Finaly getting my bigger tank.

[Kestryl]

Im going with a 20g (I know, a 29g would be better, but my mother is worried that if I get a 29 gallon it will be too heavy for the floor in my secound floor room)
Anyway, its one of those kits that super petz sells...Its cheaper then buying every item seperatly and comes with a Bio Wheel Filter, a 100 watt Heater the Aquarium itself, and a full hood.

I have a powder blue cichlid right now...he's still pretty small, about 2.5 mabey closser to 3 inches.

anyway, Im trying to get an idea of a number of things...one: what sort of substrate should I get? I was thinking about sand, but Im also thinking it might be a lot of hassel, especialy if I have to worry about it getting into my filter....
So if not sand, what else would make a good substrate. Im probably going with a natural colored stuff...my experience with colored gravel is that the color comes off...yuck!

Number two:
What other fish can I get? My Powder blue cichlid is going to be a bit lonley in a big 20g tank.
Cichlid-forums has cookie cutter tank ideas...this is what it says for a community with my powder blue in it:

Malawi Mini-Community
Select from 2 of the following (interchangeable):
• Labidochromis caeruleus - trio
• Iodotropheus sprengerae - trio
• Pseudotropheus socolofi - trio
• Pseudotropheus sp. "acei" - trio

Can I realy have up to six (five inch) fish in this new tank? And which ones? I want to avoid haveing to deal with baby fish..and I would also like to find a compatable algea eater, snail or fish...

Anyway, Im open to your ideas! Let me know what you think would be good to get, so I can do some research befor I try to buy anything.


edit: forgot to mention....Cost is a big issue...keep in mind that im a broke college student when you make your suggestions


edit again: I have no idea if the powder blue is male or female...I think of him/it as male, but apparently this speicies is realy hard to tell apart

 

[FroggyFox]

I'm really not sure on cichlid compatibility...but congrats on permission for the tank Personally I would go with the sand. As long as you rinse it well before putting it into the tank you shouldn't have problems with it getting into the filter. You should turn the filter off whenever you're going to stir up the sand (ie cleaning) but after a couple cleanings I can pick up a handful of sand and drop it and hardly any of it ever lingers in the water for longer than a few seconds. I love having sand.

The only other suggestion I'd have would be a round natural colored gravel...like Petsmart has one that I like...all of the gravel isn't gravel...they're like little river pebbles so they're smooth

 

[Kestryl]

I want to get something that Blue can play in...iv read that cichlids like to dig, and I personly dont CARE if they rearange the tank to thier likeing.

Oh, one last question...lady at the petstore said that when Im cycling my tank, it might be helpfull to add water from the exisiting tank to the new one, sort of to give it a boost...what do you think? Keeping in mind that I am STILL haveing trouble with the nitrate levels in the current tank...

 

[FroggyFox]

eh...adding water from your old tank probably wont help...but depending on the filter type you could squeeze your filter cartridge over the new filter every couple of days so that some bacteria transfers from one to the other. You could also take some decorations etc from your existing tank and move them to the new one, although that wont help much...it might help some. For the most part, bacteria isn't freefloating in the water, it attaches itself to things in the tank (ie filter pad, decorations, gravel)

Nitrate levels in the new tank wont matter until you put fish in there. Did we ever figure out if you just have high nitrate in your tap water or if it was something else??

 

[Cichlid-Man]

I was thinking about sand, but Im also thinking it might be a lot of hassel, especialy if I have to worry about it getting into my filter....

Cichlids love sand, Once it settles it shouldn't be a filter problem. And its cheap, reg. play sand is great

Cichlid-forums has cookie cutter tank ideas

I personally don't like their setups....

A 20gal really can't hold much if any more. I keep 1 Mbuna in a 29gal and i'd only be able to add one more fish. If you REALLY had to have something else, i'd go for like 1 yellow lab and hope the blue's aggression isn't a problem. Aggression shouldn't be that big of a problem yet because he is still young. Now is the time to introduce him to new fish. Once that blue grows though he will most likely become the only fish that can live in that tank.

Another idea is to go trade the Powder Blue (if you arn't attached to much) and get yellow labs. This way i'd say you could get 3-4. Maybe 1 male 2-3 females. Yes you would prob. get a spawn but live foods are good :-D You might also could trade the fry in as feeders, maybe even to sell to the LFS.

 

[Kestryl]

I just looked up Yellow labs...they look a lot like my powder blue, only yellow instead....same body shape, same black in thier fins. They seem to have the same type of tank requirments....
If I could go with 3-4 yellow labs, couldnt I also do my Blue, and 2 or 3 labs? Or are these fish picky about the colors of thier tank mates? Most of what I have read says that both types od fish are "not overly aggressive" and go well with other lake malwei (spelling?) cichlids....

And yeah, I am attatched to Blue...

 

[Cichlid-Man]

In a 20gal i'd only put 1 yellow lab and the blue. Personally....i wouldn't do anything but the labs. But thats me. I just think a 20gal is way to small.

The size is the only thing that is the problem.

