# Need help with cichlids



## sarah5775 (Jul 12, 2006)

OK.

A friend recently gave me a 55 gallon tank and stand. I intended to cyle then maybe add an oscar.

Well, I was driving around yesterday and went past a lfs that is going out of business. I told him I would get a few fish, but my 55 gallon wasn't cycled.

He proceeded to give me the filter out of his fully cycled 55 gallon (the filter has a bit 70 on it and is huge) a huge back of gravel, a ton of ornaments and caves (and I had a lot to begin with from my friend) and an entire tank of African cichilds. (He made me take them all) and all that for 25 dollars.

So...the fish (about 18 - 20, they don't stay still to count) are each about an inch long. They are all Lake Malawi chiclids. About a third are yellow labs. I'm not entirely sure what the others are. They are a mix of bright orange, one that is pale almost white, and a number that are gray striped (two different kinds of these)

Now obviously, I am not going to be able to keep all these fish when they grow up, but I'm sure the local lFs (another one) will take them, as cichlids are in high demand. I have TONS of caves and rocks and hiding places, so that isn't a problem. The fish chased eachother around quite a bit when I first put them in, but now they seem completely peaceful. Which is odd because I keep hearing these are the most aggressive fish out there. I think they may have already established their pecking order in the store.

What do I need to know to keep these fish happy and healthy? Oh- and obviously I know the oscar is out of the question- no fish will be added.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Search/ read as much as you can about african cichlids. Try to determine what species you have. Keep water clean (water changes). Good food and enjoy your good fortune. Don't worry about having too many fish right now. That can be determined when you figure out what species you have. The lack of aggression is because you have lots of fish. The most dominant fish cannot focus on only one fish to beat up. He keeps getting distracted by other fish swimming by.


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## SouthernBelle23 (Mar 24, 2009)

Having alot of rockwork will help lower the aggression. Mbuna live in rocks in the wild. Rocks will break up territories and give places to hide, so the more rocks you have, the better. 

I agree with reading up on Mbuna and Malawi Cichlids. http://www.cichlidforum.com is a good site. They have alot of articles you can read and profiles for Mbuna that you can go through once yours develop some nice color. 

Mbuna (a type of Malawi Cichlid) are mainly herbivores and some are omnivores that need a veggie based diet. Make sure you find a veggie based food. Anything with spirulina is good. Ocean Nutrition Veggie formula is a good one. Basically anything with a veggie base or spirulina in it is good. I wouldn't feed bloodworms. Too much animal protein and fat can cause bloat in Mbuna. You can also feed them fresh veggies like zuchinni and peas. Some will eat algae in the tank too.


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## hooked... (Jul 22, 2009)

Talk about being in the right place at the right time - very fortunate. And, By the time they out grow your tank you will have fallen in love with them/become obsessed and either get a bigger tank or other tanks to keep them in - LOL
Tip. with having an overstocked tank you need to have alot of filtration to deal with extra waste they produce.
Do your research, they are great fish to have.


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## sarah5775 (Jul 12, 2006)

I THINK this is what I have- I went to petsmart and tried to compare what I had to what was labeled. I think I may have gotten it:

Yellow Lab (about seven or eight)
Red Zebra (but they are orange)
Kenyi Aftican
Auratus - possibly -its gray with a brown stripe- it doesn't look like the picture on the internet

I also have one that is almost white. And one that is uniform gray with just a minute trace of stripes .

I drove by the place where I got these guys (the one going out of business) but it was closed. So I am still guessing.

Do you have any advice from me? I'm all freaked out because the sign on the chichlid tank said "Advanced" and I'm afraid my fishes are going to die.

Also-is it possible to have too much filtration? I have a few extra filters I was thinking of adding to the tank- will this make the current too much for the fish? Or is it ok?


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## SouthernBelle23 (Mar 24, 2009)

Can you post some pics of the unidentified ones? Maybe we can help you ID them. Getting a good pic will be the hard part though...they are fast!

