i have several african cichlids, but my tank is probably not the kind of biotope cichlids would come from, i got the tank about 6 months ago as a present and with some decor, plastic plants and some of the castley type things, but i really want it to look like where they would be from, like the Rift Lakes, could anyone tell me what it should look like and what it should have in it?
cichlid biotope?
- Thread starter brian_moons
- Start date
We'll they're would not be a castle in the middle of Lake Malawi, so i would take that out!! 
Sand or crushed coral seem's to be the best bet for substrate, about 3 1/4" OF AN INCH!
And add as many rock's as you can, for hiding place's and for possible spawning! Malawi LOVE cave's & hiding place's.
Keep your water perimater's within there range (For the Cichlid's you keep), and keep live plant's to one's they will not eat, (.......i.e.........Anubis, and dig up!!)
Also, whatever Cichlid you decide to keep try not to outway male's with female's!!1
One's far more experienced on the board can and will help you with this
Sand or crushed coral seem's to be the best bet for substrate, about 3 1/4" OF AN INCH!
And add as many rock's as you can, for hiding place's and for possible spawning! Malawi LOVE cave's & hiding place's.
Keep your water perimater's within there range (For the Cichlid's you keep), and keep live plant's to one's they will not eat, (.......i.e.........Anubis, and dig up!!)
Also, whatever Cichlid you decide to keep try not to outway male's with female's!!1
One's far more experienced on the board can and will help you with this
Hard water, proper ph (hard akaline), sand substrate (for sand sifters) or crushed coral (this a great buffer but keep in mind that coral is very sharp), smooth boulder type rocks, plants add beauty but cichlids can care less, they live in just mostly rock areas in the wild, very good filtration (along with weekly water changes as they come from extremely clean freshwater), and proper diet for longterm health. This is pretty close to the lake, however set it up to your likeing, as long your parameters are good and there is rockwork they will be fine. There are a good variety of rocks you can use as well sand, just dont get to fine sand (sugar grain).
Last edited:
As i said, one's more experienced on the forum, will be of help to no end's, like they have with me!! 
.
They're a great bunch here, a little cheeky at times.........lol, BUT, the best through OUT EVERY site.
You can post a question and you GET A REPLY!! (Unlike some specialist forum's, as they call themselves, and IGNORE YOU!!!
Hope you get all your answer's here!!!
.They're a great bunch here, a little cheeky at times.........lol, BUT, the best through OUT EVERY site.
You can post a question and you GET A REPLY!! (Unlike some specialist forum's, as they call themselves, and IGNORE YOU!!!
Hope you get all your answer's here!!!
If you do a simple "yahoo" or "google" search for lake malawi, tanganyika, or victoria, you can get plenty of realistic "true" pictures of fish in this environment. There should be little need to buy books or anything similar on the subject, although those can only help. Also looking up aquatic biotopes should yield some additional resources for study. It really comes down to you understanding the environment they come from and then choosing the way in which you want to cater to those needs. God bless with your efforts!
also, right now i have that standard coloured gravel type thing, i was looking at some websites and it appears that the floor of those lakes are sand, what method could i use to change the gravel into sand?
scoop out the gravel...turn your filter off...and pour in the sand.
If you use a container of managable size...you could fill it with sand...gently sink it in the tank by tilting the container but not so far that the sand spills out. Bring the container all the way to the bottom of the tank and gently tip out the sand. This should help to keep it from getting TOO awful cloudy in the tank...better than just dumping it in from the top that is. Don't turn the filter back on until the grains settle, though you will probably still have some cloudiness, you just don't want those heavy grains getting up into your filter.
Have something underneath your rocks when you put them in your tanks or they could cause stress fractures in your glass. Some folks cushion the bottom of the rocks by applying aquarium silicon to the edges of the rock that will rest on the bottom of the tank....before they put the rocks in the tank.
If you use a container of managable size...you could fill it with sand...gently sink it in the tank by tilting the container but not so far that the sand spills out. Bring the container all the way to the bottom of the tank and gently tip out the sand. This should help to keep it from getting TOO awful cloudy in the tank...better than just dumping it in from the top that is. Don't turn the filter back on until the grains settle, though you will probably still have some cloudiness, you just don't want those heavy grains getting up into your filter.
Have something underneath your rocks when you put them in your tanks or they could cause stress fractures in your glass. Some folks cushion the bottom of the rocks by applying aquarium silicon to the edges of the rock that will rest on the bottom of the tank....before they put the rocks in the tank.
Last edited: