Decisions...

[Malak]

I wanted to do a mbuna tank and I've started my tank this weekend but the tank looks nothing like an african cichlid tank...

Here's a pic:

http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/3315/fishtanket4.th.jpg (http://img464.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fishtanket4.jpg)

Personally I think it looks alright but not as an african cichlids tank, it looks like a wild river or something wich makes me rethink about doing an mbuna tank. Now I'm starting to think maybe I should get more wild looking fishes like peacocks or maybe even jack dempseys.

Any suggestions?

[magakitty]

peacocks like the rocky caves like the mbuna do. add more rocks - your tank can hold more than you think. Is that drift wood in the middle? If it is your PH may be too low for africans. lots of rocks and crushed coral. We even have a couple of pieces of coral skeleton in the tank.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106824&page=4

this is the page with the latest pic of the tank (and a video made a couple of weeks ago - the video in post 33 is the best quality.

The latest pic is in post 34.

cichlids are great fun and real characters. they can really get you trained.

[Malak]

My PH is around 7.8

[magakitty]

courtesy of http://fish.mongabay.com/mbuna.htm

WATER (http://fish.mongabay.com/defs.htm): Like other Lake Malawi Cichlids, mbunas should be kept in water with a pH of 7.5-9.0, a water hardness from 10-20 dH, and a temperature between 75-81°F (24-27°C).

B (http://fish.mongabay.com/defs.htm): Mbunas are polygamous mouth-brooders, so for breeding, one male must be kept with several females. A good deal of rock work should be used to provide retreats for females, as the male often will be aggressive in his mating attempts. Many species spawn rather readily in water with a pH of 7.8-8.3 and a water hardness of 10-16 dH. The temperature should be 77-82°F (25-28°C). Usually only a small number of eggs, from 10-60, are laid. They are generally fertilized via the dummy-egg method. The female mouth-broods the eggs until they hatch after 20-21 days. She will usually continue to care for the fry for another 1-2 weeks. Start feeding the fry with powdered foods and newly hatched Artemia .

Courtesy of http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=27706

The ideal PH for mbuna is in the general region of 8.0, but they are very adaptable and can handle a fairly wide range. If your tap water falls between 7.5 and 8.5 you have good water, and are best off using it as-is, with no adjustments. More important is KH, which acts as a buffer and keeps the PH stable. A KH of 8 or more is most desirable

We try to keep our PH at 8.0 - 8.2 for optimal breeding. Our water here is rather soft and we had to add the additional coral to offset the driftwood

[steve p]

If you are going down the mbuna route i would say you need to double the amount of rock in your tank at least. That doesn't mean that you have to do it straight away you could add a few yellow labs and then add more rock as you introduce more fish, that way if money is tight at least you will have fish to look at. I always say that my tanks are a work in progress and im never done adding bits and bobs it keeps my tanks looking fresh and can help with aggression as the fish have new territories to explore and claim.

Steve.

[magakitty]

Yeah - we chose the rock carefully and added a few at a time

[Nolapete]

More cowbell! err More rocks!!! Texas Holey Rock is what you want and plenty of it.

[jm1212]

add some more rockwork if you want it to become a mbuna tank

[Malak]

Thanks for the encouragement.

I will go fetch more rocks tonight. Though, in nature. These rocks cost me $50 at a fish store and I don't want to go that route again. The only problem is the rocks won't be the same...

[lovejonesx]

You've already got what I would say multiple times, so I'll just add my name to the posters that say "MORE ROCK" & careful placement.
LJx

[Malak]

Are these rocks alright? I've picked them underneath an highway overpass:

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/3900/12415307fs6.th.jpg (http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=12415307fs6.jpg)

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/704/78970777yy7.th.jpg (http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=78970777yy7.jpg)

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/6144/64662767lq2.th.jpg (http://img441.imageshack.us/my.php?image=64662767lq2.jpg)

Think they'd look good and are safe? I could get a whole lot of them.

[Nolapete]

What's the black stuff on the rocks? I'd be concerned that it's some kind of petroleum residue.

[Malak]

It's the rock's color. I will let them soak in bleach a whole day in case.

[Malak]

How many lbs of rocks can I put in my 55g? I must have around 150lbs total now.

[Malak]

You guys are scaring me with this talk of pretroleum residue. I've looked at the rocks but they have a bit of black in their color and they are soaking in bleach now and everything looks normal so far...

[dent20]

Why not some fake plants to liven things up? I have some in my 55 with Africans, along with about $40 worth of rocks. I know that flies in the face of conventional wisdom with African, but if you fill the tank with rock bought from the store it will end up costing your more than the tank.

[Visualeyes2]

make sure you boil the rocks first

[MySpace Mike]

MORE ROCK, MORE ROCK, MORE ROCK ! ! ! sorry got carried away ;)

Yeah add more rock work to it with more caves, and the mbunas will love it. you need to reallize not everyone is the same, the way we each set up our tanks makes us individually unique, you dont want to set it up to look like someone elses tank, there is no self pride in doing that. You want your tank to be your own unique style.

[steve p]

make sure you boil the rocks first

All the rock in my 125g came from my garden, i just scrubbed them real well then waited for the wife to go out and boiled them for half an hour (dont be suprised if you find yourself starring at a load of rocks boiling away on the stove wondering what the hell your doing i know i did).

Ps. Its your tank so make it unique, if everyone had the same looking tanks life would be so dull.

Steve.

[silentskream]

are there any rocks you should avoid putting in your african tank?

i know normally with a freshwater tank, you should avoid concrete because of the limestone in it.. but limestone is a good thing for african cichlids right?

i mean i know you have to be careful with things that might be ON the rocks, but should there be any concern for what variety of rock/mineral it is?

[MySpace Mike]

Alot of people use lavarock, but forget paying $30 for a nice size of it. I just go down to the local river and pull out a bunch of big rocks, wash them, scrub them, then boil them. then i get started on trying to fit them together in the tank with some good hiding places for the fish. I am unsure about limestone for african cichlids.

[Malak]

Following your recommendations, here's what I did:

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/5292/newfishtankia3.th.jpg (http://img526.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newfishtankia3.jpg)

The water is still cloudy from all that reammenagement and refilling. Anything I could do better? Placement of rocks etc.. I'm open to suggestions :)