# New to Cichlids, any advice on my tank setup or anything pls



## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Hey everyone, so I'm new to raising Cichlids and any advice given will be much appreciated. I'm currently using a 40 gallon tank; however it was a gift so I don't really know the specifications of the filter and such. I provided pictures of my tank/filter below incase anyone has a very keen eye and knows what type of filter it is.

I also bought the piece of wood decor (I believe it's not real wood) from Petsmart and was told that I could dip it into the tank with my newly added cichlids right away; however I did read around and saw that soaking may be required for any new decor + driftwood. There isn't any discoloration in my water and it's been roughly 1 day now, so I'm not sure if I should take it out and soak it or not. Also, I was told by the Petsmart employee in the fish section and also another person at a local fish store that my 40 gallon should be able to hold roughly 8 cichlids that are around the size of ~4 inches. I was hoping to get some input from seasoned cichlid enthusiasts on the max amount my tank can hold.

Next, my decor haha. I saw some videos and pictures of some of people's tanks. Some had little - no hiding spots whatsover; whereas the others had decent - a ton of hiding places. With that big piece of decor that I have, I don't really know what else I can fit in there for them to hide in =/. Any suggestions on what I could put in there would be GREAT.

Lastly, my very first 2 cichlids that I got yesterday at Petsmart ^_^! The orange one was listed as "Assorted Cichlid," so I'm not sure what the real name for it is. The yellow one I believe is an Electric Yellow Labidochromis. I was wondering what types of Cichlids would be ideal to have together and have read that some species actually make others feel more calm. I'm not too sure on that subject, so I can't really elaborate on it.

Thanks for any advice given, I really appreciate it!

(Yellow Cichlid) http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... ingsDetail
(Orange Cichlid) http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... lInUS%2FNo


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Welcome to C-F!!

First, what are the dimensions of your 40 gallon tank?

I'm not sure on the filter from your pictures. The model is usually written on the filter case or the pump.

Assorted cichlid tanks could contain any species or hybrid fish so there is no positive way to identify what the orange fish could be.

How long had the tank been set up before you added fish?


----------



## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

The dimensions are: 30" L, 12" W & 20" H, as for the filter, I didn't see any tag on the filter unfortunately  The tank itself had been up and fishless for about 3 weeks before I placed any Cichlids in.

I also got another piece of wood (fake as well I think) hideout and 2 more Cichlids that I thought looked amazing. I posted the pictures below of the new tank decor setup, along with all 4 of my Cichlids. The orange one seems to be the most aggressive of the 4, chasing away whenever it can :-?


----------



## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

Congratulations on the new tank! 
While any of your fish may be hybrids, they appear to be a L. caeruleus "yellow lab", M. estherae "red zebra", P. elegans "yellow tail acei", and an Aulonocara "peacock" of some type. The picture of the yellow lab on their website isn't actually a yellow lab!

Adult Malawi cichlids are tricky to take care of because of their social needs. Males will always want to remove other males from their territory in order to earn feeding rights and breeding rights with nearby females, and some species and individuals will feel more strongly about this than others. Red zebras have this reputation, so that's what you're likely seeing with him. The other three are more mellow, but the acei will eventually get too big.

I think your best course of action is to remove the red zebra, get a bunch of rocks from the landscape supply place and pile the tank high with them, and add a half dozen more yellow labs. The rocks will make plenty of hiding places for them to escape each other and make them feel comfortable, and the extra labs would be the start of a breeding group. You probably have no intention of breeding them, but keeping several females for each male all but guarantees they won't end up killing each other off (plus, hey - free fish!) You may have to remove some extra males when they come of age. The peacock and acei won't likely cause trouble anytime soon.


----------



## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Thanks brinkles ^_^! Well I've been getting recommendations that my tank is too small for adding tons of rocks and a decent amount of Mbunas or other small species  I see other tanks on Youtube and Google that are 40 gallons and they have tons of rocks in there, so I'm not sure what to do really. These are the rocks I planned on using:


















Any advice would be great :-?


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I like the 1st pic with the rounded rocks but everyone had a different preference for decorating their tanks.

There can be a trade off between lots of rocks= fewer fish or lots of fish= fewer rocks. Since your tank is only 30" long, I would try to (safely) stack the rock piles as tall as you can and still leave some empty floor space for swimming.


