A Little Cichlid Help?

[divisible by zero]

So i've decided to do Cichlids in the newly acquired 55g but am overwhelmed by the options. I've already purchased 60lbs of rock and slate but need to pick a subtate yet. I'm thinking i'll do more along the lines of Mbuna family or Malawi. My plan is to do a heavily stocked tank with lots of rocks and caves, but have to pick a subtrate yet. Is there a preferred subtrate? I've seen large grain pool filter sand and crushed corals so far that i like the look of, but am not sure if i should pick the fish first and work backwards or what any help/pointers/tips/links would be appreciated.

 

[dominicbeha]

So i've decided to do Cichlids in the newly acquired 55g but am overwhelmed by the options. I've already purchased 60lbs of rock and slate but need to pick a subtate yet. I'm thinking i'll do more along the lines of Mbuna family or Malawi. My plan is to do a heavily stocked tank with lots of rocks and caves, but have to pick a subtrate yet. Is there a preferred subtrate? I've seen large grain pool filter sand and crushed corals so far that i like the look of, but am not sure if i should pick the fish first and work backwards or what any help/pointers/tips/links would be appreciated.

from what i seem to recall and i am no expert in the same position as u , crush coral is not good as its sharp on the mouths

 

[typhoon]

i have crushed coral in my mbuna as it aids to buffer the PH to keep the PH around 8+, i cant say ive ever heard anything about it being sharp tho?

 

[dthoffsett]

I used crushed coral for awhile, I never had a problem with it damaging any of their mouths, but they weren't able to really dig in it. I recommend sand of some sort, pool filter sand is good, but if you can spend a little extra money, I highly recommend aragonite. It's normally marketed for saltwater tanks, it does an excellent job of buffering your PH, and my mbuna love digging in it. The nice thing, is that with a lot of rocks in the tank, you don't need a lot of sand, I only have 30lbs in a 75gallon tank.

As far as recommendations for fish, here's a good link to check out:
http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_55g.php

I usually suggest to people to go to your lfs and write down the names of fish you like, then research them, and we'll help with compatability.

 

[divisible by zero]

thank you tons, I'm thinking of doing black sand and argonite mix, about 35lbs worth if i get 2 bags and adding a few handfulls of small dark rocks.

as for compatibility, that was my plan. I fell in love with the elecric yellow, jewel's, electric blues and bumble bees at the LFS a little while ago.

 

[WaterBender1995]

I use a 2-1 mix in every tank. 2 bags of ECO Complete sand and 1 bag of crushed coral. the ph stays perfect, the fish still sift for food and are able to move easily for nesting.
the sand is a black & white mix.


as suggested before, PLEASE get a list of what you like first then research it.

 

[dthoffsett]

thank you tons, I'm thinking of doing black sand and argonite mix, about 35lbs worth if i get 2 bags and adding a few handfulls of small dark rocks.

as for compatibility, that was my plan. I fell in love with the elecric yellow, jewel's, electric blues and bumble bees at the LFS a little while ago.

Bumblebees - pseudotropheus crabro, unfortunately they get a little too large and boisterous for a 55gal tank.

jewels - a riverine species I believe, and they aren't compatable with mbuna

electric yellows - labidochromis caeruleus, wonderful species, fairly peaceful by mbuna standards, but usually aren't bothered by most other species. http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=34733

electric blues - this is a common name for up to 6 different species, so you'd be better off either getting a scientific name, or a good picture and we can ID it.

Hope that gets you started. -Dawn

 

[GRJ]

I have just set up a mbuna tank amd used childrens play sand. It has to be thoroughly washed but i introduced my first mbuna yesterday, Yellow Labs and they love sifting through it. It looks really good too!GRJ

 

[WaterBender1995]

I did the play sand thing too for a while, all my tanks were set up with it. That was 4 years ago, I changed to eco-complete and havent looked back.

 

[divisible by zero]

i redid my rock and am about ready to stock.

 

[Pachanga]

Wow, that looks great! Better be careful, though. If the fish dig and make the rocks collapse you could in for a disaster. I was told to zig zag my rocks and build structures that way. Just make sure it's stable. It looks beautiful!
What substrate did you decide on? Kind of hard to tell by the pics. I used eco complete in mine. It's a black and white mix.