clarkeymaster Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 I just brought today a 87l tank that im going to set up as an african ciclids species tank. what i have at the moment is an undergravel filter system but im going to add another internal filter. it will have a 100w heater. a lot of stones(if anyone in auckland has some flat rocks that are very cheap or free please PM me). the pH will be around 8 hopefully.i will be posting pics of it when its set up ready for fish. is there anything else that african ciclids like or what i have to watch out for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misnoma Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 They dig a lot which may make your U/G filter not so good. They also are messy fish so I would definitely recommend getting a cannister filter for them, one that could cycle the water in the tank somewhere between 5-10 times/hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkeymaster Posted July 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2005 I have got the 87l african cichlid tank set up now, no fishes in it as yet. The pH of the water is around 8.5 at a guess but i tested the water and it read 8.2-8.6, to keep the pH like that i have aragonite and coral sand as a gravel. there is the u/g filter plus a AquaClear 50 external power filter that is turned on high that pumps around 700lph. in it, it hjas a 150w heater thats keeping the water at around 27C/81F. the lighting is 40w but that lighting is shared over another tank next to it. some questions i would like to ask are. What fish could i have that can cycle the tank for me for about a month? Is there anything i need to look out for in the tank with the pH above 8 and the temp around 27C/81F? What algae eater could i have in the tank? Could i get some common names of african (malawi) cichlids that i could have in this tank? Also if anyone has some 'fish safe flat rocks in the auckland region for free or cheap pleras PM me. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi_man Posted July 24, 2005 Report Share Posted July 24, 2005 algea eaters, chinese algea eaters or bn's (normal or gba), malawi cichlids you could have, electric yellows, lombardoi (kenyi), blue lumpheads, zebras. DONT go for any melanochromis sp. they are IMHO too aggressive for a tank that size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted July 24, 2005 Report Share Posted July 24, 2005 Go fro your smaller species, & try to mix & match colours & species to avoid clashes. Red empress, electric blues, as said above, lombardoi's can be agro buggers too. Its a fair bit trial & error too, as it depends on the temprament of the fish too. Britlenose go well with cichlids. Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi_man Posted July 24, 2005 Report Share Posted July 24, 2005 i only know of one pair of red empresses in n.z. frenchy 8) so i dont think they would be an option. o you mean electric blue mbuna or hap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkeymaster Posted July 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 Hello Again In the tank at the moment i have got 4 Electric Yellows(3 from DG)(1M,3F) and a pair of Royal Blue Peacocks. African Cichlids are so fun to watch especially at feeding tim and how they weave in and out of caves. I will be posting a pic soon. i am gona be getting a pair of lombardoi and havent quite decided what else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkeymaster Posted July 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 Heres some pics of my african cichlid tank. Please leave any suggestions on what else i can do. I have 2 Royal Blue Peacocks and 4 Electric Yellows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanksman Posted July 31, 2005 Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 Looks neat sc. Are those the rocks you got from stoneworld? The fish should have fun in there One observation tho is those plants you have I believe are called acorus gramineus or Japanese rush. These plants won't grow submerged and will ultimately die. They are a bog plant and really need most of the leaves out of water to grow. Its a shame when LFS stock and sell these - and they are very widely available - that this is not pointed out to people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkeymaster Posted July 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 Thanks tanksman. yeh i realised bout the japanese rush before i brough them but i am fine with it at this stage. ah yes they are from stone & waterworld. very cheap and have a great effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted July 31, 2005 Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 Nice tank Clarkeymaster 8) , if those Japanese Rush do die you could possibly replace them with twisted vallisneria. Cheers, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkeymaster Posted August 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 Since i last posted i have added 3 bristle nose catfish, a pair of bumble bee cichlis and 1 male and 2 female auratus. Any other reccommendations or comments would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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