30 gallon African tank

[ZBT3091]

Hi...
is a 30 gallon tank big enough for an African Cichlid tank? What kinds of Africans in particular will fit + be compatible. What should the water chemistry be?

thanks,

--Zach T.--

[Swimfins]

Neolamprologus, (shell dweller cichlid) apistogramma, ramirez maybe.http://www.cichlidrecipe.com/shellweb/shell_care.htm Try this.

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

Generally when saying 'africans' people mean malawi cichlids. If you do mean malawis, then the only fish you can fit in a 30 are a trio of yellow labs (1m 2f) OR rusty cichlids.

yellow labs: http://www.malawimayhem.com/profile_show.php?id=247
rusties: http://www.malawimayhem.com/profile_show.php?id=196

The reason why those two are reccommended is because they stay fairly small compared to most malawis (around 4 inches) and they are mild-temperd.

The problem with africans is they are very aggressive, and putting them in a small tank leads very easily to territory disputes. When the fish mature and get territorial they are very aggressive and will harass others to death.

That said, you could grow several malawis in that size tank if you plan to upgrade them later. A 40 gallon+ is really needed to be succsessfull and keep more than just 3 fish. They should be moved to a larger tank when they are sexable though, because thats *usually* when they start wanting to breed, and when they start being mean.

Water chemistry for the RIFT LAKES is very high ph and moderately hard water. So your ph should be around 8.0 for them. Riverine africans are kept at a more neutral ph, around 7.0, and even sometimes slightly acidic water, depending on where they are from.

If you were interested in getting some more rare fish from Lake Tangynika then you could do as previously mentioned and get some lake tang shelldwellers. They are really aggressive too, but super small. You can keep them in a 10 gallon if you wanted. A 30 gallon might look a little empty with these guys since they pretty much hang out on thier shell all day, unless there are other fish to chase ;)

ALSO, there are non-rift lake african such as kribensis and jewel cichlids. They require a different water chemistry than the rift lakes though.

As Swimfins said, apistogrammas and rams are community cichlids that would fit in that tank, but they are not African cichlids. They are from south/central america.

HTH
:)
-Diana

[ZBT3091]

How about like a few German Blue Rams? Maybe a pair of convicts for breeding? Does that sound good?

[Swimfins]

I replied to that post thinking of smaller fish. I figured any "Africans" would just no be happy in 30g. I've got a 25 and I'm thinking also, a cichlid tank, but of course Malawai is out. I'm going for Lamporogus, 2 pairs. I don't know what species yet. And some dither fish for top color. Probably danios or rasbora.

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

Im not sure about the pair of convicts, but a pair of rams will work. A pair of kribs too, as stated before, also apistogrammas. That way you could add some other fish to the tank, like tetras or something, because they are not as aggressive as the rift-lake cichlids and require a more neutral water chemistry. You can also have plants with these ones.


:)