I am new to cichlid tanks and was wanting feedback on what I have planned. I have a 300 gallon tank that is 36x60x32 inches. I was planning on having 2 electric yellows, 2 demasoni, 2 red zebras, 2 kenyis, a blue crab, and i was also thinking about putting some dither fish in as well. I think I want to have a sand bottom and a rock structure. However, I do not know how to set up the rock structure so it works for all of the fish in the tank. I also wanted to have some giant vallisneria plant in the tank as well. What do you think?
New to cichlid tanks
- Thread starter ianderson5
- Start date
oooooh! that sounds so awesome! so many possibilities with that size tank 
.
i know nothing about plants and not much more about dither fish. lots of poeple suggest like a school of silver dollars or something like that. i don't think you would need any tho but i honestly don't have a whole lot of experience. i just read a lot about fish.
with the rock you should make sure to have it sitting on the bottom of the tank cause the fish will dig and that way it won't fall. then poeple suggest silicone to attach them to each other ( the rocks ) but to make sure it's 100% silicone suitable for aquariums which lots of lfs carry. and i've also read something about poeple using egg crates to set the rock on but i have no idea how that would work.
i'm a big fan of texas holey rock. great for cichlids! mine love it and it usually has lots of holes and you can buy really large pieces so you wouldn't have to worry about how to stack them on top of each other. plus i think it looks really pretty.
there are tons of pics on the web that can give you some great ideas as to how to set it up. you may like a bit of this and a bit of that of different tank set-ups and then create something perfect for you.
i would just LOVE to see your tank!!!
. i know nothing about plants and not much more about dither fish. lots of poeple suggest like a school of silver dollars or something like that. i don't think you would need any tho but i honestly don't have a whole lot of experience. i just read a lot about fish.
with the rock you should make sure to have it sitting on the bottom of the tank cause the fish will dig and that way it won't fall. then poeple suggest silicone to attach them to each other ( the rocks ) but to make sure it's 100% silicone suitable for aquariums which lots of lfs carry. and i've also read something about poeple using egg crates to set the rock on but i have no idea how that would work.
i'm a big fan of texas holey rock. great for cichlids! mine love it and it usually has lots of holes and you can buy really large pieces so you wouldn't have to worry about how to stack them on top of each other. plus i think it looks really pretty.
there are tons of pics on the web that can give you some great ideas as to how to set it up. you may like a bit of this and a bit of that of different tank set-ups and then create something perfect for you.
i would just LOVE to see your tank!!!
300 gallons you can put alot more fish in there.
On plants you will have to have alot of lighting due to the large depth of the water.
On plants you will have to have alot of lighting due to the large depth of the water.
I don't think plants and african cichlids mix to well. Most plants do better in lower pH water with less aggressive fish. If I had that bad boy sitting in my house, and wanted some cichlids, I'd go all africans. But If you wanted, you could do an Amazon theme and use Angels and Rams (even mix in schools of smaller fish like tetras). Both are still cichlids, and do very well with plants.
>There are not too many plants that will do well in an African tank. If you must have live plants, choose fish and plants wisely. Here is a picture of the lake--not too many plants all rock.
>The crab will make a wonderful feeder! they will love you for it.:dance2:
>I agree that you should probably be looking to be more heavily stocked. Africans can be overstocked to help curb agression. With a lot of fish in the tank they tend to give up the chase becuase they are too worried about losing their spot to another fish. and it also gets spread out among more fish. NOTE: just make sure you the extra filteration for the extra fish.
>The "breeding thing" with Africans is cool. they are mouth brooders--they hold the eggs/fry in their mouth to protect the young for about 3-4 weeks.
so, having breeding going on is fun. You may want to concider this: In the African world, mainly only the males are colorful. And furthermore, the "alpha" male will show the most color and the suborinate will color down. therefore, you can stock one of each "flavor" but in an all male tank, and you will have a beautiful color 300g show piece! I have a few females thrown in for fun. I pull the fry from her mouth when they are 3-4 weeks old and put them in a different tank. You could always leave them, and just by Gods design, some of them will make it with out being eaten.
>sand is great. Many of them sift through the substrate. I have done sand and gravel as well. both look good.
>Lots of rocks and hiding places. Texas Holey rock is awesome. lace rock is as well. lava rock works. I used flagstone. they were leftovers from a walkway.
>BTW I am not suggesting that MINE is a show piece. it is a living work in progress
>The crab will make a wonderful feeder! they will love you for it.:dance2:
>I agree that you should probably be looking to be more heavily stocked. Africans can be overstocked to help curb agression. With a lot of fish in the tank they tend to give up the chase becuase they are too worried about losing their spot to another fish. and it also gets spread out among more fish. NOTE: just make sure you the extra filteration for the extra fish.
>The "breeding thing" with Africans is cool. they are mouth brooders--they hold the eggs/fry in their mouth to protect the young for about 3-4 weeks.
so, having breeding going on is fun. You may want to concider this: In the African world, mainly only the males are colorful. And furthermore, the "alpha" male will show the most color and the suborinate will color down. therefore, you can stock one of each "flavor" but in an all male tank, and you will have a beautiful color 300g show piece! I have a few females thrown in for fun. I pull the fry from her mouth when they are 3-4 weeks old and put them in a different tank. You could always leave them, and just by Gods design, some of them will make it with out being eaten.
>sand is great. Many of them sift through the substrate. I have done sand and gravel as well. both look good.
>Lots of rocks and hiding places. Texas Holey rock is awesome. lace rock is as well. lava rock works. I used flagstone. they were leftovers from a walkway.
>BTW I am not suggesting that MINE is a show piece. it is a living work in progress