Arrrgh Stuck..

[clareriley]

Im cycling my tank at the moment. here it is

Its 4ft long 12 wide and 15deep...
I am hoping to have a nice malaw mix in there...
When can I test my PH and such. im going to take a sample into the shop and ask them to do all the test as he will do it for free and he wont sell me fish till he has tested my water anyways, hes good like that..
but when can I do it.. I mean test for the harness and ph and stuff. I have nitrite and ammonia tests myself.

Also how many fish and what sort, I like the blue and yellow types... also what else would I need in the tank, those plants are fake.. would I need to take them out or anything, anymore rocks?
the fish wont be added for 8-10weeks yet, I need to get a hood for the light as that hood is from my community tank, I stole it for the photo but I thought ill cycle it while im waiting for the hood to com and the light as he has to order them.. help.. also I have been to thinkfish and it says I can have a rainbow shark in there but I dunno. what ya think?

 

[j.c]

the 1st thing i will say is that you need to get the ph the other tests they are the most important.

you can get a fair few fish just matters on what type.

no you wont need to take te plants out but they might rip them out.

yes i think you might have to get a few more rocks as they need a fair few hidy holes.

yes you can put a rainbow shark in their i am thinking of getting one myself there are a few others you can get to. they are clown loaches,different types of synodontis,eels,crabs etc.

you can put anything with anything if you have the dynamics right

i now someone who has a siler shark with their cichlids and i know someone who has kept siver dollars with them so it really shows you can put basically anything with anything!!

hope that helps!!

sorry for the long post.

jamie

 

[aberdeen aquarist]

firstly, you will need to add a lot more rocks if you want to keep mbuna, they use them as their territory and to help them escape from aggressors.
try to get you water quality stable, at pH 7.5 or above, you may want to add some sort of rock that buffers the water (tufa or ocean rock are popular) if you haven't already. all water tests are important, but as the tank becomes more mature you can use them less, you will know if things are wrong by the way the fish behave.
a good fish to start with is the yellow lab. (labidochromis caereleus). try to get a group of at least 6 to start off with. try to get more peaceful fish for your first mbuna tank, it'll be easier to look after, and who knows maybe set you off down the road to Multi Tank Syndrome!!
as for plants, I have them in all my mbuna tanks, you just have to get ones they won't eat or destroy. java fern and java moss are worth trying, also try hygrophilia species, floating plants, anubias nana or moss balls. they must taste bad as my fish don't touch them!!
for tankmates try either synodontis species from lake tanganyika (petricola seems to be a favourite at the moment) or bristlenose catfish, both types seem to to well in a mbuna tank and are usually left alone. I have heard of people keeping clown loaches, redtail black/rainbow sharks with mbuna, but it doesn't always work. everyone has different experiences when it comes to it.
the only other thing I would suggest is to get a good book, anything by ad konings is advisable, and see what fish that you can get around your area, theres nothing more annoying than having a wish list and not being able to find any of the fish on it!!

sorry for the long post, I think I got a bit carried away!!

 

[balon]

Are those pieces of bogwood? If so, they will make raising your pH more difficult. You want a fairly high pH as mentioned above and might be better off removing.

 

[clareriley]

Thanks guys, yes I think we will be taking the bog wood out and putting maybe well I have a piece of coral type stuff I could put in there and get some buffered edge slate to stack up and stuff... hmm. ill find something as its gonna cost me £80 before I even add with with the hood and light and controler and such like.. I can get yellow labs from round here and ill see what else I can get thanks guys your such a great help. Iv just done my ph and its 6.5 so I will have to work at making that higher.

 

[aberdeen aquarist]

Thanks guys, yes I think we will be taking the bog wood out and putting maybe well I have a piece of coral type stuff I could put in there and get some buffered edge slate to stack up and stuff... hmm. ill find something as its gonna cost me £80 before I even add with with the hood and light and controler and such like.. I can get yellow labs from round here and ill see what else I can get thanks guys your such a great help. Iv just done my ph and its 6.5 so I will have to work at making that higher.

Clare, if you put a couple of pieces of tufa or ocean rock in the tank, this will buffer the pH to about pH7.5ish, which is quite acceptable for mbuna. A lot of people say you need pH8.2 to keep them, but all my tanks sit at about pH7.5/7.6. Try going to your local B&Q or builders merchants to find rocks, try granite or what they call river rocks, both will be good for your tank, and won't affect the water chemistry.
Maybe an idea to try and find a local breeder, or contact your fish club to see if they can help you find one, the fish are cheaper and usually better quality than in shops.

 

[clareriley]

Clare, if you put a couple of pieces of tufa or ocean rock in the tank, this will buffer the pH to about pH7.5ish, which is quite acceptable for mbuna. A lot of people say you need pH8.2 to keep them, but all my tanks sit at about pH7.5/7.6. Try going to your local B&Q or builders merchants to find rocks, try granite or what they call river rocks, both will be good for your tank, and won't affect the water chemistry.
Maybe an idea to try and find a local breeder, or contact your fish club to see if they can help you find one, the fish are cheaper and usually better quality than in shops.

I looked in my cheapest lsf today and there holey rock stuff is £10 each im like OMG no way.. so I will try B&Q or Focus.. they must be cheaper. thanks hun

 

[Mbuna Dave]

Just today i have been looking to get some ocean rock and at £30 for about 25kgs its a lot of dosh,and i was told that for a 4 foot tank i would need about 3 bags.*gulp*.

I will try B@Q like you suggest.

I see you are from Stockport Clare,i am from Leigh.Where do you go for your aquatic needs near you.?

Dave.

 

[clareriley]

Just today i have been looking to get some ocean rock and at £30 for about 25kgs its a lot of dosh,and i was told that for a 4 foot tank i would need about 3 bags.*gulp*.

I will try B@Q like you suggest.

I see you are from Stockport Clare,i am from Leigh.Where do you go for your aquatic needs near you.?

Dave.

Hi there, yes I would go to B&Q haha, Im about to go to focus now and see if they have anything as they are 2 mins away.
I go to South Manchester Aquatics.. Oldhams in Edgeley and for my food I go to Pets@home.

 

[Mbuna Dave]

I visited the B@Q warehouse in Warrington today and all rock i could find where either pebbles of various colours or rocks which where smooth and not really suitable for a MBuna setup in my opinion.

I believe ocean rock is the best but like you said before Clare it is expensive.

What should i do,keep looking or bite the bullet and get the ocean rock?

 

[clareriley]

I went to focus and I got 3 big garden rocker rocks.. i then called my lfs and asked if that was ok and they said yeah its fine, do then adam got his sledge hammer out and split it.. it is the slate type of thing that breaks in half the long way so now we have a lovely rockscape in the tank now I just have to raise my ph.....