Ive got both style tanks (african and Sa/Ce) and can honestly say you'll have much more enjoyment out of a 55 if you go african. With the limestone of course.
Limestone question.
- Thread starter tjfish
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Ive got both style tanks (african and Sa/Ce) and can honestly say you'll have much more enjoyment out of a 55 if you go african. With the limestone of course.
I think that may be the route i go. What about plants in an african tank...is it do able? im not talkin an forest tank, just some plants here and there. i imagine the plants would probably have a hard time surviving in the hard water right?
if you do mbuna i wouldn't chance plants considering their main diet is plants. if you do peacocks or haplochromids i'd stick with very hardy plants like java fern or anubias that can grow in almost anything. make sure they are rooted in well if you use sand.
exactly^^
val seems to work well in both scenarios though too, or better yet maybe a few fakes that look good
Cool. i think im gonna do some more research on the africans before i go any farther.
Can either of you suggest a good thread on here or a site that would give a good comparison of mbuna vs. haps vs. peacocks? so i can kinda get an idea of what direction i would like to look into.
I kept some africans once upon a time that i bought from the lfs as "assorted africans" and had no idea what types they were really but that was when i was younger and dumber, i would like to do it right this time if i decide to go african with this one.
Thanks.
Can either of you suggest a good thread on here or a site that would give a good comparison of mbuna vs. haps vs. peacocks? so i can kinda get an idea of what direction i would like to look into.
I kept some africans once upon a time that i bought from the lfs as "assorted africans" and had no idea what types they were really but that was when i was younger and dumber, i would like to do it right this time if i decide to go african with this one.
Thanks.
What exactly are these "SA" cichlids you're currently housing? Waters in CENTRAL America typically come in contact with limestone and are relatively high in ph/kh. Many people seem to lump CA and SA cichlids together when, depending on where they come from exactly, water preferences can vary drastically.
Currently i only have a couple of convicts that i adopted a while back and i was going to leave them in there as a part of the S. american set up. But i am more leaning toward africans now that im thinkin more about it. I mean i've kept south americans before but only very little experience with africans, so im thinkin expanding into africans may be the way to go.
Convicts are Central American, not South American, and can be found in water with a relatively high ph/kh in nature.
best to google the difference but here is the general difference from my knowledge
i don't know much about tanganyikan or victorians so hopefully someone with more knowledge can fill in
Mbuna are generally small (few bigger then 5-6 inches average 3-4) bottom dwellers that live in areas covered with bottom rock clutter. ideally the bottom of the tank should be covered with rocks that reach high in the water column. As a group mbuna are generally the most aggressive and territorial cichlids from malawi. They need a high plant diet or they develop diseases like bloat and constipation.
Haplochromids, or haps are open water predators and prefer more open space then mbuna. they appreciate some rocks for territory boundaries but they are open swimmers and need space to move. they are generally the predators of malawi and usually grow 5-8 inches but some can grow up to and over a foot. Haps are generally not too aggressive with other fish but they can be mean with others of the same species or sharing appearance. stick with the smaller species for a 55
Peacocks are open water fish like haps but they are generally smaller, averaging 3-6 inches with few growing up to or larger then 8. they live in open sandy areas and often feed on either plankonic organisms, invertebrates, and prey in sand. They live in schools in the wild and if you have a good male female ratio you could probably keep a small school. they are similar in aggression to haps and are among the least aggressive rift valley cichlids.
the aggression rules are similar with CA cichlids with males being meanest to other males. Avoid mixing different species that look very similar or they will fight often. either pick one male of each species you want for all male tanks or have a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio male to female since they are polygamous and males will pretty much constantly harass any females to spawn even when not ready. There are some exceptions but I don't know them well but they generally call for even more females to males. for a 55 you could mix haps and peacocks assuming the adult haps cannot eat the adult peacocks. A 55 is too small for haps/peacocks and mbuna. they like very different environments and mbuna are mean little buggers. When haps/peacocks fight for territory the losers are often forced among the rocks. With Mbuna in the mix the lesser hap has no chance as the sanctuary is the far meaner mbunas territory. Mbuna have far better dentition for causing damage to other cichlids in disputes. Another issue with the mix is diet. Mbuna need high plant diet or they get all sorts of intestinal disease haps/peacocks need higher protein diets being more predatory.
i don't know much about tanganyikan or victorians so hopefully someone with more knowledge can fill in
Mbuna are generally small (few bigger then 5-6 inches average 3-4) bottom dwellers that live in areas covered with bottom rock clutter. ideally the bottom of the tank should be covered with rocks that reach high in the water column. As a group mbuna are generally the most aggressive and territorial cichlids from malawi. They need a high plant diet or they develop diseases like bloat and constipation.
Haplochromids, or haps are open water predators and prefer more open space then mbuna. they appreciate some rocks for territory boundaries but they are open swimmers and need space to move. they are generally the predators of malawi and usually grow 5-8 inches but some can grow up to and over a foot. Haps are generally not too aggressive with other fish but they can be mean with others of the same species or sharing appearance. stick with the smaller species for a 55
Peacocks are open water fish like haps but they are generally smaller, averaging 3-6 inches with few growing up to or larger then 8. they live in open sandy areas and often feed on either plankonic organisms, invertebrates, and prey in sand. They live in schools in the wild and if you have a good male female ratio you could probably keep a small school. they are similar in aggression to haps and are among the least aggressive rift valley cichlids.
the aggression rules are similar with CA cichlids with males being meanest to other males. Avoid mixing different species that look very similar or they will fight often. either pick one male of each species you want for all male tanks or have a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio male to female since they are polygamous and males will pretty much constantly harass any females to spawn even when not ready. There are some exceptions but I don't know them well but they generally call for even more females to males. for a 55 you could mix haps and peacocks assuming the adult haps cannot eat the adult peacocks. A 55 is too small for haps/peacocks and mbuna. they like very different environments and mbuna are mean little buggers. When haps/peacocks fight for territory the losers are often forced among the rocks. With Mbuna in the mix the lesser hap has no chance as the sanctuary is the far meaner mbunas territory. Mbuna have far better dentition for causing damage to other cichlids in disputes. Another issue with the mix is diet. Mbuna need high plant diet or they get all sorts of intestinal disease haps/peacocks need higher protein diets being more predatory.
