55 gal empty. Ideas

[mamba]

here is the thing i moved and my fish died.. it was my neglagence. lost all my plants too. anywho.. the tank is re set up again with only one snail in it.. how it survived i have no idea. but anyway. im thinking cichlids this time.. but i want plants in my tank again. any suggestions of what kind to get that are small friendly in a cichlid sort of way and will leave my plants alone. if not i can go back to live bearers i do love them but i want fish that are more exciting than just reproducing all the time.. if your wondering how i killed my fish i was in my van ... went to the store , i had the bucket in the van and it took longer than expected. long story short the fish fried in the heat of my van.. i had a huge pleco. and some nice mickey mouse platies too.. ah well live and learn i should have taken the fish straight home but i had to go to the store. btw havent been here in awhile good to be back nice to see new faces and stuff... oh also .. good literature on cichlids would be nice too. i wanna do some reading up on them alot before i go buy any of these to make sure my water params are right.. i dont want any more casualties..


specs are perfect so far .. as far as raising live bearers..

i got 2x aqua clear 300's
1x fluval 304 for filtration
3x 40 watt plant bulbs
1x 6500k
1x 8500k
1x 10,000k

i think the 10,000k is going to go way to much for my plants

substrate is 50/50 mix of shultz aquatic planting soil and gravel of the same color ..lights are oin 12hrs a day.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Angels work well in a planted tank. I think they adjust to pretty much any water parameters, so they should do well if your community did well. Rams and apistos stay small, and I *think* they are plant safe, I'm not sure. I'm sure C-man will know more interesting plant-safe cichids.

I don't have a clue about the lighting and such, though...

 

[discus4everGrl]

dwarf cichlids such as the ones listed above like plants, and also kribs, and curviceps and can usually be kept as community fish. Angels and discus, although discus are more work than most fish love plants. There are some plants the african rift lake (mostly lake tanganika, sp)cichlids won't eat, like java fern and moss, but that doesn't mean they won't uproot them. However, if you do decide to remove that 10,000K bulb then these two plants would also be good because they don't require much light.

I bought a cichlid book when I was considering a rift lake tank, and although I have pretty much decided to do a sw instead I will look up which ones are plant friendly........

ok - the book says, and cichlid man will have to confirm

fairy cichlid - Lake Tang
Lemon Cichlid - lake tang
Orange chromide - lake tang - needs slight salt in water as well

West African cichlids -
chromidotilapia batesii
Gunthers mouthbroader
Teleogramma brichardi

All lake mbuna cichlids need rocks that are piled nearly to the top of the tank so that they can claim a nook for territory and also,

if you go the african lake cichlids, you aren't supposed to mix cichlids from the different lakes as the water requirements are different.

 

[phOOey]

as others have stated, your best bet would be do go with dwarf cichlids. with dwarf cichlids you can also keep lots of other community fish with them such as tetras and cories.

 

[mamba]

thanks for the ideas guys i will go to the lfs to see what kinds of cichlids they have.. my lfs has a limited stock of cichlids... we shall see. thank you very much again

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Gosh ya'll act like i know everything lol.

Well i'm not really a plant guy so i can't even talk to you about the equipment you are planning for the tank. However i do know that most SA/CA cichlids are compatible with plants. No cichlid is real peaceful and all become territorial but here are a few i thought off the top of my head, like others have stated above...

Angelfish - Popular, good planted tank canidate.
http://www.myfishtank.net/reviews/showproduct.php/product/59/sort/7/cat/5/page/1

Dwarf Cichlids (Apistos) - Awesome addition to a planted tank, and one i would recommend. (many species to choose from).
http://www.myfishtank.net/reviews/showproduct.php/product/91/sort/7/cat/5/page/1
http://www.myfishtank.net/reviews/showproduct.php/product/119/sort/7/cat/5/page/1

Rams - I've never had much sucess with them but if you can find good bloodlines then the colors are outstanding and a very good addition to a planted tank. Stays small.
http://www.myfishtank.net/reviews/showproduct.php/product/95/sort/7/cat/5/page/1

Kribs - Even coming from africa, well suited in a planted aquarium. Good colors, fairly easy to breed.
http://www.myfishtank.net/reviews/showproduct.php/product/42/sort/7/cat/5/page/3

Now, i'm more of an african guy myself so you don't usually find plants in my tank. That being said you can still have an african tank (rift lake) with plants. But you will be limited plant wise. It looks like you have the lighting so if you can find a way to pin plants down you shouldn't have a big problem. But usually it goes like this: African Cichlid owners don't have the lights for plants, so they stick to low light hardy plants. Java Fern, Anubias, and some val. The ferns and aubias can be weighted down or tied onto rocks or wood to keep them from being uprooted. And most cichlids won't eat their leaves.

African tanks are filled with more rocks than plants, and a sand substrate but you can still create a good looking aquascape that won't look like a lunar landscape. This picture below is of Jay Luto's tank, (one of the greatest aquatic+ photographers around)

Jay's African Rift Lake PLANTED aquarium - http://www.greenstouch.com/images/africanlakes/finala_sm.jpg

Then you arn't limited to the smaller dwarf cichlids. Then you can shoot bigger and more colorful.....and just plain better (IMO of course ) to the Mbuna, Haps, and Peacocks of lake malawi....or the tang cichlids.

But of course its your choice, as far as i can see discus4ever gave some good choices.

