# Questions on Buffalo cichlids



## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

alright, im new to these kind of africans (i own Mbuna and Peacocks) and google isnt working for me right now to research, some sort of bug :x , so i need to ask you guys a few questions...

1) are they a pairing fish or do they prefer to be in trios/harems?
2) will they work in a 32"x7" tank?
3) how big is average for a male to grow?
4) What is the ideal pH for them?
5) what does there natural habitat look like, as i would try to mimic it as well as possible.
6) what kind of diet do they need (Carnivores, Herbivores, Omnivores)

sorry about all the questions, but these guys interest me, and being into flowerhorns, i love the hump on these guys heads! hehe

Thanx
Gage


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1353

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/s_casuarius.php

1) are they a pairing fish or do they prefer to be in trios/harems?

pairing

2) will they work in a 32"x7" tank?

Yes

3) how big is average for a male to grow?

See links

4) What is the ideal pH for them?

See links

5) what does there natural habitat look like, as i would try to mimic it as well as possible.

See links

6) what kind of diet do they need (Carnivores, Herbivores, Omnivores)

See links


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

thanx for the reply and help, i guess i should be more specific onmy questions though

as far as ideal ph, i was looking more for an exact number or a smaller range then 6-8/

by natural habitat i was more so gtting at whether i should go rockwork or driftwood. and whatever else you would find where they live, as opposed to "fast flowing waters"

and as far as diet, i should have noticed the omnivore thing in the profile when i read it... wat is the prefered food? meat or vegetation, i assume meat.

thanx again for the help


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

New Life Spectrum would probably be a good staple food for them.


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## quiksilver (Mar 2, 2007)

These fish have heaps of personality provide them with rocks and caves. Mine likes to sit in a cave but most of the time heâ€™s out â€œhoppingâ€


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## under_control (Jan 9, 2008)

32x7 inches? What is the height? 7 inch depth doesn't seem very deep and I think that is a very limiting number.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

Depth isn't important with these fish sice they are bottom crawlers (so to speak). Why do you want to narrow the ph, when clearly it isn't important, and varies from area to area. Obviously, fast flowing waters are rocky, with smooth boulders.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

gage said:


> thanx for the reply and help, i guess i should be more specific onmy questions though
> 
> as far as ideal ph, i was looking more for an exact number or a smaller range then 6-8/
> 
> ...


If you want an ideal ph, pick the middle, 7.0ph though I can tell you I've successfully kept them and bred them at 8.1ph. If you want a biotope aquarium, rounded rocks and a thinner variant of Vallisneria would do the trick. True omnivores don't care, they'll do fine on a good pellet like Dainichi, Mysis Shrimp, flakes, New Life Spectrum...


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

BillD said:


> Depth isn't important with these fish sice they are bottom crawlers (so to speak). Why do you want to narrow the ph, when clearly it isn't important, and varies from area to area. Obviously, fast flowing waters are rocky, with smooth boulders.


because i wantto keep them as properly as posible, mostly because i wan to see there natural behavior, and the best way to get this is to identically copy here natural environment.

the tank is 10" tall.

than for the info everyone, but i think *** found something i will like more so then these guys, ill try these guys whe i have another tank handy, maybe ill get another odd shaped tank.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

because i wantto keep them as properly as posible, mostly because i wan to see there natural behavior, and the best way to get this is to identically copy here natural environment.

.[/quote]

When you see a pH range like that, it usually means it is found in that range in the wild. So, any pH in that range is fine. Playing with pH when it isn't necessary, is a recipe for disaster.


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## under_control (Jan 9, 2008)

STability is the key. If you are newer and trying to "match" a ph it will swing, inevitably, and thus you are causing more harm than good. If your ph is "acceptable" this is better than "ideal".


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