# Starting First African Cichlid tank *help*



## Dbreeze998 (Mar 5, 2013)

Hi all,
New to forum and new to african cichlids. My father is the one who got me into aquariums. I decided to finally set up a nice tank. I recently bought a 60 gallon tank and wanted to house Cichlids. My question to you experts is which type is a great beginners cichlid. I love the colors especially the bright blue ones *** seen. Sorry dont know the names yet im a noob but im reading up on all this before I even get the fish. I also would like to house some bottom dwellers such as a small catfish. Is that possible to do with african cichlids? Also how many cichlids should I start out with? My father told me something like 1 gallon per inch of fish or something like that. Well thanks for helping me out and I cant wait to get everything set up. VERY VERY excited to get tank up and running. :dancing:


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Welcome to Cichlid-forum!

What are the dimensions of the 60G? Do not use the one inch/gallon rule...that works for skinny one inch fish like tetras but not cichlids. Imagine a 10" oscar in a 10G tank.

Synodontis catfish are great with African cichlids. Depending on the length of the tank, there are a variety of blue fish you could stock.


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## Dbreeze998 (Mar 5, 2013)

I believe its around 48 x 12 x 23, im picking the tank up the end of this week. Its like a 55g but slightly taller.


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## Woundedyak (Oct 19, 2007)

Welcome! There is so much info on this site, it would be impossible to to help you out in one thread. Step one. Search the term "fishless cycle" That should keep you busy for about a week. Step Two. Narrow down what type of Cichlids you want to keep. The Species profile and library on this site will be your friend. Once you narrow it down use the search function to search those (SP.) Step three. Troll this site and read as many random threads as you can with out getting over whelmed. Any question you have has probably already been answered. There are some really smart people on this site that are more then willing help.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

To look at a bunch of fish pictures that lead to species profiles and give a good cross section of what is available, on the menu go to Special Profiles and click on African Cichlid Genus Gallery.

Pick a fish and we can recommend a stock to go with it for a 48x12 tank.


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

You have some time to start deciding on a stock list, it's going to take a little while to cycle the tank - resist the urge to go buy a bunch of random fish! The store will be happy to sell you bottles of magic potion that will let you put fish in right away, but they don't actually work - this is a hobby that rewards patience.

M. callainos "cobalt zebra" is a common, solid light blue fish that should be easy to keep in your tank. Most would recommend 3 breeding groups of species like them; called "mbuna". Don't let the term "breeding groups" scare you, it's just the easiest way to keep these bright, colorful fish. You don't need to concern yourself with the actual breeding if you don't want to. Once you figure out which 3 species you think you can keep, get about 8 of each of them to start. One of my favorites is L. caeruleus "yellow lab". A really cool catfish would be Synodontis multipunctatus, get 5 of them because single ones tend to hide.


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## DrTenochtitlan (Jun 17, 2012)

brinkles said:


> You have some time to start deciding on a stock list, it's going to take a little while to cycle the tank - resist the urge to go buy a bunch of random fish! The store will be happy to sell you bottles of magic potion that will let you put fish in right away, but they don't actually work - this is a hobby that rewards patience.
> 
> M. callainos "cobalt zebra" is a common, solid light blue fish that should be easy to keep in your tank. Most would recommend 3 breeding groups of species like them; called "mbuna". Don't let the term "breeding groups" scare you, it's just the easiest way to keep these bright, colorful fish. You don't need to concern yourself with the actual breeding if you don't want to. Once you figure out which 3 species you think you can keep, get about 8 of each of them to start. One of my favorites is L. caeruleus "yellow lab". A really cool catfish would be Synodontis multipunctatus, get 5 of them because single ones tend to hide.


I don't mean to hijack the thread, but if you have like a 55 gallon tank, you can have your 3 species of Mbuna, AND get a group of 5 Synodontis, and it won't overstock the tank?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Synodontis are not counted when recommendations are given for the number of cichlids to stock...yes 3 species of mbuna and a group of synodontis should be good in a 48x12 tank. Depending on which species of mbuna are selected.


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

3 species is usually recommended because a tank that size will support about 3 average size territories for the dominant males, but the catfish don't play into the cichlid's need for territory. They also hardly add to the maintenance because they find any uneaten food.


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

DJRansome said:


> Do not use the one inch/gallon rule...that works for skinny one inch fish like tetras but not cichlids. Imagine a 10" oscar in a 10G tank.












If you use your head......consider the adult size of your fish when using the 1inch/gal. rule. It is just a rule of thumb. :dancing:


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## Dbreeze998 (Mar 5, 2013)

Okay I finally got the tank and today I bought some coral rock and substrate. The crushed coral (60 lbs roughly for 35$) Here are 2 pics, I still need to add water and run it through for a while. I still want to add a pump for water circulation and add a background.. trying to find a nice looking background that looks good with what I have so far. Please tell me what ya think? And if I need to do something. thanks for the tips and advice, great forum!


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## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

Be sure you finish your fishless cycle prior to adding fish, this will save you a lot of grief. You can find instructions in the site library.


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## Dbreeze998 (Mar 5, 2013)

I plan on doing that  I gona make sure everything is going good before I even buy fish heh


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Also decide what fish you will stock because depending on your selection, you may want to add or remove rock, add shells, add driftwood, etc.


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

Looks good! I just spray the back of the tanks black, rather than use a purchased background. Some of the 3D backgrounds are really cool, though. I'd add another filter rather than a circulation pump, cichlids are messy eaters!

Any ideas on the stocking yet?


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## Dbreeze998 (Mar 5, 2013)

I like the black with the bright blue stripes, and the yellow with black tip fins so far.. Tank is being cycled right now. Do I need to go to the store to buy some type of bacteria starter to jump start the aquarium?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I would read the article on fishless cycling and use ammonia. From my reading many of the bacteria starters do not always work and even if they do, they may not speed the cycle more than just using ammonia in the first place.

There are many blue barred fish (demasoni may be something to avoid for your first tank...the others may not have females that are as colorful). For the blue barred fish I would consider one of the Cynotilapia afra species. The yellow with black fins may be Labidochromis caeruleus?

When you say it is being cycled...have you already started using ammonia?

The two fish you describe sound like Malawi mbuna. Mbuna means rock fish. You want to fill up the tank with rocks if you want to keep mbuna.


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## Dbreeze998 (Mar 5, 2013)

I havent used ammonia yet, ill read more on the fishless cycling and Labidochromis caeruleus is right and the other is like that of your avatar.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Demasoni. The extra work fish. Take a look at the Cynotilapia afra species. Many of the males have this same look without the fishkeeping challenges.


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