# Starting a Cichlid tank



## Asully70 (Aug 22, 2008)

I have a 29 gallon or a 20 gallon long and im thinking about putting some electric yellow and electric blues in there. Im reading up on the ph kh and all that but i thought i would run it past people on this forum first. good idea or bad?


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## FlatLine (Dec 30, 2008)

Depending on how many you put in either of those tanks, it will get crowded quickly. You will need a lot of cave type areas so each fish can have it's own territory to feel secure. Make sure you know how big those fish will get. I just stuck my Kribs in a 29gal, and I'm thinking it's too small already, it's going to have 6 or so marble hatchets when I'm done and they already are quite aggressive when they have eggs. If you can put em in a larger tank I would. You could also look into some dwarf cichlids like german blue rams or peacocks, they get at most 3 or 4 inches and seem to do quite well in my friend's 30gal setup with 6 leopard corys, 8 hatchets, and 2 german blue rams.


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## Asully70 (Aug 22, 2008)

ok ya im going to have alot of wood and things for them to hide in and around. i'm going to be using smaller gravel substrate. My KH which im not quite sure what that but its 40ppm's is this an acceptable level for the fish i mentioned above? I'm keeping a low amount of fish in this tank maybe like 5 or 6 plus i'm going to keep my pleco and 3 corys in the tank.


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## Asully70 (Aug 22, 2008)

and since im converting my old freshwater tank to a cichlid tank i was wondering what could all stay in my tank. I have a bunch of neons and black skirts, rainbow shark, angel fish, corys, plecos, and some algae eaters. can any of them stay?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

> 29 gallon or a 20 gallon long and im thinking about putting some electric yellow and electric blues


That tank's too small for either of those fish long-term, let alone both. Malawi cichlids are great, but big, aggressive and fast-moving. Even a shell dweller like P. livingstoni or would be a bit cramped. You could do a pair of neolamprologus lelupi. But all of your soft-water fish would have to go. 

It sounds like your tank is fully stocked already. Always wanting different fish is how you end up with a house full of tank.


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## Asully70 (Aug 22, 2008)

Oh i know my tank is full now thats why im giving them away. I saw some other cool looking ones i liked today in the store as well and they were a much smaller type. One was a jewel cichlid and the other ones that i saw online that i liked were rams. I'm willing to upgrade tank sizes when they get to big aswell so that wolnt be a problem for a while cause im going to start really small. the ones i want in the store are about an inch maybe an inch and a half long


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

If you go with jewels, try to get small ones. Hemichromis cristatus and lifililli are both brighter (redder), smaller, and less mean than the common jewel, H. bimaculatus.


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## Asully70 (Aug 22, 2008)

ok and i know they need a higher ph like 7.5-8.5 so should i use that powder stuff to take the ph up or is there a more natural easier way to do it.


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## FlatLine (Dec 30, 2008)

Some sands or rocks can raise ph and would be more natural.


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## frogman5 (Mar 13, 2007)

dont use anything that is not natural to raise ph


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

sand, dolomite, limestone, crushed coral. All will raise pH if used as your substrate (in place of gravel).


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## Asully70 (Aug 22, 2008)

can cichlids live with cories or algea eaters or rainbow sharks. or should they be in their own tank


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Cories like soft water. Keep them with kribs, rams, or angels, but not african lake cichlids. Which algae eater? plecos are fine with most cichlids.


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## Asully70 (Aug 22, 2008)

ya well i have the golden algae eaters which i figured wouldnt do well and i have a rubber lip pleco


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## cichwitit (Feb 9, 2009)

It sounds like your tank is fully stocked already. Always wanting different fish is how you end up with a house full of tank.[/QUOTE]

I would say make sure you know exactly what type of cichlid you want before making the big change. I am in the middle of redoing my whole tank because i really want calvus's. My problem was when i first started my tank i started tossing in tons of different fish i liked and ended up overcrowding my tank. Some fish get picked on and don't grow. Parasites and disease is much more likely in a full tank too hard to keep everything within healthy parameters.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

do not mix any species of pleco with rift lake cichlids as they come from opposite environments.


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## Guest (Feb 12, 2009)

The smallest sized tank I would go for the Malawi species is a 55. I have a 75, my stock is in my signature and I swear they make the tank look tiny.
I personally would go with shellies, they stay small enough and can go with other fish pretty well. 
And I wouldn't mix the Malawi's with anything except more Malawi's.


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