want to switch to a cichlid tank
- Thread starter ch-47 soldier
- Start date
If you want to make it simpler, do what I have in my 55gal mbuna tank: put a HOB AquaClear 110 filter. With a turnover of 500gph, it works nicely for a tank this size.
I will once again take this opportunity to praise the benefits of a sump. If you can fit a 10 gallon under your 55 I would do it. A 20 would be even better. Chances are your tank can be drilled. If you have access to a glass drill bit I can walk you through it. If not, overflows are inexpensive and work as well. With a sump you have your choice of media and superior bio-filtration. You can literally change the entire set-up ( I did it bumping up from a 55 to a 75 ) without experiencing a mini-cycle. Canisters are all the rage, but I like the versatility and ease of maintenance my sump gives me, not to mention that any extra water volume is a good thing. You can buy acrylic sheets at your local hardware store, giving you the ability to build a filter that will suit your needs at a fraction of the cost of a canister or pre-fab sump.
Demasoni are really nice fish. They have a nasty reputation and seem to do better stocked in groups of say 8 or 10, as opposed to to 3 or 4 you keep most other mbuna (with no more than 2 males in the group). This spreads out the aggression.
They are perceived as having serious emotional problems with other blue/blue striped fish, which they manifest by trying to kill them...so you are best off with differing colourations in the tank.
Labs are good, and if you went down the demasoni route in your tank I'd probably say do 10 Demasoni, 6 Labs and say 6 of an albino species - either zebras, socolofi, Ps. Macropthalmus are all really nice.
The other thing about demasoni is that you either need a good eye/excellent advice to vent them and make sure you are getting the right male/female ratio - although the same can be said for many mbuna, too many male demasoni will definitely result in eh just the right amount of male demasoni...which for male demasoni is 1Joking aside, you may well find yourself having to swap out fish as you spot extra males over the first few months of the tank.
Great advice here. Demasoni are an example of what I would consider a " species tank " in a 55. You can keep some of the more aggressive species but you'll have to dedicate the tank to them. Any fish with the blue and black stripes and similar body shape will be perceived as a threat. Mbuna are highly territorial. They are vegetarian, algae and awfuchs scrapers, which means they have to stake out a particular area and defend it fiercly to ensure they will have enough food to eat. In the wild there are dense populations of different species spanning a few yards or so. In the aqaurium we have to be careful to choose those that can manage aggression within the limited confines of the 48" of space you're providing.
13-16 mbunas should be fine in a 55g... its more about the type and number of each than the overall number when it comes to these types of fish
I have 4 species in my 55g... but I shoulda went with 3
I have 4 species in my 55g... but I shoulda went with 3
so next would be water parameters. mine:
ph - 7.7
gh - 7
kh - 5
nitrites - .5
ammonia - 0
is there anything i need to do to make my water more suitable for a mbuna tank?
ph - 7.7
gh - 7
kh - 5
nitrites - .5
ammonia - 0
is there anything i need to do to make my water more suitable for a mbuna tank?
Yep that's it - Mbuna (and all rift lake cichlids in fact) really don't react well to even slightly elevated ammonia/nitrite or indeed nitrates much above 20 ppm - so ammonia/nitrites to 0 and nitrates slowly increasing in the tank for a start.
What are you cycling with ? Or are you relying on present stock ? You're going to want to build up enough bacteria to handle a big load of mbuna. I reccomend adding a group at a time starting with the least aggressive, leaving at least a week between additions.
You should however also use a substrate and decor that buffers up PH & Hardness. Crushed Coral Sand is nice as a substrate, so is Tahitian Moon Sand if you like Black. Lots of rocks for the decor - texas holey rock, limestone, stuff like that will also buffer Ph & Hardness.
What are you cycling with ? Or are you relying on present stock ? You're going to want to build up enough bacteria to handle a big load of mbuna. I reccomend adding a group at a time starting with the least aggressive, leaving at least a week between additions.
You should however also use a substrate and decor that buffers up PH & Hardness. Crushed Coral Sand is nice as a substrate, so is Tahitian Moon Sand if you like Black. Lots of rocks for the decor - texas holey rock, limestone, stuff like that will also buffer Ph & Hardness.
i was gonna pull my old stock out and start with the cichlids.
what about the malawi buffer by seachem?
