african cichlids

[egbert]

hi, i have a juwel rekord 60 and want to convert it into a african chichlid tank.

is it big enough evan though i would only want a few in there as i have heard they are very teratorial fish?

do i need to buy a external filter or a new filter?

thanks for your time

eggy

[Guest Ferret1959]

hi, i have a juwel rekord 60 and want to convert it into a african chichlid tank.

is it big enough evan though i would only want a few in there as i have heard they are very teratorial fish?

do i need to buy a external filter or a new filter?

thanks for your time

eggy

 

 

Without typing all the detail for you I found this instead.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/afcichlids_setup.html

[chesters1]

hi, i have a juwel rekord 60 and want to convert it into a african chichlid tank.

is it big enough evan though i would only want a few in there as i have heard they are very teratorial fish?

do i need to buy a external filter or a new filter?

thanks for your time

eggy

if your thinking of malawi's you want plenty of hidey holes and cram them in ,the more there are the less trouble they get up to .

they are extrememely territorial so keeping a few lets them try to grab more land ,keeping lots gives them less oppertunity because they have to defend theirs all the time so no time for fighting.

you need lots of hidey holes (ideally one each) so they feel secure ,one not having one gets it bullied 24 hrs a day .

nice fish but thought needed to manage them and their surroundings ,they dont need a large tank but the tank should be kept to its max fish capacity.

have you thought of a pair of south american cichlids of the geophagus species ,stunning but not so naughty as the malawi's and get larger and prettier.easier than discus and get tame.

read up on each group of cichlids they all need differing conditions and be very wary of mixing non naturaly close fish .ideally a external filter is best you can clean it out easier and use different substrates ,if you use an underground filter with cichlids some will bugger it up with their darned digging but those that lay eggs on rocks are less hassle.

cichlids are a huge group and have many traits that effect where you keep them ,if they dig either put mesh over the gravel (hidden under a larger size gravel)or use an external , if they like caves give them them (they love flower pots on their side)and if they like weedy dark water then thats how they appear best.

good luck

i wish i had a picture of my old garage ,30 tanks full of cichlids from all over ,hard work though and too much money spent on cleaning up tapwater with reverse osmosis machines for the less hardy ones !!

i got lucky with the tanks, a local large garden center was moving the aquaria and i got the complete old one for not much money ,the lighting tubes were worth more than i paid for the lot.

they used a venturi fan for the air which was far too noisy ,i bought a japenese piston pump which was silent and is still working 20 years later in my local tackle shop who i sold it to after i found 30 tanks were hard on electric and my pocket.

Edited December 24, 2006 by chesters1

[Guest Ferret1959]

I have dwarf Tanganikys(sp) and they can be buggers if setting up home.

They are like the Jack Russel of the fish world.

[chesters1]

I have dwarf Tanganikys(sp) and they can be buggers if setting up home.

They are like the Jack Russel of the fish world.

some just exist to kill anything they dont like including tanks .

i had a pair of oscars in a 6ft tank and great pains were taken to nail everything down that could get broken ,they destroyed everything that they could ,i put toys in and that kept them happy ,golf balls when they were smaller etc then larger ones with weights in to make them neutrally bouyant they had great fun.,i got to keep the heaters longer!

[Guest Ferret1959]

I'm just about to set up another tank in a few days time and will be moving my Cichlids in.

I wanted to decorate the tank with a few robust sturdy plants so tried a few in the tank they are in now.............They ain't having any in thier new home that's fer sure.

 

Might make some hidey holes using thick chunks of slate glued together but feel that will get desrtoyed too.

 

No wonder they are just in water only tanks in the fish shops.

[egbert]

cheers guys great help any more onformation about keeping an african chiclid tank would be much appreciated !!!

 

nice one

 

 

 

eggy

[Guest Ferret1959]

Checkout that site I left the link for.

They have forums for just this sort of thing,most likely know a lot more than us mere mortals.