----------



## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Thanks Deeda, for the most part I planned on putting some tall rocks in the back to cover up my heater and filter, while having floor space in front. This would make the back & middle a lot heavier than the front of the tank, so I'm quite concerned that this could damage my tank. I was thinking about putting an egg crate or some 2x4's under the tank for extra support, but I'm not sure if that's enough O_O.


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

You don't need extra support when you add rocks to the tank, either using egg crate or stand support. You could fill the entire tank with rocks and it will be just fine.

Try not to block off the heater and filter intake by placing the rocks too close to them. You want to allow for circulation around the heater and intake. I prefer to place rocks, decor and plants a good 3 inches away from both items. As long as you can't see the equipment from your viewing area, you should be fine.


----------



## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

You might want to paint the back of the tank black. It will help hide the filter and heater, and will really make the fish pop.


----------



## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Thanks Deeda & brinkles for the advice, it's extremely helpful for a complete newbie like myself  If you scroll up to my first post and look at the picture of my filter and see the white bag on top of the blue filter cartridge. If I replaced that white bag with the heater, will it be more efficient? I heard that if you placed it there, the running water would be heated up and distributed throughout the tank easier. Not sure if that's true or not :-? Also, is there an alternative to my Bio-Sponge (link to the product online here --> http://ftffacoop.com/index.php?main...ucts_id=1012&zenid=n04sq5oic22g9bcct0msmvt0j7), it takes up a decent chunk of space and would love it if there was a smaller sized alternative. I made a blueprint (if you can even call it that ) out of the only piece of cardboard I had around the house to just test out my aquascaping. It's kinda bare and may not look too great, I ran out of rocks so my imagination was somewhat limited hehe. Hopefully I can think of something better while I continue to soak in all the information on fish tank maintenance & cichlids  .


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

The heater needs to be installed properly so I recommend following the mfg. recommendations. I say that because I don't know whether your heater is fully submersible or not.

The link you provided is for a round sponge filter that is not normally used in a power filter. Any chance of a pic of the side view of the filter since you don't know the mfg./model?


----------



## NJmomie (Jan 17, 2013)

Looks like one of those Eclipse hood filter. Is the filter hanging on the back of your tank or is it in the top where the hood is?
I like the rocks you have much better than the fake wood decorations. Be sure you clean the rocks well before using them. There are tons of posts here about getting rocks ready for the tank, do some research and you will be set.


----------



## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Thanks for the reply again Deeda & NJmomie. NJmomie is right on the money, I looked up the Eclipse Hood Filter and this page is selling one that looks EXACTLY like mine (http://www.aquahobby.com/products/e_eclipse_hood.php).

A bit worried that putting all these rocks in my tank would take up too much water volume and pretty much reduce my 40G down to like 30G O_O...


----------



## NJmomie (Jan 17, 2013)

If you are concerned about too many rocks, I would remove the large on on the left (in the back) and maybe one of the flat ones you have lying down. Stack up the rocks on whichever side to hide the intake and make a smaller pile of rocks on the right... Try a few different looks and snap some pics. We will give you our honest opinion.


----------



## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Sure thing ^_^ Also, I've been looking around the internet for an average price for white aquarium sand and it seems $1 per pound seems average. I also found someone selling $0.50 per pound online locally, is that price alright or is it too much?


----------



## NJmomie (Jan 17, 2013)

Many people on this forum swears by pool filter sand and apparently it's very reasonably priced. I don't know the pricing of sand since most of my aquariums have small sized gravel. Since the size of your tank is on the smaller end, pricing is probably not a huge issue. I would make sure though that the sand you plan to put into your tank is safe for the fish.


----------



## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Thanks, yeah I'm pretty sure it's safe since the guy I'm buying it from is raising Discus' and Cichlids ^_^ I might look into pool filter sand seeing as how it'd save me a good chunk of money though.


----------



## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Awesome, thanks vin! I just bought some PFS, it's the only one I could find around my area. Another place sold some, but it charged $24 per 50lb bag :13 I think this should be sufficient and safe, was hoping to get some confirmation before I busted open the bag lol


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Nice PFS, the only one in my area is a tan color. I do suggest rinsing it first though it should be pretty clean. Yes, you can use that brand.


----------



## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Thanks for the amazingly fast reply Deeda


----------



## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Blah, the can't find any white PFS in my area >_<


----------

