(cichlids) Beginner-60 Gallon Tank

[XKrinXerZ]

Hi, I have a 60 gallon freshwater tank. Right now in my tank i have these tetras: Neons, Lemons, Pristellas, and Glowlights. I have 3 Pearl Gouramies. I have 6 Khuli Loaches, 6 Albino Cory cats, 1 German Blue ram (who looks really bad, everytime i see him he has black bars going down the sides of him since i gotten him from the fish store about 6 months ago) 1 bamboo shrimp, and one butterfly pleco. I want to get rid of all my tetras which there are about 25-30 of them. I want to add some African Cichlids. I was looking into the Electric Yellows and the Electric Blues. I want African Cichlids because they seem to have a lot more interesting behavior, and brilliant color. My tetras that I have now are very boring, and I have gotten tired of them. For decorations, I have Artificial plants, some Drifftwood, and lots of caves. My pH is relatively low when compared to Chichlid Water it is 7.2. What can i add to make the pH go higher? Now my question is if this would be an ok setup. All my fish would be in my tank with the cichlids all but the Tetras, they will all be gone. Will the Chiclids be fine with my Pearl Gouramies, the Ram, or any of my other bottom feeder fish? And what can i use for chichid food? I was looking in DrsFosterandSmith website, and I saw some Vegtable matter foods, which had a lot of protein. Would that be fine for such chiclids that i am looking in to on getting? Please give me opinions about this or on any other Chiclids that I would be able to get, and would get along with my tank mates.

Thank you, for your opinions!

 

[Krib Crazy]

Okay glad you are interested in african cichlids. First what you need to do that will make your ph higher is adding limestone rocks, that will gradually raise the ph. Then you cant have any drift wood in your tank because the that will lower it. Okay about the gourami they shouldnt be left in the tank with african cichlids they will kill them eventually. The ram would just get killed in the tank too they are made for community peaceful tanks. I have had good experiences with african cichlids and bronze corys but I wouldn't try it it deoends on the temperment of the cichlids. You would have a better chance with clown loaches they are faster smarter and know how to stay out of the way. All cichlids need vegetable matter in there diet you can give them a slice of zuccini once in a while and remove the un eaten parts after a day so it doesnt start to decompose. Just goe to your lfs and get a food made for cichlids. Good Luck!

 

[XKrinXerZ]

so I cant have driftwood? drifftwood is like the main decoratin i have in my tank, and i should remove the corys? and should i take all these fish back to pet-co?

 

[Krib Crazy]

I think you should but could wait for someone elses advice. But when you leave drift wood in the tank it lowers the ph over a while but you know cichlids can do fine in the ph you have now. I have seen planted cichlid tanks with drift wood in them and the cichlids did fine. But cichlids natural habitat is a rocky enviroment Thats a predicament. You can go on google and look for cichlid tanks or something along those lines.

 

[Ferris]

Ph is not so much of an issue these days as most fish are bred in captivity as opposed to lake Malawi. Most Mbuna will do fine with of a Ph of between 6-8 but preferably between 7-8. Test your Ph and see what it is currently.

Mbuna should not be kept with any community fish as they are far too aggressive, not to mention dietary requirements etc. So you have a decision to make, either return the fish in your current tank or set up a new tank for the Cichlids.

In terms of compatible bottom feeders, corys are a no-no. Larger Plecs like sailfins and common's normally work, as do Bristlenose Plecs. Most of the Synodontis catfish species are also well-suited. Clown loaches can work but IMO are not a good idea due to the different needs of the species, again dietary requirements and general environment.

Hope this helps.

 

[freddyk]

Mbuna have much, much different prefferences then all of your community fish. Read up on mbuna (start with the pinned artical) to learn about them. The Cory's will not do well at all in an mbuna tank either, at best they'll spend their whole lives in hiding. If you want to do African cichlids that's great, they're very rewarding fish to keep, but it means redesigning and planning the entire tank.

If you want to keep your current fish and setup then you have no choice but to go with small and mild new world cichlids: Rams, Apistogramma, Keyholes. Kribs might work but they're more aggressive then the others. Don't go trying anything real territorial like Jewels though.

