A Few Begginers Questions

[calsonic]

1)how active are mbuna and will i see them out and about or just poking there heads out of the caves?

2)how do i work out how much rock i need and what is best?

3)do i need to take the space the rock takes up when working out how much stocking room there is?

thanks for any help im sure i will have some more questions later

 

[dthoffsett]

1)how active are mbuna and will i see them out and about or just poking there heads out of the caves?

They are very active, as to how often they'll be out in the open, it really depends on the individuals. That said, providing plenty of cover will usually make them feel secure enough to come out in the open. And, IMO it's best to keep them in an area of your house that doesn't get a lot of loud traffic.

2)how do i work out how much rock i need and what is best?

Take a look here for inspiration. Basically, if you think you have enough rocks, add some more.

3)do i need to take the space the rock takes up when working out how much stocking room there is?

No, if it's a 55gal tank, stock for that.

I highly suggest reading the pinnned topics at the top of this page if you haven't already done so. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like, we're always happy to help here.

 

[calsonic]

how agressive are pseudotropheus acei and pseudotropheus carabo i quite like the look of bpth specise but dont want any that are going to be to agressive and i dont want anything that could cause problems with my pleco

how fine is coral sand

thanks again for any help

 

[dthoffsett]

how agressive are pseudotropheus acei and pseudotropheus carabo i quite like the look of bpth specise but dont want any that are going to be to agressive and i dont want anything that could cause problems with my pleco

how fine is coral sand

thanks again for any help

Compared to most "standard" community fish all mbuna are aggressive, there's just different levels of aggression. P.acei is considered one of the more peaceful species (along with Labidochromis caeruleus & Iodotropheus sprengerae) and P.crabro seem to be pretty laid back if you keep a single specimen. If kept in groups, P.crabro should be in a minimum 6 ft tank with only one male and quite a few females, even then you are looking at a very aggressive set up.

What kind of pleco do you have? Most mbuna ignore them, however, there are some mbuna keepers who's fish will kill any pleco added, so you just need to keep an eye on them.

In my area, most coral sand (usually marketed as aragonite) could be compared to sugar in size and texture.

 

[calsonic]

its a common pleco but i also want to add my bristlenose as well i think i will go with the acei then if there more peacefull i already have a 6ft tank but the new one will be a minimum of 6x2x2 anyway im trying to find a suitable substrate thats not to small that it will get sucked up when i clean the tank

 

[dthoffsett]

its a common pleco but i also want to add my bristlenose as well i think i will go with the acei then if there more peacefull i already have a 6ft tank but the new one will be a minimum of 6x2x2 anyway im trying to find a suitable substrate thats not to small that it will get sucked up when i clean the tank

Bn plecs generally do very well with mbuna and your common will probably be large enough to be ok, as I said though keep a close eye on them as you never know what will happen with mbuna. The trick to cleaning sand is to keep the gravel vac about an inch or so above the sand and swirl it around. As the waste is lighter than the sand it will get syphoned up.

 

[calsonic]

the trouble is i just use a piece of flexi tubbing as i used to find it would get more poo up when i was cleaning my discus tank
would argaite sand be more grit like and just as suitable as crushed coral sand or could i get coral sand in diffrent sized grades?

 

[dthoffsett]

the trouble is i just use a piece of flexi tubbing as i used to find it would get more poo up when i was cleaning my discus tank
would argaite sand be more grit like and just as suitable as crushed coral sand or could i get coral sand in diffrent sized grades?

Aragonite is very fine (like sugar), I think you can get the crushed coral in different sizes. The piece of flexi tubing will do the same thing as the gravel vac, the poop will sit on the surface of the sand so all you need to do is stir it up and syphon off what floats.

 

[calsonic]

im thinking of lining the bottom with slate to protect the glass from the rockwork would this be okay? i think i wil have to look in my lfs and see what sort they have i dont want it to big and corse that its going to be scratching the glass all the time but then i dont want it to fine that im going to have to keep replacing it as im pulling to much out when i clean the tank my last experiment with sand didnt go verry well but then im rather indisicive at times

 

[loatmead]

im thinking of lining the bottom with slate to protect the glass from the rockwork would this be okay? i think i wil have to look in my lfs and see what sort they have i dont want it to big and corse that its going to be scratching the glass all the time but then i dont want it to fine that im going to have to keep replacing it as im pulling to much out when i clean the tank my last experiment with sand didnt go verry well but then im rather indisicive at times

Hi m8, you should use an egg tray on the tottum of the tank to protect it from the rocks ect.You will find them on ebay a real must in my view

 

[calsonic]

i will get a load when the tank makes it here and im thinking about adding a nitrate filter but im not 100 certain on how they work so i think i will look into that next

 

[calsonic]

i will get a load when the tank makes it here and im thinking about adding a nitrate filter but im not 100 certain on how they work so i think i will look into that next