Getting A Cichlid Tank

[XxTbaggerxX]

Here in about a month or so Im going to be getting a 55 gallon long tank and stocking it with cichlids. Im wanting to have a bottom feeder but Ive researched the type of pH and kH that cichlids perfer and no plec or catfish that I have seen can meet those reqiurements. If anyone can give me some ideas of where to look it will be appriciated. : )

 

[Josiah]

Most plecos can adapt to just about anything, I got mine from a tank with a ph of 7.4 and put him in a tank with a ph of 8.2, I let him sit for an hour and put 1 cup of water in every 10-15 minutes and he's doing fine.

 

[XxTbaggerxX]

Whoo thats a relief I just found some plecs that are comfortable in that pH and they were like 20-40$ so now I can get a brittsle nose plec!!!!!

Thanks Josiah for the quick response!

 

[dthoffsett]

BN plecos are the most common found in cichlid tanks, as they are generally tough enough to handle africans aggression. Great choice. What cichlids are you planning to stock?

 

[XxTbaggerxX]

Im gonna try to stock electic yellow, convict, and red peacock cichlids.

 

[Ferris]

Drop the convict(s) and you'll be fine, they should not be mixed with Mbuna and Peacocks as they require different water parameters and dietary requirements.

Go for a nice group of yellow labs and you could have a few different Peacock species as they tend to mix OK without too much aggression. I'd reccommend getting male Peacocks as they display the vivid colours, females are almost always a dull brown colour. Not an issue with the labs as male and females look very similar.

You could also add another Mbuna species to the mix if you like provided you keep to the low aggression species. Examples are Pseudotropheus Acei, Iodotropheus Sperengerae and Pseudotropheus Saulosi ahould be OK.

 

[Ginge]

Im gonna try to stock electic yellow, convict, and red peacock cichlids.

I dont think its good to mix those 3 types of cichlids.

Woops Ferris was quicker. Damn.

 

[XxTbaggerxX]

Thanks Ferris for the advice and the list of other mbuna that I could take a look at. As for plant wise will they eat live plants? I already know that they are goning to dig em up.

 

[Ginge]

There are some plants that can sometimes have luck. Not many thought. Java Fern is good.

 

[Ferris]

They will nibble on plants occasionally but its the uprooting thats the main problem, Mbuna love to dig. If you make your substrate deep enough to really bury the plants and go for hardy plants like Amazon sword, it can work .

If you go for yellow labs and male Peacocks, you'll have a stunning tank by the way. The next time i re-do an tank African tank, thats the way i'm going to go.

 

[XxTbaggerxX]

Ah I was really wanting a planted tank...oh well

Ferris could you give the the names of those other mbuna species you listed? I got to check if my lfs has them in stock. They mostly keep saltwater aquariums but Im going to go to a new one today and check it out.

 

[Ferris]

If you mean "common" names, the Sperengerae are often sold as "Rust Cichlids" or "Rustys". I've never see Acei or Saulosi called anything but their scientific names.

The scientific name for Peacocks by the way is Aulonocara.

Try and avoid any impulse buys with Mbuna, you could come home with a monster.

 

[XxTbaggerxX]

Ya thats what I meant, thanks

You can impulse buy on fish? Ah.... Ill make a fishing list to avoid that

 

[Ferris]

It gets very tempting. You go to your LFS and see a stunning yellow, blsack and white Mbuna and you think go on then i'll get that. You get home and find out you've got a Melanochromis Auratus, which will quite possibly kill everything in your tank.

 

[XxTbaggerxX]

That could happen if the store owner mixes up the labels.....lol just think a guy will want to buy a silver dollar and itll turn out to be a piranha.

Ill be sure to identify each species Im getting to avoid mix ups.