Cichlids Hiding

mattsterling619

Hi i have a 30 gallon with 8 mixed african cichlids. They seem to be hiding a lot. the only time they are active is when i feed them. Other than that only 1 or 2 are active while others are hiding. PLEASE HELP!

car0linab0y

What's your water temp? I found on another forum that cooler water holds more oxygen, which allows them to be more active. I dropped mine from 84 down to 80 and it made an instant difference in activity.

mattsterling619

My water temp is 88
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mattsterling619

Sorry i meant 78
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fan4guppy

Generally a 30 gallon tank would be considered very small for 8 mixed african cichlids which is depending upon the species involved.

Some africans like the River Cichlids from Africa tend to be rather timid in regards to their tank surroundings so this would be sort of natural in that process.

So could you give us more information as to species as some small species could very well do well in this tank and you are just noticing their natural behaviour.

Give also more information such as PH , water hardness etc. This can also affect the fish for their activity to.

mattsterling619

I have 2 electric yellow, 2 electric blue, 2 maingano, and 2 kalingo. Each of them range from 1-2 inches. my total hardness is approximately 250 and my ph is approximately is around 7.5.

fan4guppy

For Malawaiin Species your tank Ph is a little low but these are probably domestically bred fish and they tend to adapt better than those that are wild caught. As the PH of Lake Malawi is 8.5 -8.6 PH

Here is the Water Chemistry of Lake Malawi



The size of the cichlids being one or 2 inches in that size of an aquarium is within the 1 inch of fish per gallon general rule of thumb for keeping fish however some of the species that you have mentioned are closer to adult size than others.

The Species that you have mentioned are:-


Scientific name: Nimbochromis venustus
Common name: Giraffe Cichlid, Kalingo
Region: Lake Malawi - Lake-wide distribution, Deep Intermediate Habitats
Size: max 10.5 inches (26 centimetres). Males are slightly larger than females.


Nimbochromis venustus (Giraffe Cichlid) - AllCichlids.com - The #1 Resource for Cichlid Information

Scientific name: labidochromis caeruleus
Common name: Electric yellows, yellow labs
Region: Lake Malawi
Size: Males up to 5 inches, females up to 4 inches

labidochromis caeruleus (electric yellows) - AllCichlids.com - The #1 Resource for Cichlid Information

Scientific name: Sciaenochromis fryeri
Common name: Electric blue cichlid, Hap ahli
Region: Lake Malawi
Size: 7 inches

Sciaenochromis fryeri (electric blue cichlid) - AllCichlids.com - The #1 Resource for Cichlid Information

Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos

Common Names: Blue Johanni
Maingano
Melanochromis Maingano

FishProfiles.com - Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos


The Melanochromis or (Blue Johanni as it was known in the hobby) before reclassification is actually very close to adult size which by your discription you state a few are more active which I could see these being the more agressive out of the mix in regards to the general agressive levels of these cichlids. Until the Nimbochromis venustus got bigger.

The Labidochromis species and the Electric Blues tend to be good tank mates if the tank is big enough.

With the four species all in a 30 gallon tank I would say that the more agressive ones have bullied the others into hiding. I generally do not use anything less than a 50 gallon tank for Africans and I just keep 2 species in a tank with more males to females ratio.

For the size of these Malawaiin Cichlids they can all be agressive and I do think that the agression level may have come into play with why your fish are hiding.

References:-

Talling, J.F., and I.B. Talling, 1965, The Chemical Composition of African Lake Waters. Internationale Revue ges. Hydrobiologie 50 (3): 421-463.

fan4guppy

Lake Malawis Water Chemistry is

Lake
Malawi
pH 8.5 – 8.6
Alkalinity 118 – 129
Hardness (mg/L CaCO3) 90 – 120
Conductivity (µs/cm) 210 – 220
Calcium (mg/L) 16.4 – 19.8
Carbonates (mg/L) 118 – 129
Chloride (mg/L) 3.6 – 4.3
Magnesium (mg/L) 4.7 – 8.8
Potassium (mg/L) 6.4
Phosphorous (mg/L) < 0.007 – 0.030
Sodium (mg/L) 21.0
Silicate (mg/L) 1.1 – 4.0
Sulfate (mg/L) 5.5

Reference:-
Talling, J.F., and I.B. Talling, 1965, The Chemical Composition of African Lake Waters. Internationale Revue ges. Hydrobiologie 50 (3): 421-463.

mattsterling619

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mattsterling619

I dont seem to see much aggression with the fish. The 2 electric blus and one of the giraffes dont hide as much and swim around quite a bit.
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