I have a 55 gal which i want to set up for africans. I have super hard water in my area do i need to do anything special? basically i need to be told what i need in my tank and what species(s) to keep....? Help?
Never tried africans...?
- Thread starter Footballref50
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Nothing needs to be done to the water, other than dechlor. I would recommend a dwarf species of mbuna or look at some tangs. Try looking at a few species and give us some ideas of what you like.
Just curious, where in Ca. do you have "super hard water"?
Lots of beautiful Africans out there....post the species you like and we will go from there.
Lots of beautiful Africans out there....post the species you like and we will go from there.
I recommend starting off with the easiest fish to keep; MBUNA... Once you get the "hang" of keeping these types of fish then start progressing. The unfortunate problems most hobbyists run into is keeping fish that are way "out of their league." What I mean by this is someone who is "new" to keeping african cichlids should start off with an easier fish to keep so if they do by chance end up dying you don't loose too much money vs. if you were to start with a tank of troph's. I started off with Mbuna's and am now in the haplochromine phase as well as tanganyikan phase. I cannot even imagine if I jumped straight into tangs, I probably would have lost a lot of money. It is not that these fish are difficult, however, each fish has their own diet they need and certain fish do not do well with other types of fish. My suggestion is give the MBUNA a try and see if you like them then start progressing into the more "exotic" things that require a higher skill level to keep.
Hope this helps!
Hope this helps!
+1 on going with a Mbuna tank. Just make sure you cycle the tank properly & try your best to get some rockwork for them. I've done Texas Holey Rock and then Lace rock in my 55g Mbuna set-up. Also try to stay away from sharp quartz based sand as they like rubbing/sifting through it. A 50/50 light will also bring out the best colors in Mbuna.
Lace rock stacks uber easy so if you have access to it, I think it looks great and is fairly easy to maintain. Lava rock also works. Here's my Lace stack in my 55g.
Don't hesitate to ask questions when you're ready to stock the tank, this forum has helped me loads! Good luck!
Lace rock stacks uber easy so if you have access to it, I think it looks great and is fairly easy to maintain. Lava rock also works. Here's my Lace stack in my 55g.
Don't hesitate to ask questions when you're ready to stock the tank, this forum has helped me loads! Good luck!
glenngreen;3548198; said:
don't mean to thread jack, but the sand is Caribsea Moonlight White Sand. You can find it at Petsmart.com here: http://www.petsmart.com/product/ind...-C881-DE11-B712-001422107090&mr:referralID=NA
FYI the sand is "very fine" and can lay waste to impellers. I eventually ended up mixing in a larger grain white sand on the surface, worked out nicely. I've also heard lots of positive things about pool filler sand from Home Depot that is a more natural "sand" color, but never tried it. No matter what sand you go with, just remember to rinse, rinse, rinse before putting it in. A clean dustpan is a good way to get it in there without causing uber cloudy-ness.