African cichlid Noob. some guidance would be nice! :)

Bigger is always better when it comes to tanks. I would search Craigslist for local/garage breeders. Usually better deals and higher quality. Double or triple filtration. Use pool filter sand as a substrate. Lots of rocks for hiding and territories. I use river rocks that I find in rainwater run off areas, just thoroughly clean them first. Most important in a tank that size I wouldn't mix mbuna with haps/peacocks.

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My first tip is don't buy assorted cichlids from petsmart or petco. There are plenty of local breeders/hobbyist who have quality fish. If you want to do a lot of different species, then do an all male tank. Not sure about an all male mbuna tank. Otherwise, get 6 to 8 of one or two species each. With the intent of keeping a male and 3-4 females. Your max is 2 species of smaller mbuna with the 40 breeder. There are plenty of dwarf species, that stay under 4 inches. You can get away with a 3rd species in a 55. I would go with only one species from a specific genus. Also keep away from the biggest species and those that look very similar.

Haps tend to be larger. There are some smaller species, that will do fine in the tanks your looking at. Ask before you get them. Same with peacocks.

not a good idea.low quality.you could try Jeff Rapps if hes nearby.I know he has some africans,star sapphire i think.

Jesseliu13 said:

What about the assorted peacocks from petsmart?


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Dont bother. There are plenty of good peacocks around.

The quality from petsmart to a store that knows about keeping african cichlids is like night and day. I have a local store that sells the same species at a cheaper price but WAY better quality and assortment. Also, practice keeping stable water conditions, my tap is 7.0 but my tank is steady 8.1... learn about keeping proper water parameters so that you keep a healthy tank. I read articles for a long time before I ever started my tank and it paid off! If I would have rushed into it, I would have had a disaster on my hands. Get into a good water maintenance routine, I do water changes 2 to 3 times a week but have each water change down to under 30 mins for a 25% change on my 90 gal. Also, figure out if you want peacocks, haps, mbuna, etc and learn about that specific type. When I first wanted an african tank, I didnt even know there was a difference and now I know what to mix and what not to mix. Go as far as looking at species within a type, IE what mbuna are compatible together (sex, species, numbers of each).

Keeping an African Cichlid Tank can seem overwhelming and a lot at first but once you LEARN about them and KNOW about what you are doing, its as easy as keeping any other freshwater tank. I have over 200 dollars worth of fish in my 90 mbuna tank and if I didnt know what I was doing before I started, I would have made an expensive mistake.