# Tank is getting betttter!



## rjg1992 (Sep 23, 2013)

Added sand to the tank because i was tired of the rocks....

22 HOURS AGO









16 HOURS AGO









4 HOURS AGO 









36 MINS AGO... ITS GETTING BETTER!









getting excited. Loving these african cichlids that i got. 
Noticing that one male is driving away the other males and digging holes in the sand tho. Must be some kind of breeding time.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

opcorn: :thumb: 
sand is the prefered substrate of cichlids by many enthusiasts, but not all.. brings out their natural behavior,i think. I had gravel before switching to sand and will never go back.


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## lilscoots (Mar 13, 2012)

You might want to rinse the sand before putting it in in the future....also keeping it in whatever your scooping it in with until it's at the bottom helps minimize clouding the water....


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## rjg1992 (Sep 23, 2013)

I did rinse. It was PURE CLEAR before i put the sand in. And that's what happened so im not entirely sure why it was soo freaking cloudy but i did rinse it for 1 hour.


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## rjg1992 (Sep 23, 2013)

B.Roberson said:


> opcorn: :thumb:
> sand is the prefered substrate of cichlids by many enthusiasts, but not all.. brings out their natural behavior,i think. I had gravel before switching to sand and will never go back.


Awesome. i am loving all of my cichlids they are gorgeous. I have noticed how the male is pushing away the other males so he can make a "nesting ground" for the females. Its awesome watching.


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

The same thing happened to me when I set up my Demasoni tank recently. It took about 20 hours for it to clear up completely, and I spent at least an hour rinsing the sand like you did.


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## rjg1992 (Sep 23, 2013)

Sucks :/ But its getting better. QUESTIONS: what do african cichlids eat? I've seen how thye put cucumber in the tank for them to eat but can they eat that?


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

I feed my fish New Life Spectrum Cichlid Formula 1mm sinking pellet and spirulina flake, but only the flake once or twice a week. Also I made home made food from this video...




I feed the homemade food once or twice a week as well. I feed the NLS pellet on all the other days twice a day.


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## rjg1992 (Sep 23, 2013)

see i have Cichlid Pellets mini size. and then also have HBH african cichlid sinking pellet fish food ATTACK!


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

For mbunas you want the crude protein to be around 33-38%.


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## rjg1992 (Sep 23, 2013)

dang the crude protein in this is 42


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

Yeah, African Cichlid ATTACK is nothing good for mbuna.


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## rjg1992 (Sep 23, 2013)

i don't use the ATTACK i use the other mini ones. which has 42% crude protein


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

Oh, I think the ATTACK is about 45% or something, but I suggest going to a LFS or PetCo and getting some NLS.


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## rjg1992 (Sep 23, 2013)

New life spectrum?


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

Yes sir.


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## rjg1992 (Sep 23, 2013)

Ill have to get some. Thanks for all your help man.


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## rjg1992 (Sep 23, 2013)

By the way. how many cichlids can i have in a 55 gallon tank?


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

Is it 4ft long? If so you can have 3 different species. In each species you want one male and 4-7 females. If you do go with this method of fish keeping try to have each species to look different from the others. Don't get any mbuna that can grow past 6".


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## rjg1992 (Sep 23, 2013)

Oooh ****. haha i just go and get 10 fish for $30 from someone in an assorted tank.


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

Yeah that is how I started and it took me a few months from a very random assorted tank to a tank the way it should be. I started with 7 assorted fish and I only have 2 of the starting fish(Metriaclima estherae).


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## rjg1992 (Sep 23, 2013)

do they end up getting in fights or something? When i look at some of the fish they practically all have egg looking spots on their anal fin and like 2 or 3 don't. and i have 14 fish in there. Guess i just don't like how the females don't get that much color like the males.


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

Eggs spots don't mean anything. I have a holding female right now that has egg spots. Best way to tell if a fish is a male or female is by venting them. And yes the fish will fight more once they start to mature at around 3" and won't show good color (from stress).


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## rjg1992 (Sep 23, 2013)

oooh. Okay well now i feel like i wasted my money lmao. And what do you mean by venting?


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## Graffiti (Aug 17, 2013)

rjg1992 said:


> New life spectrum?


Yes, new life spectrum cichlid formula 1mm size pellets, amazing stuff.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

+1 for nls :thumb:


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## rjg1992 (Sep 23, 2013)

Just picked it up today 










Much more clear


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## shelbynjakesdad (Mar 13, 2013)

rjg1992 said:


> And what do you mean by venting?


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


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

yep,looking good.


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