Should I

[Feral123]

i was thinking about setting up and getting a chiclid tank soon. but i was wondering if they need any more extra treatment then the other fish or if their upkeep is basically the same

 

[dthoffsett]

The upkeep is basically the same, they key to cichlid tanks is to do a lot of research before buying anything, they are a bit more complicated when it comes to stocking.

If you are interested in the cichlids of Lake Malawi, you'll want at least a 55 gallon tank.
The shelldwellers of Lake Tanganyika can be kept in as little as 10 gallons.

Here are a couple of great links to get you started, and feel free to ask any questions.
http/www.fishforums.net/The-Mbuna-Aquarium-t27706.html
http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/introduction_list.php

 

[Feral123]

thank you, about the stockin question. i know that africans go with africans but can you mix cichlids from different areas of africa together? if not then what can go with what?

 

[dthoffsett]

It's generally not a good idea to mix africans from different areas. They can have vastly different temperments, water chemistry, and feeding requirements.

I'm going to assume by your avatar, that your are interested in mbuna, the rockdwellers of Lake Malawi. If that is the case, you'll want to stick with those type of fish. There are quite a few species of mbuna so you have a lot to choose from. What I meant by more tricky stocking is that in general, mbuna are far more aggressive than your typical community fish, and you usually want to try to keep species with similar temperments together. That's why you need to do research before you buy any fish, unfortunatly, for some reason, many LFS tend to carry extremely aggressive species that can happily kill off all other fish in your tank, and then you end up with a large tank with one angry fish.

So, my suggestion would be to read through the articles I posted (which will explain much better than I can), make sure you have a suitable sized tank, then go to your LFS and write down the names (preferably scientific names) of the speices you like, research them, and post on here, and we'll help you set up a good stocking list.

 

[Feral123]

thank you for all your help. i have read the articles and i have a pretty good idea of what cichlids i might want. my tank is 65 gallons but heavily planted. i am going to put more caves in but would all those plants help to hide them or should i take them out and just fill those spots with more caves?

 

[Feral123]

so some of the ones im thinking of are:

Labidochromis caeruleus
Pseudotropheus demasoni
Sciaenochromis ahli
Pseudotropheus zebra
Melanochromis auratus
Pseudotropheus lombardoi

So if these are good then how much of each species schould i get? if these arnt a good combo then let me know what it.

 

[dthoffsett]

I'd remove the plants and replace them with rocks. The mbuna will just eat or dig up the plants anyways.

Labidochromis caeruleus-great fish, fairly peaceful by mbuna standards. M/F ratios don't matter.

Pseudotropheus demasoni-these are great little fish too, however, they are best kept with either a single speices, or groups of 12 or more. They are extremely aggressive to their own kind (hence the group of 12+) and other fish that look like them.

Sciaenochromis ahli- This is a hap, needing different feeding requirements, and will grow too large for your tank.

Pseudotropheus zebra-This is actually a generic name give to several different species. The most common are metriclima estherae (females are orange-red, males are a yellowy-orange) and metriclima callainos (both males and females are blue). Both of these species have similar temperments, they are a bit more aggressive than l.caeruleus, should be kept with 1 male to 3-4 females.

Melanochromis auratus- extremetly aggressive, IMO should only be kept in a species-only tank.

Pseudotropheus lombardoi- Another very aggressive fish, again, should either be kept alone, or in a very aggressive set up.

Stocking suggestion:

You should be able to comfortably house 12-15 adults in your tank. I have two stocking suggestions.

#1
4-5 Labidochromis caeruleus - m/f ratio not important
4-5 of either m.estherae, or m.callainos, 1m/3-4f
4-5 of another mildly aggressive species

#2
12 p.demasoni - m/f doens't really matter in larger groups, but you may need to remove additional males once they reach maturity and add females in their place.
5 l.caeruleus - m/f ratio doesn't matter.

The reason you can have more fish in option 2 is because demasoni are so small.

Or you could always to a species only tank of either m.auratus or p.lombardoi.

 

[Feral123]

lol your just full of advice. i now know who to go to for any further questions. and you really have helped out alot. i think i like stocking option 2. and i will get rid of the plants and ill put them in my other tank. so its off get some more rocks lol

 

[Feral123]

not to copy you or anything. how do you have your cichlid tank set up. from the species to the decor and substrate. lol

 

[dthoffsett]

Here's a link to members tanks, I'm in there too.

http/www.fishforums.net/Members-African-...ks-t169788.html

 

[Feral123]

nice setup

 

[dthoffsett]

nice setup

Thanks.