Tropical Fish Keeping banner

New african cichlids in my tank!

7K views 20 replies 12 participants last post by  aquatramp 
#1 ·
i have never posted pics of my tank or fish but i thought id break you guys in with these. i have 10 african cichlids. im not sure of what kinds they all are but maybe you guys could give me some help with that. i do think i have some from the different lakes but most are probably malawi. not sure if i have pics of all but here are some. for the most part they are aggressive but are getting along ok so far. there is some chasing and nipping but thats about it. i started the tank about 3 months ago and so far things are great!







 
See less See more
5
#2 ·
i know that i have 2 albino haps in there that are not pictured. i have an electric blue. i have a peacock but im not sure what kind...hes the brown one. the one that really has me confused is the one with the thick dark black stripes. he was very aggressive until i put in bigger fish. he still tries sometimes though.lol!


i will try to link a vid to give you a better look.
YouTube - my african cichlid tank
 
#8 ·
the tank is a 55 gal. i do have some fighting in there between the fish. they nip at each other and take parts of fins and rip fins. i dont know if a bigger tank would solve the issue but im sure it would help. later down the line i will try that.

thank you all for your compliments.

the volcano is made like that. its not erupting but it looks that way. it was the coolest thing when i saw it. its a bubbler with a red light in there.
 
#10 ·
I'm certainly no cichlid expert but ten at full grown size in a 55 gal might be pushing it and explain some of the squabbling. A few nips here and there is not a big deal but I'd be concerned about ripped & torn fins.

Maybe more hiding places (creating more territories)would help?

So, where did you get the volcano???
 
#12 ·
sorry i had no idea people were responding to the post anymore. anyway, yes that is the volcano. it is a bit expensive but it really cool and a bit different. it also a bubbler so it is good for the tank too.

as far as the agression, i feel it has to do with the mixing im doing with all different kinds of cichlids but im hoping it works out. they do have awsome colors. i did have to get rid of the big electric blue ahli. i believe he was the one who ripped the fins of the others to shreds. he also would chase the ruby red peacock around constantly. it started to get real bad after the video was taken. so i got rid of him.

i got a good colored tropheus moori in his place. i hear they are aggressive too but he real little now. i hope since there is only one of him he might be ok as he grows.

as far as the tank, a bigger tank is in my future...too bad cause this one is brand new.
 
#16 ·
thank you everyone! they are not too big. the biggest are the electric blue and the ruby red peacock. they are about 4 1/2 in. the rest are smaller. i recently had to get rid of the big elec. blue, he was beating the heck out of all the other fish. he got too aggressive all of a sudden. i guess he figured out he was the strongest fish. i replaced him with a little tropheus. the little guy is cool...ill post some pics later on.
 
#17 ·
:)

I think your tank would look even better than it already does with a solid black background....

Your wallpaper won't show and your fish's colours will stand out....and the heater and pumps won't show as much...:)

_____________________________________________________________

32 gal Freshwater Tank
2 Pink Kissing gouramis
6 Bloodfin Tetras
4(soon to be 6) Sterbai Corydora

9 Live plants..
 
#19 ·
yeas a black background is something for me to consider.

the ripped fins are getting better no the aggression level is not as high now since i got rid of the electric blue. however, they are cichlids and have their aggressive manner but it is not nearly as bad.

you get rid of one and another seems to take over though. lol!
 
#20 ·
Nicely colored up fish. You will have that aggression with those fish.... it comes natural for them, but it will diminish some with a whole lot more caves, wood and hiding places. I have no problem with the volcano other than it's not helping the fish any. They'd do better with a lot more caves.
PVC pipe is not the most attractive stuff in the world but can be put under the rocks and hid in different areas to give more caves which they would appreciate more than a decoration.
 
#21 ·
Cram a bunch of large plastic plants in there, too. The more hiding places for them the better. Makes for a hard tank to clean but an undergravel filter will a reverse air pump works good for these kind of tanks that have so much stuff in them. Black background would make those fish POP.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top