Although we keep our fish for selfish purposes (our own pleasure) we should still do our best to keep the fishes best interest in mind, and this means keeping the right fish with the right tankmates and in the right habitat. Mbuna means 'rock dweller' in the native African language, and that's exactly what they are. If you look at mbuna setups you'll mostly see lots of rocks, little or no wood, and only the toughest of plants, if any. As tankmates you'll find tough, active catfish or loaches like clowns or Synodontis. Otherwise Malawi fish should only be kept with Malawi fish.

For food a quality omnivore cichlid pellet and a quality spirulina flake will keep them healthy.

Although they can survive in lower ph, they will do best if it's a little higher, preferably 7.5 or above. If you were to properly redo the tank and add rock and remove the driftwood you'll likely find the ph will end up a little higher without your doing a thing. In addition you can use a rock like limestone or holey rock that adds calcium carbonate to the water and buffers it to keep the ph higher. Many people also use crushed coral as a medium in the filter to accomplish the same thing.

 

[XKrinXerZ]

Ok, thx guys, here will be my plan, first remove all fish besides my khoolies and my pleco, and my bamboo shrimp, then ill add all the pH buffers (I saw crushed coral in my drsfosterandsmith magazine, so that will be the pH buffer) then i will remove my drifftwood, and look for some more rocks i can put in. Now, back to the crush coral, the selections are a 15 lb. back or a 40 lb. bag which one can i get? And after im all done setting up my tank for the Chiclids, im planning on getting most of my Chiclids on one trip, then ill just quarintine them all in my same tank. Whats the best medication that can work for me? My Chiclids would be Eletcrtric Yellows, Electric Blues, and maybe some other cichlids, ( ill keep that posted hopefully). And would my plants be ok? or should i get live? i wont really have the money to get live plants, unless chiclids really need live plants then i could get them i would imagine, just im not going to be able to get a co2 dispenser, or any other tool that they use for live plants.

Thanks everyone for ur help!

Oh and may i ask what is Mbuna? srry if that question is so noobie lol!

 

[Krib Crazy]

they dont need plants in there tanks at all if you want plants they need to be robust. If you do have plants they would just probably tear them apart. And a mbuna is what the call african cichlids.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

those shrimp won't last but a few days with mbuna (the type of african rift lake cichlids that you are interested in). and don't expect to see your kuhli loaches again either.

the cichlids that you are wanting to get will be far, far more aggressive than anything you've had in your tank so far. plus yellow labs and electric blues aren't even close to the more aggressive mbuna. with african rift lake cichlids, you can't just toss a bunch of randomly selected fish into a tank. you need to be careful about how many you have of each species, how many females per male that you have, and exactly what species you have. you really should do a lot of reading on the special needs of mbuna cichlids before you go any further.

read the topic pinned at the top of this forum: THE MBUNA AQUARIUM. that'll get you to a good start.

don't just listen to what the people at Petsmart tell you; very few people work in pet stores out of a deep and abiding love for fish. most of them work there because they need the money or they love furry critters. a good test for someone's knowledge of mbuna is to ask "can i keep hatchetfish in my mbuna aquarium?" if they say yes, don't listen to them because that would be a horrible plan. if they ask "what's a mbuna?", well you probably should take any of their advice with a grain of salt. you may get lucky and find a cichlid expert working at your local Petsmart or Petco, but probably not.

what you really need to do is to go to your local library and check out 2-3 recently published books on the mbuna aquarium. the larger, the better. look for authors with degrees in ichthyology, zoology, or biology. (these are just criteron that i typically use when picking out books just so that i feel more comfortable trusting the info.)

 

[XKrinXerZ]

Ok, the biggest problem im going to have is having the fish get returned... I have like 50 fish, but how could i return such an amount? And what about the crushed coral? should i buy the 15 lb. bag or the 40 lb bag? and do i put the crushed coral in my filter media basket, or as a substrate in my tank?

 

[XKrinXerZ]

Ok, i know now that u put the crushed coral in ur filter in a media basket, now how much do i change it? do i have to have it the whole time i have the cichlid tank up and running

 

[freddyk]

The crushed coral will be a permanent media in your filter. There will always be forces in your tank trying to bring the ph down (the nitrogen cycle itself does this) and you'll be changing your tap water regularly so the new water would need to be buffered too. It lasts a very long time and only needs to be replenished if you notice it's not doing as good a job anymore (by testing for ph every now and then).