coral?

[Fry]

my mom just got back from a cruise to the carribean and brought back some large corals, i remember these things will drive the pH up to make the water alkaline, and i remember reading that it is good for african cichlids. can someone tell me more on the matter or do i have it completely correct already?

also, please recommend me some peaceful or semi-mild africans

 

[SinisterKisses]

Yes, coral will help to keep the pH up, but I don't think it does much for the water hardness (which needs to be very hard). The effect it will have, depends on your water. Personally, my water is so soft out of the tap, that coral doesn't do much to help keep the pH levels up, and I still need to use african buffer and other water additives to keep my africans tanks at the levels they're supposed to be.

As for semi-peaceful africans, which type were you thinking? Mbuna (in which case, there are some that are less aggressive than others, but as a whole, they're fairly aggressive no matter what species), Haps or Peacocks, Tangs, other...?

 

[Scotty]

If you are experiencing difficulty in keeping your PH alkaline it is advised you put coral into your tank. There are some mbuna that are fairly peaceful but on the whole the Haplochromis and Aulonocara groups tend to be a lot more peaceful. Give them enough hiding place and they aren't too agrressive at all. I have a tank filled with wild caughts and these seem to be a lot less aggressive than the pthers I have, most of which I think are captive bred. Just don't make the mistake of adding a single new fish into an already established tank. They will be stressed out and possible die within a couple of days. Always add between 4-6 fish at a time and also re-arrange your rocks if possible. Upset those who have their spot marked out. Post some pic's once you are set up.

 

[Taz2478]

as said already Haps and Peacocks. Unless you have a nice size tank and can do Frontosas. Bichirs are african and peaceful too if you want to add to the overall african tank.

I have coral in my 55 from when I did saltwater. My water is fairly hard so I dont think it made much difference., Looks great though.

 

[fireinthewater]

yeah the coral is a good idea i prefer using aragonite myself it helps with the hardness as well as the ph

 

[stingray4540]

I use crushed coral in my tank, so it would be fine to use coral as a decoration if you wanted. As for peaceful africans, you could get yellow labs and rusties if you like mbunas, or there are the peacocks which have already bean mentioned.