african cichlids...

[Ginevive]

Anyone keep these? We are starting a new project on the home front; I have a spare 55g tank ad I am going to get a few Afs from a friend of mine.
I kept them in the past, but it was in my "ignorant aquarist" stage, when i really did not know much about filters, bacteria culturing, cycling, etc. Now I have all that stuff down pat, and I want to re-enter into keeping african cichlids.

[Kara]

Cichlids are the main specialty in our aquaculture department @ Zoo Creatures.

Here are some pics of the 1500-gallon African tank.

A big sexy Ahli hanging around...


The in-ground sumps & filters on some of the systems...


One of the resident Fenestratus...


Diamondback terrapins (turtles) that share the tank...


A couple of population shots...




If you ever run into any setup questions, holler at me and I'll put you in touch with Kevin. He's an African cichlid NUT!!!!!!!



K

[Ginevive]

Now that is awsome! Looks like something out of a zoo, only nicer.

Our tank will be a "little" smaller than that. I know I sald 55 in the upper post, but I meant to say, it's a 45-high tank. Silly me.

I plan on getting four fish to start out with; they're all roughly 1-2 inches in length, and already living together in my friend's store.

I have a few questions in particular: In my sized tank, is it really hard to introduce a fish once there have been three or four fish already living in the tank for a few months? i ask because three of the ones I want, are living OK together at my friend's store, but the fourth I will have to special-order and he will arrive later. I read that rearranging the tank furnishings helps confuse the older fish and gives the newer ones a chance, is this true?

Also, I currently have several fantail goldfish in the tank the cichlids are to occupy. The tank is perfectly cycled, has 2 filters (one whisper and one penguin). Do I have to take everything out and start the cycle over, or can I merely remove the goldfish and put the cichlids right in? The GFs are really healthy and have been in the tank for over a year with no fatalities. It would really be a pain to re-cycle the tank again!

Thanks to you, and your friend Kevin if he can answer my questions.

The species I intend to get are
1 Labidochromis caeruleus (electric yellow cichlid)
1albino of undetermined Sp. but shaped like the above
1 blue johanni
1 livingstoni (the one who needs to be ordered)

[Kara]

Ok...to start, how big are the filters you're running? If you have large enough filters, it's better to have more fish in a cichlid tank. Since they're so aggressive, putting more fish into the tank breaks it up into microterritories and the fish have to spend all day bickering with one another instead of just a few fish ganging up on one smaller one. If your filtration can handle it, you could easily put 20-30 fish in a 45 gallon tank. Checking your ammonia & nitrite levels will let you know how good of a job your filters are doing.

You don't have to cycle the tank again - just take the goldfish out.

Rearranging the setup in the tank is fine because once again, it breaks up established territories. Also, introducing new fish after lights out helps, because the others have gone into a less aggressive nighttime mode.

You do know that livingstoni are very specialized fish predators, right? He's likely to be the tank bully, especially when he gets big. Make sure there are lots of places for everyone else to hide, and seriously consider upping the fish load to prevent picking on one or two smaller specimens.

K

[Adam_Wysocki]

OMG Kara, just amazing! ... I've really got to get back up to "the great frozen tundra" for a visit!

-adam

[Ginevive]

Thanks for the helpful info. I think I'll end up getting more fish than I originally planned, since I can, and it is even desirable to have more! I think I'll end up getting 2 of everything, except maybe the livingstoni. This is kinda going to be a xmas present frrom me to my boyfriend, who actually took a liking to the cichlids before I did; a present that I can also enjoy.

I was wondering what the max. fish load would be in my tank. The two filters I have on there now are a Whisper 40 (rated for a 40g tank) and a Penguin "125" which is roughly 8 inches wide by 7 deep. The tank is a 45-g high, roughly the same floor space as a 30-l, but taller.


I do have a past with these fish. I was given a 30-g tank with roughly ten of them, circa 1997. They did OK, but tended to die off one by one for some reason; they were, though, old fish when I got them, all around 6 inches in length, but they could have been dwarfed by the tank size. There was a livingstoni amongst them, and I guess I want one now for sentimental reasons. Do you know if they are predatory to fish of their size, or toward smaller fish? I did read that they have a habit of playing dead and then siezing smalller fish that come closer to investigate. Maybe it would help if I got one that's smaller than the others?
I did read that electric yellow cichlids are docile compared to others. (quote from animal-world.com: "The Electric Yellow Cichlid or Lemon Drop Cichlid is one of the most peaceful fishes of mbuna species. They can live singly or in pairs and are not territorial."http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/cichlid/electricyellow.php
I am kinda concerned that they will bear the brunt of the more territorial cichs. I guess that this could be remedied by adding a bunch of floating plants and lots of rocks and caves, maybe? I def. want to have the johannis, but I see that in your photos, the two are living together
Thanks for your help, so much.

[Ginevive]

Well I got the tank set up, sorry no pics yet though; probably tomorrow. I could only get 5 fish to start, since that's all the store had. More to come though.
Thanks KLG, and your friend, for your advice. These fish rule!