# New To Cichlids



## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

I have recently aquired four new african cichlids (Red Pea****, Ice Blue Zebra, Red Zebra, Jewel). I have them in a 30 gallon hex tank right now, and they are going to be moved once they get bigger. They are only about an inch and a half right now. I have crushed coral as a substrate to keep the pH high and the water hard. I feed them cichlid sticks, pellets, and shrimp pellets. Basically I have no idea how to care for these guys, nor if they go well together. I was wondering if anyone has any pointers as what I can do to make them happier, perhaps add some rock or plants? Would slate rocks or any other rocks from like a quarry go well in the tank? Anything would be great, or even a link to another thread that this was already discussed. I just have no idea what I'm doing with these guys and I want to make the tank to their perfect conditions. Thanks in advance.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

fishn00b said:


> pointers as what I can do to make them happier


The jewel (west african- soft acid water ) doesn't really belong with the other fish ( east african hard water fish ).


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

yeah, you really should return the jewel unless you like it enough to return the others. I have yellow labs, red and cobalt zebras in my tank. They like alot of rockwork - either slate or granite or holey rock - they like it all - just stack it to where they have spaces to swim in between..


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

Yup ditch the jewel, return it, was sold to you wrongly labeled. Not part of the batch.

Red zebra's i dont care much for as they can become pests.


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## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

I have noticed that the Red Zebra has been bothering the other cichlids when they come near the bottom of the tank... I guess he's being territorial, and I'm fearing that my Pea**** is stressed from it. 

I will try to return the Jewel, or find some other place I can put it if that fails. And I will go to a rock quarry and buy some slate and granite if I can find it. They sell it for 15 cents a pound, and is a lot cheaper than my LFS, I was just hoping that they could use that so I wouldn't have to break the bank. Thanks for all your input.


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## goodie (Sep 2, 2005)

When you do get them to another tank try to get a tank that has a large foot print(bottom area). Tall tanks and cichlids are not the best combo. Not enough room to establish territories.


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## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

goodie said:


> When you do get them to another tank try to get a tank that has a large foot print(bottom area). Tall tanks and cichlids are not the best combo. Not enough room to establish territories.


I knew that was going to be a problem, but I didn't have enough room to put them anywhere... hopefully I'll be able to buy something soon. They have a 120 gallon tank at Petsmart that is about 4 feet long for 500 dollars. I'm thinking about buying it and housing the Cichlids in there. Hopefully they'll be happier.

It sounds like if I do that and add a lot of rock to make caves then I should have everything covered to keep them happy. Is there anything else that I'm missing? Thanks for your replies guys.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Actually the pea****, even though it comes from the same lake, doesn't really belong in that tank either. The zebras are more aggressive. I really think you would be happier if you took all those fish back and got something smaller and less aggressive. Maybe a group of 4-5 yellow labs.


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## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

Being if I did get a larger tank...

Would it be alright to have a group of 4 - 5 yellow labs, and keep the Ice Blue and Red Zebra? Can I add more Ice Blue and Red Zebras or do they not like being with their own kind?


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

The zebras are aggressive. The smaller the tank, the more likely you will have trouble.


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

if you get that 120, your on your way to a great cichlid tank, youll be able to put a ton of fish in it, poeple have kept peacacks in mixed tanks before, but as ron and mala alrready said, your usually asking for trouble, i dont know about your substrate, but they love sand, so try to get some if you dont have it already, make sure you get rocks, they almost need it. and when you get the larger tank, like they said, get the longest widest one you can, tall isnt a good option, get a deep sand bed, (3-4 inches) these fish dig. so stack your rock very carefully to avoid a collapse.


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

Are you trying to achieve, blue, red, yellow colorations in the tank? For your reds and blue's, pea****s can do that easily for you, yellow can come from a school of yellow labs. I would stay away from red/blue zebra cichlids, they are aggresive and aren't worth a dime each. 

With Lace rock you could really make the tank stand out!


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

Mala said:


> Are you trying to achieve, blue, red, yellow colorations in the tank? For your reds and blue's, pea****s can do that easily for you, yellow can come from a school of yellow labs. I would stay away from red/blue zebra cichlids, they are aggresive and aren't worth a dime each.
> 
> With Lace rock you could really make the tank stand out!


hey, I kinda like my red and cobalt zebras.. :chair: but you are right, they are little meanies - and they will probably live 100 years.. LMAO


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

:lol: hey it's whatever floats your boat


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## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

I don't know what I am trying to achieve. Basically I'm just trying to keep all the fish happy. It would be nice to have a lot of bright colors in the tank, but I don't want to mix the fish that aren't going to go well together. A school of yellow labs sounds really nice, and I think I might go with that (once I get a larger tank). 

