New Tank & Fish!

[Kustrud]

We bought a 5 gallon tank with a beta which turned into a 20 gallon tank and will eventually go to a 50 gallon lol! I had a Pacu when I was young that got about a foot long, so I'm not new to aquariums but it has been about 20 years lol! I will probably gift the Beta to another friend as I know it's not a good fit with the Mbunas, but they're playing nice so far as the cichlids are little. So I have in my 20 gallon 2 red zeba Mbunas, a Striped Raphael Catfish, and of course the Beta! Tank was a complete kit from PetSmart and seems to be great for the price. Seachem Prime + Stability were used, and all of the fish seem happy/healthy! Had to Beta for a few months and just added the cichlids and the catfish yesterday - ordered from LiveAquaria! Excuse the decor, daughter picked it out!

Here's some pictures!

 

[TNG]

A good decision to relocate the betta, but if your betta thrives in the current tank the chances are you have soft to neutral water.

Your cichlids need hard water and high pH so you may have to raise the hardness and pH for their long term health. You could take a sample of tank water to a pet store and ask them to test for GH, KH and pH. You could then take action provide suitable water for the cichlids.

When you upgrade to a 50G tank, sand substrate will allow cichlids to display their natural behaviour – they like to sift sand around.

 

[Kustrud]

The Beta will be moved, I want to stick to one tank and keep the cichlids. Couple of questions:

1. The larger Mbuna was chasing the smaller one around and sort of stating dominance and picking his territory the first day. Now, the rolls have switched and the smaller one is the bully chasing the larger one around. This seems to have made the larger one hang out at the top near the heater or in a corner just hiding all day. Is this normal? Will they get used to each other?

2. I ordered them some NLS Cichlid pellets (1mm) and they go nuts for them but seem to spit them out almost every time.....is this normal as well? Any other food I should try or just stick to this?

 

[TNG]

Mbunas are territorial, particularly towards their own species, so what you see is not surprising. It’s best to keep 4 or 5 so that no individual fish is solely picked on, and a 50G tank with plenty of rock will help them get away and hide when chased. In your current situation, I’d put a divider in the tank to separate them for now.

If you later decide to keep a mixed species tank and don’t want too many fish of the same species, it’s better to have just one of each species. Having 2 of each species is the worst you can do, they will target their own species and only occasionally chase those of different species.

It’s not normal for a healthy cichlid to spit out food. I’d get the water tested for GH and pH ASAP as the fish will get sick if they’re in unsuitable water. It also helps to test for KH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as well. If the water is too soft, there are minerals you can use to make the water suitable to cichlids, but be sure to remove the betta first as bettas don’t do well in cichlid water, and vice versa.

 

[Wills]

Hi welcome to the forum

I agree with the above post about getting the Betta out of there ASAP. The Mbuna will kill him very quickly and the Raphael is not a great choice either.

You need to get to the 50 gallon tank as soon as possible too as your Mbuna will probably kill each other with only 2 in the tank. You also need to make choices on your fish a bit more informed so I'd refrain from buying any more until you get a plan in place and work out what you want to do. If you want to go down the Mbuna tank, you need to work out the species you want to keep and then look to get 1 male to at least 4 females but sometimes 7-8 females. Its good to tactically choose the calmer, smaller species with more colourful females like Chindongo Saulosi

This is a good species video on the C.Saulosi.

And here is a good species video on your current fish the Red Zebra AKA Maylandia Estherae

This is a good article on Mbuna too https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/the-mbuna-keepers-survival-guide/

Wills

 

[Kustrud]

I test the water weekly with API test strips and according to those everything is well in line. Is that good enough?? I also do a 25% water change weekly and use Seachem Prime in the new water.

 

[TNG]

I test the water weekly with API test strips and according to those everything is well in line. Is that good enough?? I also do a 25% water change weekly and use Seachem Prime in the new water.

If your tests show that all is in line, I assume that means ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0 and nitrate is well under 20. So all is good there.

Do you know what the pH and GH are?
Mbunas needs pH of around 8 and GH around 10. If your water’s pH is 7 and GH 5, the cichlids won’t do well in it.

 

[Kustrud]

I mean it’d hard to say with the strips whether it’s 7.5 or 8.5 for example. What can I use that’ll test for ammonia and give me exact levels on everything?

 

[xxEMOxLIZZARDxx]

I mean it’d hard to say with the strips whether it’s 7.5 or 8.5 for example. What can I use that’ll test for ammonia and give me exact levels on everything?

I know a lot of people here recommend the API Master Freshwater Test Kit. I got it as well and it gives me pretty good measurements.