Hi everybody! I already posted on the African chiclids thread but not sure if that was the right area so.... I have a 46 gallon bow front tank that I am looking to stock with chiclids. I love bright colors to make my tank pop so I would like to have some that will be vibrant. Also do chiclids need a certain type of salt in the tank? A lady at my local fish store told me that I have to add in a chiclid type of salt two days before adding the fish. Any suggestions of types of chiclids would be great! thank you!
46 gallon bow front tank stocking
- Thread starter HDFish
- Start date
I myself live in an area that has pretty hard water and I have always been instructed not to use cichlid salt by people that have been in the hobby for decades. Now, I am not saying it is snake oil because it will make your water harder...especially if you have extremely soft water out of the tap; however, If you are getting the cichids locally they are generally being bred/raised in your local water. The fish store owner would love to sell you some Seachem Cichlid Lake Salt every few months. You can also just follow one of the online recipes to make your own and save money if you are hell bent on adding salt to your tank.
Now, there are some people from soft water locations that swear by it. I believe using salts & buffers can potentially cause swings in water chemistry hardness/ph/kh etc...that could cause more stress than simply keeping your water chemistry stable. My suggestion is to provide your fish stable water parameters.
You can actually get a public report online of your water parameters and range from your local water sevice. Before you pick which continent you get your cichlids from; you might want to test your hardness, alkalinity, and ph out of your tap. This will give you more information on what would be better suited for your tap water. Central American Cichlids and African Cichlids both come from harder water whereas South American cichlids come from soft, low ph water. My guess is you will probably get mbuna (from the bright color statement), that is what most people start their cichlid journey on. Furthermore, unless they are wild caught...I think you would be pretty safe with tap water as long as your water parameters are not way off.
Short answer find out your tap water's chemistry before you even consider pouring cichild salt in your tank.
Shorter answer...a LFS employee might tell you something that is not quite accurate.
Now, there are some people from soft water locations that swear by it. I believe using salts & buffers can potentially cause swings in water chemistry hardness/ph/kh etc...that could cause more stress than simply keeping your water chemistry stable. My suggestion is to provide your fish stable water parameters.
You can actually get a public report online of your water parameters and range from your local water sevice. Before you pick which continent you get your cichlids from; you might want to test your hardness, alkalinity, and ph out of your tap. This will give you more information on what would be better suited for your tap water. Central American Cichlids and African Cichlids both come from harder water whereas South American cichlids come from soft, low ph water. My guess is you will probably get mbuna (from the bright color statement), that is what most people start their cichlid journey on. Furthermore, unless they are wild caught...I think you would be pretty safe with tap water as long as your water parameters are not way off.
Short answer find out your tap water's chemistry before you even consider pouring cichild salt in your tank.
Shorter answer...a LFS employee might tell you something that is not quite accurate.
A 46 gallon tak is too small for most cichlids, except maybe dwarf cichlids like Rams or Apistogramma from South America, or shell dwellers from Africa.
If your water is hard/mineral rich, you won't ever need to add salts.
In fact some South American species, can be disease prone if you do add salts, and your water is already hard.
If your water is soft, adding salts might help if you keep African rift species, but be perfect for many South Americans.
You could find out the chemical composition of your tap water by talking to your water provider, and in some cases, looking at your water bill, or providers web site.
And then after researching what certain fish need, tailor the type species you keep, to your tap water.
Where I lived most of my life, the water was hard and alkaline, so most fish I was successful at keeping, were either from Central America, or the rift lakes of Africa.
If your water is hard/mineral rich, you won't ever need to add salts.
In fact some South American species, can be disease prone if you do add salts, and your water is already hard.
If your water is soft, adding salts might help if you keep African rift species, but be perfect for many South Americans.
You could find out the chemical composition of your tap water by talking to your water provider, and in some cases, looking at your water bill, or providers web site.
And then after researching what certain fish need, tailor the type species you keep, to your tap water.
Where I lived most of my life, the water was hard and alkaline, so most fish I was successful at keeping, were either from Central America, or the rift lakes of Africa.
Firemouths are slow growers so this will work for a long time but may need an upgrade.
