pH and African Cichlids+ Stocking Tank

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Darkskies

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 30, 2010
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Syracuse, NY
Hi,
I posted earlier in the Central American Cichlids forum because I have an empty 125 gallon aquarium that I am planning on converting into a cichlid tank. After giving this more thought, I think I am leaning towards setting up a Malawi mbuna aquarium(though other suggestions are welcomed). However, my pH straight from the tap is at around 7.6 and the water is medium hard. If I ultimately do decide to create a rift lake biotope, I will be sure to use crushed coral as the substrate. Although I am sure this will raise the pH, I do not know if it will reach the 8.2-8.6 levels that are characteristic of the waters of Lake Malawi. I've been reading threads where others have posted that they keep their african rift lake cichlids at lower pHs than what I have seen recommended and I was wondering what your viewpoints are on this. Would 7.6 and medium hard water be perfectly fine? Would the fish live out their maximum lifespan and be happy to breed with these water parameters?

Also, do any of you know where I can find rocks suitable for mbuna for an inexpensive price? I've heard that landscaping companies are a good source? Would anyone care to elaborate on that? How many pounds am I looking at here for a 125 gallon tank?

Lastly, what kinds of fish and in what numbers do you recommend? I know I would like to have demasoni and electric yellows at the very least. Thanks so much in advance!
 
slate rock would work great... its not weight it is size, so it really depends on the rock thickness....

Worry about keeping your ph stable... rather than trying to change it.

You can get a good school of 50 in there.
 
Africans love sand substrate (can mix with crushed coral). Can get a 100 lb bag of silica sand @ Home Depot for $8 (Looks good, almost white, check it out).

Rocks, slate is good (Nursery or landscaping comps are good). Use clay pots (can get the smaller size and stack em in the tank). Texas Holey rock is one of my favs, but isn't cheap. You can google it.
 
Thanks for the responses! So, my pH(7.6) should be fine for african cichlids then? I'm sure the crushed coral will help but at my current pH none of you think that I should modify it with homemade cichlid salts/buffers?

If I were to buy slate in bulk from a landscaping company about how many pounds should I aim for(roughly)? What's the going rate per pound? I'm really searching for inexpensive rockwork since the ones at my LFS are sold at exorbitant prices.

Could I get some more advice on my stocking options? What other fish apart from demasoni and electric yellows should I get and how many of each?

Thanks again!
 
Ya, you shouldn't need to buffer out anything.

Not an expert on demasoni (don;t own any), but I've heard they are very aggressive.
Electric yellows, on the other hand, are more mellow. I would think the yellow labs (aka electric yellows), would be harassed constantly.

I would get 1 species for now (your most fav species). Then do some research and figure out what can go with them (also don't want them to hybridize).

As far as rock, just goto a nursery and get about 50 lbs. You'll be suprised about how LITTLE you will get (cost me about $20). You might beable to break it into smaller pieces or into thinner plates. Also get some LARGE river rocks (about the size of a softball to baseball) and you can stack them; my mbunas really like them.
 
Wouldn't 50 lbs of rock be too little for a 125 gallon tank?I've been researching and it seems that demasoni are only aggressive with each other so that the solution is usually to stock a large shoal of them to even out the aggression so that one fish doesn't end up being the one facing the bulk of the others' ire. I have seen other people's tanks with both demasoni and yellow labs so I'm pretty sure it can be done. What species do you have in your tank alexmuw? Any other suggestions guys?

alexmuw;4384744; said:
Ya, you shouldn't need to buffer out anything.

Not an expert on demasoni (don;t own any), but I've heard they are very aggressive.
Electric yellows, on the other hand, are more mellow. I would think the yellow labs (aka electric yellows), would be harassed constantly.

I would get 1 species for now (your most fav species). Then do some research and figure out what can go with them (also don't want them to hybridize).

As far as rock, just goto a nursery and get about 50 lbs. You'll be suprised about how LITTLE you will get (cost me about $20). You might beable to break it into smaller pieces or into thinner plates. Also get some LARGE river rocks (about the size of a softball to baseball) and you can stack them; my mbunas really like them.
Click to expand...
 
You're correct, pseudotropheus demasoni aggression is mostly of the conspecific nature, so most non-demasoni's (such as yellow labs), would largely be left alone.

Numbers. You'll want at least 12-15 demasoni's to start with, as they do best in colonies to off-set their type of aggression.

Yellow labs, and most other mbuna species can be kept in 1 male per several female gender ratio's. Perhaps a group of yellow labs (2m/6-8f) and two or three additional mbuna species (1m/3f) in the 125gal. Avoid less aggressive mbuna species which bare a semblence to the demasoni's (male yellow top mbamba's, pseudotropheus saulosi, etc). Vertically striped black/blue members of the metriclima/maylandia genus (such as the one in my avatar) should be well-equipped to fend off any demasoni aggression that happens to be directed at them.
 
Remember that it is better to have a slightly "off" ph that is stable than it is to keep adding/removing things chasing the "perfect" ph around causing lots of fluctuations...
 
I wouldn't really worry about the ph if it's already that high. I've done nothing to my ph for three years and have had no problems.

As for rock work, I have a 90g and the rockwork stretches nearly 4 feet and rises about 1/2 way up the back glass, sloping downward toward the ends. If I had to guess, it's probably 75-100 lbs. of rock.

As for where I got my rock, I just went "hunting" outside my house. There are railroad tracks and open fields near my house. Found all my rocks just laying around -- for free! BTW, never had any problems with rocks that I found. Just gave them a good scrub to get rid of dirt and put them in.
 
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