MOVING & WANT TO RESTART AS AFRICAN CICHLID TANK

bert

bert

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Nov 2, 2003
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Hi everyone, I have had my 100 Gallon F/W aquarium for almost 18 years and have restarted it 4 times due to moving. We rented here for almost 5 years and we have finally bought our first home. So once again I am re-starting my Aquarium. For the last 5 years, I have raised tetras, Gouramies cardinal tetras etc. The water here is 7.9 out of the tap and I have always had to ajust my PH HOWEVER, with this move into a home of our own, I don't have to worry about having to move again so I can really do a nice tank setup & i am thinking about re-starting my tank as an African cichlid tank, the water PH is perfect. I have a few questions i need some answers on regarding African cichlids and I will list them here.
I know africans come from a few different areas AND I want to keep my tank species specific.

1- what and where are the different regions for african cichlids ( A C )

2-What are the pros & cons of the fish from each of these different regions ? such as temperment, heartiness etc.

3-I want my fish to stay a maximum size of 4 maybe 5 inches.

4-I want the most colorful fish as possible which region is best ?

5- SUBSTRATE- sand or gravel, I really want to use a good sand for once because I really like how sand looks, so any great advice on sand choices will be greatly appreciated, What IS the best sand to use ? I see the pre-packaged sand at the fish dealers store that says it already contains the much needed bacteria, wether it does or not, i do not know.I also read here about pool sand, what does THAT look like color wise and whats the difference between that and the sand from the fish dealer ?

6-Never having used sand before what do I need to be careful of in regards to routine tank maintenance, and power filters ( Magnum 350 ) & water changes with my python ?

7- I have some nice seasoned malaysian driftwood that i could use in my aquascaping unless the wood is not good for an A C tank.
I REALLY want to take my time and make the most stunning, aquascaped 100 Gallon A C tank that matches the region my fish came from with lots of caves & rockwork that provides plenty of hiding places for each fish, But has open swimming areas as well. I want my tank to look as nice as a marine tank looks with the sand & colorful fish, & attractive rockwork without looking "overcrowded":eek3:
I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE ANY AND ALL PICTURES OF AFRICAN CICHLID TANK SETUPS so that I can get some Aquascapoing ideas. I plan on getting a permanate aquascape done BEFORE i add any water but want to make sure it is aquascaped the very BEST that I can do, so please post some pictures of aquascaped African Cichlid tanks PLEASE !! click the links to see what my tank looked like before the teardown !

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums...d.php?t=129211

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98772

Thanks !!!
Bert
 
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The main pool for African cichlids is the

Rift lakes.

Malawi

Tanganyika

Victoria

Another favorite now is Madagascan..

These are the main in my opinion collection lakes for todays Africans.. And pretty much the only lakes I have read and heard about.

just to start you off.
 
another factor is what your local fish stores carry. I think that in general the overwhelming majority of AfCic fish are Malawian. So, while there' both pros and cons of sticking with popularity, that might be a factor.

Did you test your water hardness? Something to keep in mind in addition to the pH.

I have driftwood in my tank, even knowing that it lowers pH. I make up for it by having lots of crushed coral and cichlid salts (I didn't buy it, instead making my own from salt, baking soda, and epsom salts). It's also aged enough that it doesn't really leach out the tannins either.

Plants: apparently vallisneria work in these waters. I know that amazon sword will die off. I have immense amounts of duckweed and hornwort that I've thrown in, and it seems to do ok. Occasionally the cichlids will chomp away at the duckweed, mistaking it for their flakes.

It is possible to have a fairly mellow AfCic tank with proper species choice. I have yellow labs, rusty cichlids, and cobalt zebras, and they're all pretty good. A bit of chasing around occasionally, but since I have plenty of hiding spaces and lots of fish, no single fish gets picked on excessively. Acei are also mentioned as a mellow choice.

Don't get auratus or kenyi apparently if you don't want it to be a gladiatorial arena.

