# My first cichlid tank!



## Jenny2006 (Aug 25, 2006)

Hi all, 
I'm going to pick up a 200 litre tank and wanted to have cichlids in it, need some advice first though 

so what kind of cichlids are the easiest to keep? and what kind of tank setup am i aiming for?
and, can you mix larger cichlids with smaller ones? I don't mean like Jack dempsey or oscar size, like small 2-3inch fish with larger 5-6inch sized ones. 

Thanks every1!


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Thats approx 50 gallons give or take. Tank dimensions would help greatly as you can not stock a "high" tank as well as you can stock a long tank. Some fish need more height than length though (Angels for instance).


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## Jenny2006 (Aug 25, 2006)

Thanks, yeah I think its about 45gallons. I've got angels in my other tank, which is just over 15" high. The new one is 36" length, 17" deep and 20" high. 
Thanks


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## Vermifugert (Jun 15, 2006)

Jenny2006 said:


> Thanks, yeah I think its about 45gallons. I've got angels in my other tank, which is just over 15" high. The new one is 36" length, 17" deep and 20" high.
> Thanks


200 liters = 52.8344102 US gallons


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Lots od Mbuna will go nicely. Or a few larger cichlids. You choices will depend on if you want 1 fish, a pair, a few or several.


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## Dr_House (Aug 15, 2006)

Hi, Jenny. Congratulations on the new aquarium. It is always exciting to design and stock a new tank and watch it grow.

I have several suggestions for a tank of your size, but it would help to know what you are looking for in your fish. I understand that you may not know a specific fish (otherwise you wouldn't need us), but if you know the traits you are looking for, it would be useful (e.g. lot of personality, owner responsive, colorful, rare or unusual, etc)


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## Laura Ann (May 3, 2006)

Dr. House is very right. You could do a very nice tank, but we need to know what you want out of your fish!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

> can you mix larger cichlids with smaller ones


Sometimes, esp. if they want different things. Its customary to keep rams or apistos (2" stay on the bottom) with discus (4-6" mid to upper water). 

For lake malawi fish, the little one has to be mean or the big one kind of laid back. For a 3ft long tank, though, I'd only get one kind of mbuna. Something mild like yellow labs or P. Salousi.


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## Jenny2006 (Aug 25, 2006)

Well I was looking for a community kind of look with lots of colour, any suggestions?


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## Jenny2006 (Aug 25, 2006)

Vermifugert said:


> 200 liters = 52.8344102 US gallons


I live in the UK  201 litres = 45 UK gallons


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## Lupin (Aug 1, 2006)

Jenny2006 said:


> Well I was looking for a community kind of look with lots of colour, any suggestions?


Angelfish would look nice but they may scoff slim-bodied tetras or anything that will fit in their mouths. I'd recommend diamond tetras as their tankmates. Stunning to look at.
If not, try apistos. I have pics of apistos in the other thread in this section. Just search for it.


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## Phantom_Cichlid (Jul 3, 2006)

here you can go to this site to see a few apistos
http://www.aquahobby.com/e_gallery.php


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## Jenny2006 (Aug 25, 2006)

wow, that website's really helpful thank you!!


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## Phantom_Cichlid (Jul 3, 2006)

your welcome i so happy i finally did something good and helped some one


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## Jenny2006 (Aug 25, 2006)

Ok so I've decided on malawi cichlids, what does everyone think I should keep? Want lots of colour and activity


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## Phantom_Cichlid (Jul 3, 2006)

Wheres MP when you need him? Ask Malawian Pro.


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## Jenny2006 (Aug 25, 2006)

If I can find him I will  
I got the tank today, lot bigger than what I thought! What kind of things should I have in it decor-wise? Rocks/plants?


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## Guest (Aug 31, 2006)

What kind of Malawis? Mbuna or Peaco-cks? If you are going with Mbuna, you'll need lots of rocks. Most of them are herbivores so they will eat most plants. Peaco-cks need more swimming room and less rocks and plants would be safer with them. Alot of Peaco-cks get around 7-8 inches though, so IMO they'd be too big for your tank.



> got the tank today, lot bigger than what I thought!


Do you know the measurements? Usually with Malawi cichlids, stocking is based on length of the tank. If its a 3 foot tank, I'd stick with 2 types...with Mbuna you could have 2 groups of 4-5...with Peaco-cks, I'd go with 2 groups of 3..maybe 3 groups of 3.

MalawianPro...you are needed!

Cichlid-forum is a good site to visit. You can go to the profiles section and look at the profiles of Mbuna and Peaco-cks. In the library section, if you click the first link on that page you can see cookie cutter setups which can be used as a guide for stocking cichlid tanks. I would ask about the ones you want though because those setups are not entirely right.


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## Laura Ann (May 3, 2006)

Since you are going to go with Malawi cichlids, you want to get many rocky type caves, as most Malawi cichlids are mbuna (rock dwellers). You can get this look easy. I have seen many tanks with terra cotta pots broken and stacked to make caves. I also have used seashells, and some slabs of limerock. As for plants, you could keep some real plants, but most likely they will be eaten and dug up by the cichlids, so go with fake, silk or plastic. Silk looks better, in my opinion 

Lots of color and activity. There are so many! Remember when you are stocking this tank that mbuna need to have a sex ratio of 1 male to 3-4 females, to reduce aggression problems. 

As far as what cichlids to get, I would say some yellow labs, some cobalt blue zebras, ans some red zebras. This will give you the colors yellow, orange, and blue. If you would like, you could also add some striped cichlids, like johannis.