Are pea****s aggressive towards one another and others? I noticed that Petsmart started selling Kribs. What is the personality of this fish and do Kribs also like hard water with a high pH?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Everyone will do ok at pH=7.5, but the jewel (6.5-7.5) will want a territory on the bottom of tank in sand rather than a rock pile. The zebra and pea****s (7.5-8.5) will do fine in a 120. In a small tank, keep only one male zebra (lots of females), they are mean, in a larger tank, a bigger group will spread out the aggression. Pea****s need some open water, otherwise i'd tell you to fill the tank will rocks. Upside-down strawberry pots are easy, the mbuna go in, the pea****s spawn on top. If you get the 120, you can add 8-10 yellow labs. I saw a high tank with a glass shelf glued to the back of the tank and rocks piled on it all the way up to the top and the cichlids used to whole tank.


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

Mala said:


> :lol: hey it's whatever floats your boat


:lol: 

No, seriously though fishn00b, there are so many other africans cichlids that are a better choice and more enjoyable. Zebras were the only africans I could get around here - almost the only cichlid!


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## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

I know, I just want everyone to be happy though. It would be nice to have a school of yellow labs, but I don't want to get them if the zebras are going to be mean to them. I'm just trying to find a way to keep the fish I have now happy and make it the best conditions I can for them.


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

fishn00b said:


> I know, I just want everyone to be happy though. It would be nice to have a school of yellow labs, but I don't want to get them if the zebras are going to be mean to them. I'm just trying to find a way to keep the fish I have now happy and make it the best conditions I can for them.


Mine are not mean to my labs . I have four reds, four blues and three yellow labs in my 55. I have alot of rockwork so everyone sorta has thier own space.. I have one red zebra that likes to chase everyone on occasion but it hasnt been too bad.


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

my ice blue never messed with anyone, just chased, (which they all do) he was the biggest fish in the tank, i guess everyone knew to give him the right of way. i think if you set your tank up with some black sand (which i just happen to have some if you in the area of atlanta) and some lace rock (which mala might still have some for cheap cheap) black and white, will really push the colors of your fish out. no matter what you try to get. peacacks imo take some time to color up, (mala will definatly tell you differently, and hes probably right) thats just my experience, if you go with a mixed mbuna tank, and you get the right balance of aggresion, its a very entertaining tank to watch.


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## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

I'm thinking that's what I might do. Since my water isn't really that hard, I might just want to keep a crushed coral bottom. I live in Jersey so I would have to make a special trip just for some sand . I'm getting the same vibe from my Ice Blue, as he is pretty passive and just chases some on occasion but doesn't do any harm. The Red does get a little mean most of the time if anyone comes near his space and will tear at the fins of the others (particularly the Pea****).

If Mala has any extra lace rock that would be excellent. My LFS sells it for 3 dollars a pound and it seems too expensive for the shapes that they offer (it's kind of bland). 

Also what do you mean by "mbuna"? Is that the scientific name for the Zebras?


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

um.... well mbuna is more of a general term, i havnt done this reasearch in quite a while... so if im wrong, someone please correct me, but in lake malawi, most of the fish are broken into 3 catagories. haps, peacacks, and mbuna, (keep in mind i havent had cichlids in a while. so bare with me.. lol )


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

leveldrummer said:


> um.... well mbuna is more of a general term, i havnt done this reasearch in quite a while... so if im wrong, someone please correct me, but in lake malawi, most of the fish are broken into 3 catagories. haps, peacacks, and mbuna, (keep in mind i havent had cichlids in a while. so bare with me.. lol )



thats my line of thinking as well..


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

i dont remember why they are broken down like that though, i think it was partially due to where they dwell, and what they eat. i think the haps are more carnivores, pea****s are high water fish, and mbuna are rock dwellers. (i believe it was something like that.)


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## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

leveldrummer said:


> i dont remember why they are broken down like that though, i think it was partially due to where they dwell, and what they eat. i think the haps are more carnivores, pea****s are high water fish, and mbuna are rock dwellers. (i believe it was something like that.)



I did some research and what I got from it was that mbuna are the fish that like to make homes in rocks/caves, while the cichlids that prefer the open water are called pea****s... I didn't find anything on haps.


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

i believe haps were the flat bottom fish, the ones that stayed out in the depths of the lake, where its just a sandy bottom? could be wrong, there are so dang many of them..


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