72 Gallon Bow front

[Alicia]

I have a 72 gallon bow front tank, andI would like to put some Cichlids in it. My Ph is 7.8 and I have hard water. From what I understand, Africans like these type of water conditions. I would like to do a species tank, do any of you have any good ideas. These would be my first Chiclids, so choose wisely Thanks a bunch

 

[Alicia]

No one has any ideas?
This tank is already cycled, if that's what you needed to know. I have dad it set up since January of this year, and I have decided to sell the Glodfish back to the pet shop cause they are getting boring, and my favorite one died yesterday :sad so I just decided to go with something new.

 

[JSchmidt]

A 72 would be fine for some african cichlids (I don't know much about New World cichlids, except angelfish.)

Nice Malawis for a beginner would be 3-5 Labidochromis caeruleus (yellow labs or electric yellows) and 3-5 Pseudeotropheus saulosi. If you prefer, you could substitute the labs for Maylandia Estherae (sometimes called Ps. estherae or more commonly, red zebras).

Add a trio of small synodontis catfish (Syn. petricola or multipunctatus are a good choice; Syn. nyassae are also nice, but sometimes hard to find) would complement the mbuna nicely.

If you do go with mbuna, be sure to read up on them. They have dietary requirements that are different from most fish (i.e., they're primarily herbivorous and need a low fat, low protein diet, like algae wafers and Hikari Cichlid Excel).

Any other questions? I'll be glad to help if I can.

Jim

 

[slipknottin]

Ive got a 72 bow front with all Malawis. Looks great I think.

 

[Alicia]

Would it be possible for me to have a few Electric Blue Haps? If so, are there any tank mates that can go with them?
I also have a Pleco in the tank that I wasn't planning on selling to the pet shop, but if I need to to have these fish, I will. I also would like to know if I can have the Pleco in with sand substrate? There is gravel in there now, but I am planning on changing over to sand, and I am worried that the Pleco would end up eating some of the sand... can they do that ??
Plus, the Saulosi Mbuna are kinda small. Is there anything that I can put in with them? I don't really care for the Catfish that much cause I've heard that they are messy fish (ok,ok... so my mom told me that today ) If there are, please let me know.

 

[JSchmidt]

Electric blues get pretty big... they will be cramped as adults in a 72 bowfront. If you were prepared to eventually move them to a larger tank, they could be housed with yellow labs.

Synodontis catfish (esp. the small ones already mentioned) will produce minimal waste compared to a pleco; plecos are regular poop factories. You can keep a pleco with these fish, though. It may get beat up a bit (plecos in cichlid tanks tend to look a bit ragged), but it will survive. Personally, I've come to think that plecos just don't look right in an african cichlid tank, and the only plecos I keep with my cichlids are 'legacy' fish that I got before I knew better...

Saulosi aren't that small; have you seen any fully grown adults? They are an appropriate size for a 72 bowfront.

HTH,
Jim

 

[Alicia]

No, I have never seen a Saulosi full grown... in fact, the only time I have ever seen one is in the picture right here on AC. I did a quick search on the fish mentioned in the above posts to see what I would like to have. When I came to the Saulosi, the description said that their max size was 3 inches. I don't have a problem with that, I just thought that with a 72 taht I could get some bigger fish, thats all. I actually like the Saulosi. It's a very pretty fish. Are the Electric Yellow Haps compatable with the Saulosi? If they are, then how would this be:
3-4 Saulosi
3 Electric Yellow Hap
If that sounds ok, I would like to do that.
Also, I was reading another post on here, and the people were talking about needing egg crates, or slate under the tank/substrate to help support the rocks that you put in there for cave/ rock dwellings. Why do you need this?
I know that I am asking a lot of questions, but I want to make sure that I get the right combonation of fish and other things cause these type of fish aren't cheap around here, espically since I would have to special order them, and I want them to live D always a plus)

 

[JSchmidt]

People use egg crate to help avoid pressure points from rocks on the glass. The egg crate spread the weight so you don't have all the weight of stacked rocks concentrated on one area where a rock point meets glass.

I don't use egg crate because cichlids are such ardent diggers. Mine are always uncovering the bottom of the tank, and I don't think I want to look at exposed egg crate. I prefer lining the bottom of the tank with a sheet of plexiglass (about 1/8" or more thick, available at just about any hardware store) or with thin pieces of slate. Both do a good job of distributing the weight of rock piles and are less unsightly if uncovered than egg crate. This is a personal preference thing, I think.

If the electric yellow haps you're referring to are yellow labs, they'll do fine with saulosi, and the numbers are OK. You could probably even go one higher on each. It's much better if you can get 1 male and the rest females of each species; you'll have fewer fights for turf.

Good luck and let us know how your tank turns out!

Jim

 

[Alicia]

Thanks
Now all I need to know is, do you put the slate or plexiglass unter the aquarium or in it? also, if it is under it, how do you hold it up there?
And another thing... when you order fish from your LPS, can you order male/ female pairs, or do you just end up getting whatcha get??

 

[JSchmidt]

I put the plexiglass inside the tank, resting directly on the bottom glass, prior to adding gravel or rocks. Then I place the rocks so they're resting stably and sitting directly on the plexiglass, then I add substrate. (I don't want rocks resting on sand or gravel because as the fish dig, the rock piles will tumble.)

Some LFSs will sex the fish for you, others won't. I'm fortunate in having a place that will do so upon request. I'm not sure I'd buy so much from them if they didn't. Some mailorder places will sex them, but many will not. If you can't get them sexed, there's not much you can do, unless you learn to do it yourself...

Good luck,
Jim