Getting the tank right for African Cichlids

[petshop johnny]

i had a big male labeotropheus and spotted female and the had fry .when they are scared they dart back into their mothers mouth.its truley amazing to see.when her fry are threatened she carries them all in her mouth

 

[Nix]

lol The river Near my house
has been polluted by DOW with
dioxines so NO ROCKS FROM
MY RIVER

 

[Exiled]

thanks, Tubby. I really wanted to get my rocks from the wild, but everything is yukky and frozen here. I got all my rocks from a quarry distributor.


Hey everyone! The tank is now Aquascaped! Aquascope? Aquascapofied?
Anyway--It's done and it looks off the hook!
.... The aquascape is all rocks, with fine crushed coral substrate, in a black framed 55 gallon tank sitting on black matte solid-faced wood stand. The lighting is flourecent, with a slight indigo hue. The tank now resembles a lake floor, with a variety of rocks, in a variety of shapes. Some longer, triangular rocks are dramaticaly jutting up and out, other, chunkyer, squarish rocks are sort of interconnected in a stack or pile. Some rounded rocks are nestled on their own like pillows. There is a continuity to it as I only used 3 types of rocks.... banded sandstone containig pinks, oranges and violet, some type of grey rock, and black and white banded granite. The background is your standard polyvinyl photograph of a rocky lake bottom. I really wish I had a digital cam. I would have loved some feedback on it.
There are sooo many hiding spots, and twists, and caverns for my cichlids to frolic in....I'm almost jealous.

...must find camera..... must find camera....

 

[thecichlidaddict]

I agree, pics would be great. Congrats! Have you started the cycle yet?

 

[Exiled]

Hey, I'd go out and buy a digitial cam but I just dropped over 500 bucks on the tank and everything for it.

Anyone interested in a day in the life of an unemployed obsessive aquarist?
Today: I got some more rocks, and added them to the tank to "flesh out" the look and provide more interest to the eye and fishies. Also I hid the equipment... the only thong visible is a small portion of the filter intake tube--which is clear anyway. Some of the rocks are from the dead sea in Israel that I collected 14 years ago. The still tasted like salt! I washed them in hot water. They are very strange looking.
I went to 2 LFS's to watch fish behavior and learn more available species. I noticed that many of the vibrantly colored species that I have seen in pictures look very bland and grey in the stores. I wonder if this is because they are juvies, or maybe their lighting was too harsh and bright?
I bugged the store people for more bacterial media -- they let me take gravel from a cichlid tank they were about to clean. They think I'm going overboard with trying a fishless cycle. I just think they want me to buy a bunch of fish, have them die, then buy more from them.
I found some pure ammonia. 89 cents. I'm pinching pennies for the next 3 weeks so I can actually afford to buy fish. I used 5mL of ammonia, and a cup and a half of substrate that I filled an acrylic sock with. I wanted to distribute the gravel around but it doesnt match mine.
I'm going to wait several hours before I test the ammonia level in the water. For those that have tried this method....approximatly when should I expect to see a rise in Nitrites?

Also, a bunch of driftwood I bought when I was considering discus arrived today. Cichlidaddict saw one of the pieces--the BIG one. I have several smaller pieces that I may put in the tank in strategic places to hide equip. and stuff. I have some soaking in a 5 gallon bucket. Tomorrow I'm going to test the water to see how much those pieces are effecting the pH. If they are too strongly acidic I guess they'll look good on my coffee table.

also, I have decided to start a "Fish Journal" (dammit I need a camera!)
Has anyone ever done this?

I would love to hear your expericences with setting up cichlid tanks! Please share!

 

[Exiled]

OMG I screwed up royally...... the ammonia has surfactants in it--I didnt see that before--I just noticed it! Am I screwed? Is my tank a toxic waste dump? only 5mL has been put in the tank...less than a teaspoon. What do I do?


..... a few hours later.....

just did a 100% water change, cleaned out the filter, washed the rocks, and flushed some substrate. jeeez. back to square one.

stupid ammonia.

Where the heck can i get pure Ammonia Chloride? I looked everywhere--even the stuff labled pure isnt pure, dammit!

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Hey exiled

Observing fish in a store is not going to give you a good idea of what they are like. They tend to be extremely overcrowded with little or no decorations. They don't have a chance to display their natural behavior. As far as color goes, part of it is that African cichlids tend to be more pale and drab when young, and color up with age. With many species the females never color up. When buying fish, find out exactly what they should look like when they are young. If you see a fish that is 1" long and colorful, yet they are not supposed to color up until they are 3" long, then you can bet it was dyed, and the color, growth size, and life span of the fish will all not last a long time.

What you have done will be fine, you are ready to start again.


If you have tied everywhere (home improvement stores, hardware stores, grocery stores, and drug stores) then you may need to resort to a different cycling method.

