A friend gave me a 55-gal tank. I've really been wanting to start an african cichlid tank for years. Is this big enough to start them off in? I've read to "crowd" the tank, so for this size, how many fish are recommended?
How do I go about setting it up? I know I can't use standard gravel, so what is recommended substrate? No live plants, and lots of rocks/caves, right? Everything I'm reading says add all your cichlids at once, instead of a few at a time, and yet I always thought it was best to only add a few fish at a time to your tank so as not to overload the bio system. I have had basic freshwater setups over the years (and have one now) but never have kept cichlids. Any tips you guys could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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46-gal bowfront
6 tiger barbs
5 gold barbs
2 albino corys
1 featherfin syndontis catfish
live plants
How do I go about setting it up? I know I can't use standard gravel, so what is recommended substrate? No live plants, and lots of rocks/caves, right? Everything I'm reading says add all your cichlids at once, instead of a few at a time, and yet I always thought it was best to only add a few fish at a time to your tank so as not to overload the bio system. I have had basic freshwater setups over the years (and have one now) but never have kept cichlids. Any tips you guys could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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46-gal bowfront
6 tiger barbs
5 gold barbs
2 albino corys
1 featherfin syndontis catfish
live plants