Orion keeps, or kept Neolamprologus brichardi in a planted tank
http://www.myfishtank.net/reviews/showproduct.php/product/7/sort/7/cat/5/page/1

Great article on Plants and African cichlids - http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/plants_101.php

 

[mamba]

well i dont really have to go with plants ... i mean the tank used to be well planted.. i made a custom hood for it and everything. i was thinking african arent they more colorfull .. and is the sand really something you need or can i keep my current substrate

 

[Cichlid-Man]

You don't need sand but you and the fish would enjoy it. I can't really speak for the SA/CA cichlids cause i'm not sure how much they like to play in the sand, but africans love to spit and dig. And seeing them do this is fun to watch. But no its not needed.

And generally yes Africans are more colorful, and active....at least in my experiences.

 

[Kuroshio]

If you don't want all the digging that cichlids like to do ( and uprooting the plants) then have some slate in there. They dig till they get to flat surface. If you already have flat surface in there then they don't dig.

Sounds like a great adventure, keep us informed

 

[mamba]

the sand isnt so much a issue.. what is the issue is my filters.. i will admit im scared of the sand getting in my filters and chewing things up ... i think i have alot of reading on africans before i get started ,, the tank is set up but the way it sounds i just cannot throw them in my tank . my ph is low .. they reccomend about 8.2- 8.6 and im confused on the buffer recipe they reccomend.. and c-man i do see what you mean on the colors. i think i may like africans after all thanks for all the info keep em coming..

 

[discus4everGrl]

I think a rift lake tank, even without plants, has the potential to be very beautiful. I would recommend buying a book if possible or look around on the internet for some good ideas about designing the tank. I have read in several places that some african cichlids like to sorta nose dive into the substrate and thats why many prefer sand. I have sand in my discus tank and haven't any problems with the sand getting into the filter mechanisms and hurting anything.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Unless you get wilds i wouldn't worry about the pH...unless its like extremely low or something. Just keep it consistant. Mine do fine in pH of 7-7.2.

Well hopefully you won't be stirring up sand to the point of extraction via the filter. As far as cleaning goes you just hover the vac over the sand and the poo should lift away, i will sometimes strain it through a net if it won't get sucked up. And since i do it during a W/C the filter is already off....so no sucking of the loose sand.

 

[discus4everGrl]

some filters also have a cartridge that is purely for water polishing. Hot magnum has one that looks like a round cylinder. It's a micron filter and nothing gets through that bad boy. I usually pop that in for like 2 hours after a water change to be sure that there are no icky things left in the water. I am sure that also helps keep sand out of the filter motor, but tbh I haven't ever worried about it.

 

[discus4everGrl]

I also agree with cichlid-man. When I got my discus I used to keep my water acidic for them. Now I don't. I realized that most fish will aclimate to a wide range of ph. The only time I plan to ever keep my ph at a 6.5 again is when the discus are ready to do the wild thing.

 

[mamba]

ok..then what all should i do ... im thinking definatley african.. i willl get sand this week probably friday.. set that all up .... now as far as water params goes its cycled with a 7.2 ph.. everything else is fine.... do i need to add anything else salt or anything like that to get it ready or just throw the fish in... i can keep up with the water changes no problem... and i think i will just go plantless.. i like the rift lake idea ... but wont i have to mock the rift lakes condition and stuff too.. i been reading up on the cichlid forums and the articles so far.. i will continue reading this stuff is interesting

 

[discus4everGrl]

well the idea of the rift lake is alot of rocks. AC claim territory in rock nocks and such and being their nature is somewhat aggressive you gotta make sure that you get rocks. Also, another way to help with aggression is to find a cichlid you like and try to get at least two females for every male.

Since you only have a snail in your tank now, your tank may not be cycled at all. It may just be reading 0's on the test because there isn't anything to emit enough ammonia in the tank to start the cycle. IMO I would not buy a bunch of fish and throw them in. I would get two cichlids to start. You should research which ones you like because many AC can get quite large. My personal favorite, if I had to pick, would be the bumble bee cichlid. I believe they stay quite small, from lake mbuna, and have the black and bright yellow markings of a bumble bee. The only reason I bring up the cycling thing is because I don't want you to go through what you just went through losing your fish and get discouraged.

Oh yeah, one other thing. Make sure you stick your rocks together well with aquarium sealant or something because AC can undermine rocks while digging and you don't want one falling through the tank.

 

[mamba]

well got the tank up and running.. switched from gravel to sand. pain in the butt cleaning play sand. i got it down pat though. water is a bit cloudy. i think i may have triggered a mini cycle. no biggie though.. the only african cichlids at my LPS was assorted african cichlids they are juveniles yet so i dont know what kind they are .. i bought 5 of them for starters. lost one because of my stupidity . but the rest are doing great and eating fine. soon as the water clears nice i want to start to look for either river rock or some holey rock. the only newbie question i got yet is should i be putting shells in the tank also? and native freshawter clams they are doing fine in the tank and have adapted well they are under the sand you can see them moving and stuff.. think maybe with the sand i should maybe put some foam on my intake just incase they blast some sand up? the clams i have live in just about the same water params as the LPS cichlid tank and i didnt want to stress the cichlids by raising or lowering my tanks params at all..so before i bought them i bought some of their water and everything is doing great. maybe i should remove them oh also thank you c-man and discus girl for your suggestions they helped alot in my tank set up