Bigger is better with cichlids as i say. Buy the biggest tank that you can afford and house if you want cichlids.

 

[Flex26]

Hey kestryl,

As far as the weight of a 29 on second floor room: you have nothing to worry about. A 29 weighs about 300-330 lbs. Someone on this site compared the weight of 75g to 4-5 grown men. If your floor cannot hold 4 grown men then you have problems. So a 29 wouldn't be a problem.

I think it would be a hit or miss with the cichlid compatability. Most likely a miss because of the size of the tank, like Cichlid-Man said. I've seen tanks (much larger than a 20) that had one african ruling the tank while the other fish cowered in fear. It was pretty pitiful.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[Kestryl]

Flex: Mum's an architect..I tend to take her word for things...and most likely, your 4-5 grown men wouldnt be standing on each other's sholders..they be standing at different points in the room, spreading their weight a bit...

*sigh* desisions desisions* see, it would be my luck to buy the bigger one, and have soemthign happen, and then mom will be there saying "i told ya so"

 

[Purple]

Good news on the tank.

I suspect that Blue is a male (stripes).

3 or 4 fish in your 20 would be about it. Use your old filter on the new tank for a month to help with the cycle (which may not happen if you do that).

Yellow Labs would be ok with Blue - he'll chase them a bit, but they all do that. The Labs are fast enough to stay out of trouble. You'll have to accept that Blue will chase anything - it's what they do - even other blues. As long as there's no "combat damage", then welcome to the wondefull world of Cichlids.

 

[Flex26]

Originally posted by Kestryl
Flex: Mum's an architect..I tend to take her word for things...and most likely, your 4-5 grown men wouldnt be standing on each other's sholders..they be standing at different points in the room, spreading their weight a bit...

Haha - Yeah. I see your point. But I was thinking more like 4-5 grown men standing right next to each other....or sitting on the same couch. I think 4 guys on a couch comparable to a 75. The 75 isn't quite as long though....

I am not an engineer. Nor am I an architect. I can only speak from experience. I have a 29g at the foot of my bed. I have not had any problems.

I approach the situation as this: if my floor can't hold 300 lbs in one particular (30in by 12in) area, then I definitely have problems.

Not trying to get you to go against your mother or to do what I say. (I definitely know that "I told ya so" lecture sucks.) Just offering my opinion and some ideas.

 

[Kestryl]

Originally posted by Purple

Yellow Labs would be ok with Blue - he'll chase them a bit, but they all do that. The Labs are fast enough to stay out of trouble. You'll have to accept that Blue will chase anything - it's what they do - even other blues.

You guys seem to be assuming that Blue is going to be the head fish...Im not sure I understand why.
Everything Iv read seems to point twards powder blues and yellow labs as being almost the same, even in temperment. Do you guys know somehting the fish people arent putting in their webpages?

 

[Purple]

The Labs and the Blues are defined as less agressive amongst Cichlid keepers. This means that they will chase but they will not kill. An aggressive Cichlid such as my Texas with his attitude problem will kill within 15 mins any fish it takes a dislike to - even if they are both matched in size and attitude.

My Blues will harrass a sailfin Pl*co 8 times their size - they know the Pl*co is relatively harmless. My Blues are very carefull around my 9 inch Oscars because they also know the Oscars could bite them in half - not daft these Blues - lol.

Between the Labs and the Blues - the Blue will take top spot - even though they are the "same kind of temperament". It's a close thing, but the Blues just have the edge.

Every tank has its pecking order, and that order changes every time a new fish is introduced, or an old fish removed. I've moved out a fish that has been causing problems, only to have a new problem appear as the pecking order is re-arranged amongst the fish.

As I said - Blue will not try to kill, so don't panic - just get used to a chase or two going on in your tank. Half the time they chase for the fun of it anyway, kinda like a game of tag.

Labs have a good rep for not being fussy about chases, but Blues seem to get a kick out of it (keeps them fit). Hence the Blue will be top dog.

 

[Kestryl]

Does it matter if the labs I get are male or female? Should I try to get all females? or should I make sure to have at least one male lab? Will a male lab be more likly to fight with blue (or just generly annoy blue)?
I know, lots of questions...thanks for being patient and takeing the time to explain things to me.

Edit: Another question...What sort of algea eater should I look for? A type of fish? a snail? or shouldnt I wory about it?

 

[Purple]

It's not like they fight - just nudge and chase to prove who's the stronger fish. Once everyone's got that sorted out things will settle down a bit - just be prepared for an interesting beginning. At the age your Labs will be when you get them, it may be difficult to sex them - take pot luck and see how you go. (In a fully developed male, there will be more black markings on the body, especially around the face).

Although like you, I have high Nitrates, I have never had an algae problem. There are fish that would do the job, but you have to watch out for potential overcrowding. Snails can be fun, and don't take up much room, 'sup to you though.

 

[Kestryl]

I like snails...I had a big yellow one in my aquarium when I was keeping tropicals...he was pretty cool to watch. Gonna have to make sure I just get one though, baby snails are a pain..unless you think the cichlids are likely to munch on little ones?