 

[Exiled]

Hey there cichlidaddict, well I finally found some pure (really) ammonia. It only took all day.
I think by now, my bacteria media (used filter pad and 2 cups of used crushed coral) is dead--having been without ammonia in the water, also, I had to rinse them off good after my little mishap. I need more and the petshop is getting sick of me asking for their mucky filters and used gravel.
By the way, does anyone know exactly how much used gravel to use? Is 1 or 2 cups enough for 55g tank?

Thanks for the advice cichlidaddict, I realise that petshop fish arent showing their true "colors" and behaviors so to speak. But the shops around here have very nice established "Not For Sale" Malawi show tanks...those are the ones I meant. I have been collecting photos online of young cichlids. They sort of all look the same to me skinny and drab.
Also, I was surprised to see mail order fish on the net! How the heck is this done?

Cichlidaddict -- is your avatar a pic of a Copadichromis borleyi?

I'm wiped out...... Happy Holidays Everyone.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

My avatar is Aulonocara Maulana.

There is no right amount of gravel to use. The more you get, the better off you are because you will start with that much more bacteria. With enough of it your tank wil barely even need to cycle, it will be more a matter of the bacteria expanding into the filters.

Fish are shipped bagged in oxygen, with drugs in the water to ease the stress on the fish. They are packed well, sometimes with heat packs, and shipped however you wish, depending on how much you want to pay for shipping. Most of these guys have Dead On Arrival guarantees, and will refund you for any fish that arrive dead - which rarely happens. How they are shipped to you is actually much more proper then how the fish stores tend to receive there fish.

 

[Exiled]

Thanks cichlidaddict.... took your advice, just got back from LFS and they were happy to give me 2 filterpads from one of their showtanks. I have my NH3 level at 1.0 ppm at the moment. Not sure if I should increase this level yet or not.... but this having been the third time I had to get biofilter media, I wanna get it right.
Some websites say get the NH3 ppm to 5.0 others say don't spike it above 1.0-2.0 ppm in the begginning. What do you think? I might add another 10 mL of ammonia to get it to 3.0 ppm, and see what happens. (hope I don't kill the little critters)

That's interesting about the mail-order fish process. I have to admit it sounded like a terrible idea, but now it doesnt sound bad at all--except that I guess you just have to take what you get and not be able to look over the fish first, and make a more educated selection. Have you ever tried it?

BTW I love yourwebsite.
And thanks for your input about cichlidrecipe. Definatly not my favorite site.

Concerning Melanchromis Auratus versus Chipokae.... Which one is less aggressive? And of the less aggressive one, is the species an OK mix with any one of the following: Protomelas , Cynotilapia Afra, Placidochromis Electra or Pseudotropheus Saulosi?

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Exiled

IMO you should stay away from any of the Melanochromis varieties, they are all extremely aggressive, which is no good for Haps like pacidochromis and protomelas, as well as less agressive species like Saulosi.

I really think that your original idea is best, to get a group of saulosi and a hap or two. That alone would make a very nice tank. For some reason people automatically think that more species means a nicer tank, but I don't really agree. This part is personal preference of course.

If you are looking for another mbuna species to throw into the mix, then you can also look at Labidochromis Caeruleus, Iodotropheus Sprengerae, and Pseudotropheus Acei. All are nice, less aggressive fish that will fit well in the tank you are trying to achieve.

As for ammonia, 3 should be fine. It doesn't really matter in the end - they more ammonia you use during the cycle, the more fish you would be able to introduce to the tank. The bacteria colony that you build up will shrink down to accomadate the bio-load of the fish anyway. What 'critters' are you referring to?

 

[Exiled]

hehehe critters -- the little bacteria.

I'm currently adding ammonia with a syringe at the rate of 40 drops (I estimate that at 1 ML) at a time until I see that I reach 3.0 ppm.

No website has made it clear how long it takes to see a rise in Nitrites. Mine are at zero at the moment. It's been 24 hrs since I first introduced the ammonia, and had biofilter media in the tank But it may have been dead or insufficiant. Adding the amount of ammonia daily that it takes to initially reach 3ppm, seems like alot, especially if I do not see a rise in nitrites. If my bacterial colony doesnt kick-in to gear, I'm going to end up with ammonia readings off the chart in 48 hours. I'm reluctant to add more ammonia, if the level does not fall after awhile, or if I see no change in my nitrite results. I really need to know approximatly how long it takes to get an indication of nitrite. Websites arent saying.
Hoping this new colony contained in the 2 filterpads will do it.

Like you, I think that one predominant species with a trio from another species will be good. I dont want more than 2 species plus pleco (maybe) in the tank anyway. I was curious about the Chipokae because I like that they are sexually dismorphic. At this point, I prefer to have the smaller fish, so Pseudo Saulosi's are my major consideration, and going to have a trio of some other species which I'm still researching and weighing the possiblities.

The Iodotropheus Sprengerae, and Pseudotropheus Acei (although they get a bit larger than Saulosi) have been on my list.... still ... I'm not ready to make a final decision.

any links that you have to help me make choices are welcome and appreciated!