is everything alright

[waveborn]

If you're in the Denver area, I'd recommend checking out about-fish - despite the website being a bit outdated, the store itself is top-notch. Mark, the owner, is an ACA member and a seasoned African cichlid breeder who prioritizes the health of his stock over profits. He's got a vast selection of both African and South American cichlids, including F1 fish that you can be sure are genuine. Just be upfront about being new to the hobby, and he'll be happy to guide you.

For filtration, 10x turnover is the standard for most rift lake keepers. A temperature of 78 degrees is ideal for cichlids. When it comes to food, you can't go wrong with New Life Spectrum - it's a great all-around choice, regardless of the specific dietary needs of your cichlids. And, since most Colorado tap water is already quite hard, you likely won't need to modify it unless you're aiming for perfection.

As for the bumblebees, they do have a reputation, but every fish is an individual, so it's hard to make guarantees. I've got a yellow lab that's a bit of a handful, but I love him anyway. Acei cichlids, on the other hand, are generally peaceful but can hold their own - they've been a great addition to most of my setups. Mbuna are the ones that tend to turn the tank upside down, in my experience, while peacocks are generally more laid-back.

Waveborn said:

kalevi said:



Could do Moby, they to me just seem to always look huge lol (like the biggest 6" fish you have ever seen) Think it's their body+shape. They are quite a chunky, well built fish. 1 or 2 wouldn't hurt in a 50G but they do prefer to be in a shoaling group, love been with their own kind. Its entirely up to floriks, just think it would be much better for him to go with slightly smaller species. Thanks Moby, still learning with these fish all the time .You seem to know your stuff to (which is good )


I've been stalking this forum for months, and I'm still learning. I've got years to go, I'm sure. Thanks for the compliment, but you're way ahead of me, kalevi. I'm hoping to catch some peekers on camera soon - I've got a mom who's getting too thin for a 4" fish, so I need to either move her or strip her soon.

Waveborn said:

kalevi said:



Could do Moby, they to me just seem to always look huge lol (like the biggest 6" fish you have ever seen) Think it's their body+shape. They are quite a chunky, well built fish. 1 or 2 wouldn't hurt in a 50G but they do prefer to be in a shoaling group, love been with their own kind. Its entirely up to floriks, just think it would be much better for him to go with slightly smaller species. Thanks Moby, still learning with these fish all the time .You seem to know your stuff to (which is good )


I've been stalking this forum for months, and I'm still learning. I've got years to go, I'm sure. Thanks for the compliment, but you're way ahead of me, kalevi. I'm hoping to catch some peekers on camera soon - I've got a mom who's getting too thin for a 4" fish, so I need to either move her or strip her soon.

[floriks]

If you're going for 2-3 species, I think keeping a decent-sized group of each is the way to go - it's really natural and works especially well for mbuna. I'd definitely lean towards keeping mbuna over peacocks or haps, as they need a lot of open space to swim and a tank with good depth and width. Is your tank 12" or 18" front to back, by the way? The Labidochromis caeruleus would work beautifully in your tank, no question. The Cynotilapia afra would also be a great choice, and there are plenty of varieties to choose from. The Pseudotropheus acei get pretty big, so they might outgrow your tank eventually. I think the afra and labs would look amazing in large numbers, maybe with a pair or two of another species or a synodontis catfish to round things out.

I've been looking into other local stores that specialize in Africans, but unfortunately, they're not exactly within walking distance and I don't have a car. The one store that does have a decent selection treats their fish pretty poorly, so I'm not too keen on supporting them. Petsmart might not have the most extensive selection, but at least their fish seem to be in better health.

I've also considered ordering fish online, but I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking for, so it's a bit of a gamble. That's a problem for future me to worry about, though.

In the meantime, I've been thinking about filtration. Would an Aquaclear 110 or two be enough, or would I need something bigger? Two Aquaclears would bring the tank to 1000 US gph of filtration, but those are HOBs. I also have a Fluval 406, but if neither of those would work on its own, I'll pick up something else. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

I'm starting to realize that this project is going to be a lot more involved than I initially thought. It's not just a matter of adding sand, rocks, and fish. I'm looking for a group or two of fish that like to dig, but I'm not a fan of the typical mbuna tank with a bunch of different species crammed together. It just looks cluttered and chaotic.

