Good Cichlids for begginer?

J

Jason01

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Dec 9, 2004
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Clermont, IA
Ok...The title doesn't sound right. I have been keeping fish for a few years now, and have always been intrigued by cichlids. For christmas, my parents gave me a 42 gallon hexagon tank. I am thinking that I may have to keep dwarf cichlids, as from the front to the back, the tank is 22", and from point to point is about 25"(width), and is 24" tall. For filtration, I think I'm going to get either a filstar XP2, or a Fluval 304. I am also going to use an air powered in-tank sponge filter. I would like the substrate to be black sand, so I am probably stuck with the Tahitian Moon Sand.

My water parms. are:
PH - 7.4(from tap) and 8.0(aged 24 hrs)
GH - 20 PPM
KH - 200 PPM

From what I understand about cichlids, my tap water is pretty good. My G/F want the colorful ones from the LFS, and they're in a tank labeled "Asst. African Cichlids" I Think that some of them will work in the tank, however, I don't want to get a fish for a few months only to have to return it when it outgrows my tank! What would you suggest for a newbie cichlid keeper?

P.S. - My G/F also fell in love with a gold nugget pl*co at the LFS. Could this be kept in a cichlid tank? What other fish, if any can be kept with the africans?

Oh, and before I forget again, how much sand would it take to cover the bottom of the tank? I have 20 Lbs ordered from my LFS, do I need more?
 
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search the species profile under cichlids, there are a few that only get 6-8" the mbunas are a good starter, there cheap and easy to care for.(mbuna is a common name used in africa, like we say trout, there are quite a few varrieties) Sometims they are labled and are $4, but sometimes they are sold as "asst. cichlids" for $2. You may want to print out what you find on this site and bring it to the store w/ you. compair your info to what is at the store. Ive even seen yellow labs or auratus sold as asst cichlids. they can be $6-$8 if properly labeled!!
 
I have been to the LFS several times, and most of the time, I look at the cichlid tanks. The closest one to me(35 miles) Has 2-4 20 gal tanks of cichlids. I called her today to see if I can get black sand there, and I can(4.50 for a 5 LB bag, which is less than the total price on line), and I asked about the cichlids. She has Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi. I went to Liveaquaria.com, and looked at the Lake Malawi cichlids, and I recognize most of them. Knowing that these get to be about 5", I could keep 5-6 in my 42 gal hex, right? I think I'm going to get a Filstar XP2(it's on sale at Drs. Foster & Smith for $75), which is rated for up to 75 gal., plus I'm going to get a small(30 gal tank size) air powered sponge filter.

I am also going to go shopping for rocks tommorow(maybe), and I was wondering, there is a river about 100 yards away from my house that is VERY rocky. Could I just get some rocks from there, test w/ vinegar, and soak in a bleach water solution, followed by de-chlorinator? My LFS doesn't have rocks(other than slate), and the one I am going to tommorow has them for 3.00 a lb. If I can collect them for free, I will.

Also, are there any species that are native to lake Malawi that are not cichlids that would work in the tank. I would like to do a speices only(from lake Malawi), any ideas? Thanks so far!

PS - any ideas on how much sand? My LFS thought that in the 42 gal. hex, 20 lbs would give me about 1/2 inch. That sound about right?
 
Ive heard the rule 1.5 lbs per gallon for substrate. that makes 63 lbs. for 42 gal.not that i ever follow the rules. I used Lake Tahoe rocks in my tank and it worked well. Even if you find a rock type you like, but it might contain elements unfavorable for your water, you can coat it in aquarium safe silly cone or epoxy. I've not seen anything else from lake malawi commonly, if you find something it will be expensive (or just not commonly advertised as a malawi?)
 
I don't think that 63 lbs of sand would work(too much!) The base of the aquarium has a footprint of ~375 sq. in. The base is smaller than most 40ish gal. tanks, as it is ~25" tall. If my LFS was right in that fully covered, 20 lbs would give me 1/2 inch, than 63 lbs would be like 1.5"! For sand that is too much, I think, that and, part of the bottom is going to have a stack of rocks on it, and not going to have sand under it.

Back to the topic on hand.

Browsing liveaquaria.com, I have picked out a few Malawi Cichlids that I think might work(and are ones that I recognize as always being at my LFS)
Electric Yellow(I would say the Electric blue also, but I think he gets too big :(
Blue & yellow Peacock
Cobalt Blue Zebra

Any ideas on how many/what to get? It's probably going to be a week or 2 until I am able to get them (just ordered my filters about 15 min ago, Filstar XP2, and a sponge one) What other fish could I put in there with them? I sometimes see a blue boita loach(boita Modesta) in with them, would he work in there, or is that a mistake on the LFS part(I really like loaches!)?
 
If your truely interested in keeping cichlids then I'd return the tank if at all possible and get like a 55g min. You'll be able to keep so many different fish in the 55g+ vs. any hex tank. Yes, your water is better suited to africans. A lot of people use swimming pool filter sand and its much cheaper than anything you can get at the lfs. Do you have any quarys or dams in the area? Perfect for stone work. With that size tank I'd stick with the smaller mbuna, no hyper ones and or all peacocks.
 
i recommmend going to cichlid-forum.com to get info on africans. Also your combination is not very good as you shouldn't mix fast swimming and aggressive mbuna with peacocks. Peacocks also live in open water, and have a different diet than mbuna (most of them).
 
Well, I got my rocks in last weekend, set-up the tank, and seeded the filter. Added 1 yellow lab, 2 red zebra, and 1 Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos. No ammonia, or nitrites, and nitrates rose from <5, to ~10. 3 days later, my LFS got in new stock, and I got 4 more yellow labs. They were chased around the tank for the first few hours by the 1 yellow lab that was allready there. They now appear to get along fine. I am not planning on adding any more to the tank, except maybe some bottom feeders. My g/f really likes the gold nugget pl*co at the LFS, but I'm not sure. I could put it into my 55 if it didn't work out, but, would I want to risk a $30 fish?

I would probably would never have bought the tank, but it was given to me a a christmas present, so, I'll make the best with what I have. Anyways, my mom likes the way the tank looks in her living room, and I don't think I'm going to get another tank(I'm trying to convince them that I need to build a LARGE tank this summer, but that depends on other things). When she got me the tank, she told me that if I set it up, that It had to have yellow, blue, and red fish. She thought that I would put up a SW tank, but she likes this better than the SW tanks at the fish store.

My rocks all came from a natural flood basin by the river(Turkey River in Iowa). I got a 20 gallon tub full of them, thinking that I wouldn't use that many. I had about 5-10 rocks that I put in my 55 to get rid of the rest. I like the way it looks now(I think it will look better when the rocks get covered with algae)
 
Although the footprint of your tank is small, you may be able to accomodate an Altolamprologus Calvus and a couple shelldwellers from Lake Tanganyika. Or you could try a few yellow labs (from Lake Malawi) since they're relatively peraceful - abnd a nice bright yellow color! Good luck with your tank.
 
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