i just started a african cichlid tank. any tips from experienced cichlid owners?

Question

i hear that these fish are aggressive. i have 6 in my tank so far and i love their colors but i am afraid of them killing each other off. is there a way to prevent this? keeping more than one of a certain kind etc.

Answer 1

You don't say what species of cichlids you have. Are they African or South American. Also the tank size has a lot to do with it also.

You need to have lots of places for them to hide, like rocks and flower pots on their sides.

Almost all cichlids are agressive, but some live together quite well. I have a 55 gallon tank with about 20 5-6 inch fish in it. This is known as the crowding method of reducing agression. There are so many fish in the tank, that nobody is picked on all the time. I also have tons of pots, pvc tubes and rockwork in there.

If I come into the room and turn the lights on, you cannot see one fish in the tank, it looks empty. They all have a place to hide. That is VERY important for cichlids.

Feel free to email me with anymore questions or to continue a dialog on cichlids. Most of my tanks are full of cichlids.

Answer 2

African cichlids need territories so the larger your tank the better (4 foot long is recommended). Also it sounds like you have mbuna (rock dwelling species from Lake Malawi), therefore, lots of rocks are very useful at reducing aggression (it breaks up line of sight). There are a few ways to keep African cichlids such as a random collection of fish. Often this method has the most problems because some are more aggressive than others and they cross breed very easily so you can get stuck with hybrid fish.

Another method is to pick distinct groups (color and shape are different). This reduces interspecies aggression as the fish will concentrate their efforts on their own species but you need a group of (ideally) 1m to 3 to 4 females to spread the aggression around enough that no one fish takes the brunt of it.

A third popular method is to do a species only tank. Some people find this boring but others appreciate the natural behaviors. Any way you go with it over crowding helps a lot but you need to have really good filtration to handle the load.

Go to one of the cichlid forums to ID your species. Some are just going to be a problem no matter what. Good beginner species include... yellow labs, rusty cichlids, saluousi.
Some poor beginner choice (and actually some of the more common in the pet stores) are, auratus (golden Malawi) kenyi, chipokae,"giraffe cichlid" (this one gets very large and isn't a mbuna). These are poor choices because they are VERY aggressive. Hope this helps you out. Also please look up and join a cichlid forum, they are very helpful in learning about these beautiful fish.

Answer 3

No puffer.I feed my African cichlid a blend of spirulina flakes,sticks and cichlid pellets,many African cichlid are herbivore and spirulina is tremendous for them even with the undeniable fact that it relies upon what ones you have become.. i do not upload any salt to my to my Malawi cichlids tank yet i think that some human beings do,i visit't inform you any quantity yet others that answer this question will be able to.

Answer 4

just be carefull... as they like to move rocks by picking them up in their mouth then spitting them out.... just kidding about the be careful part.. have fun!