I've also fallen in love with the Tropheus moorii cichlids - they're so adorable with their round heads. However, I think they'd need a bigger tank, and they require a specific male-to-female ratio, which is a bit of a challenge for me since I'm not great at sexing young fish.

[floriks]

If you're going for 2-3 species, I think keeping a decent-sized group of each is the way to go - it's really natural and works especially well for mbuna. I'd definitely lean towards keeping mbuna over peacocks or haps, as they need a lot of open space to swim and a tank with good depth and width. Is your tank 12" or 18" front to back, by the way? The Labidochromis caeruleus would work beautifully in your tank, no question. The Cynotilapia afra would also be a great choice, and there are plenty of varieties to choose from. The Pseudotropheus acei get pretty big, so they might outgrow your tank eventually. I think the afra and labs would look amazing in large numbers, maybe with a pair or two of another species or a synodontis catfish to round things out.

I'm really excited about my new 50-gallon tank, it's 48 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 18 inches tall - I wish I could get a 75-gallon one, but that's not happening anytime soon. I've been eyeing the yellow labs, they seem to have so much personality, and they love to nibble on my fingers when I'm at the store - same with the aceis, I thought they were another small, docile type of cichlid, and I've read they tend to hang out near the top of the water.

I'm a bit hesitant about the afras, though - my coworkers are really bad at identifying cichlids, and we've got fish that look like afras in the mixed pseudotropheus tank, and some pseudotropheus in the afra tank... it's a mess. I love the look of the afras, but I'm worried I'll end up with a bunch of misidentified fish.

I was thinking about the johannis - are they too big? too aggressive? I've heard mixed things about them, but I'm curious to know more. Would they work with the yellow labs?

[floriks]

I almost forgot, I need to figure out what kind of padding I can put on the tank bottom to help with the load of all those rocks. I've heard some people mention using something called egg crate, but I'm not really sure what that is or where to find it. I've also seen some weird suggestions online, so I'm hoping someone here can give me a better idea.

[kalevi]

Johanni's could be a good fit, but keep in mind they can be pretty aggressive. The females also have a similar coloration to the yellow labs, so cross-breeding is a possibility if you're not careful. If you're not interested in keeping the fry, then johannis might work out for you. I had someone else on this forum do this for me before, but if you take some pics of the fish at your store, I'd be happy to try and identify them for you. As for tank padding, I don't use anything on the bottom of my tanks, but I've heard the egg crate method works just fine.

[floriks]

If you're going for 2-3 species, I think keeping a decent-sized group of each is the way to go - it's really natural and works especially well for mbuna. I'd definitely lean towards keeping mbuna over peacocks or haps, as they need a lot of open space to swim and a tank with good depth and width. Is your tank 12" or 18" front to back, by the way? The Labidochromis caeruleus would work beautifully in your tank, no question. The Cynotilapia afra would also be a great choice, and there are plenty of varieties to choose from. The Pseudotropheus acei get pretty big, so they might outgrow your tank eventually. I think the afra and labs would look amazing in large numbers, maybe with a pair or two of another species or a synodontis catfish to round things out.

I was under the impression that something needed to be under the sand to prevent it from getting all crushed by the rocks.

So if I get some Johanni's, I don't need to worry about breeding or separating males and females since I'm just gonna feed any fry to my carnivores or catfish.

I'll try to get some pictures of the fish on Sunday, but I don't work until then, so I won't be able to get them until then.

What's the deal with the male to female ratio for Johanni's? How old do they need to be to be sexed properly?

On the topic of rocks, I know some people just go out and find their own, but how do you know if they're safe to use? Is there a foolproof way to test them?

Thanks for all the help, by the way.

EDIT: If I did an all-Johanni tank, it would look pretty sweet, I think. They'd just kind of pop up here and there, and it would be a nice change of pace from the usual mixed-species tank.

If I did an all-Johanni tank with some synodontis catfish, like petricola, what kind of stocking numbers would I be looking at? What about if I did a mix with the yellow labs? Any other suggestions?