Hope I have helped you out  Good luck with your new tank! I'll be checking in to see some pics!


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## Jenny2006 (Aug 25, 2006)

Thanks guys, tank is 36" long, 17" deep and 20" high. it looks huge!  Think I'll go for some mbuna in there.


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## Jenny2006 (Aug 25, 2006)

Hey, just been on that cichlid forum website it's really good thanks! 
If I was going for a smaller, less aggressive tank it says I'd need 3 types, up to 12 fish. I'm guessing 1 male to 3 females?


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## Jenny2006 (Aug 25, 2006)

Got another question 

How does this sound for a setup;
Red Zebra (1male 2female)
Yellow Tail Acei (1male 2female)
Yellow Lab (1male 2female)
Rusty Cichlid (1male 2female)

80Farenheit, 8.1pH

(Haven't actually got the temperature or the ph yet)

or would it be better with 3types, 3females & 1male of each?


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## Guest (Sep 1, 2006)

In a 3 foot tank, I'd stick to 3 types. And even that is pushing it. I'm planning a 55g and was told that 3 types is the limit...and my tank is 4 foot. Usually people go by the length of the tank for stocking and not the gallons.

I think you could do 3 types, 1m/3f of each. So now you'll have to do the hard task of deciding on 3 types....its hard, let me tell ya.

I'm still thinking about sneaking a 4th type in my tank....its 4ft, so maybe it could work. 

I got some info from someone on here about Rusty cichlids. They said they kept them and the Rusties killed everything else in the tank. Normally these are supposed to be pretty mild, or atleast thats what I've read....but I did see one site that said they had a pretty aggressive Rusty. I think I'd go with the Red Zebras instead, since the tank is about medium size for Africans.


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## Dr_House (Aug 15, 2006)

Looks like you're well on your way here, with advice from some VERY knowledgeable cichlid folk.  

Just some recommendations from my own short experience with Mbuna (not to contradict anything that's been said, so just take it as my own personal experience  ). I tried a combo of 3 different types of fish in my tank. Yellow Labs, Pseudotropheus Demasoni and Red Zebras. I found, as was advised before I set the tank up, that the Red Zebras get a bit bigger than everything else and are pretty mean.

I know that Laura Ann has Red Zebras and Yellow Labs together, and I would never even think of contradicting her, as I bow in my own humble inferiority to her superior knowledge. It's just what I experienced with them. 

For what it's worth, the 3 fish did look very good together, and the Demasoni (here is a picture) were quite stunning. They're pretty mean to one another, so it's best to get a whole mess of them, but they leave the other fish alone. Another thing I liked about them is that they stayed smaller (maxing out at 2.5-3 inches), so they created another contrast between the fish.

I'm just throwin' a few thoughts at ya. Whatever you decide will be great!


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## Guest (Sep 1, 2006)

Also if you keep yellow labs with more aggressive fish, just get more of them. In my 55g (4 footer), I'm going to have 6 yellow labs and 4 of everything else, since they are the least aggressive.

Oh and in your thread about the heater, you say you got a 4ft tank...is it the same as this one? Just wondering....


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## Laura Ann (May 3, 2006)

Thanks Doc, that compliment made my day!

You can overstock your tank, it won't hurt it any. I think what you have picked out is a great choice. Three females to one male should even out any aggression problems you have. All the fish you have in that list are fairly aggressive, but not bad enough to where they will be killing each other. You will see chasing and things of the sort as territories are established in the tank, and the occasional "Get away from my woman" nip, but other than that, they will get along rather well. 


My personal opinion, I say chuck the rusties and go with something like demasoni or livingstonii (sp?). Not enough color for me


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## Dr_House (Aug 15, 2006)

> Thanks Doc, that compliment made my day!


Glad to make your day...just telling it like it is. 



> My personal opinion, I say chuck the rusties and go with something like demasoni or livingstonii (sp?). Not enough color for me


I second that! Some people call rusties a purple fish. They just like a funky shade of brown to me! :lol:


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## unclerick666 (Jan 27, 2006)

HI!
NOT SURE WHERE YOU LIVE, BUT, WATER WOULD BE MY FIRST CONCERN!
Test Your tap water after it's sat for a day, and has been treated.
You need hard, high Ph water for Mbuna.

I use fossilized coral rock from Douglas

<link> http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?disp&viewseller&Douglas6156 </link>

It makes for great caves and keeps My Ph @ 8.2 with no fluctuations.

with enough of this rock You could keep over a dozen Mbuna in that tank....PROVIDED YOU OVER FILTER!

ALSO....if You aren't interested in breeding, You might conceder an all male tank.
More color and if no females are present less fighting.

All the Best.........UNCLE​


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

> smaller, less aggressive tank


 Did you say how big a tank? I think red zebras are ok in a 4 ft tank but will outgrow a 3ft long tank. The labs aren't mean, but they're not shy either, constantly moving and never hiding unless they're either holding or digging. I never tire of watching my 55 with ~15 of them (2-3 males, rest females). You don't need a lot of variety to have a great tank. Demonsoni are gorgeous little, mean fish, but mine haven't killed anyone, they just chase constantly (33L, 4 ft. tank). I'd had an Afra kill all the rest in the tank (55 gal), Socolofi, same thing. In my opinion, they need bigger tanks than a 55g (maybe 90 or 125). Most of the Labidochromis sp. and true Psuedotropheus sp. are smaller and less agressive than Labeotropheus and Metaclima sp. I have seen stunning purple rustys but i've also seen a lot of dull gray/brown ones. Are they still in a genus by themselves?


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