

im still to add the redmoor and a lot more plants.

please excuse the mess, everything is soaking so the tank is half full, equipment everywhere, scummy foamy stuff, and also smeary glass. - dont you just love the hobby

 

[Squidward]

Looks good.

I tried to get the same effect, but I could only find thinner slate. So the gaps were therefore smaller.

Just one idea. I would build up the corners a bit more. In a Malawi set up you can't have too many rocks!

Also, something else to bear in mind, but it can't be helped. Cichlids tend to dig a lot. And I found mine used to undermine the piles of rocks a bit and the "wall" would slip out of shape. Fortunately, the rocks rested on the side of the tank instead of coming crashing down.

 

[Nick16]

they cant dig mate. i laid egg crate down.. filled in all the small tiny squares and sat the rocks on the egg crate. the substrate is just around the rocks.
the rocks are actually for crazy paving and driveways as its not slate, just has the same look. the rock is not sitting on any substrate so even if all the gravel was removed the structure would not lose and of its strength. they are also glued in place so it took me some real strength to move the pile!

i could put a few more in mate, but its all glued!

 

[Biulu]

Good idea that driveway rock! Where are you planning on putting the wood? In front? At the sides?

 

[Nick16]

on the sides mate.. hence i dont really want to add more rock to the sides.. it will look better with the wood and plants..
i also have some caves to add in somewhere. im going to add one piece of wood, and if it doesnt look good i can always add some of the spare pieces..

 

[Squidward]

they cant dig mate. i laid egg crate down.. filled in all the small tiny squares and sat the rocks on the egg crate. the substrate is just around the rocks.
the rocks are actually for crazy paving and driveways as its not slate, just has the same look. the rock is not sitting on any substrate so even if all the gravel was removed the structure would not lose and of its strength. they are also glued in place so it took me some real strength to move the pile!

i could put a few more in mate, but its all glued!

Ah. Eggcrate. I only found out about that after I put my tank together.

I also did not want to glue mine together. Not that I ever did as it took me too long to put together anyway. But what happens if you want to take the rocks out? Say to catch a fish?

 

[Nick16]

i use a rod and line!

i guess i urge it towards a corner and pin it there!!
hadnt thought about that but it cant be harder than trying to catch corydoras in a 4x2x2 fully planted set up with full substrate cover!

cant wait to get the ball rolling on this!