# High Flow for Cichlids?



## GQ22 (Nov 3, 2009)

Do cichlids like this?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

They benefit from over filtration, as much as 10X the tank volume per hour. But water movement for the sake of water movement is not harmful or beneficial IMO.


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## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

high flow is good to keep the poop in the cansiters ..and as far as i can tell the malawi love it. You have to remember that these fish love to swim long distance in the wild so increasing the flow in the tank is acctually making the tank a lot bigger as far as the fish are concerened ..like a treadmill for fish.. you may want to switch it all off at night if you have a small tank without any dead spots.


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## larry.beck (Jul 31, 2009)

Several of my mbuna love to "swim into" the supply of my fluval 405. It seems particularly fun to my crabro; both of them spend hours every day swimming against the current. I've even noticed my yellow labs starting to do it, although in a slightly more calm stream in the tank.


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## steelers fan (Jun 26, 2009)

just a side note. larry hows that mix working in your 55?


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## Wolffishin (Sep 9, 2009)

> just a side note. larry hows that mix working in your 55?


+1
I was thinking the same thing.
I'm far from an expert but it looks like trouble to me.


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## larry.beck (Jul 31, 2009)

I had a second 55g that I was setting up and just moved nearly 1/2 of that stock into the new tank. They're still all relatively small (typ 3-4") so I knew this was coming. Like so many, when I started with cichlids I knew next to nothing and this is where I ended up. Having found this forum a few months ago I've learned at lot (still so much to learn, but it's coming!) and I'm having even more fun than ever.

I've had 4 batches of fry (just stripped my second yellow lab tonight as part of re-arranging things - also had a batch of rusties that are now almost 3 months old and a previous batch of yellow labs, plus a batch we left in the main tank because they were hybrids).

Tomorrow I receive my first shipment of mail order cichlids and I'm very excited. I'll be selling a few of the cichlids I have, but I've mostly matched up to build out the proper harems for my favorites. There are still a couple that are going to be iffy and I'm prepared to sell them if things go bad.

The only difficulty I've had so far was that in a matter of 90 minutes I had 2 snow white socolofi's be killed - presumably by my chipokae that rules the tank. That was the same night that he first started trying to spawn (eventually he did spawn with my kenyi) and aggression in the tank was high for a couple of days.

I'll update my stock list once I get the new guys all settled in. I'll be way overstocked but my new guys are all 1-2" so it'll sound worse than it is.

Question - I have a 6" male crabro and a 3" female. They appear to be the most fun-loving fish I have and the male is submissive to most of the other fish in my tank. Is this common? My understanding is that they can be a real terror but maybe I just have so many other aggressive fish in the tank that he's outclassed even though he's twice as big as anyone else.


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## steelers fan (Jun 26, 2009)

no its not common. my guess is eventually he will figure out that hes a bumble bee and youll have you hands full. not to mention the aurutus and the kenyi...


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## steelers fan (Jun 26, 2009)

oh yeah and watch that livingstonii. when he gets big, if he starts playing dead he may start trying to gulp fish


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## larry.beck (Jul 31, 2009)

The livingstonii and auratus will be sold/traded/returned, along with the kenyi. I got some girls to in the hopes of keeping the chipokae happy but if he gets too aggressive he'll be gone too. The jacks, pretty as they are, will be moving along as well. The rest should all stay though.

One 55 will be dems, yellow labs, rusties and cobues.

The other will be a bit of a mix still; red zebra, cobalt zebra, ob zebra, bumblebees, chipokae and some new greshaeki and aceis.

I'm planning to add a big tank in about a year (150-200g) and hope to hold on to a few that will end up there, such as the chipokae, bumblebees, and the borleyi.


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## steelers fan (Jun 26, 2009)

cool. ya know im dealing with a 55 nightmare right now as well. my 75 is the best most well behaved tank *** ever had but my 55 which my brother gave me is a work in progress. it was my bros hospital tank for his mult tanks but now i have it. just took a red zebra male to the lfs and now im nursing a male kenyi back to health so i can take him back as well and theres still a messed up mix in there...so i feel you pain :thumb:


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