Ha so I'm still confused about what I should get? lol. I have already spent 50 bucks on the flourite and the top gravel. So, any suggestions would be nice. I really want to get cichlids going and am trying to save money. Let me know lol.
Noob 30 gallon cichlid tank
- Thread starter bamosherjr
- Start date
Leave the substrate like it is, put in some plants and look for leluepi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolamprologus_leleupi. They are from lake Tanganyika and their yellow rivals any saltwater fish...and they are fairly easy to find. You could have a pair in a 30 gallon, and also a colony of shellies...brevis are pretty easy to come by and the sunspot brevis http://www.flippersandfins.net/neolamprologusbrevisarticle.htm are rather colorful...besides shellies are cool. Don't worry about digging with flourite, it will not cloud the water like laterite will. If you want to raise the hardness you can get a small bag of crushed coral, out some in a net bag and put it in the filter. Crushed coral will compact over time in freshwater...not saltwater. Crushed coral will disolve in freshwater that has a pH of 8.2 or less, saltwater should have a pH of 8.2 to 8.4 so the crushed coral will not dissolve. It can become a problem in saltwater if it is too deep and you don't have any livestock that sifts through it with anerobic pockets.
If you really want saltwater, why not do it in your 30 gallon? You could have some damsels, gobies, firefish...
If you really want saltwater, why not do it in your 30 gallon? You could have some damsels, gobies, firefish...
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Deb - how long are you saying the crushed coral will take to compact in FW (or did you mean SW) ? I havn't noticed this problem - admittedly I have fish that dig a bit.
it does need to be replenished after a few months i find, as the minerals leach out.
it does need to be replenished after a few months i find, as the minerals leach out.
I was gonna do saltwater fish until I found out the cost of having freshwater fish. I was going to take all the plants out, and than I noticed to day that they are really rooting and that they are even starting to expand. So, I am going to leave the fluorite in there, get some more rocks to put in there with my wood and put some kind of fish in there. I went out and bought four mollies, and put on in there from my 10 gallon, and moved my pleco over to the 30 gallon tank as there was a lot of algae everywhere. Can I still get the fish you mentioned and put them in my tank without and problematic fights? I also have CO2 going into this tank as well in case that makes a difference. Please let me know. Thank you.
My bad, I meant to say that I put the four mollies in my 30 and took the one molly out of my 10 and moved him to the 30. I just took some pictures this morning, or tried to, fish dont like to be still. I will upload them today after church so everyone can see.
ok, there is no reason for you to have to take out the flourite if you are not getting african cichlids.
in fact, if you get appistogramma or rams, they like softer more neutral/acidic water. IF you really want a good splash of color, Get a pair of kirbensis. They are very colorful(check my avy) and breed pretty easy. Only thing is is that they will pick a cave and chase anything that gets close to it. Better than africans, worse then appistos in that sense. Appisots can get expensive, but german blue rams come pretty cheap now adays. In a 30 you can put like 2 pairs of blues and 1 pair of kribs.
in fact, if you get appistogramma or rams, they like softer more neutral/acidic water. IF you really want a good splash of color, Get a pair of kirbensis. They are very colorful(check my avy) and breed pretty easy. Only thing is is that they will pick a cave and chase anything that gets close to it. Better than africans, worse then appistos in that sense. Appisots can get expensive, but german blue rams come pretty cheap now adays. In a 30 you can put like 2 pairs of blues and 1 pair of kribs.
Yes you can still get the fish I mentioned without fights. You don't want 2 male leluepi though....they would fight in any sized tank...I would get 4 small ones and wait for a pair, trade in the others. The brevis will chase off any fish (no matter how large) from their shell, but won't harm them and don't go looking for trouble. Leluepi won't go looking for trouble either, but they will defend their cave. Tanganyikans in general aren't too aggressive (there are some that are).
I meant FW, it would take a long time, and your pH might be high enough to prevent disolving of the crushed coral, and your diggers are probably preventing it also. I am talking a couple of years and it doesn't always happen....depends on how often it is vacuumed, the fish you keep, and your natural water chemistry.
I meant FW, it would take a long time, and your pH might be high enough to prevent disolving of the crushed coral, and your diggers are probably preventing it also. I am talking a couple of years and it doesn't always happen....depends on how often it is vacuumed, the fish you keep, and your natural water chemistry.
Well guys I have decided to stay with freshwater, I am not sure what I am going to do with fish for now besides my mollies and my plecostamus. I have started a thread on the photo gallery section with my pictures. Here is the link. Let me know what you think, and what other fish I should get with these. Thanks!
My Picture Thread
My Picture Thread
