New to African Cichlids
- Thread starter DAVIDFBT
- Start date
My dad has some space in his room, and I showed him a picture of a good looking African Cichlid tank, and he really likes them. Do you know what that means? I get to do this tank with no cost from me. 
So over time, I have changed my stocking plan:
4 Yellow labs, 4 Yellow tailed Aceis, 4 Pseudo. Socolofis, and 4 Metriaclima Estherae. All with a 1m/3F ratio. (Still in a 55)
I also found a landscaper that sells large (6-8") river rocks for about 5 dollars per 20 lbs, so I will be stacking them together and using superglue to stick them to each other so that there will be many nooks and crannies for the fish to hide out in.
I have but 2 questions:
1. What type of food should I feed them?
2. What type of substrate should I get?
So over time, I have changed my stocking plan:
4 Yellow labs, 4 Yellow tailed Aceis, 4 Pseudo. Socolofis, and 4 Metriaclima Estherae. All with a 1m/3F ratio. (Still in a 55)
I also found a landscaper that sells large (6-8") river rocks for about 5 dollars per 20 lbs, so I will be stacking them together and using superglue to stick them to each other so that there will be many nooks and crannies for the fish to hide out in.
I have but 2 questions:
1. What type of food should I feed them?
2. What type of substrate should I get?
Hi, David!
I use 2 different foods to feed my mbunas: pellets (NLS cichlid formula are very popular) and a good veggie flakes for cichlids (mine are ON brand).
For substrate, it all depends on how is your local water and what is appealing to you. If the water of your area has a pH good for mbunas (relatively high), I would use plain sand. If it's pH is somewhat low, I would use a substrate with a high pH buffer as fine crushed coral or the EC cichlid sand substrate that comes with bacteria and buffer and is now available as gravel, fine sand and crushed coral sand with brownish particles (this last one is the one I have in my tank).
Enjoy your tank and send us some pics when everything is ready.
Good luck!!!
I use 2 different foods to feed my mbunas: pellets (NLS cichlid formula are very popular) and a good veggie flakes for cichlids (mine are ON brand).
For substrate, it all depends on how is your local water and what is appealing to you. If the water of your area has a pH good for mbunas (relatively high), I would use plain sand. If it's pH is somewhat low, I would use a substrate with a high pH buffer as fine crushed coral or the EC cichlid sand substrate that comes with bacteria and buffer and is now available as gravel, fine sand and crushed coral sand with brownish particles (this last one is the one I have in my tank).
Enjoy your tank and send us some pics when everything is ready.
Good luck!!!
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My tap water ph is 7.2, but I will use crushed coral in the filter for buffering. I can't make up my mind if I want pool filter sand or little light gray round pebbles about 1cm wide.
by "superglue"-- i hope you mean "aquarium-safe silicone"... it's sort of rubbery.
did you catch the tip about getting "eggcrate" (like fluorescent light diffusers) and putting that on the bottom of the tank to spread the weight around? a single piece is about $5-10 at home depot and should be all you need.
did you catch the tip about getting "eggcrate" (like fluorescent light diffusers) and putting that on the bottom of the tank to spread the weight around? a single piece is about $5-10 at home depot and should be all you need.
Actually superglue (cyanoacrylate) is aquarium safe, I've used it to glue various powerhead parts together and alot of the sw reefers use it for fragging.
For rocks though I'd use an aquarium safe epoxy rather than superglue, once dried it'll hold alot better without breaking apart.
For rocks though I'd use an aquarium safe epoxy rather than superglue, once dried it'll hold alot better without breaking apart.
Allright then, I'll just have to use silicone, unless if by epoxy you atually mean an epoxy. If so then what type should I get? I've used superglue before, and I just wait until I can't smell it before I put it in the aquarium. I already said somewhere earlier that I would be using eggcrate to distribute the weight evenly on the bottom glass. 
When the tank is cycled and all, should I add all the fish in at once or should I get a couple of fish until I build up my full stocklist? The reason why I'm asking is because If I add them slowly, the dominant cichlid may bully the newcomers.
When the tank is cycled and all, should I add all the fish in at once or should I get a couple of fish until I build up my full stocklist? The reason why I'm asking is because If I add them slowly, the dominant cichlid may bully the newcomers.
I think that your cichlids will be happier with the pool filter sand bottom. It is just my honest opinion. :grinyes:
