Newbie

[exsinnovation]

i just startd a 50g tank my fish out grew their 19g terarrium tank. i have 4 cichlids 2 silvertiped sharks and three tiger barbs. the fish are about an inch and a half and one of the cichlids is 2 1/2in.. i was wonding what you would suggest i get for a filter, sand or gravel, plants,food, and any other things i might need. Also i have a 10g convict tank with 3 convicts (1 is a female and 3 and baby boys) and a dinasaur eel. I want to have my fish for a long time. and i wish for them to be healthy.

 

[Final Dynazty]

ok i will tell you what i did with my 55. I got 50 pounds of river rocks, a couple pounds of slate. I also got about a dozen plants. For my filter i have a fluval 304. Its very good and gets the job done. Its about a 100$ but its worth it. I also put to box filters at each end of the tank. A dual airpump is also needed for a tank of this size they run about 30$. And of course a heater (submersable) Ask Your pet store what wattage is good for a 50 gallon. And that about does it, of course you can customize it as much as you want.

 

[exsinnovation]

ok thanks for your help

 

[Joviella]

I would suggest going with an eheim external canister filter......they really can't be beaten by any other filters for the job they do.
The choice of substrates is a personal one.Alot of people like sand,as do alot of fish. Other people prefer gravel.
I personally prefer live plants and would not have plastic or silk plants in my tanks, although again, this is personal choice.
Your food choices depend on the fish you have.......most fish benefit from a varied diet. I feed my fish flake,bloodworm,peas,courgette,spinach,lettuce.....they like them all. Hope this helps.
What cichlids do you have? Malawi cichlids really should not be fed meat based foods such as bloodworm, as they should be kept on a low protein diet. They love peas and spinach though.

 

[Final Dynazty]

The fluval 304 is an external Filter

 

[Joviella]

I know that fluval 304's are an external filter but in my opinion eheim externals are alot better than fluvals!!! I don't want to cause trouble.......I am just stating my opinion!!

 

[Vegan Peaches]

what about my cheap whisper power filter from tetra? those are good right? lmao

 

[Final Dynazty]

O no trouble i just misunderstood what you were sayin before. Sry

 

[exsinnovation]

im not sure what species of cichlids i have. lfs just named them zebra cich's or a hornet cichlid. i think they are malawi. what other species are there?

heres what i have though:
10g
4x (baby) Convict Cichlid (Archocentrus nigrofasciatus)
50g
Kennyi (Pseudotropheus lombardoi)
2X Dogtooth Cichlid (Cynotilapia afra)
Hornet (Bumblebee) Cichlid (Pseudotropheus crabro)
2x Colombian Shark (Catfish)
Congicus-Polypterus congicus (bicher)