Thanks for the information! I'll test my water and get back to this thread. But what about using RO water?
Can you keep Oscars and green terrors together? If so, how many can I keep in my aquarium?
- Thread starter CeruleanRosee
- Start date
Changing the peramaters of water is a lot more involved and can lead to a tank crash if not properly monitored and adjusted all the time.
It is much easier to just get fish that will drive in the water you have than to always chase peramaters to make it suitable for a certain fish.
Case in point where I used to live the tap water was PH 7.8 and had a hardness of 350ppm, basically liquid rock. Perfect for central American fish and African cichlids. So I rehomed all the South American fish I had and only kept centrals from that point on.
Your local aquarium store will test water for you since you don’t have a kit 
For store bought tank/farm raised African, central & sth American Cichlids I would not use RO.
If you pH is 7.5 or greater a colony of neolamp multis or similis or some other shell dweller your tank size would be perfect! If lower you could use aragonite as your substrate which will buffer your water to around pH 8
For store bought tank/farm raised African, central & sth American Cichlids I would not use RO.
If you pH is 7.5 or greater a colony of neolamp multis or similis or some other shell dweller your tank size would be perfect! If lower you could use aragonite as your substrate which will buffer your water to around pH 8
Just as RO isn't that great for drinking, (it can remove minerals our bodies need) for certain fish it isn't good either.
For fish evolved to live in minerally poor waters like the Rio Negro, or Orinoco it comes in handy, but
For fish evolved to live in mineral rich waters of the Great Lakes of Africa, Great Lakes of Nicaragua, of the rivers of Panama where I live, RO is not so great.
, 
All Water is not just simply Water.
For fish evolved to live in minerally poor waters like the Rio Negro, or Orinoco it comes in handy, but
For fish evolved to live in mineral rich waters of the Great Lakes of Africa, Great Lakes of Nicaragua, of the rivers of Panama where I live, RO is not so great.
, All Water is not just simply Water.
Myself, I wouldn't suggest starting with Malawi cichlids if you're somewhat new at fishkeeping. Managing their aggressive, territorial behavior can be a challenge, frustrating if you get a psycho male without another tank to move him to, since otherwise: they may target another male and eventually harass him to death; or constantly chase and fuss with the other fish in the tank; or two males may constantly fight until one loses and then he gets harassed to death. Typically you'd overstock the tank to help manage this, which leads to its own water management challenges, that and in your tank you'd most reasonably be limited to mbuna, certainly colorful enough, but potentially very frustrating because they tend to be at the higher end of Malawi cichlid aggression. It's not that I'd never do them, I did haps and peacocks for years, but it helps to have some experience first, a minimum 75 gal tank for haps and peacocks and, even better, multiple tanks.
One possibility for that tank if you have naturally harder, higher pH water and don't want to mess with it would be Lake Tanganyika shell dwellers, though they tend to be a specialty fish and it would take some research to learn about them-- but they can make a nice tank.
Considering that you're doing RO to keep softer water, I like the idea of Apistogramma, many pretty varieties to choose from, no need to crowd them like Malawi cichlids (actually, you wouldn't want to), making filtration and water management a bit easier, interesting behavior vs typical Malawi cichlids and their essentially constant motion and bickering, and a pair or small group should work with what you have. Rams would be in a similar category, as well as some other SA dwarf including Nannacara (also some colorful species) or some of the Laetacara (a bit larger, mostly a bit less colorful, but they can be nice fish).
One possibility for that tank if you have naturally harder, higher pH water and don't want to mess with it would be Lake Tanganyika shell dwellers, though they tend to be a specialty fish and it would take some research to learn about them-- but they can make a nice tank.
Considering that you're doing RO to keep softer water, I like the idea of Apistogramma, many pretty varieties to choose from, no need to crowd them like Malawi cichlids (actually, you wouldn't want to), making filtration and water management a bit easier, interesting behavior vs typical Malawi cichlids and their essentially constant motion and bickering, and a pair or small group should work with what you have. Rams would be in a similar category, as well as some other SA dwarf including Nannacara (also some colorful species) or some of the Laetacara (a bit larger, mostly a bit less colorful, but they can be nice fish).
Soo I did a water test from an aquarium (ph and hardness). pH was around 9 and went down to 7.5-8 after cycling the tank. Hardness came out to about a 14 dGH and stable 26° C. After doing some research, I decided to get african cichlids. Here's a video of it. Thank you for all your inputs, and if you have any more feedback please let me know.
So if your tap water is hard, and high pH, and you forego the RO, you could stock with a few miini monster Central Americans,
not and large ones, in such a small tank.
I would suggest the smaller Amatitlania .
Since you are a newbie, Convicts are a viable hardy option to cut your teeth on
not and large ones, in such a small tank.
I would suggest the smaller Amatitlania .
Since you are a newbie, Convicts are a viable hardy option to cut your teeth on
