Lake Tanganyikan style tank?

krish

oh and a few more things

how much should i expect to pay for the fish? cuz i might make some beginner's mistakes. It's not entirely the money part, i just don't want to pay like 20 bucks every time to just get the idea of how these cichlids behave.

Also, im planning on moving my bristlenose pleco into the mbuna tank. I also know that they need driftwood, which lowers the pH. Should i put the driftwood in the other tank and lower the pH or is there another alternative?

Finally, where should I get the cichlids? I'm looking for relativly cheap ones. I know they might lower in quality, but I don't have enough money to buy 12 $20 fish. My maximum is maybe $4-5 dollars per fish. Is this too little? cuz alrady for me $60 on just fish is a bit much.

Tazman

One of the best cichlid suppliers in North America (here), his fish are always extremely good quality.

The mix you are wanting are commonly available but a reputable supplier such as the one I posted will be able to offer the correct ratios of male to female whereas a LFS may not.

krish

All right, but some of them are quite expensive- the cheapest ones were about $6 apiece, but they had nothing labeling them which sex. I also found some juveniles at my LFS, but only the labs. In fact, I can't find the other species anywhere else. I did find zebras though. Are the red zebra and cobalt zebra the same? I like the cobalts' blue and black striped look, but i think this might anger my afras because they have similar coloring. is this true? Also, are egg spots the only way to determine gender?

Thanks,
krish

krish

Oh anther thing- i experimented with aquascaping with just the rocks i already have. Is this enough for the mbunas? I tried to make as complex a landscape as i could.

Tazman

Red Zebra are more mild mannered than the cobalt zebras. They can sometimes get aggressive but will generally be fine.

I do not think the afra will be stressed as afra are more purple compared to the blue cobalts.

Egg spots are not a good way to tell sex at all. The only way to sex them properly is vent them, which takes someone knowing what they are doing as it is stressful to the fish.

krish

oh my gosh sorry about the enormous pictures, i didn't know

krish

so how can i tell if the ones at the LFS are male or female?

Tazman

The staff will have to vent them.

Venting involves removing the fish from the tank into a net and checking the vent area to see if there are male/female sex organs. It takes patience to do and someone who has done it before.

If the fish are small / juveniles, then it would be beneficial to purchase a few extra and then sex them later on.

krish

Ok, but i have never vented fish before... ill probably hurt them. i was wondering about buying them online... some of the fish on the website that you showed me don't have the genders labeled. What does this mean?

Also, are the pictures i showed of my tank suitable for a mbuna tank?

thanks

Tazman

If you contact the websites, I gave you they will be able to offer male/females. They do not show them on the site though.

I do not recall seeing pictures so if you could show me again please.