Looking to start an african tank!

Greg31 · Sep 17, 2013

So due to my wife being bored of my monster fish 150g tank, (bichir, clown loaches, clown knife) I think I will redo my tank with some colorful africans. The problem is in my 5+ years of monster tanks I have never even attempted africans. I just want to get a heads up of what will work and some quick questions.

1. I know africans require a higher PH but I honestly never test my current tank and they do fine. Is a high PH a definite must need or can they live in whatever just fine? (I also realize adding a lot of rock for them will help raise PH anyway, which is what I would plan to do anyway for decoration.)

2. Would my clown loaches and bichirs be fine with them? I have about 4 10"+ inch bichirs in the tank now. I am assuming they should be fine as long as none of the fish are small enough to be lunch.

3. When buying african cichlids are they any type specifically I should keep together or is it basically just buy whatever fish I want as long as they are similar sizes. Like do certain kinds get along better, or certain types prefer groups.

4. I am a big fan of frontosa. Would I be able to have a group of them along with other africans or do they prefer to be alone? (I know you generally have a male with as bunch of females)

Any others tips would be greatly appreciated. Even some recommendations for fish would be cool!

paulW · Sep 17, 2013

I have read that other people have kept Clown Loaches in with Africans and it's worked out ok. I have never tried it personally, so I can't guarantee it. That's kind of the crux of keeping African reef cichlids ..nothing is really guaranteed. I had a friend that had a frontosa in with some peacocks and haps, and that also worked out.. On the other hand, even if you stay with fish from the same lake (for example, all Malawi), there's always the risk that down the road you might get a phsycotic male. In general, the risk is low, but be careful of accepting "free fish" from others, especially if they say it killed a few fish in their tank but it might work for you.

As far as your local pH, go to a pet store and ask them if they keep their Africans in tap water. Unless you live in an area of soft water, it's highly likely the pet store uses water straight from the tap. If you want, you can add some baking soda and salt to raise the pH and increase the dissolved material in the water. I used to do that, but I found it not necessary in my water supply.

Since you have a 150 gallon, have you considered doing some Malawi Haps (non predatory) and Peacocks? Since you have the space for them, that would be a relatively peaceful setup. Only downside is that most of the females are kind of drab, and some of the haps eventually get big. The plus side is that all these fish like to be in the open water most of the time. You could try to add some less aggressive Mbuna (small number of them like yellow labs, acei, saulosi, Cynotalpia afra) for a pop of color.. That's basically how my tank is. Jewel cichlids also work well in large Malawi tanks in my experience. I have also had good luck with Zebra Obliquens (Victorian) in with Malawi. Other Victorians I have tried have been less successful, but perhaps that was my fault.

Inglorious · Sep 18, 2013

I have clown loaches in with my mbuna and haven't had any issues with them coexisting. As for your water's pH, as long as it isn't on the low end it shouldn't be a problem. I've always felt that it's better to keep them in slightly lower pH water that's stable then trying to keep it artificially higher, but with occasional swings from water changes. Using texas holy rock will buffer the water for you and naturally keep it a bit on the high side.

chopsteeks · Sep 18, 2013

I had to move my clown loaches out of the frontosa tank. The loaches kept harassing the 5 inch frontosa. So I moved them to the ank with haps and peacocks. The cyrtocara blue dolphin moorii male tied to bully them...did not last long as the loaches started chasing the big male.

Frontosa with cichlids ? Look at the haps such as Azureus or Z-rock Lithobates. These haps are pretty laid back.Also the Auloconara Koningsi (Blue Regal) peacock, Yellow Regal are mild tempered peacocks.

Ash · Sep 19, 2013

Greg31 said:
So due to my wife being bored of my monster fish 150g tank, (bichir, clown loaches, clown knife) I think I will redo my tank with some colorful africans. The problem is in my 5+ years of monster tanks I have never even attempted africans. I just want to get a heads up of what will work and some quick questions.

1. I know africans require a higher PH but I honestly never test my current tank and they do fine. Is a high PH a definite must need or can they live in whatever just fine? (I also realize adding a lot of rock for them will help raise PH anyway, which is what I would plan to do anyway for decoration.)

You should be fine as long as your pH is not super low. Adding rock is always helpful - you want those hiding spots.

2. Would my clown loaches and bichirs be fine with them? I have about 4 10"+ inch bichirs in the tank now. I am assuming they should be fine as long as none of the fish are small enough to be lunch.

I never really kept these together, so I am not sure.

3. When buying african cichlids are they any type specifically I should keep together or is it basically just buy whatever fish I want as long as they are similar sizes. Like do certain kinds get along better, or certain types prefer groups.

Yes, please research the fish you like first! It is easier for you to tell us what you are intrested in and then we can tell you which of your choices will or wont work with the others. Some don't do well together, some do, it really depends. If you buy whatever fish you want and throw them together it might be ok, or it could end up losing a lot of fish. I would go with something that gets fairly large. Mbuna is the fish you typically see at the lfs, if you decided to go with those make sure you know what you are getting, they don't all get a long with one another. I personally would look for something other than mbuna (I am biased though, I don't like mbuna).

