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african "community tank"

5K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  MoneyMitch 
#1 ·
so right now jsut got my 55 set back up, plenty of rocks wood and soon plants, all the fish are pretty young the largest is about 4". theres a t oscar a acei a few yellow labs a powder blue soemthing or other jewl and a pleco. plan on getting a few more jewls and acei's. everyone gets along for the most part for now except at feeding the oscar chases everything away untill he gets his fill then the other fish are able to eat. anyone see any issue besides tank size later down the road?
 
#2 ·
Aside from the tank size, plants. Plants are generally a thumbs down when it comes to cichlids as they will dig them up consistently. The only real way to keep plants is to pot them and weigh them down very well.
 
#3 ·
The issue here is you are mixing African with South American fish which require different water parameters.

Oscar will likely constantly harass the other fish all the time at feeding, to the point it may stress the other fish too much, leaving them open to illness.
 
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#4 ·
Not only is the difference in water requirements an issue, but generally African cichlids require a diet rich in vegetable matter whereas Oscars require a higher protein diet. So trying to feed to satisfy both may be an issue. Africans are prone to bloat if they have too much protein. Someone correct me if I'm wrong as I mainly keep American cichlids.
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#7 · (Edited)
Oscars should be kept at a pH of around 7.4-7.6 while Africans should be kept at around 7.9-8.2. You can not satisfy both needs in the same tank. Africans also prefer water temperatures of around 82F while Oscars prefer lower temperatures in the range of 73-75F.

I keep my Peacocks at a pH of 8.0 and my Mbuna at a pH of 8.2.
 
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#11 ·
First, is a Spotted African Leaf Fish a Cichlid? If it isn't does anyone know if the African Leaf Fish can make it in a tank with Cichlids, specificly with Oscars and or Electric Blues?:)
Hi and welcome.
You will want to start your own thread for this question rather than posting it in this thread. To do this, use the "new thread" button at the main Cichlid index accessible here Cichlids

:-D
 
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