i understand originally they did poorly in captivity due to people not givibg them enough flow but that the cb generations have gotten allot hardier and dont need as much flow. how much flow do they need i only have a sponge running in their tank.
how much flow do buffalo head cichlids need these days?
- Thread starter djsaltynuts
- Start date
Many fish don't need as high flow as they are found in to thrive. However, in my experience, the more current you offer the more likely they will be a better fish in the community. They are designed to spend energy overcoming the current in their natural habitat. It is akin to putting a stagnant pool fish in a hillstream tank. It will survive but not thrive.
The problem is not the lack of flow.
But flow helps to provide the needed amount of oxygen and can help reducing aggression in smaller tanks.
They are built to build to live in strong current and therefore they are full of energy that can be put into aggressiv behaviour if not used otherwise.
A big sponge filter might produce enough oxygen but I still recommend a flow pump or a power head to encourage their natural behaviour.
But flow helps to provide the needed amount of oxygen and can help reducing aggression in smaller tanks.
They are built to build to live in strong current and therefore they are full of energy that can be put into aggressiv behaviour if not used otherwise.
A big sponge filter might produce enough oxygen but I still recommend a flow pump or a power head to encourage their natural behaviour.
I wouldn't recommend cutting off on comfortable habitat conditions simply due to captive breeding. At heart these are stream fish and will fare much better in a stream setup. Not to mention the behaviour gets so much more interesting, I had some river catfish that acted way differently when I gave them a stream setup 
i dont think a sponge filter is going to add anything for flow its a large spong filter anyway im thinking of adding a 100g airpump to the tank. maybe a powerhead. after i grow them out theyll be in a large river set up but its just a holding tank with broken pots atm. im mostly just concerned with how much dissolved oxygen they need in the water.
have you kept buffalo heads or are you just talking about riverine cichlids in general? ive heard the buffalo heads aren’t very aggressive.
Generally cichlids of all species spend a lot of energy fighting flow, regardless of location or relative flow. When not fighting current, they have more energy to spend on aggression.
duanes
has often commented on this if I remember right.
the output is so close to the surface i dont think theyll every swim above it.
i also heard that a sponge running an airstone creates more lift due to the smaller bubbles.
