125 cichlid tank ?

Fish Addict · Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 1:41 am Post subject: 125 cichlid tank ?

hi i have 125 gal cichlid tank i was wonder if i had enough space to put in 4 red zebra
right now i have
Ps Demasoni
Ps Demasoni
Ps Kenyii
Ps Kenyii
Ps Kenyii
Yellow Lab
Yellow Lab
Yellow Lab
Pearl Zebra
Pearl Zebra
Yellow Tail Blue Acei
Yellow Tail Blue Acei

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3436

As far as bioload goes, you should be fine adding them. I have 11 adult africans in my 55 w/o any problems. The only thing I'd be worried about is aggression, but that's always a bit of a gamble with cichilds.

-Chelle

Fish Addict · Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 12:56 pm Post subject:

well they would all grow up together they are all babys right nowthey are all about 1 inch

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3436

Just give them lots of caves and you should be fine.

-Chelle

Fish Addict · Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 3:36 am Post subject:

hey t_chelle16 what other africans would you put in this tank??

Hooben · Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 4:47 am Post subject:

That's the thing about africans, the more you crowd them the less aggressive they seem to become. They can't really form territories as well when they are crowded. 125 gallons is a great size for africans!

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3436

As long as you stick to lake Malawi you should be okay. There are literally hundreds of species to choose from. The major limiting factor will be what your LFS can get in. FWIW, I've noticed that the "assorted african cichild" tanks at the LFS's here are all Malawi cichilds. The only fish I would avoid are Melanochromis sp. They can be extremely aggressive (although my 2 are pretty passive).

In my 55 gallon I have:
3 Pseudotropheus lombardoi (kenyi)
2 Melanochromis auratus (like I said, mine are really passive)
2 Pseudotropheus socolofi (powder blue cichlids)
2 Aulonocara hybrids (OB peacocks)
3 Labidochromis caeruleus (yellow labs)

-Chelle

Fish Addict · Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 1:13 pm Post subject:

so hooben how many more africans do you think i could put in ?
i was orginally thinking 12 more but i didn't want to over do it soo i thought i would check. i was going with the 1gal per 1 inch of adult fish rule

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3436

I think you can easily fit about 20 - 25 in that tank. Like Hooben said, it is actually a good idea to overstock your african cichlids a bit (assuming you have lots of caves & enough filtration).

-Chelle

Hooben · Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:59 pm Post subject:

It's not like they are really dirty or anything...they eat every scrap of food in sight! Just keep your eye on those parameters and get yourself a good filter. Chelle is right, go for it and have fun!

Fish Addict · Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2004 1:11 am Post subject:

i have two filters on there right now
eheim 2028 pro 2
and
fluval 304

Fish Addict · Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2004 2:20 am Post subject:

so is that 20 25 more on top of my 12 or total

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3436

20 - 25 total.

And your filtration is fine. It's a 4.3 turnover rate which is good.

-Chelle

Fish Addict · Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2004 1:02 pm Post subject:

ok thanks lots t_chelle and hooben