4. I am a big fan of frontosa. Would I be able to have a group of them along with other africans or do they prefer to be alone? (I know you generally have a male with as bunch of females)

Frontosa do best in colonies in a tank all to themselves. They tend to be skiddish. Yes they can have tankmates, but yes it does depend on who the tank mate is. Adding them with a bunch of mbuna would probably stress them out. I have kept mine with peacocks and syno cats before and that went well. I then tried haps, that went well for a while. Though mainly docile they can kill off tank mates, thats how I lost my haps.

Any others tips would be greatly appreciated. Even some recommendations for fish would be cool!

Get a list together of the fish you like, post up your list and there are a lot of people here that can help you dissect your list to try and help you find the best fit for your tank.

vinboy · Sep 20, 2013

First test your tap water African rift fish do much better in high Ph and Gh ie colour and breeding.
Stick with one Lake either Malawi/Tang/Vic.

As for rocks buffers can be used and are more better at doing so like bicarb and epsom salts which i use with my local soft water and my wild Mbuna are all doing great and breed.
Natural rocks are sandstone and granite types over ocean rock or texas holey rock which in my view looks terrible.
If keeping Mbuna they graze alge in wild waters so high lighting is good to get alge on rocks.
You could add a Mbuna/Aulonocara mix in your sized tank.
As for mixed loach and others i say no reasons is food. If MBUNA get high protein foods they can get Malawi bloat which is a killer.
Go for good quality with F1 as alot of Malawi stock can be poor quality show poor colour.
Groups work well and pick species with just as nice females as males.
Look up Metriclima Msobo and Metriclima Mbenji two great types that i keep myself.

Greg31 · Sep 20, 2013

I really like peacocks so I think they will be a must. I like the big fins with lots of color for sure. I also like the smaller orange fish or yellow (labs i think). I just get confused because it seems like there are 50+ africans out there so I kind of get lost in which will work together.

So I want peacocks (high fins and lots of colors). What are some good options in terms of types of peacocks and tank mates?

Ash · Sep 21, 2013

Peacocks are nice. Aulonocara jacobfreibergi are colorful - I like them, aulonocara stuartgranti are nice, aulonocara hansbaenschi, aulonocara nyassae, aluonocara baenschi, aulonocara maylandi and aulonocara rubescens are all pretty nice looking. Yellow labs are docile and are typically good tank mates with less agressive fish, they do stay a bit smaller though. The peacocks are typically in the 6 inch range and the yellow lab (Labidochromis caeruleus) typically stays around 4 inches, so as far as you'r other tank mates go just make sure they don't fit in anyones mouth (as far as their other tank mates go). Do your research on each peacock. I've kept lemon jakes, regal blues and red shoulders with fronts with no issues at all. =)

chopsteeks · Sep 24, 2013

1. I know africans require a higher PH but I honestly never test my current tank and they do fine. Is a high PH a definite must need or can they live in whatever just fine? (I also realize adding a lot of rock for them will help raise PH anyway, which is what I would plan to do anyway for decoration.)

I have ph of 7.8 on all my tanks. This include Frontosa tank/Peacocks and Haps/Mbuna/Clown Loaches. I learned that as long as your ph does not have drastic swings in your ph between water changes, fish will adapt to that ph.

2. Would my clown loaches and bichirs be fine with them? I have about 4 10"+ inch bichirs in the tank now. I am assuming they should be fine as long as none of the fish are small enough to be lunch.

Can only comment on clown loaches. I have clown loaches with Frontosas at one time. The loaches were too aggressive to the Fronts. So i moved my loaches (4-5 inch range) to the Peacocks and Haps tank. No one in that tank ever mess with them. In fact every now and then, the loaches will be chasing the tank boss (7 inch male cyrtocara Blue Dolphin Moorii) every now and then.

3. When buying african cichlids are they any type specifically I should keep together or is it basically just buy whatever fish I want as long as they are similar sizes. Like do certain kinds get along better, or certain types prefer groups.

This is the part of the hobby you need to spend lots of time researching. Compatibility is perhaps the biggest factor in minimizing aggression. Do lots of research with aggressive Mbunas and Peacocks.

Also pay close attention to dietary needs. Most Mbunas are herbivores whereas Peacocks/Fronts/Haps are omnivores.

4. I am a big fan of frontosa. Would I be able to have a group of them along with other africans or do they prefer to be alone? (I know you generally have a male with as bunch of females)

See #3. Fronts will get big so plan ahead. Definitely no Mbuna or any aggressive/active Peacocks and Haps. Ideally if you want Fronts, should be species only tank and/or peaceful not very active peacocks/haps.

ejwp · Sep 27, 2013

If you like the peacocks and haps you could go all male and have a good number of colorful fish,

I use to have a 125 mbuna tank and i found that a couple groups of different species can make a nice tank. Especially ones where the females are colorful. I had large piles of rocks and the fish were always actively swimming in and out of tunnels and caves, digging in sand, and males were always courting the females.

I got rid of my africans though because i wanted to get some bichirs. Along with the difference in diet, i think the bichirs are to sedimentary for mbuna. They mostly stay on the bottom in their rocks and can be very relentless with nipping and harassing. I had problems with them destroying the fins of my plecos in the tank. Though some of the less aggressive species of mbunas may be compatible with a more active bichir i didnt want to take the chances myself.

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Looking to start an african tank!

Greg31

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paulW

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Inglorious

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chopsteeks

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Ash

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vinboy

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Greg31

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Ash

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chopsteeks

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ejwp

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