I have normal gravel plus crushed coral in that tank. Other tanks have play sand, but my absolute favorite is pool filter sand. it's larger-grained, fairly clean (not "dirty") and looks good. It's also $10 for a 50 pound bag. compare that with a $30 bag of 15 pounds from the fish store! It might look ok if you mix a bag of black with the pool sand though. I'm not sure.

if you use sand, some will get sucked up through gravel vac; if you hover the vacuum over the surface, most poop/leaf litter if any-- there's never uneaten food in my tanks :) -- will get sucked up and out.

i have to take new pix of my tanks someday.

oh... and rocks. i went to home depot and got lots of granite blocks for $1.50 each. if you get bricks, note that concrete will turn your water extremely alkaline... and while high pH is sort of good, I mean like pH 9+, so that's not so great. but fairly unreactive rocks like granite are fine. Slate, marble, and lava rocks are certainly ok. and in AfCic tanks sandstone and limestone are acceptable.
 
Tongue33 said:
The main pool for African cichlids is the

Rift lakes.

Malawi

Tanganyika

Victoria

Another favorite now is Madagascan..

These are the main in my opinion collection lakes for todays Africans.. And pretty much the only lakes I have read and heard about.

just to start you off.
Click to expand...
pssst, tanganyika, malawi and victoria are all rift lakes ;)

And do not forget that malawi can be broken up into mbuna, haps, and peacocks...

Mbuna are the most popular. A well stocked tank is going to be very active and colorful, however this type of setup requires probably the most planning and experimentation to get the right stocking. One wrong addition could potentially turn into a war zone. Most malawi setups will need a 55+ gallon tank.

I personally like tanganyikans the best. They are not very colorful (though I do like to think that the coloration of my juli rivals ANY malawi out there:D) but I think they show more personality as they are not always super spunky like malawis. They also come ins all shapes and sizes so pretty much any tank size works.

You probably will not find very many victorians.
 
1. For Color, Malawi is your lake

2. Pro's and Con's are all personal preference really, I would say Victorian fish are harder to come by, Tanganyikan fish aren't as colorful, and Malawi fish are generally more aggressive

3. I would suggest editing the max size to 5-7 inches to help you get a better variety. Many of the fish from lake Malawi easily reach 5-6 inches, and some get even larger.

4. see 1.

5. even though your ph is high, use a sand substrate with aargonite. This will help to buffer the water, and ensure stability.

6. Sand shouldn't affect filter (use a sponge over the intake) and using Python, you just want to make sure you are just going over the surface, not burying the nozzle deep in the sand.

7. Drift wood tends to lower PH, however, with an argonite substrate, and 7.9 ph from the tap you should be fine... Not to mention the fact that if it is older much of the tannins, which affect water color and ph have probably seaped out.

8. Pics of my tank, before I rescaped it can be found by clicking below on my 75 gallon. Will log in and post new pics later...

Hope this helps. (P.S., my tank inhabitants are from all three rift lakes...)
 
THANKS for the help I like the sandy look for the bottom. what color is pool sand ? My dealer has crushed coral and the bagged sand for sale but it IS more expensive than the pool sand it seems. I am not sure about the hardness since it will be another week before we move in, i will have the water tested.my wood is very seasoned it has been in my tank for 11 years. brian, that is a beautiful cichlid tank you have there.
Bert
 
I was looking at the bagged sand today at petsmart while the dog was getting the spa treatment as the wife says. i saw the bagged crushed coral & the aargonite reef sand 30 LBS for $20 and it came in the beige sand color and the salt & pepper sand mix. They also had what THEY call live reef sand and that costs more $30 for 15 LBS, I don't know how long that live stuff has been there but the bag was DRY unlike some bags i have seen that have moisture inside them. I guess if the bag is completly dry, any good bacteria may be dried up and gone as well. One other thing, the live sand says "no rinsing needed" That i Doubt. the aargonite sand says it maintains a PH of 8.2 by itself, anyone here agree with that claim ? I think that for a 100 Gallon tank, a good 120 LBS would be just about right. I have some nice rocks that i saved from earlier aquascapes from that aquarium as well as the very seasoned malaysian wood. Now that we are moving into OUR new home, i don't have to worry about having to move again unexpectedly like what just happened. I never got to the ultimate tank display i have in my minds eye just for that very reason, now, the stage is mine as they say. can anyone dig up some more pictures of aquascaped cichlid tanks for me ? i have searched and found a few BUT i have been looking for aquascapes i could really use for a guide for new ideas. Thanks everyone for your help !!
Bert
 
The live reef sand is I believe for SW and not what you want.

I know the aragonite gets good reviews seems to be a good product.

I like the crushed coral myself.
 
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