How fast do they grow?

jaylin, u dont like the new world cichlids? them central american cichlids tend to grow a bump on their heads called , i believe, nuchal humps, and they are quite attractive Id say...jus my opinion. But since you are going to move in about a year and a half, Id definitely go wit the TANG cichlids, since they grow very slow, as it was stated earlier by natsaku...it would just be an easier move! just my opinion.

Bob, I dont know if you ever bothered to do any research, but danm, ur tank specs are ridiculous! Just to some research...I did mine and seen the light. Im crankin on gettin a bigger tank for my guys! Cant be stubborn with live creatures.
 
Last edited:
When you're talking about rocks and driftwood for a Tang tank, what the cheapest route without compromising the fish (or looking too ugly)? I'd love to do biotope appopriate, but $$'s matter here. For the time being, I'm willing to compromise.

And I like south americans just fine. I'd just want a much larger tank if I was going to do them.
 
Well as far as rocks go, 99% of them you find outside, you can use in the tank. Just boil them for a bit, and your ready to go. Set up a little cascading wall from back to mid point of the tank and it will be fine. Conditioning the water is super easy for rift lake cichlids, some baking soda and epsom salts do the trick. You want your pH at 8.0-8.5 and hard water, gH above 10. I know I listed before somewhere on here (maybe no this thread) more precisely what they need.
 
Jay first thing youll want to do is find out what kinda water you have. Odds are you have hard water, which most of us do. Its a hell of a task tryin to make hard water soft. So assuming you have hard water id say lean towards the african cichlids. Also stick with your original thought and stay with the Malawians. They tend to stay smaller and are a *bit* less aggressive than their lake neighbors.

Pissed of cichlids in a smallish tank is the first thing youll notice. One will assume dominance and harrass the rest of the fish to either death or to a pale ghost hiding near the filter.

Start with two fish of different colors, maybe a yellow lab and a demonsi. You may have to go through a couple different pairs. Returning the fish that tend to be too aggressive and completely dominate the tank.

My suggestion for a cheap tank would be to pick up some sand from you HD or Lowes. The cheap stuff is fine as long as yer willin to mix it up a bit every once in a while. Also hit up you local rock yard, youll find all the rock youll need for an unbelievably cheap price. I got enough for my 60 gallon for under 20 bucks. Find the holey stuff or something with crevices in it, point is to provide some caves. Stay away from driftwood in the tank. Not really a part of their natural habitat nor are plants.

Youll find these guys to be incredible characters. Once ya set things up well you can even add some other smaller fish like zebra danios to act as dither fish to really bring out the cichlids personalities.

Good Luck
Jimmy
 
NatakuTseng said:
Well as far as rocks go, 99% of them you find outside, you can use in the tank. Just boil them for a bit, and your ready to go. Set up a little cascading wall from back to mid point of the tank and it will be fine. Conditioning the water is super easy for rift lake cichlids, some baking soda and epsom salts do the trick. You want your pH at 8.0-8.5 and hard water, gH above 10. I know I listed before somewhere on here (maybe no this thread) more precisely what they need.
Click to expand...

I took my rocks right out of the creek, and put them in their imediately, no boiling just real rock with real algae and creek slime on them. The fish love em, the plecos and loaches like them especially.
 
Thats a risk you can choose to take Bob, but don't advocate to anyone else to try that. Taking rocks from aquatic environments poses some huge potential risks. One being the algea you mentioned, easily could spread in the tank fast enough. Another is bringing hitchhikers in. These could be anything from snails, crayfish larvae, water bettles, to dangerous parasites. Obviously some are more dangerous than others, but its not worth the risk, I like my fish, I like them healthy, and if I can limit the risk of causing problems I'll do it. Boiling will eliminate the hitch hikers and algea. Just comes down to a matter of being safe, and not taking avoidable risks. Sure you could do what you do 100 times, but that 101st time could be the one that you bring something in that kills off all your fish.
 
Also stick with your original thought and stay with the Malawians. They tend to stay smaller and are a *bit* less aggressive than their lake neighbors.
Click to expand...
I might be wrong, but the smallest malawi (yellow lab) gets about 4-5in, while the smallest Tangs (shelldwellers) can be as small as 1in (multis) and have the smallest cichlid territory in the world (brevis, about 4in around thier shells). I also have to dissagree with your suggestions on how to set up a malawi tank (first off i've heard a 29g is too small). If you do, you should introduce all the fish at once as juviniles, and you should DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST!! Don't put yourself, your fish, and your LFS through a trial and error mixed malawi tank.

I would invest in one of the comercial cichlid mix sands, and save money by using a limestone based rock from a landscape supply yard. They will naturally buffer your water up to the appropriate ph and hardness. You can do as Nataku suggests (most rift lake keepers do), but I have found additives to be unecessary if you do small regular water changes and have plenty of calcium based rock and substrate in the tank.

Lastly, I agree wholeheartedly that you should treat any rocks taken from local waterways before introducing them into the tank. I suggest baking the rocks at 350 for about an hour instead of boiling. It gets the rocks hotter, you can treat more at once, and the dry heat will kill more bacteria (if your worried about that).

Good Luck
 
Malawi cichlids generally get larger and are more aggressive than tangs.

Tanganyika has a whole host of species which are listed as dwarf cichlids and many others that are pretty darn close.
 
Well, I think what I have is going to be broken down and used as a Tanganyikan tank.

I live really close to Pueblo Res. so I'll go rock hunting this weekend (and I'll boil them) and I'll start the thing cycling later today.

Now, were can I find some good Tangs?
 
Check out http://www.aquabid.com/
I gotta warn you, you're going to get hooked! :)
They have a LARGE assortment of African cichlids, and it's kinda neat if you're first getting into the hobby to see what is available out there!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom