African lake model

Ok, beginning my education in african cichlids. I'm starting with a 29 tall set up, since I know that one will fit no matter which room I'm assigned. All I have is the tank and hood. I do know a few basics from just observing and talking with the local aquatic pet store owner - that cichlids tend to be aggressive, should only be kept with other cichlids, become territorial as they mature, pair off and require formulated foods.

So now I ask the expert hobbiests' - what materials/equipment/species/plants/light bulbs do I need to look into in order to create this mini model?

- Laura Peck

a 29 tall is not a big enough tank for most african cichlids. you could do a nice shelly tank maybe or you can grow small ones out until they are 2-3" and sell them. african are not picky as in there is not special light or anything. just make sure you have good filtration and clean the tank. also most africans prefer sand but this is not a must if you do not want a sand tank.

good luck and please feel free to ask any other questions you might have.

I would do tanganyikan shellies, or maybe a trio of peacocks or something. The tank size you mentioned is very limiting with africans because they like their space. They prefer length and width as opposed to height.

I would pack a lot of rocks and avoid plants. I would use a crushed coral, sand, or cichlid substrate. Any filter or heater should be fine but I prefer canisters, but for your tank a hang on the back would work.

Good luck, they are a wonderful fish

Depending on what type of African Cichlids. Just like David says 29g is not big enough. Most african cichlids live in a Sandy bottom or Rocky ridges. With that size tank, You can probaby do a colony shellies with sand and shells or 3 pairs of colorful dwarf mbunas with sand and lots of holey rocks. Not a whole lot of African cicdlids for that size tank. I say if you want to to a mix Malawi or mix Tanganyikan tank, a 55-75g is an appropriate size of tank. HTH.

If you are limited to size due to room constraints, I like the 40 Breeders (36" x 18" footprint). Deep enough to make plenty of caves and still have room for fish to roam around. I have 2 of these, they are by far my favorite tanks.

My 29 Tall is currently a lightly planted tank with a breeding group of albino bristlenose plecos. I had cichlids in there to grow out, but mbuna aggression gets pretty high once they hit the 1.25-1.5" mark in this tank.

I've had some luck with Julies and Leleupi in this size tank since they are Tangs and are slow growing; but musiccitycichlids is right, they prefer length and width over height, so a 20L would do almost the same job as the 29T, since they have the same footprint and cichlids will stay around the rocks/sand on the bottom.

I looked up the Shellies that holey rock mentioned. Very intriguing little guys! Found this info at http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/424/ - does it agree with what your experience is? Interesting that they can be kept in as small as a ten gallon. Would make the 8 weeks of summer easier on me.

So what types of shellies are commonly available? Where can I find a good source of big snail shells? Would shells sold for hermit crabs work? What other species can shellies be safely mixed with that are of African origin? How to tell males from females? Does anyone here breed them?

Brevis, multifasciatus, and ocellatus are waht I have found to be the most commonly available. I just use sea shells, and barnacle pieces.

What I have done in the past on a new shell dweller tank is silicone barnacles along the back to where my entire background is barnacles the fish can use, then I put shells in front of that on sand, and you would be surprised how many can live in a small space.

Shellies, Julies or a small group of Victorians.

I like the Pundimilia N. Species.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1567

That is just a sample of the what the species has to offer.

pundimilia wont work in that size tank.
You may have better options if you look into west African cichlids, they are more river dwelling with soft acidic water usually. Most of your east African rift lakes will be too large with the exception of some shellys. I think that west will have a better selection of smaller species.
Of course you could look into apistagrammas, those are American cichlids but stay small and colorful, and if you got those breeding it could help fund your tanks.

Fern wrote:

pundimilia wont work in that size tank.
.

I have 8 diff Victorian species most are in a 29G. if not that a 20G long. All are fine and breeding.

Vics in a small tank in a class room is a bad idea........

How so?

Vics drop their color when they get stressed, I think there are better fish out there for the class room setting

Now I'm intrigued by the smaller south American possibilities. (this is why I research 8 weeks in advance of setting up anything. Takes me that long to decide!)

When I went by Petco this morning I noticed 'Blue rams' which listed adult size of 2.5" - do these fall in the right size group? They also had a golden south American variety that listed adult size as 4".

Rams are harder to care for, most people have trouble keeping them. I'm sure you can find the apistos on one of our sponsors sites or another online store, you probably wont find them locally unless your fish store does special orders.

Went by MusicCityCichlids yesterday. After a bit of conversation concerning my lack of cichlid experience and what the students would be learning/testing samples for - he decided to stock the class tank with a variety of Malawi cichlids.

They're doing well in the small home holding tank this morning. As bad about begging as the barbs are! Hope to have the school tanks finished cycling next week. May be taking his advice this afternoon and running by PetCo to buy another large tank for a dollar a gallon. After seeing his use of sponges and biological filtration, I may be setting up a different filtration setup in one of the tanks (the 'stream model' tank)

Also learned not to believe what the feed manufacturers claim. But the barbs and stream fish will enjoy the cichlid food that's not suitable for these cichlids...

Now off to the State Wildlife Agency site to get a permit...... I'll get those students who aren't interested in aquarium fish - interested through the fish they and dad catch! Have some fishermen helping me develop that idea as well...

Thanks for all of your help!

Oh the plants are for a cichlid tank?

No, the plants are for the barb tank. I've read enough about cichlids to know that they don't 'blend well' with plants. And the barbs can do well in a 29T.

Had a friend go by PetCo for me. Picked up the last 55G they had. I'll set it up during fall break. Students will compare/contrast the levels of ions in each ecosystem.

Maybe next year I'll get brave enough to have a salt tank as well for a third comparison model. Sticking to brine shrimp for another year on that.

Ok just making sure