# Is a 75g too small to house a nice african tank?



## girth vader (Apr 24, 2006)

Thinkig about turning my newly acquire 75g into a nice african tank with a nice rock shelf. But I'm pretty sure africans will outgrow that. knowing that all species grow at different rates, but how long can they thrive in a 75g before an upgrade is needed?


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## Guest (Jul 11, 2006)

Yellow labs and red zebras can be kept in a 75g tank. They aren't overly aggressive and won't outgrow the tank. A 55g was actually recommended to me for keeping a group of each species. That's about the most I know about Africans though. Hope that helps a little.


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## girth vader (Apr 24, 2006)

JustOneMore20 said:


> Yellow labs and red zebras can be kept in a 75g tank. They aren't overly aggressive and won't outgrow the tank. A 55g was actually recommended to me for keeping a group of each species. That's about the most I know about Africans though. Hope that helps a little.


I'm new to africans, every little bit helps  did you read my post regarding your XP3?


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## Guest (Jul 11, 2006)

I sure did...and I replied again...lol.

HERE is cichlid-forums cookie cutter setups for a 75g tank. They have everything from South American setups to Africans. Check them out. You'll see all the Malawi setups when you scroll down. Check out the profiles for the ones listed to see which ones you like (pretty much all of them are so pretty!). 

I feel bad linking that site, but its not competition so I guess its alright. Its a good site for Cichlid info...anything from setting up the tank to the cookie cutter setups.


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## girth vader (Apr 24, 2006)

JustOneMore20 said:


> I sure did...and I replied again...lol.
> 
> HERE is cichlid-forums cookie cutter setups for a 75g tank. They have everything from South American setups to Africans. Check them out. You'll see all the Malawi setups when you scroll down. Check out the profiles for the ones listed to see which ones you like (pretty much all of them are so pretty!).
> 
> I feel bad linking that site, but its not competition so I guess its alright. Its a good site for Cichlid info...anything from setting up the tank to the cookie cutter setups.


LOL I was just at that site browsing different ideas


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## cameraman_2 (Mar 28, 2005)

defenitly not to small as long as you don't get ones that grow to be 10 inches. The LFS has an awesome 75 gallon cichlid tank just down the street. Plus you get to over stock them which makes it all the better. Just have to be carefull with who you mix. And to give them lots of swimming space.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

A 75 gallon is a perfect size for lots of african cichlids. You could even go tanganiykan with groups of lamprologus and julies. 
Just make sure that you buy plently of rock for the fish to hide in and claim territories. It doesn't matter what type of rock it is, but there are some very attractive rocks out there like oceon, texas holey, tufa, lace and even dead coral that can buffer your water and make your pH around 8.5 which is ideal for african rift lake cichlids.
For substrate, a dark color will bring out the colors of the fish, but some people prefer to use coral sand which is good at buffering the water.
Good Luck! An african cichlid tank is a lot easier to maintain than many people think.


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## highliner (Jul 2, 2006)

Stay up on water changes, overkill on the filtration (no such thing as too much), and you could have a very nice group in a 75...with the same caveats you've already heard.

Do you know what species you plan to keep? Not all African cichlids are created equal....


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## girth vader (Apr 24, 2006)

Now that I know I can sfely keep them in the 75, I will start investigating and researching the different lakes and species. I have heard that Tanga are harder to keep. I'm pretty proficient in fish keeping but I want to mke sure I have the resources to keep them thriving, not just surviving. I cant wait though. I will definately post pics upon completion. I saw some great DIY rock backgrounds, that should be a lot of fun as well  Thanks for the advice guys and once I find species that I like I will post some compatibility questions. I find that little intangibles get lost in translation when researching compatibility, so I'd rather poll african keepers and get a bunch of experienced based opinions.

Cheers.

Ziggy.


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

75g is good size for just about any type of africa as long as you stay clear of malawi trout


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