I'm not a complete newbie, I have had tropical fish for awhile. I however am completely new to cichlids. I have 8 in a cycled 56 right now, they are all 3-5" and supposed to only grow to 6-8" but I have no idea what kind of fish they are because they came out of the "assorted african" tank. Anyway, I know they need LOTS of hiding places, I'm actually working on building a cave out of lava rocks right now (more like a background for the tank) but they do all have temporary hiding places for now until that gets done. I am also going to change the substrate to black moon sand when I put the cave in. Anything else I should be doing with them? Do they breed like crazy because I've read that they will, but I'm not sure if that was all cichlids or just some, and if they do, how long until I am completely overwhelmed with fry? Do I need to be doing anything special right now as far as tank care goes? My water is pristine, and I vacuum the gravel and change 30-40% of the water every 5-6 days. I have an aqua clear 110 on the tank, soon to be adding an emperor 400 as well.
newbie here...please help
- Thread starter laura65536
- Start date
I have figured out that I have 2 electric yellows, 2 electric blues, a powder blue, an electric blue johanni, and 2 orange blotched zebra cichlids. I can't find the camera, if I do I'll throw some pics up.
I'm actually NOT wanting them to breed like rabbits, but if they do I guess it'd be alright (it's always nice to have an excuse to get a bigger tank!)
Also, I've been told that you can put Bichir in with the africans, is that true, and if so, how big of a tank do they require? (I am aware they get HUGE, I was just wondering about bioload, as I have read that cichlids have larger bioloads than say a large tropical fish.)
I'm actually NOT wanting them to breed like rabbits, but if they do I guess it'd be alright (it's always nice to have an excuse to get a bigger tank!)
Also, I've been told that you can put Bichir in with the africans, is that true, and if so, how big of a tank do they require? (I am aware they get HUGE, I was just wondering about bioload, as I have read that cichlids have larger bioloads than say a large tropical fish.)
Sounds good. You will be fine. lots of rocks will keep down heavy aggression. So will overstocking. Breeding and cross breeding will happen, but the fry can be free food. That is of course, if you have females in there.
so I should get some more fish to help with aggression? like I said I'm new to cichlids, but overstocking in my tropical tank has been highly frowned upon...
yea i know what you mean one time i asked a question like that and they told me that overstocking is a bad idea.
Of course that was with Central and South American cichlids,but i guess they say overstocking with african cichlids is okay!i dont know its just weird to me but hopefully an expert checks this thread and he'll help you out!
Of course that was with Central and South American cichlids,but i guess they say overstocking with african cichlids is okay!i dont know its just weird to me but hopefully an expert checks this thread and he'll help you out!
okay, well overstocking is fine. You have what is called Mbuna africans from lake Malawi... Stay with these guys. One problem with these guys is the over feeding habit... They will beg whenever you walk near the tank... Only feed twice with just enough for them all to get some food, but not blow up with food. Try to over feed with protein will get bloat and die try getting something like NLS (new life spectrum... umm I am forgetting some, but will come back if you ask more questions...
oh yea over filter if you over stock!
oh yea over filter if you over stock!
my 75g.
i had around 15 ACs, 2 clowns loaches, silver dollar tetra, 2 painted tetras, madtom catfish, butterfly loach and 2 fiddler crabs. Ac ranged in size from 6"+ to less than 1". rockwork kept the fish with plenty of territory. i was feeding guppies to them that were bigger than the baby ACs i added. with enough rocks, you can add anything. i recently set up a 29g for my wife that is a mini me of this tank. i have used this setup 4 times over the last 3 years.
i had around 15 ACs, 2 clowns loaches, silver dollar tetra, 2 painted tetras, madtom catfish, butterfly loach and 2 fiddler crabs. Ac ranged in size from 6"+ to less than 1". rockwork kept the fish with plenty of territory. i was feeding guppies to them that were bigger than the baby ACs i added. with enough rocks, you can add anything. i recently set up a 29g for my wife that is a mini me of this tank. i have used this setup 4 times over the last 3 years.