Don't be freaked out. They really aren't for the advanced IMO. A beginner can easily take care of them, you just have to research their needs, like any other fish. Having the rockwork, getting their food needs down, and having enough filtration is key. They are messy fish (lots of poo) so definitely have alot of filtration. If you have to add another filter (or 2), do it. You can't have too much filtration. The only thing would be if the fish were being blown around the tank by the current....but you'd need alot of power for that IMO.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Sarah, you are fine. Don't be worried about your cichlids. Believe me, your setup is perfect. The auratus worry me some. They are among the most aggressive of the mbuna. There are a few other members of that genus that look somewhat like auratus and all are aggressive. They normally don't show the grey striped coloration until adulthood and its only the males. Young auratus and females are yellow and black striped (very attractive). So if you do indeed have auratus and you want to thin the herd, I would recommend taking the auratus back.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Sorry, forgot to mention... the kenyi males turn yellow/ orange when mature. The females retain the blue/ black vertical stripes. I wonder if the orange fish you have is really a male kenyi? BTW, are you aware that these fish are mouth brooders? Really cool to watch... With your mix of fish you will almost certainly have spawns.....


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

cichlid-forum.com 

Malawi Mbuna are aggressive and need big tanks, but they are pretty hard to kill. Give them green (spirulina) flake and lots of filtration and you should do fine (its hard to give mbuna too much filtration or too many rocks). Have a 5 to 15 gallon hospital tank standing by for fish with chewed-off tails or holding mamas.


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## sarah5775 (Jul 12, 2006)

The fish I thought was were gray with darker gray stripes. I don't have a fish that is yellow and black. All these fish are juviniles.

I will have to get some pictures to help identify them. The problem is, when I look online, nearly all the fish I found photos of said they looked different as adults than as young ones, and all said they looked different between male and female. Then I could only find one picture on the website. So other than the labs, I really have no idea what kind they are.

I am running an AquaClear 70 and just added an Aqua Clear 110. The 110 looks terrible- I accidentally put the tank too close to the wall and it doesn't fit- so I have it on the front, and it takes up a third of my tank. But if that will help the fish, I will keep it.

I figure this is a lot of filtration, so that's good. The 110 is a used filter also.

The water is getting a little cloudy, is that a bad sign?


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## sarah5775 (Jul 12, 2006)

Ok. I got food that says its for Africa Cichlids, but I'm not sure it its right. It has fish meal and squid meal as the first two ingredients, then spirinella. I'm thinking maybe I should try to find pure spirinella flake and feed that too?I couldn't find it in the lfs. I could order it. Will they eat algae wavers cut up?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

> Will they eat algae wavers cut up?


 maybe, do it and try. They might need to be bigger to be able to chew them. They do need some veggie matter in the diet, but it doesn't have to be #1. 

Look here http://cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=2 for pic. If the gray stripes are vertical, you could have young 'peacocks'. http://cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=3


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## sarah5775 (Jul 12, 2006)

I hope I can crush those pellets...otherwise its back to the pet store to get flakes.

I don't have aruatas. My fish look nothing like them. Instead, I am pretty sure they are Chinuni. I have about six or seven, both males and females. And many of the others are DEFINITELY red zebras. I may also have a blue lab, but the truth is there are so many fish with vertical stripes that its hard to tell. But I'm pretty sure of the Chinuni- positive about the Chinuni females, they are dead on.

Still not sure what the horizontal striped ones are. They are brown-gray with a darker brown-gray horizontal stripe- just one. Any idea?

OH, btw, I got another 70 gallon filter from the fish guy- I'll keep the 110 gallon in there for now, but I think I'll go with the two 70s for that tank. That way, both filter will fit on the side facing the wall- unless you think its really important to leave the 110 going.


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## hooked... (Jul 22, 2009)

with the pellets - ?are you worried that they are too big? don't! i currently have 3 very young venustus and i use a large floating pellet. As they float the fish have a go at them and after a bit when they go soggy i squash them up and they sink - easy.
and also you say 'cloudy water' ? did you wash the substrate before you put it in? the water should clear up after a few routine water changes.
On the filtration, we will need some other opinions here but, I have seen it writen that as a general rule you would like to cycle your tank a least five times per hour - (55gal = 275+gal/hour) thats what i heard. I am not familiar with the AC filters I have 2 canisters running on my 4ft


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