i am thinking of getting a 75 gallon tank.. and i think that i want to have it a cichlid tank.. i do like the electric yellow and blue cichlids.. i like the lake malawi (hopefully spelled right). these are all african cichlids correct? do african cichlids do well with live plants? i know that there has to be alot of hiding places for them. in a tank this size how many can you put in one tank? i know alot of ?'s, sorry
75 gallon tank
- Thread starter pwrmacG4
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Generally, no, Lake Malawi cichlids don't do well with live plants. Generally, they're a rock fish, so they need lots of rockwork that provides caves and hiding spaces (mbuna in particular). There are a couple hardier species of plants that can sometimes work with some of the species, but it depends on which species.
Lake Malawi cichlids are basically broken into three groups - mbuna, haps, and peacocks. Mbuna are the real rock fish that need tons of it, while haps and peacocks are a little more open-water fish, but you'll still need some rocks and caves.
There are literally hundreds of species in Lake Malawi, so to give you any more help really, you're gonna have to narrow it down
Like when you ask about how many you can keep...Malawi cichlids range from about 3-4" to over 2 feet in length. As you can imagine, exactly which species you choose will determine how many you can keep - not only is size a factor, but aggression, temperment, dietary needs, and compatability with others are even more important when choosing a stocklist.
Lake Malawi cichlids are basically broken into three groups - mbuna, haps, and peacocks. Mbuna are the real rock fish that need tons of it, while haps and peacocks are a little more open-water fish, but you'll still need some rocks and caves.
There are literally hundreds of species in Lake Malawi, so to give you any more help really, you're gonna have to narrow it down
Like when you ask about how many you can keep...Malawi cichlids range from about 3-4" to over 2 feet in length. As you can imagine, exactly which species you choose will determine how many you can keep - not only is size a factor, but aggression, temperment, dietary needs, and compatability with others are even more important when choosing a stocklist.
As sinister said, it really depends on what type of cichlid you choose to put in there. I personally like all diff fish so I have 7 cichlids 1 pleco and 1 striped rafael in a 72 Gal tank... Though, It took me a very long time to get a set of fish that were stable and could co-exist. I think there are basically two types of stocking options, get only fish you have room for, or overstock. Overstocking can be tricky and I'm not quite sure there is a definition as to what overstocking really is.
back to, are they hard to care for, here is a website that I like to check out information on, they have a lot of good facts
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=1825
they also have a compatibility chart to get you a rough idea of how things may interact.
hope that helps
back to, are they hard to care for, here is a website that I like to check out information on, they have a lot of good facts
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=1825
they also have a compatibility chart to get you a rough idea of how things may interact.
hope that helps
Oh god, please don't use that site as a research tool. I've seen SO many wrong and bad pieces of information/advice on there, it's ridiculous.
4" range means you'll be keeping dwarf Mbuna, and no, they're really not hard to care for. They're very hardy fish, and actually mbuna are a very good first Malawi fish for beginners.
4" range means you'll be keeping dwarf Mbuna, and no, they're really not hard to care for. They're very hardy fish, and actually mbuna are a very good first Malawi fish for beginners.
its cool.. no pressure. I was at my LFS yesterday and they have alot of african cichlids. beautiful fish. I guess my only worry is how big they get. full grown.. 5".. well some species. if they get that big, how many in a 75gal tank? they said that the general rule is one 5" cichlid per 10 gallons of water. is that true?
