# Ahhh!!! Cichlids!!!!



## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b550/Myfishtank1/VIDEO0046_14_zpsc1ee5baf.jpg


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## oscarlover (Oct 2, 2012)

Nice tank =)


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Fill your tank up lol. It looks nice


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

hmmmmmmmmmm.......it needs sorting..i see compatibility issues...


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## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

You would think compatibility issues but there is no fin nipping or anything a little chasing here and there but nothing ever comes of it and I would say thats to be expected in a cichlid tank. I have never lost a fish in this tank nor had to remove any bc of aggression. So I guess in my eyes it doesn't need sorting.


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## oscarlover (Oct 2, 2012)

The blue one in the middle is that a male auratus or a johanni? I can't tell my phone screen makes it blurry.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

the bulk of the fish are rift lake cichlids...they need a higher PH......
the leaf fish..peacock and rope eels..knife and plecos need a somewhat lower PH....
when not in a preferred environment fish will eventually suffer..these fish do not share the same environment in nature ; so why should they when in captivity...
they may survive together ; but will not thrive....somebody will have to suffer.....
there are lots of differing opinions out there ; this is just my own.....bottom line is..........

your time , your money , your fish.....your right to choose as you like.....


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## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

It is a johanni he is my favorite.


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## oscarlover (Oct 2, 2012)

I have a johanni also in my african tank. Love them.


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## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

and the johanni will get mean, especially when breeding. Nice looking tank, but it needs alot more rocks and nooks and crannies for the fish. They get along great now, only because they are juvies.


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## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

thank you. i am interested to see what happens in my tank. i am actually planning a trip to Asheville NC this week and i am going to get some river rocks to build some layers and hiding places. i just have in there what i was given. i almost went out and bought some but i have family there so why not. lol


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## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

that tank is great, i would put in some more rocks for territory and hiding places


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## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

Thank you. It is a work in progress. I am trying to not buy to many decor. My sand is from the beach I live close to and I will be getting some river rocks soon. I have 3 live plants had 4 but I guess it tasted good bc its gone Lol.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

plants are pretty hard to keep around where there are africans...since most of them are mbuna you might want to promote some algae growth for them to graze on...


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## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

So is there any plants I can keep with them. I have 3 others that they seem to leave alone they just ate the one. I will post some pic of them in an album. Maybe you or someone can id them. I bought the tank off of someone and didn't know what the plants were just new they were good for the cycle. Butt know I really like them.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

maybe anubias and java ferns....
anubias have very tough leaves so they are kind of hard to eat...
java ferns don't taste very good i guess..


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## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

*here are the plants i have*

these are whats in the tank 

http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b550/Myfishtank1/IMAG0440_zps1e8cc02f.jpg

http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b550/Myfishtank1/IMAG0442_zps6783bf8d.jpg

http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b550/Myfishtank1/IMAG0441_zpsd7e56e8b.jpg


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Plants in a cichlid tank is hard but like loha said grow some Alage on the rocks, your fish will thank you.


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## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

So how do I go about growing algae? I do feed them alge disks to supplement


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

yes...feed algae wafers...leave the lights on to grow it..


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## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

so i was wondering if i should just take the plants out to make more room for my rock decor. but my fish like hiding in the leaves and stuff or is it that they didnt have anywhere else to hid so they chose the plants. so what should i do. i like the look of real plants and wont be replacing them with fake its real or none. i guess is it good to have live plants or more rocks. as you know this is an African Cichlid tank.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I'd go with more live plants. I don't know if your africans will eat it, but my bettas eat duckweed for their vegetable matter.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

rift lake cichlids are not bettas...
it would be best to remove the plants and put in lots more rockwork..that will give them a great many places to hide....if you really want plants then get some anubias and java ferns...
but keep your lights on so you can get a good build up of algae on the rocks...this also will give you the opportunity to see the mbuna feed as they do in the wild...head down ; tail up ; munching away at the rocks..


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## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

i would prob keep the 3 plants i have. i dont know if they are java ferns or anubias but they dont seem eat it. i was thinking of getting rid of them or how i can move them to maximize my rockwork. they are on the sides of my tank. if i took them out i would gain about 6 more inches on each side of the start of my rock work. i dont know about lining them along the back bc. i have a power head that pushes the water along the back wall as well as a penguin bio wheel filter that hangs over the back to pick up large debris. then my canister filter is on the other side with a big hydro sponge pre filter so i dont have to clean my canister as often. works great. i guess we will see i am going to get the rest of my rock tomorrow. so we will see what i come up with.


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## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

and lights on all the time and for how long do i do that. i have them on a timer on 9 am off at 1:30am. give them a little night time. i was hoping that would do the trick till i got some algae grown. then change the time to a more day and night time frame.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

the time you have the lights set at is fine until you get some good growth....then you can cut it back to about 10-12 hours a day..


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## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

Here it is 








http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b550/Myfishtank1/IMAG0445_zpsd406e3c0.jpg


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

nice rocks but the set up is too structured...rocks should be set up to appear more natural..piles here and there..make it look unorganized..kind of like a heap of rubble randomly dumped....find a bunch of more rounded rocks...fist - head size..ok...small head size...lol

if your plants are in fact java ferns ; they should never be planted in the substrate...instead they are attached to driftwood and rocks...find some nice coarse somewhat more rounded rocks and tie the ferns to them...


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## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

Revised 
http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b550/Myfishtank1/IMAG0446_zps9e3f97b3.jpg


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I didn't know rift lake cichlids weren't bettas... I just thought they might eat the same vegetable matter as bettas.


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## WildForFish (Aug 5, 2008)

I believe the plants are Cryptocoryne Wendtii red & Echinodorus Amazonicus.

Add more rocks in a tumbled fashion as opposed to slabs of concrete layered, 

a more natural look.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I have kept java fern, & hortwort in with Africans. Its not typical of their habitat, but females and fry will hide in plants (live or fake) as males don't consider it good territory, same for stuff floating like fake logs and more plants.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

Betta man said:


> I didn't know rift lake cichlids weren't bettas... I just thought they might eat the same vegetable matter as bettas.


are you hosin me ????????
ok...what ever you say irwin....


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## pete5315 (Sep 25, 2012)

See if this works
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlfrP0L4E9o


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## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

lohachata said:


> plants are pretty hard to keep around where there are africans...since most of them are mbuna you might want to promote some algae growth for them to graze on...


That is the TRUTH. I started out with plastic then posted some pics and someone said hey try some real plants and so I did and it did not take long to not only eat but uproot 8 live plants. Now I am back to plastic there is only one live plant left and I dont even think that I would ever put live plants back ever.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Betta, you are Betta Man but you didn't know that rift Cichlids weren't Betta's? Honey that scares me. 

Rift Cichlids= Africa
Betta= Rice Paddy

Last I heard there weren't too many rice fields in Africa, open to being wrong.


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