Going to set up my 65 gallon tank for african cichlids. Dimensions are 36"x18"x25". I really am confused on what i can stock it with, any suggestions?
What fish for a 65?
- Thread starter Hardhead
- Start date
Kribs with a synodotis, african butterfly. African brown knife fish and a delhenzi bichir ir Senegal bichir
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4-6 peacock bass would be fine for a while but once they get bigger it would be a no for sure.i would suggest a few nice bichirs and some datnoids and you should be able to keep both in a 65 gallon with no problem.
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Ive got 3 red empress 1m 2 f and a trio of lemon jakes and some petricola in a 65 and it works out just fine, he male empress and the jake are in full colors and pretty much ignore each other. When I had another male empress in the tank my colored male went ballistic. Had to take out sub dominant empress or he would have been killed. I have a lot of texas holey rock stacked in center of the tank. Females get chased now and then but mostly a very peaceful tank. One female empress actually had fry for awile in her mouth.
I doubt he was talking about peacock bass, since this is the african cichlid part of the forum.
Anyway, I'm not sure peacocks would be the best, since it's only a 3ft tank. I've never kept peacocks, but have had mbuna and haps in the past (about to start the process of setting my tanks back up after moving into my "new" house!!!). If I remember correctly, peacocks do better in 4ft tanks due to their adult size. They end up being quite a bit bigger than most mbuna. Also, be careful with cross-breeding if you do peacocks. I will not get into whether cross-breeding is good/bad for the hobby, but rather the practicality. Cross-breeds are usually not very colorful, making your beautiful cichlid tank rather bland in a short time (unless you remove the babies - just don't sell or give them away as something they are not).
Someone please correct me if I am wrong (but be nice!!).
Anyway, I'm not sure peacocks would be the best, since it's only a 3ft tank. I've never kept peacocks, but have had mbuna and haps in the past (about to start the process of setting my tanks back up after moving into my "new" house!!!). If I remember correctly, peacocks do better in 4ft tanks due to their adult size. They end up being quite a bit bigger than most mbuna. Also, be careful with cross-breeding if you do peacocks. I will not get into whether cross-breeding is good/bad for the hobby, but rather the practicality. Cross-breeds are usually not very colorful, making your beautiful cichlid tank rather bland in a short time (unless you remove the babies - just don't sell or give them away as something they are not).
Someone please correct me if I am wrong (but be nice!!).
just to add if you go with Haps or Peacock make it all male.Also depending on which lake you like, a group of cyprichromis can be amazing, especially a larger school. Just don't get jumbos. Also Try some calvus in teh same tank..
You could try a single tropheus species if you want a challenge. Like said above a 3 footer isn't ideal for peacocks
You could try a single tropheus species if you want a challenge. Like said above a 3 footer isn't ideal for peacocks
yep on the hybridization risk. I'm not going to be mad at anyone that hybridizes, but the fish are generally ugly.
I have an African community tank. I removed all the holey rock so fry has less place to hide. (I still have larger caves for the adults). Also add some Synodontis catfish to help eat the fry.
I've found that in a well feed tank, the cichlids are generally too lazy to eat all the fry. You get small 1/4-1/2 inch fry swimming around, and no one bothers to chase them.
Another benefit of crowded your Malawi tank is that a lot of the eggs laid in spawning get eaten by other fish.
I have many attempted spawnings, fortunately other fish eat most of the eggs..
I have an African community tank. I removed all the holey rock so fry has less place to hide. (I still have larger caves for the adults). Also add some Synodontis catfish to help eat the fry.
I've found that in a well feed tank, the cichlids are generally too lazy to eat all the fry. You get small 1/4-1/2 inch fry swimming around, and no one bothers to chase them.
Another benefit of crowded your Malawi tank is that a lot of the eggs laid in spawning get eaten by other fish.
I have many attempted spawnings, fortunately other fish eat most of the eggs..
In regards to the breeding, it is not too hard to have breeding, while also minimizing your chances of hybridization. Basically there are two keys.
First, don't mix species together that have similar markings and colorings, mixing all blue fish or multiple species that have vertical bars generally leads to hybridization. This is not hard to do, and really is not negative because people are generally drawn to african cichlids because of their variety. All that is required is to plan ahead. Don't just impulse buy a single fish when visiting the LFS.
The second key is to have species group with the appropriate ratio of males to females. Generally you want a ratio of 1M:3+F. In this type of environment (especially when the species chosen are not extremely similar), males focus on their own harem (their group of females). This also tends to negate the aggressive behavior seen in many mbuna tanks.
Lastly, if you do start to be overrun with fry, you can try one of a number of things. Add some synodontis catfish (as mentioned) - they are great at hunting fry at night, or you can just skip feeding for a few days. This is actually a good thing to do every now and then anyway so they empty their digestive system, and as the adults get a bit hungry they will decimate the fry population almost overnight.
First, don't mix species together that have similar markings and colorings, mixing all blue fish or multiple species that have vertical bars generally leads to hybridization. This is not hard to do, and really is not negative because people are generally drawn to african cichlids because of their variety. All that is required is to plan ahead. Don't just impulse buy a single fish when visiting the LFS.
The second key is to have species group with the appropriate ratio of males to females. Generally you want a ratio of 1M:3+F. In this type of environment (especially when the species chosen are not extremely similar), males focus on their own harem (their group of females). This also tends to negate the aggressive behavior seen in many mbuna tanks.
Lastly, if you do start to be overrun with fry, you can try one of a number of things. Add some synodontis catfish (as mentioned) - they are great at hunting fry at night, or you can just skip feeding for a few days. This is actually a good thing to do every now and then anyway so they empty their digestive system, and as the adults get a bit hungry they will decimate the fry population almost overnight.