my 75 gal. african cichlid tank

mikek996 · 05-10-2008, 04:03 PM

I have a recently set up 75 gallon tank (first cichlid tank.) running 2 weeks now. pretty sure it cycled fast because I put decorations from old tank in it and ran it for a week with no fish then added a pictus cat (from old tank). then a week later added 7 fish, all basic electric yellow, blue and orange ones. then 4 more like 5 days later so total of 11 about 1.5 inch long. I also would like to find out what the brown zebra stiped ones are I was told they were mbunas, just want to make sure they are compatible. I think if I could change something it might be the subsrate. something darker would have been nice. they are real fast and healthy fun to watch. It has a fluval 405. see the pics one is a close up of the brown striped one sorry the pics are fuzzy. and opinions are welcome. thanks mike.

missfish · 05-10-2008, 10:53 PM

I really like how you have stacked the rocks at the back of your tank. It looks really effective. I think I'm gunna borrow it if thats okay!

missfish

mikek996 · 05-11-2008, 05:50 PM

thanks, it leaves room for expansion for adding more fish. anyone know if the brown ones are mbunas??. I have a terra cotta flower pot cut in half for it also.

tony · 05-11-2008, 07:39 PM

It looks like they are mbuna but its kinda fuzzy.

ZeroSystem · 05-18-2008, 03:01 PM

They are diffinetly Mbuna's. Tough to say which kind though specifically. Could be Rusty Cichlids (Iodotropheus Sprengerae) or possibly female Metriaclima Greshakei.. or a hybrid. Better pics would help!

Judge · 05-18-2008, 03:23 PM

Hey Mike that's a really neat tank. I agree with Miss Fish, I like the way you have stacked up the rock. Thanks for sharing the pic!

Splash Spooky · 05-18-2008, 05:46 PM

Sorry the picture is too blurry to ID fish. That's a very nice tank. Mbuna are pretty hard on real plants though. Mubna are herbivores and are going to eventually eat them. At least all the edible ones. I like your rock work.

mikek996 · 05-18-2008, 07:41 PM

thanks for the compliments. I think you are right zero I remeber the stores sign had rusty something written on it. how long do I have to wait untill I can start to tell male from females, I assume these are all young fish longest one is about 1.5 inches. can peacocks be mixed with mbunas? as far as the plants they came out of my 29 that I took down to put this one up. I figured if they last ok if not oh well, better than giving or throwing them away.

tony · 05-19-2008, 12:41 AM

Love the tank, love the rock, what are you using for substrate?

ZeroSystem · 05-19-2008, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikek996

thanks for the compliments. I think you are right zero I remeber the stores sign had rusty something written on it. how long do I have to wait untill I can start to tell male from females, I assume these are all young fish longest one is about 1.5 inches. can peacocks be mixed with mbunas? as far as the plants they came out of my 29 that I took down to put this one up. I figured if they last ok if not oh well, better than giving or throwing them away.

Telling the difference between males and females is usually not very easy with mbuna. In many cases they look the same! Rusty's all start off generally looking a reddish brown in color, however dominant males will take on a purple sheen across their body, while females will retain the all reddish brown coloration. Juvies and often subdominant males will also maintain the reddish brown color as well though, so you can see it can still be kinda confusing as to which are which.

Some Peacocks can mix O.K. with mbuna cichlids, but usually it's better to keep them apart. I have a couple Orange Blotch Peacock cichlids in with my Mbuna and they hold their own just fine it would seem (Probably because they're a hybrid of a peacock cichlid and a mbuna cichlid). I've also got an Aulonocara Jacobfreibergi in with 'em and he does quite well. The tank is a 75 gallon. I wouldn't try it with anything smaller, and I'm sure bigger would certainly be better (as it often is, especially with cichlids!)

As for plants and mbuna, you can usually (but not always) get away with Java Fern, Java Moss, most types of Crypts and Vals, and Anubias.