Suggestions on 30 gal setup...

[Mice]

im starting brand new. freshwater still though. i was thinking about doing a cichlid tank. i was searching about them before and the lake malawi's look interesting. Could there be a way for me to get some Red Tigers ((Maylandia/Metriaclima estherae))i think they are called that. If i could how many.. and wat else is allowed. if this is out of the idea are there any neat freshwater puffers that get bigger than 1"... Please help me out as much as possible thanks a lot.

-mice

[gravity]

Generally speaking, Malawi cichlids get too big and are too aggressive for a 30g tank. You can keep a variety of tangyanikans, virtually all species of shelldwellers. You could also keep brichardi in that tank. The only Malawi cichlid I could say would be ok in that size aquarium would be the Yellow Lab.

[Mice]

for the yellow labs how many and r there any small fish that are compatible with it?

[Mice]

why the heck so many vies but no replies...i'd help if i knew about ur topic

[t_chelle16]

In a 30 gallon tank with yellow labs, I'd maybe do 5 or 6 and you really couldn't put any other fish with them (both becasue of aggression - they're passive for cichlids, but still aggressive by other fish standards, and also becasue you simply wouldn't have any more room). Also, with africans, it's best to have either all females or at last 3 or 4 females/male. The problem with that is many are nearly impossible to sex (especially at the size that most LFS's sell them). So you'd basically just have to hope that you didn't get muiltiple males. And you'd have to have at least one cave/fish.

-Chelle

[Mice]

thanks a lot chelle. few more questions...r electric blue labs allowed and is it true the pH is 7.5-8 for yellow labs?and are there any live plants for them? thanks again im going to pick 2 up in a little bit only 2 so far gatta wait a week or more to add them.

[dbltrubl98]

they do need a higher ph as do all malawi cichilds. I personally used a rift lake salt mix I got from a local store that I shop at. I personally would stick with yellows.

[Mice]

thank u im going to put my fish in another tank and fix pH on the 30 gal. and let it run for alittle..can i still use regular gravel. people use sand for africans i dont really want to buy more.

[t_chelle16]

As far as I know, the blue & yellow labs are the same species, just different color morphs so you should be able to mix them (Good luck finding the blue ones, though. They're fairly rare).

7.5 - 8 should be fine for them, especially if they're tank rasied. Captive raised fish are a bit more tollerant of pH than wild caught so if you can keep it steady somewhere in that range, they should be fine.

And no, I would put live plants with them. Their natural diet consists mainly of algae & plant matter so live plants would just become a salad bar.

-Chelle

[Mice]

thanks could i use baking soda to prop up the pH a little at a time or should i just buy the over priced products at petstores?

[kc5gvn]

Hi Mice, While you can use baking soda for the PH there are much easier solutions. Using the baking soda you will have to be continually adjusting the PH. This is going to cause more fluctuations in the tank and a large risk of losing fish to PH problems. Also you do not want to change the PH any more than .2 in a 24 hour period. The easiest way to maintain the PH in an African tank is to use Dolomite gravel. This is a Marine tank gravel that does not have the sharp edges like crushed coral. It will usually stable out with a PH between 8.0 and 8.2. Your biggest problem in changing out the gravel will be with the tank recycling. To help overcome the recycle problem:

Cut off the end (foot) and make a bag out of a pair of womens hose. Fill the bag with Dolomite and tie off the open end. Place the bag of Dolomite in your filter system and leave for 6 weeks. This allows the bacteria culture to build up in the Dolomite without recycling your tank. This is your seed gravel for the new Dolomite substrate. After 6 weeks change the substrate in your tank with new Dolomite. After putting in the new Dolomite, take the bag of Dolomite from the filter, cut the bag open and sprinkle the cultured Dolomite from the bag OVER the new Dolomite in the tank. You may get a mini-cycle but it should not be like a full blown tank cycle. It is important to put the cultured Dolomite on TOP of the new Dolomite. The greatest concentration of your bacterial culture in the substrate should be in the top 1/4 inch of your substrate. Hope this helps.

[zarate]

I have a 30 gallon malawi tank set up in my kitchen. I've got 12 juveniles right now, but once they get big enough to tell the sex I'm only going to keep 3 or 4 females and 1 male. These guys aren't overly aggressive as are most of the other malawi cichlids.

[t_chelle16]

What species of Malawi cichlid are they?

-Chelle

[zarate]

Ps. Saulosi.
And I can already see my dominant male. He's kinda white right now, but should be getting his darker colors sometime in the near future....I hope.

You'll have to excuse the algae....but here's a pic taken a couple months ago. (If I can get it to work)
[img]http://usera.imagecave.com/cynder98/fish002-copy.jpg[/img]

But if it doesn't work, here's a link
http://usera.imagecave.com/cynder98/fish002-copy.jpg
*edited to add pic, then again to resize pic.

[Fish Addict]

very nice fishy's lol

[zarate]

Thank you. You'll have to excuse the algae. I have some clay pots to put in the tank, so then I'll have to take new pics!!